What do your kids ride?

stirk

stirk

Burner
Took the kids for a ride on Saturday and they both look ready for bigger bikes.

5 year old needs a 16" after being on her 12" for only a year.
8 year old needs a 24" and he's only been on his 20" for roughly a year, they are growing quickly!

Not sure I want to buy new again only to have to upgrade again so quickly so will look for some decent rides second hand.

Is the general consensus that 24" bikes with suspension forks are not so great as the forks are typically heavy and over sprung and I should look for rigid fork?

I've read old 26" sids can fit 24" bikes so that's also an option to research a bit more but doesn't seem worth the effort and expense given he'll only have it for a year or so.
 
John U

John U

MTB Precision
stirk said:
Took the kids for a ride on Saturday and they both look ready for bigger bikes.

5 year old needs a 16" after being on her 12" for only a year.
8 year old needs a 24" and he's only been on his 20" for roughly a year, they are growing quickly!

Not sure I want to buy new again only to have to upgrade again so quickly so will look for some decent rides second hand.

Is the general consensus that 24" bikes with suspension forks are not so great as the forks are typically heavy and over sprung and I should look for rigid fork?

I've read old 26" sids can fit 24" bikes so that's also an option to research a bit more but doesn't seem worth the effort and expense given he'll only have it for a year or so.
Click to expand...
Some 24” bikes come specced with 26” forks. Geometry on these would be adjusted accordingly. Norco Fluid 24 is an example of this.
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
At the moment my 2.5 year old rides a mac ride with me. He's probably got another year on that before he outgrows it.

I've got some kids bike lined up that I salvaged from a council cleanup but I need some training wheels. Anyone got any spare training wheels for little bikes in their spares box?


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stirk

stirk

Burner
Oddjob said:
At the moment my 2.5 year old rides a mac ride with me. He's probably got another year on that before he outgrows it.

I've got some kids bike lined up that I salvaged from a council cleanup but I need some training wheels. Anyone got any spare training wheels for little bikes in their spares box?


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Click to expand...
Try a transition from balance bike to pedal with no training wheels, it's fast and easy and if the kids great on the balance bike it makes sense. Get them using the pedal bike as a balance bike but leave the pedals attached and it won't be long before they ask for help to try and pedal the bike.

I told my girl her bike didn't come with training wheels, bad dad!
 
geoz

geoz

Likes Bikes
Oddjob said:
At the moment my 2.5 year old rides a mac ride with me. He's probably got another year on that before he outgrows it.

I've got some kids bike lined up that I salvaged from a council cleanup but I need some training wheels. Anyone got any spare training wheels for little bikes in their spares box?


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Click to expand...
I would suggest not using training wheels. They teach the wrong way of balancing the bike, balance bikes or as previously suggested taking the pedals off works far better.

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Snapcatcher

Snapcatcher

Likes Bikes
Earlier this year, on impulse, I bought my 10 y/o son a 2012 Specialized Status, as he wanted to come riding with me more often, and the hard-tail he was on wasnt cutting it. (I ride DH and bike park) The Status was OK but at approx 18-19 kgs, was far too heavy for him. So a few months later, we sold the Status, and the hunt was on for a new ride. Decided that a trail bike would be the best option for him to keep the weight down and help develop his skills.

Finding a decent used bike in size small was difficult, and as the end of the year approached, the deals on 2017 bikes became a viable alternative. Took me a while to save some extra coin, but last week, and just in time for his 11th b'day, we picked up this 2017 Genius 740. Comes in under 13kgs and the boy is loving it.

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ozzybmx

ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
Nice one Snapcatcher ! Time spent with your kids is time you will never have again... happy kids too. Good work mate !
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Thanks for the suggestion of taking pedals off. I will give it a shot.

Moorey, I promise I will look at that shock today. Just having breaky with wife.

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Jim Junkie

Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
Oddjob said:
At the moment my 2.5 year old rides a mac ride with me. He's probably got another year on that before he outgrows it.

I've got some kids bike lined up that I salvaged from a council cleanup but I need some training wheels. Anyone got any spare training wheels for little bikes in their spares box?

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
I've got a pair sitting around from a 16" Merida if you're in Brisbane, happy to pass them on. Used once, removed when I figured out the little guy was bunging it on and could ride like a champ anyway. The balance bike certainly sorted out the balance.
 
Oddjob

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
Jim Junkie said:
I've got a pair sitting around from a 16" Merida if you're in Brisbane, happy to pass them on. Used once, removed when I figured out the little guy was bunging it on and could ride like a champ anyway. The balance bike certainly sorted out the balance.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer. I'm going to see if taking the pedals off and letting him use the bike as a balance bike works first.

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6

68deluxe

Likes Bikes
grabbed these for the 10 and 12yo daughters for xmas, the fork on the 24" is useless - literally feels like a metal tube inside another, with a spring at the bottom, so upgrading to a manitou m30, which I'll reduce the travel down to 80mm. Good (ie air sprung) 24" forks in aus are impossible to find! the M30 is nice and light (1.6kg I believe) which should make a good difference to the bike also.

Was really just keen on the little frame with disc brake mounts/wheels for her, we have younger kids so not worried about upgrading the bike as it will get handed down. will probably end up with my shimano M365 brakes when I get some XTs for myself!

The 27.5" bike is pretty good for the money, that bike will get an upgraded air fork eventually also. First thing I did on that was get some DMR plastic flats. The bear trap well-gos on it were horrible!

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6

68deluxe

Likes Bikes
well that was short lived, some fucker just stole the Polygon Xtrada 27.5 and my wife's Giant Talon. o_O:mad:o_O:mad:

edit: woo bikes found and returned within 24 hours of being pinched. the power of social media these days is amazing!
 
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J

johnnydrama_adl

Squid
My 12YO son had been getting more into riding with me (SA - Eagle, Fox Creek, Craigburn and Sturt Gorge). He was on a hardtail spcialized XC which was tough at Eagle and didnt really encourage him to take too many risks.
I wanted to get him a slacker bike with about 130mm - 140mm. Fun going down but need to be able to climb back up so had to pedal okish. 2nd hand market for duallies was overpriced IMO so started looking at hardtail frames.
I had it narrowed down to a Ragley Marley and a Nukeproof Scout frame from CRC. In the end the Nukeproof having internal routing for a dropper made up my mind.

Then... the universe aligned for me. CRC started stocking fully built Scouts in the 2018 trim. The "275 race" kit had the right value for money blend for me so the trigger was pulled.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/au/en/nukeproof-scout-275-race-bike-2018/rp-prod159423

At that price after shipping and taxes / import I landed it for about $1800 (chose not to look too hard at the import taxes).

I was a little nervous about how long the reach was and that the big 2.5" tyres would make it tough to pedal but it has turned out awesome.

He's climbing better on this than the old bike cos it fits him better and is taking a bunch more drop offs and jumps than previously. I put my old 125mm KS dropper on, replaced the enduro race seat with an old but comfy clunker from the shed, and narrower bars also from the shed so I could avoid cutting down the stock bars till he was a bit more grown out.

My plan is that as he grows I will buy the next size frame, transfer the parts and then sell the smaller frame.

I'm so happy with it I'm actually trying to work out how I can get myself one for winter duties.



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6

68deluxe

Likes Bikes
whacked a new sealed cartridge headset and the manitou m30 100mm on the little polygon relic 24. At lowest suggested air pressure it's much easier to compress than the all steel coil fork on previously.

I'm not too concerned about slacker head angles weakening the frame as she doesn't jump anything yet. but it's lighter, smoother and looks nice! If she doesn't like the handling I'll get some nylon spacers machined up to drop the travel down to 80mm.

Next on the to-do list is some hydraulic brakes, and non-grip-twist shifters...

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