Bike for 10 year old

nummus

Looking for a bike upgrade for my 10 year old. He’s been riding Ballinastoe on his halfords bike for the last few months and it’s getting too small and falling to bits.

Looking for something with of a reasonable weight and low gearing to help him on the climbs and sturdy enough to manage the Coillte trails.

Budget around 300 to 400
Does anyone have any recommendations?

saccades

nummus wrote: »

Looking for a bike upgrade for my 10 year old. He’s been riding Ballinastoe on his halfords bike for the last few months and it’s getting too small and falling to bits.

Looking for something with of a reasonable weight and low gearing to help him on the climbs and sturdy enough to manage the Coillte trails.

Budget around 300 to 400
Does anyone have any recommendations?

Isla bike is good, I bought a frog bike which is very similar.

Proper bike just shrunk down to kids sizes, expensive but they keep their value so resale offsets the initial price.

Most of the big brands have a "kids" bike but unless they have upped their game or dropped their prices it's hard to beat the two I have mentioned.

rizzodun

My son had a Carrera Blast 24"

Suntour Front Fork
3x7 setup with grip shifters, you could upgrade to triggers fairly cheaply.
Clarkes mechanical Disc Brakes, I upgraded these to hydraulic for about 50 quid bought on CRC.
€308

https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/carrera-blast-junior-mountain-bike-24-wheel

You might find the odd one for sale on Adverts too for cheap, I picked his up for €50!

Isla and Frog are good brands, but unless you can find second hand, out of your budget.

Isla Bike Creig 26 is currently £800stg
Frog MTB 69 is currently €690

Wanderer78

I think I'd recommend second hand market, if child really wants to get into mountain biking, that budget will only get you entry level bikes, which aren't great

nummus

Thanks guys, few things to think about there. The budget may stretch to a frog as I have 2 more coming up behind that could use it. The carrera option is interesting but I’m not much of a mechanic so the upgrades would have to be done by lbs.

emeraldmtb

I agree, although my own little lad is only 4, I have several friends with multiple kids that all ride. Getting the cheaper bikes has either put kids off riding or led to upgrading to a more expensive bike within a short period of time meaning they've spent more on two bikes. If you have more than one kid and can hand the bike down I would always recommend spending extra on a decent light bike, it'll save you money in the long run and your kids will thank you.

Claude Burgundy

Thoughts on the Specialized Riprock 24 for a 9 year old. He's only starting out

rizzodun

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thoughts on the Specialized Riprock 24 for a 9 year old. He's only starting out

Same fork more or less that my son had on his Carrera Blast, will do the job for the type of basic trails that age would ride, in fact spec is pretty much the same (gripshift gear shifters / mechanical disc brakes etc)

If it's the 2.8 inch tyres version, will help on the muddy stuff over the winter, makes harder to pedal long distances on gravel and hardpack though, little legs would feel it more than adult legs I would guess.

Looks like a good choice though.

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

Same fork more or less that my son had on his Carrera Blast, will do the job for the type of basic trails that age would ride, in fact spec is pretty much the same (gripshift gear shifters / mechanical disc brakes etc)

If it's the 2.8 inch tyres version, will help on the muddy stuff over the winter, makes harder to pedal long distances on gravel and hardpack though, little legs would feel it more than adult legs I would guess.

Looks like a good choice though.

.

Thanks, thoughts on the Frog MTB 62?

Or any other options in that 24" size bracket.

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

Same fork more or less that my son had on his Carrera Blast, will do the job for the type of basic trails that age would ride, in fact spec is pretty much the same (gripshift gear shifters / mechanical disc brakes etc)

If it's the 2.8 inch tyres version, will help on the muddy stuff over the winter, makes harder to pedal long distances on gravel and hardpack though, little legs would feel it more than adult legs I would guess.

Looks like a good choice though.

.

Thanks, thoughts on the Frog MTB 62?

Or any other options in that 24" size bracket.

rizzodun

rizzodun wrote: »

My son had a Carrera Blast 24"

Suntour Front Fork
3x7 setup with grip shifters, you could upgrade to triggers fairly cheaply.
Clarkes mechanical Disc Brakes, I upgraded these to hydraulic for about 50 quid bought on CRC.
€308

https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/carrera-blast-junior-mountain-bike-24-wheel

You might find the odd one for sale on Adverts too for cheap, I picked his up for €50!

Isla and Frog are good brands, but unless you can find second hand, out of your budget.

Isla Bike Creig 26 is currently £800stg
Frog MTB 69 is currently €690

This

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

This

Thanks, so it's between the specialized and the frog then

rizzodun

Claude Burgundy wrote: »

Thanks, so it's between the specialized and the frog then

I think you should look at the Frog MTB 69, if he's a tall 9 year old the 62 may not last long at all.

Beware too if talking to a dealer over the phone about what you're looking for, Frog 62 is a hybrid bike with a rigid fork, you want the MTB version obviously.

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

I think you should look at the Frog MTB 69, if he's a tall 9 year old the 62 may not last long at all.

Beware too if talking to a dealer over the phone about what you're looking for, Frog 62 is a hybrid bike with a rigid fork, you want the MTB version obviously.

Yes I just looked at the 69 and its the peeve t size

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

I think you should look at the Frog MTB 69, if he's a tall 9 year old the 62 may not last long at all.

Beware too if talking to a dealer over the phone about what you're looking for, Frog 62 is a hybrid bike with a rigid fork, you want the MTB version obviously.

Yes I just looked at the 69 and its the perfect size for him.

nummus

Hi Claude , I went for the frog 69 in the end, had a first spin in ballinastoe this weekend. First impressions are good and my son loves it. Two issues so far: the supplied types are more suitable for road riding than trails so I need to replace them, also comes with pretty poor plastic pedals which I am going to swap out.

Bike weight and gearing with proper trigger shifters are great though which was his main issue with the crappy halfords bike.

nummus

Hi Claude , I went for the frog 69 in the end, had a first spin in ballinastoe this weekend. First impressions are good and my son loves it. Two issues so far: the supplied types are more suitable for road riding than trails so I need to replace them, also comes with pretty poor plastic pedals which I am going to swap out.

Bike weight and gearing with proper trigger shifters are great though which was his main issue with the crappy halfords bike.

Claude Burgundy

nummus wrote: »

Hi Claude , I went for the frog 69 in the end, had a first spin in ballinastoe this weekend. First impressions are good and my son loves it. Two issues so far: the supplied types are more suitable for road riding than trails so I need to replace them, also comes with pretty poor plastic pedals which I am going to swap out.

Bike weight and gearing with proper trigger shifters are great though which was his main issue with the crappy halfords bike.

I just ordered the 69 yesterday, i had heard that about the tyres so i do plan to change them.

rizzodun

What was the price in the end you paid if you don’t mind me asking?

Claude Burgundy

rizzodun wrote: »

What was the price in the end you paid if you don’t mind me asking?

I got it for 620 through a local dealer. I bought my daughter a frog 55 and my son a Giant ATX 16" as well.

El Vino

My daughter is 10 and started riding a 13.5 inch Cube with 26" wheels, she is not particularly tall for her age but it fits her pretty well. It was passed down from her older brothers but because the backside has fallen out of 26" components it has gradually been updated over the years with a decent fork and set of wheels.