B'TWIN 24" ROCKRIDER 700 KIDS MOUNTAIN BIKE

[Pothole]

From Decathlon. The 11 year old appears to have fallen in love with it so it's on the Christmas list. Any decent or better alternatives out there? Similar budget.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/24-rockrider-700-kids-m...

[Pothole]

He's less than 1.4m tall and yes, he's tried the Rockrider in store and it fitted well. I'm thinking we can trade up when he outgrows it but I'd like him to be on something he can handle well rather than have to stretch to a 26" wheeled bike now.

[Pothole]

Kermit power said:

Pothole said:

He's less than 1.4m tall and yes, he's tried the Rockrider in store and it fitted well. I'm thinking we can trade up when he outgrows it but I'd like him to be on something he can handle well rather than have to stretch to a 26" wheeled bike now.

I've just measured my lad. He's 1m36, and whilst he's at the lower limit for his frame (an XS On-One Inbred with around 1.5" of sestpost showing), he rode over 140 miles of trails on it over the summer, averaging around 8 miles per ride without complaint once we'd got the seat and bar heights dialled in. That was mostly on the likes of the red routes at Swinley and Bedgebury, so not pulling big drops or anything, but not just pootling along flat paths either.

It's your choice, of course, but you might be surprised at an XS 26" frame, you'd be able to find one with much better spec second hand (and probably lighter than that 24" too), and when he outgrows that, you can shift all the components to a larger frame, whereas with a 24", the wheels and forks are useless.

Hmmm, not sure second hand will cut it either (not an issue I can solve before Christmas) nor do I know enough about componentry to make the correct choice (or have the time to trawl through the ads and visit far flung parts of the country in my quest. Thanks, though.