UKH

So the sprog has been bouncing around on a Charge Cooker 20 for two years now, and inevitably it is beginning to get too small as his lordship continues to eat us out of house and home thus ensuring continued growth spurts.

I was browsing Marin bikes and came across the Hawk Hill Jnr and noted (after falling off my chair when I saw the price) that they reckon you start them off on a 24” wheel and then as they grow you replace them witha 26” wheel which to me makes bags of sense - basically 5-6 years worth of riding out of one frame. But I was disappointed to note that that isn’t a feature of their other less pricey frames. It got me thinking, why is no one making frames, 13” seat tube, which could take 24” or 26” wheels and selling them in this market. I would dearly like to build him something with decent brakes, a. Proper 1x drivetrain etc, rigid forks for the moment and keep it going for the duration. I thought maybe I could find a tiny 26” wheeled frame secondhand? I mean short of renting from the hope academy, or parting with bags of cash, or buying Frog or Isla which seem to think kids should ride hybrid bikes, what is there?

What do you guys do?

In reply to beardy mike:

Our sprog went from a 20" wheeled isla to a 26"isla. First we bought was new but the second was second hand, it needed a good service, new chain and cables etc but was a lot cheaper than the  other mint condition versions on ebay. He loves it and we do some fairly decent rides together on and off road. The isla does seem to fit well and should last him a few more years.

In reply to beardy mike:

We got a Giant Arx 24” for our 7 year old - really impressed by it, very light so easy to peddle and he can do 15 - 20 miles on it comfortably. 

Did look like he was riding a bike too big for him for a couple of months but the guys in the local Giant shop were helpful and said the 20” would have been a waste of money - so hopefully we get a good few years out of it.

In reply to beardy mike:

I've never bough a new bike for my 3 kids, always second hand. 12",14 and 16" wheel bikes all came from the local community recycling centre and cost less than a tenner each. Moving up to 20" was a bit more expensive but I found a Specialised Hotrock 20 at a local bike charity for £14, to be fair it needed a new saddle, drivetrain and breaks, but was still a bargain compares to a new one at around  £200. When the kids were big enough for a 24" wheel I found the local secondhand market was full of barely ridden Hotrock 24s for only £40!  (£260 new)

 When they eldest outgrew the 24" wheeled bike I started scouring the local second hand ads for a 26" frame in extra-small.. 3 years later I found a Kona Fire mountain which went to kid number 2 as in the meantime eldest was tall enough for a small. The middle kid has outgrown eldest kid and is now eyeing up my bike.

I found the 24" and 26" bikes on Gumtree the furthest I had to drive was 35miles.

XS 26" frames are like hens teeth, 26" MTBs have been obsolete for nearly ten years, every keen cyclist in the country is looking for them to build a fancy bike for their kids.

In reply to beardy mike:

When Lodge Jnr was at that stage we went from a 20" wheel straight to a 26" and he had no difficulties.

We got him a Giant revel 3 with an XXS frame which suited him perfectly and he had loads of use out of it, there's got to be some knocking around secondhand.

In reply to beardy mike:

Get a Isla Bienn 26 and mod it as a proper MTB hardtail. Our boys did loads on it, including alpine uplift:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nr8uwkw10lbu4g7/20190531_164408.jpg?dl=0

Sadly sold it on to a friend as our boys just keep growing. Our boys both now ride Giant Liv full sussers (XS & S are perfectly sized for 10/11 & 11/13 yo).

In reply to ChrisJD:

Just had kind of hoped there would be somewhere you could just buy a frame and build one up... ah well... is what it is I guess. Thought I'd be able to buy some nice kit and just transfer from one frame to the next or something like that...

In reply to beardy mike:

It's been a constant process of changing bikes as they've grown; they've been on bikes since 2yo. Cost effective though as we have two boys 18 months apart, so hand me downs are perfectly spaced, and you can sell on without losing much at all.

For Isla bikes, join FB Group "preowned islabikes for sale".

In reply to beardy mike: My 10 year old daughter was on a 24" wheel Cube which was alright but I have just bought her an amazing Trek hardtail with 26" wheels. I guess it's about 10 years old and has great kit, XTR shifting and shimano hydraulic disc brakes with a fairly decent set of rockshox up front. It is in superb condition, pretty light and cost £110. Keep an eye on FB marketplace, v small 26ers do come up from time to time.

In reply to blackmountainbiker:

They are rare as hens teeth though.  The problem with the strategy of waiting for 'the bike' is that kids keep growing and the window can be missed.

I decided early on to not f##k about, get the bikes sorted and have great holidays with the boys using good kit. Has worked a treat. Have ridden in awesome places with them every year.

Who knows what this summer will bring though  

In reply to beardy mike:

Last year my then quite tall 8 year old went from a 20"  wheel Frog bike to a 26" wheel Giant ATX XXS mountain bike. Basically a small adult bike. The only minor mod was to cut down the width of the handle bars. So far so good. I expect it should be OK for another 1-2 years. This was significantly cheaper than some of the equivalent options which are a bit hard on the wallet!

In reply to beardy mike:

Have a look at Squish Bikes.  I don't know where you are based but Tony Butterworth Cycles of Hillsborough Sheffield are a friendly outfit and sell them.  No doubt there are distributors across the country though if Butterworth's can't deliver.  The bikes have lightweight alloy frames and are a fair bit cheaper than Isla and Frog bikes.