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Specialized
Hotrock FSR 24 21-Speed
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Submitted by
Jeff Hanan
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Dresden Hieda | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Purchased At: | Bikeland 262 | | Strengths: | Full up kids mountain bike. Best kids FS bike out there that I could find. | | Weaknesses: | Limited growth | | Similar Products Used: | Trek, Haro, Specialized bikes | | Bike Setup: | Standard full-suspension MTB | | Bottom Line: | Purchased this bike in Dresden for 600 Euro (so about $700) - no discount possible. But you get what you pay for which is the best 24 inch mountain bike for a kid that I could find without actually building a bike from the frame up. My son has used the bike now for almost 3 years. He is not a light weight kid - 90 lbs + and puts this bike through the paces and it has never had any issue. The only issue is that the frame is so low cut and agressive as a race bike that it will probably last about one year less in time than I would like for him to get out of it before moving up to a 26 inch tire size. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ray
a Weekend Warrior
from Puyallup
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Skookum Flats | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | Old Town | | Strengths: | Well made, 24inch wheels, lighter than most kids bikes on the market. An actual mountain bike, not a toy. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | Smaller bike | | Bike Setup: | stock, except for clipless pedals. | | Bottom Line: | Writing this for my son. Bought it last spring. Immediate improvement in his riding. His old bike was a steel frame with 20in. wheels. Essentially a kids bmx bike with gears. The bigger wheels and the suspension on this bike made a huge difference with roots, rocks, etc. He is able to roll right over them now. The bike is built solid. (I rode it around the parking lot without bottoming out the suspension). We've been to Black Diamond and Sun Top on it so far, and about half a dozen races up at Sea-Tac. Lots of local riding in addition. He's got just about 125 miles on it so far with no issues. The components aren't top of the line, but given the frame size I dont think Specialized had too many options as far as what they could put on it.
This is the perfect kids mountain bike in my opinion. My son loves it and he is able to ride just about anything on it. It has made huge change in his confidence and ability on difficult trails.
Highly recommended if you are looking for a real mountain bike in a kids size. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shawn
a Cross Country Rider
from PA
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$360.00 | | Purchased At: | Specialized Dealer | | Strengths: | Weight/Suspension! Only bike of its kind for kids. | | Weaknesses: | Price. But I got it on clearance and this bike is well worth $360 but MSRP $600? | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | Because of this bike, I was able to take my son (8yrs old) on his first true mountain bike ride. We hit some moderately technical single track and did a fair amount of climbing. He climbed almost everything and went down almost everthing. I didn't think the full suspension would make much difference for a kid but it does.
Smooths everything out on the trail for him. He loves the bike and so do I.
If you have the cash or can get it on clearance don't hesitate to purchase. A big thank you to Specialized for making a bike like this for the little aspiring mountain biker. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Greensboro, NC
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Reedy Fork | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | cycles de oro | | Strengths: | lightweight (28.5 lbs), full suspension frame, locally availabile, it fits | | Weaknesses: | low-end components, no good 24" fork available | | Similar Products Used: | old Gary Fischer Advance (1991) | | Bike Setup: | Stock for now, but am already craving upgrades. | | Bottom Line: | I am a freakishly short adult male (4'11") and no matter what they tell you, a suspension fork on a 26" wheeled bike (and the radically sloping top-tube it creates)just doesn't cut it for someone with an inseam of 27" or less. So, after much searching I went looking for the best 24" wheeled bike (read kids) out there. Other than some Scott brand rigs not available yet in the U.S. and some Kona's not available to me locally, the Specialized Hotrock seemed like the best option. It is relatively lightweight for a full suspension bike (28.5 lbs, I checked it myself) especially considering the kid level components (e.g. altus 7-sp rear derailer, shimano twist-shifters) and begs to be upgraded. That brings me to what I consider to be the bikes really weakness: nobody makes a decent 24" shock, I'll need to go bmx to get decent rims and tires, and not sure if I can upgrade the rearshock (pretty basic coil unit with adjustable rebound). Still, it fits a small guy like me just right (with a longer seatpost and stem swapped out by my LBS) and I have a full-suspension rig with a lot of upgrade potential for $500. It's a pretty decent alternative to custom (my road bike is a 650c wheeled custom frame) given the price.
Compared to typical kids' bike, it rocks.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Dillon, Colorado, USA
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Ranch Loop | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$439.00 | | Strengths: | Lightweight kids bike with full suspension.
Quick release wheels. | | Weaknesses: | Shimano 7-speed freewheel instead of cassette. This may be a limitation of the 24 inch wheels.
| | Bike Setup: | Stock parts that I see no reason to change. I might switch to a 7 speed MegaRange (14-34 tooth freewheel instead of 14-28 tooth) if the gearing is not low enough. | | Bottom Line: | I am reviewing this bike for my 7 year old who just got it last week. My original intent was to buy him the hard-tail Hotrock FS 24 (with the A1 frame) but the bike shop only had the FSR 24 and the Hotrock 24 with the heavier frame. I thought the heavier Hotrock 24 was a bit too heavy and did not have quick release wheels. The shop made me a good deal on the FSR so I decided to buy it instead of waiting for the FS 24. My son is 7 and just fits on the 12 inch FSR. Given the bike's size, he should get 2-3 years out of it.
I think weight is a huge issue for children especially if they do a lot of cross country riding. My son is upgrading from a Giant M125 which was very light but lacks the gearing to get him up some of the hills on our local trails that I think he is capable of clearing.
My son has had no issues with the Shimano grip shifters on this bike. He said the rear derailleur shifts much easier than his old Giant and he has had no problems shifting the front derailleur between the granny and middle rings. I have discouraged him from using the large ring yet.
I never thought a child would get any benefit from rear suspension but he said the rear felt great when he road it off of a small drop. He even gave me enough feedback to tune the rear dampening. The front shock might be a bit stiff for his weight but that should change as he gets bigger.
The trails in our area are still under a few feet of snow so I will follow this up with an on-trail review sometime in the summer.
I gave it 4 Flamin' Chillis for value since an adult would not hesitate to lay down $600 (MSRP) for a killer full suspension bike. The components really do not need to be much better for a childs bike. Given the bikes size, you really cannot upgrade them even if you wanted to.
Bottom line: Lightweight, gearing and full suspension will definitely improve the on-trail experience for my son.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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