[SoCal-Rider]

My son is 7-1/2 yo and I've been thinking about getting him a MTB for his nex b-day to start pedaling around with dad. One thought I've had is to get dad a 29er rigid SS and son a 24" rigid SS. My thoughts on the 24" rigid SS is that it would take the heavy 24" suspension forks out of the equation and not having shifters to worry about would help him focus on his riding technique.

Has anyone come across or built a 24" rigid SS? I was hoping for something in the 20 lbs range.

This is an awesome forum BTW.

 

[traffic002]

How tall is your son?

 

[greg de taos]

I would buy a Scott Scale JR and convert it to what you want. They are nice frames with good components. As he gets a bit older you can throw the gears back on if he wants them. The fork may be a problem, I have not seen a good rigid 24" fork. You could have one made but that might cost a few bucks. I don't really think kids need a bunch of gears, a good singly is a great idea, people just don't want to pay for kids bikes.

 

[SoCal-Rider]

How tall is your son?

My son is about 4'-6" or so. He likes riding mom's 15" (small) 26" bike around the cul-de-sac, but it is too big for him. The KHS has a TT length of 21.7", so am I looking for something with a 20" TT length or less?

Would a rigid fork off a 24" BMX bike work?

Any opinions on this Kona Cowan 2-4? I know it's not rigid, but ...
http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=cowan24

 

[jlc30]

It's going to be hard to find a mountain bike with out a suspention fork. It raises the perceived value of the bike so they all have them now.

I think having gears really helps if you're talking about riding any distance. I put my daughter in a 24" bike just before her 7th birthday. She caught on to the rear shifter really easy and uses it pretty well. The front shifter is a different story and I've pretty well told her to leave it alone. She can pretty well ride 5-10 miles on easy trails without too much trouble.

I also picked up a good used BMX bike and take them to the local track. After a month of riding at the track I was amazed at the difference it made in their mountain biking. At the BMX track they were forced to get off the saddle and move their weight around on the bike which of course carried over to the trails.

 

[autoduel]

you mean a BMX cruiser?
Essentially a 24" single speed.

 

[Greg WJs]

you mean a BMX cruiser?
Essentially a 24" single speed.

Bingo -

Redline, Haro, and Intense are the "big brands" around here.

www.danscomp.com will have some online.

I've got a Redline Proline 24 that my 8 year old is riding as a single speed from time to time. It's a nice bike. It weighs in at about 25 lbs as it sits. Their flight model is lighter.

The only caveat is mind the crank length. My Redline has 180's on it. That's what it came with and I used to race it so that was okay. But the 8 year old could use some 160's. That's on my short list of projects.

Another caveat - get the "bmx racing" models and not the trail or flat land cruisers. The racing ones will be several pounds lighter right out of the box.

 

[jlc30]

I think it depends on what type of riding you want to do. If your going to be on bike paths or relatively flat trails a BMX bike is good. If your plan is single track with some milage I think you should look at a mountain bike. I take my 7yo on some pretty good rides around here, Dupont, Isaqueena, Paris Mountain. I wouldn't want them on their BMX bikes there, they're just not designed to handle it as well.

 

[chumbox]

My son is about 4'-6" or so. He likes riding mom's 15" (small) 26" bike around the cul-de-sac, but it is too big for him. The KHS has a TT length of 21.7", so am I looking for something with a 20" TT length or less?

Would a rigid fork off a 24" BMX bike work?

Any opinions on this Kona Cowan 2-4? I know it's not rigid, but ...
http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=cowan24

The idea is great with the Cowan but if you are trying to get you kid something similar to the rigid SS 29er then the geometry of the Cowan and the frame weight will hold you back. It's practically a small downhill/dirt jump bike. Your best bet is a 24" frame converted SS and switch out the fork. That way you get a light cheap frame and all the other things you want. Apart from the fact you can set it back to gears and suspension if you want.

A BMX/rigid dirtjump fork would probably work but the weight of those things really isn't much better than some suspension forks.

Here is one:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24770

Fits 26" and 24" wheels and v-brakes or discs and has a 1-1/8" steerer.

Just my 2c

 

[Greg WJs]

8 year old on a cruiser BMX is a little different than on a 20" wheel BMX. Longer wheelbase, bigger wheels and it's a lot less twitchy. It is a single speed, so lack of gears could be an issue. But handling seems to be fairly equivalent based on watching my little dude ride both in the trails.