[JackieTreehorn]

I purchased the Frog 62 MTB for my son who is just growing out of his 20". Haven't picked it up yet and I'm getting cold feet. I'd appreciate any insights, especially from those who have experience with this brand and/or this model in particular.

Background

• 8yo, 23" inseam
• Use: nearly 100% single track, XC. A little pump track, but his passion is riding the trails.
• bike history: 16" yoji (amazing), 20" Orbea MX20 Disc (also amazing)
• Must haves: disc brakes, suspension fork (65mm on the frog is fine, 80mm preferred), sub 25lbs, great XC geometry, cranks < 140mm
• trying to keep it around the $1k mark +/-, there's a younger sibling who inherits all so we'll get the value out of it
• Alts considered: Prevelo Zulu 4, Woom 5
• Flexible on timing. Doesn't have to be a Christmas gift, etc.

Why the cold feet:

• it's been out since 2018 or so and very few reviews to be found. Almost nothing on youtube except one kid riding around his cul de sac and some shop brand promotion videos. very odd.
• the fork is apparently a Bakcou GT-MARK private label - no idea on quality here. The one review I did find mentioned an issue with pressure loss.hmmm.
• this bike is easy to find in stock. all the brands I know well are sold out. could just be my timing. Kudos to their supply chain manager!

On paper this bike looks pretty solid. Head angle is a little on the steep side, but not problematic. I dunno. I've been down the slipper slope on kids bikes twice now. You can always justify another $200-300 more for the next step up.

Anyone out there with experience with this bike? What would you do? TIA

 

[jaybert]

I am fond of the Nukeproof cub scout race for $1200, currently out of stock but if you're able to wait it comes in and out of stock all the time. You get the fancy manitou junit fork which some say is the nicest kid fork out there. We have/had the 20" cub scout race and may have gotten the 24" one but ended up going full suspension.

Nukeproof Cub-Scout 24 Race Bike (Deore) 2021 | Chain Reaction

Nukeproof Cub-Scout 24 Race Bike (Deore) 2021 - Lowest Prices and FREE shipping available from The World's largest online bike store - Chain Reaction Cycles

www.chainreactioncycles.com

RE: the bike, my local LBS that's the only bike they have in stock also. My friend bought the 26" one for his son, but I haven't had a chance to see the bike myself yet so cant speak to the quality or anything.

 

[JackieTreehorn]

I am fond of the Nukeproof cub scout race for $1200, currently out of stock but if you're able to wait it comes in and out of stock all the time. You get the fancy manitou junit fork which some say is the nicest kid fork out there. We have/had the 20" cub scout race and may have gotten the 24" one but ended up going full suspension.

Nukeproof Cub-Scout 24 Race Bike (Deore) 2021 | Chain Reaction

Nukeproof Cub-Scout 24 Race Bike (Deore) 2021 - Lowest Prices and FREE shipping available from The World's largest online bike store - Chain Reaction Cycles

www.chainreactioncycles.com

RE: the bike, my local LBS that's the only bike they have in stock also. My friend bought the 26" one for his son, but I haven't had a chance to see the bike myself yet so cant speak to the quality or anything.

Great, thanks! I was just looking at the nukeproof last night. Good to know the stock comes and goes - I'll keep a close eye on it.

Haven't received any updates from the LBS on the frog order status. I'll check it out in person when it finally arrives.

 

[svinyard]

No experience with the bike but...if I was spending a 1k$ again on a hardtail, I'd only get something with a JUnit fork. My buddy played with my sons freshy serviced (by me) JUnit Expert fork and was like "Damn, that feels better than my Fox 36". Parking lot tests are bogus but its guts are similar enough to a Fox 34 Performance series with a custom tune and custom air spring. No small thing. Plus you can get all the service kits/seals and service documentation too which is great. A lot of cheaper forks are just done after a season or two of hard riding.

So if it was a value bike that was fairly affordable, yeah any air fork is going to be great for the money. But if you are dropping bigger cash, then getting something with a JUnit fork and dialed trail geometry (66-ish HTA) would be my non-negotiables. It'll easily payoff in the end too. I wouldn't go drop 700$ on a used hardtail with a weird airfork that I can't service. But I'd easily recommend someone do that if it was JUnit fork. Suspension and Geo are king.

Cub Scout Race ticks the boxes if you can find one. In the end, any bike better than no bike tho and kids can slay on most anything within reason so don't let me screw up your new bike day. He'll love either one and ride it and that's the important part.

 

[JackieTreehorn]

No experience with the bike but...if I was spending a 1k$ again on a hardtail, I'd only get something with a JUnit fork. My buddy played with my sons freshy serviced (by me) JUnit Expert fork and was like "Damn, that feels better than my Fox 36". Parking lot tests are bogus but its guts are similar enough to a Fox 34 Performance series with a custom tune and custom air spring. No small thing. Plus you can get all the service kits/seals and service documentation too which is great. A lot of cheaper forks are just done after a season or two of hard riding.

So if it was a value bike that was fairly affordable, yeah any air fork is going to be great for the money. But if you are dropping bigger cash, then getting something with a JUnit fork and dialed trail geometry (66-ish HTA) would be my non-negotiables. It'll easily payoff in the end too. I wouldn't go drop 700$ on a used hardtail with a weird airfork that I can't service. But I'd easily recommend someone do that if it was JUnit fork. Suspension and Geo are king.

Cub Scout Race ticks the boxes if you can find one. In the end, any bike better than no bike tho and kids can slay on most anything within reason so don't let me screw up your new bike day. He'll love either one and ride it and that's the important part.

Bueno. Good input thanks. I just got the call that the bike is built and ready from the LBS. Yeah, it's really the fork that gives me pause. Good point about fork serviceability. It's great though that I would be buying the Frog through my local, trusted LBS. I ordered it thinking the fork was a private labeled Junit (given the reversed arch). Further research on this forum revealed it to be GT-MRK - which I know nothing about. 69.5 HTA didn't strike me as too steep, especially for all single-track. I'm old school XC rider and not up to speed on the newest geometry. Trying not to overthink this, but i'll discuss my concerns tomorrow at pick up.

 

[chiefsilverback]

I got my 8yo the Cub Scout 24 Race (matches my 10yo's 26 Race) and it is a really nice bike. Admittedly it comes in nearly 50% more than the Frog, but you're getting the Junit fork (~$500 to buy), the new Deore 10 speed drivetrain with clutch and an 11-46 cassette rather than a 12-36 9 speed on the Frog, thru-axles rather than QRs, internal dropper routing, and tubeless ready rims/tires with 2.4" DHFs for proper on trail traction.

If there's no rush to get a bike, and the extra money isn't a show stopper I'd setup a stock notification for the Nukeproof at Chain Reaction Cycles and be ready to click that 'buy' button.

BTW the 26 Race is certified 'Super Nice' by Neil and Martin:

 

[JackieTreehorn]

I got my 8yo the Cub Scout 24 Race (matches my 10yo's 26 Race) and it is a really nice bike. Admittedly it comes in nearly 50% more than the Frog, but you're getting the Junit fork (~$500 to buy), the new Deore 10 speed drivetrain with clutch and an 11-46 cassette rather than a 12-36 9 speed on the Frog, thru-axles rather than QRs, internal dropper routing, and tubeless ready rims/tires with 2.4" DHFs for proper on trail traction.

If there's no rush to get a bike, and the extra money isn't a show stopper I'd setup a stock notification for the Nukeproof at Chain Reaction Cycles and be ready to click that 'buy' button.

BTW the 26 Race is certified 'Super Nice' by Neil and Martin:

Chainreaction lists the scout 24 race @ $1200. The frog is $1k. So for $200 extra it sounds like a decent step up. My son and I spend a lot of time on the trails. People drop $2k on a TV without batting an eye. The extra money (within reason) is a no brainer - especially given resale value of desirable brands. My daughter inherits the current 20" so our 16" Yoji is up for sale come the spring. Resale on those things is ridiculously good from what I can tell.

Really appreciate the insight. I feel like I've converged on a decision here. Even if the Scout doesn't arrive by xmas, i'll just gift him a picture - he's really chill about these things and will happily wait.

 

[chiefsilverback]

Chainreaction lists the scout 24 race @ $1200. The frog is $1k. So for $200 extra it sounds like a decent step up. My son and I spend a lot of time on the trails. People drop $2k on a TV without batting an eye. The extra money (within reason) is a no brainer - especially given resale value of desirable brands. My daughter inherits the current 20" so our 16" Yoji is up for sale come the spring. Resale on those things is ridiculously good from what I can tell.

Really appreciate the insight. I feel like I've converged on a decision here. Even if the Scout doesn't arrive by xmas, i'll just gift him a picture - he's really chill about these things and will happily wait.

You have to add shipping from Chain Reaction when you buy built bikes, so the total cost is $1340, and then you might as well get the Brand-X kids dropper they sell for another $135...

 

[JackieTreehorn]

You have to add shipping from Chain Reaction when you buy built bikes, so the total cost is $1340, and then you might as well get the Brand-X kids dropper they sell for another $135...

gotcha. makes sense.

 

[svinyard]

Looks its out of stock at ChainReaction: (you want to race model for sure, not the sport)

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/de/en/nukeproof-cub-scout-24-race-bike-deore-2021/rp-prod1961731

 

[JackieTreehorn]

Looks its out of stock at ChainReaction: (you want to race model for sure, not the sport)

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/de/en/nukeproof-cub-scout-24-race-bike-deore-2021/rp-prod1961731

Yeah, I signed up for email alerts on the Race model.

Who knows what will happen with the current supply chain disruptions. I work for an OEM in another industry. We have 3 months of inventory sitting on the water in Los Angeles waiting to unload. I suspect we'll see stockouts and flush inventory waves for some time. Buy those holiday gifts early!

 

[chiefsilverback]

Yeah, I signed up for email alerts on the Race model.

I lucked out twice with the email alerts, both times they came in as I was sitting at my computer and I had clicked ‘buy’ and completed the transaction within a couple of minutes. Bikes turned up 3 or so weeks later.

 

[jaybert]

You have to add shipping from Chain Reaction when you buy built bikes, so the total cost is $1340, and then you might as well get the Brand-X kids dropper they sell for another $135...

ah, their shipping charge must have gone up, def adds to the price of the bike / you have to be sure you want to keep it, since shipping it back is prohibitively expensive. I looked at returning a bike I bought from them last year and it was something like $250 to return through their shipping service, and guessing even more if I tried to pay it myself via UPS/DHL/whatever. I dont recall it being that expensive when we bought one last fall. Chain reaction has been super fast for delivery for me at least in Connecticut. If I pay for the expedited shipping via DHL, I receive the package the day after it reaches DHL from CRC even with them being 6 or however many hours ahead of us.

 

[nebio]

We have been very happy with the NukeProof Cub Scout race 24. I would recommend it, especially if you have another kiddo that will inherit it.

We wanted the Junit fork and it has been great. Much much better than the spinner grind air fork that was on our kiddos 20” early rider.
As many others have said, the Junit can be set up properly to work very well for the weight of a kid rider.

I swapped out the NukeProof’s cranks for some prevelo 140mm .
The upgrade ended up not costing much because it was really easy to sell the take-off Cranks on pinkbike.

I think my kid is envious of his buddies trailcraft on racing days. That one is definitely lighter but probably cost twice as much.
For all of our recreational riding on Rocky trails and at the bike park, NukeProof has been great. And it feels like a stout build that will last through a couple of kids (and, if history is an indicator, be easy to sell when they have outgrown it)

 

[JackieTreehorn]

Follow up post. Ended up returning the frog and waiting with itchy fingers for the Cub Scout race 24 to come back in stock. Well, that happened last week and it just arrived today. While the frog 62 was a nice bike, the scout really checks the boxes as a more serious rig.

I'm not going to the ding the scout for the extra shipping costs. So MSRP-MSRP, the scout is $200 more which gets you:

• J-Unit manitou fork vs unknown private label
• Deore group set vs Acera/Alivio mix
• nukeproof components throughout vs frog private label unknown
• Tubeless ready Maxxis tires vs not (not a huge deal, but still)
• Dropper post ready internal route vs not

And nukeproof has been in the MTB biz for a long time, so a brand I trust.
I'm really happy with the decision so thanks for the advice guys. 8 year old me from 30+ years ago burns with jealousy over this bike.

 

[weevie]

Good choice …