[earthresin]

Hello all and happy holidays!

Continuing to drink too much coffee researching the next bike for my 9 year old that is 55.5" tall. He has outgrown most of the capabilities of his Yama Jama 24 and specifically the Reba 26 on that bike. I've looked at 27.5 a bit but think it might be a hair much for his age/height/strength considering the loose southwest climbing we end up riding.

What are everyone's thoughts on the Reaper 26? Any input on that bike in general as well as the Recon Gold (Debonair) and Monarch R shock? I like that it's a 130/130 bike with good geo adjustability, and that we could throw a 24" wheelset onto it for his younger sister down the road.

My main concerns other than the fork/shock performance (simply not familiar with them) is the crank length. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[svinyard]

We've ridden that bike a bit in the 26". Its an interesting bike but kind of all over the place in a few areas. Obviously it can certainly be ripped hard tho because kids that shred, can shred most decent bikes. There's some stuff I like about it like the drivetrain, Rear center length and HTA and adjustable linkage etc (I ride a RM Instinct). It's a fun little bike and the low standover works well. I've seen it sent off 15ft+ drops and hold up. Here are the things that I didn't care for.

1- Geometry...this is key. Its a very very short bike. The reach is less than your 24" Yama Jama if I recall. I do think this helps some small kids who are shredding a 24" pretty well but its not ideal. Reach is 340mm and a 24" Ripcord is 365mm. 26" YT Primus is 390. Its a 26" rear triangle paired with a 24" front triangle that's then overforked via the recon.
2- The fork isn't super great for the price. Fwiw most kids/XS bikes have these rockshox recon forks. Its not as bad as the silver versions but not great.
3- yeah the cranks are a bit too long. 150-155 would be more proper.
4- The tires seem pretty narrow and just seemed oddly unfamiliar for the familiar Minion label. They don't look much like our 24" DHF/DHR2 that the kids are running. More of a trail tire in my estimate I guess.

A couple of options:
1- Buy the YT Primus 26" 2300$. YT has barely raised their prices at all and this is a sick bike and the fork is actually a JUnit Expert fork I heard (a guy emailed YT and confirmed it). Worst case its a comp version and you just need to get the expert spring put in. Most high-end kids bikes with JUnit forks are like 3100-3400$. YT's used to be a great value...now they are an insane value. They look sick too. Its not a perfect spec (that SX drive train is lame) but you could easily swap the drivetrain with the money saved.
2- Get an XS 27.5 bike from around 2018/2019 (shorter geometry back then) that's lightly used and throw 26" wheels on it (can likely get a pair built for 600$ish) and short cranks. It'll have geometry similar enough to the YT and the smaller wheels will help keep it manageable. Not always easy to find these days tho if its cheaper, the fork isn't going to be very nice. That YT is a pretty sick ride tho and I think plenty of kids (non-XC) could be rocking 26" wheels and doing just fine. Hell Semenuk won rampage on a 26/27.5 mullet bike.


EDIT: ah crap...YT stuff is freaking sold out now. Seems like everyone got hot for a new bike a couple months ago and got on the pre-order wagon. The Reaper would certainly work for you short term.

Third option: a Reaper 27.5 and then purchase 26" wheels for now. The reach on the 27.5 reaper is about 370mm so short for an XS but pretty dialed for a kid around 56" I'd guess. You could even just try out the 27.5 setup, maybe it works "enough" to get you buy or worst case you buy the smaller wheels. A shop is selling these on PinkBike for 2800$.

 

[jaybert]

1- Geometry...this is key. Its a very very short bike. The reach is less than your 24" Yama Jama if I recall. I do think this helps some small kids who are shredding a 24" pretty well but its not ideal. Reach is 340mm and a 24" Ripcord is 365mm. 26" YT Primus is 390. Its a 26" rear triangle paired with a 24" front triangle that's then overforked via the recon.
2- The fork isn't super great for the price. Fwiw most kids/XS bikes have these rockshox recon forks. Its not as bad as the silver versions but not great.
3- yeah the cranks are a bit too long. 150-155 would be more proper.
4- The tires seem pretty narrow and just seemed oddly unfamiliar for

Thanks for the review. Any thoughts on minimum height for the reaper 26? My 9yo son is currently riding a ripcord, and is def. on the short side (51"). He's ripping on the ripcord right now on the flow, but is gets bogged down vs. the other kids at the camp he does at one of the bike parks because they're all older and on 27.5/29" wheels (possibly a 26" in there, but def. no other 24"s). Curious if the low reach would work in his favor, though I assume he will have standover issues. Just wondering when I might be able to get him on a 26".