No, haven't been, but your description seems about others described it. I'm game either way!
Kids in downhill biking....your thoughts?
- Thread starter kickstand
- Start date
We'd be down for something also. Gotta pry the kid off the park bike though - he's hardly touched the mtb all summmer. Been hitting either the local skateparks or Rye Airfield pretty much daily (that's another place that every kid that rides should get a chance to check out.)
What's his park bike? Just ordered up one of these for my 5 yr old daughter. Can't wait to hit the skateparks with her on it!
Her current bike is an Intense Micro Mini bmx, which is great for a lot of things, but skatepark isn't one of them...
lilshredder.com
those seem to be awesome... thinking about getting one for my little nephew...
those seem to be awesome... thinking about getting one for my little nephew...
Haro 116, up til last week anyway.
http://www.harobikes.com/bmx/bikes/116,-118,-124/116-2012
It's his second Haro 16"er - the last was pretty nice, but older (hand-down from his older brother). The newer ones have the downsized drivetrain, shorter CS, got rid of the gyro and all that crap. Real solid little bike, but pretty heavy, better than half his weight. Didn't seem to slow him up much on it. Agree - the race bikes don't cut it in the park.
I dunno if I'd go down to the 12" tho; if she's rocking the 18"s on the race bike, i'd think she should be fine on the 16", specially at the rate they grow.
As of last week, he moved up to an 18" Premium Big Rig.
Oh, the pic that shows up on the link is of a 12, but she's getting the 16. Watching the video of Max Wu in that video makes me wonder a little tho. He's bigger than she is, too. But I figure she'll be riding more than just park on it, so 16 should work better. Her micro has 20" wheels, too.
Last edited:
xander rips a SE lil wildman as a "park bike" though we don't have much park around us.
bought it from amish matt here on the board about 2-3 years ago now.
giro also removed.
bought it from amish matt here on the board about 2-3 years ago now.
giro also removed.
I don't want to be the "technicality" police.
But I was once told the micro has 18" wheels and the mini has 20" wheels.
The Micro/mini IMO is the coolest bike ever invented, our kids have done so much on them, and they are so nice and light it's a nice bike for them to use for a variety of things, instead of that heavy walmart ****.
Yeah, I think most Micro's are 18(ish). Intense lists theirs as 20's, but I'd double check before buying tires. Also the 20's have a different ID than 'standard' 20" BMX tires (rule of thumb I heard is you need to buy tires where the size shows a fraction rather than a decimal. YMMV)
We used his Redline Mini for trail riding as well as racing until he was big enough to fit a 24" Spec Hotrock. They come with disc mounts on the frame and fork, so we changed the wheels, put on a bash, BB7 discs, some Arrow/Funn wheels with big fat tires, upgraded some cockpit bits to make it a little DH machine. I've got an order in with Sunday River for one of their Stinky 2-4 rental bikes once they rotate fleet and sell of the old ones; that'll be the next rig.
We used his Redline Mini for trail riding as well as racing until he was big enough to fit a 24" Spec Hotrock. They come with disc mounts on the frame and fork, so we changed the wheels, put on a bash, BB7 discs, some Arrow/Funn wheels with big fat tires, upgraded some cockpit bits to make it a little DH machine. I've got an order in with Sunday River for one of their Stinky 2-4 rental bikes once they rotate fleet and sell of the old ones; that'll be the next rig.
You'll have to take that up with Intense.
Her bike is at school right now, but I'm pretty sure from loading it in the rack that the wheels are the same size as my bmx.The Cult cc16 showed up yesterday - weighs in at 19 lbs with big steel handlebars. I'll need to change out the bars and seat probably, but she had a blast just railing it around the cul de sac. That confirms my thought that the bigger, narrower wheels on the mini were keeping her from letting loose a bit, almost like the difference between a cruiser and a niner for someone my size....
wrong I could be, i just recall someone correcting me on the terminology.
either way the mini 20" wheels are actually something like 20-1/8. I can't recall exactly, but they are indeed slightly different then a traditional 20" bmx bike.
*edit*
Just wnet and measured.
My 20" bmx bike wheels are 16.5 ish diameter (ish because they are on the bike so measurement is only close) sidewall says 20x1.85
The kids "mini" bmx bikes measure just about 18" diameter, tire size was 20x1-1/8
I am not sure on a "micro" as I don't have one in the garage.
Not that any of it matters all that much as long as the kids are stoked on riding
either way the mini 20" wheels are actually something like 20-1/8. I can't recall exactly, but they are indeed slightly different then a traditional 20" bmx bike.
*edit*
Just wnet and measured.
My 20" bmx bike wheels are 16.5 ish diameter (ish because they are on the bike so measurement is only close) sidewall says 20x1.85
The kids "mini" bmx bikes measure just about 18" diameter, tire size was 20x1-1/8
I am not sure on a "micro" as I don't have one in the garage.
Not that any of it matters all that much as long as the kids are stoked on riding
Last edited:
New seat, bars and sprocket on the Cult 16 got it down to just over 18 lbs. We hit the Frisco bike park this weekend, and she adapted to the new bike really quickly. She actually overshot the first jump on the small line once or twice. Gotta find some other pedals for it, tho - the stock plastic ones are small but kinda thick, and she slipped them a number of times riding around town. Too bad Canfield doesn't make a mini Crampon...
I've been eyeing these pedals for my young gun in order to ditch the plastic as well -
https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefront/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1811
https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefront/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1811
Thanks - those look pretty decent, especially for the price. If I had the $, I'd pick up a set of Straitline Amps for her. I think the lack of exposed axle would actually work better for her.
These are super light and cheap. They work great for little feet.
236 g for the pair.
178 g for the ti.
http://www.hti-pedals.com/ht_portal/product/list?cname=pedal&cname2=road&productCname=cheetah
236 g for the pair.
178 g for the ti.
http://www.hti-pedals.com/ht_portal/product/list?cname=pedal&cname2=road&productCname=cheetah
Last edited:
Those look great - how thick are they? Where'd you get them?
Speaking of awesome...that's a helluva sweet spot; the kid's asking when we can go.
Yeah, sorry bud, that's a little far for a road trip right now.
They are thin. I got them off ebay for cheap.
They're listed as 'road use' on the HT site... Should be fine for a kid, though.
Just took my 7 year old son out for a couple runs down Green World at Trestle- he had a blast on his Hotrock 20. Yeah- best day ever.
Quickly scheming on how to put together a Stinky 24 for next season...
If the kid can stop safely and handle speed then let 'em rip!
My son was racing local freeride/dh tracks at 6 but he didn't make it onto a lift assisted park until he was 9...primarily due to logistics. Sure, he's slower than other riders but you can plan that out so it's not an inconvenience to everyone else. Wait for a lull in the riders up top and let them know that you'll be going slow on the way down. I've never had someone get pissy when they came up on us and I just taught him to pull off the trail quickly if a rider rolled up from behind...heck, most riders were super encouraging and stoked to see kids on the trail. There were times, however, when I regretted sending him down certain trails that were obviously above his skill level or when he wasn't as confident as he could have been, but he did progress quickly and really enjoys riding DH now that he's 12 and able to throw his bike around more.
At least now he's big enough to push his own friggin bike up the non-lift assisted trails
(I was always so smoked by my race run from pushing two bikes up the hills at every race! )
Look at kids like Phillip Steele...I think he just turned 11 and he's been bombing snowshoe since he was 6 or 7 on a fully 20"...the kid's a beast.
My son was racing local freeride/dh tracks at 6 but he didn't make it onto a lift assisted park until he was 9...primarily due to logistics. Sure, he's slower than other riders but you can plan that out so it's not an inconvenience to everyone else. Wait for a lull in the riders up top and let them know that you'll be going slow on the way down. I've never had someone get pissy when they came up on us and I just taught him to pull off the trail quickly if a rider rolled up from behind...heck, most riders were super encouraging and stoked to see kids on the trail. There were times, however, when I regretted sending him down certain trails that were obviously above his skill level or when he wasn't as confident as he could have been, but he did progress quickly and really enjoys riding DH now that he's 12 and able to throw his bike around more.
At least now he's big enough to push his own friggin bike up the non-lift assisted trails
(I was always so smoked by my race run from pushing two bikes up the hills at every race! )
Look at kids like Phillip Steele...I think he just turned 11 and he's been bombing snowshoe since he was 6 or 7 on a fully 20"...the kid's a beast.
Last edited:
My daughter has those on her mini...awesome pedals!I've been eyeing these pedals for my young gun in order to ditch the plastic as well -
https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefront/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1811
I rode the chair up a few times with him this weekend, super fast rider, and a nice kid to boot!
fantastic video! the things that kid says during his run are awesome
My guy got some more hardware at the bmx track this weekend. 1st on saturday night, 3rd sunday afternoon.
Awesome!
Just got my oldest a Hotrock 24" and a local hooked me up with a 50mm stem for it. It's an '06 that came w/ Tektro V brakes and some RST fork that has a dodgy looking disc mount. Rear does not have a disc mount. Thought for sure I'd upgrade it over time, but no disc on rear will be a limiter.
I want to find a hair more agressive tires for her, but don't know where to start there. Also, the fork looks like it is literally made specific to the application as a 24" boinger. Is there a cheap way to upgrade the fork? Some brand that's got a light spring? I assume if I stick a fork off a 26" bike, it's gonna be a chopper.
On to the Gromhit thread.....
I want to find a hair more agressive tires for her, but don't know where to start there. Also, the fork looks like it is literally made specific to the application as a 24" boinger. Is there a cheap way to upgrade the fork? Some brand that's got a light spring? I assume if I stick a fork off a 26" bike, it's gonna be a chopper.
On to the Gromhit thread.....
a short travel 26" fork doesn't chopper it out too bad. You'd be surprised.
We have a hot rock in the garage, "best birthday present ever"
I noticed with the kids they don't appreciate good suspension enough yet to even care what fork is on there, they may in a few years, but until then I'm just sticking with the junk that comes on their bikes.
On the flipside the marzochi that came stock on my sons gromhit with the coil removed running just air cart works pretty well, maybe you can get your hands on something like that?
race ready....
Letting my son do his first downhill race this weekend. Just a local race on an old sand dune turned ski hill. I'll try to grab some gopro footage.
Letting my son do his first downhill race this weekend. Just a local race on an old sand dune turned ski hill. I'll try to grab some gopro footage.
To give an idea where Xander is at.
The best time on this course was 2:24, my time was 2:33, the fastest woman (who happens to be the GF of the fastest dude lol) ran a 3:00.
Xander turned in a 4:05. He's 7, and weighs about 45lbs. I thought he did pretty good, on his first run it was snowing when he went off. There was a fair amount of pedaling.
Last edited:
Ours has that exact same flame job on it, but is' blue/black. Was trying to think of ways to girl it up for her. Hers is only 7 speed and she might need a few more gears for big uphills but her's has a dedicated single ring and guide.a short travel 26" fork doesn't chopper it out too bad. You'd be surprised.
We have a hot rock in the garage, "best birthday present ever"
I noticed with the kids they don't appreciate good suspension enough yet to even care what fork is on there, they may in a few years, but until then I'm just sticking with the junk that comes on their bikes.
On the flipside the marzochi that came stock on my sons gromhit with the coil removed running just air cart works pretty well, maybe you can get your hands on something like that?
Oh, and it needs decent trail tires of any sort b/c the ones on it are horrible. Only 24" tires I can find online are for BMX bikes.
Last edited:
agree, 24" tire offerings are pretty slim too, I have looked quite a bit and can't find much. If you do let me know.
I wanted to 1x7 both kids bikes but decided it really wasn't worth the $$ to convert them. So I just left them be.
Arrow Bite 2.1 at 690g, 790g, 990g-Arrow tires are cheap and you can order them directly from them.
Kenda Nevegal at 1150g
Last edited:
email sent. Valuable thread folks. Let's keep 'em riding.
The Arrow Bite in a 2.1 is available in folding Kevlar for $30 and steel for $20. Anybody have both? These would go on a HotRock 24", not a Grom DH. Any reasons to run one versus the other? Steel bead would actually cost more to ship, so cost winds up being almost the same.
Just bought 1 single Arrow Bite LT 2.1 floating around in a pawn shop's Ebay site for $27 shipped. Tallk about random. It'll be here tomorrrow.
Last edited:
Bump.
Looks like we may be planning a trip here for Memorial Day weekend. It's a little over 9.5 hour drive for us if we cut through canada.
Anyone else going to be around with kids?
Looks like we may be planning a trip here for Memorial Day weekend. It's a little over 9.5 hour drive for us if we cut through canada.
Anyone else going to be around with kids?