[bpatterson6]

My Daughter is now 8 and almost 49" tall. She's growing fast! She's a pretty tough one too. To those of you who have kids that started young. At what age did you start taking them on trails, what kind of bike would be good for a girl who is interested in learning to ride? Do you think the following bikes would be too big for her?

I'm thinking something like a used Specialized Gromhit.

Or maybe this Commencal supreme 24 setup low:

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Gary]

Dunno if any of this will help you at all but my eldest is 8 too and I first took her out with me in a trailer on tame XC trails before she was 1 then onto a tag-a-long at around 3 (she already had a balance bike by then). She learned to ride a bike without training wheels at 4 but I only started taking her mountainbiking on her own bike when she was 5 on easier natural trails and on easier local (scottish) trail centre XC routes, she's not really into biking that much but does enjoy the odd mtb ride as long as I make it fun.

she's about 7" taller than your girl and rides a 24" Spesh hotrock. She's always had exceptionally good slow speed balance and control IMO and takes instruction very easliy but just doesn't feel all that confident at high speeds, over properly rough/uneven ground, steep slopes or jumps/compressions so I tend not to push her into anything she's not confident with until she's ready but personally I wouldn't buy her a full sus bike unless she suddenly starts to want to push harder on the rides we do and the hardtail clearly is holding her back.
oh.. and even at her height I think those two bikes you posted up are too big/heavy for her just yet anyway.

 

[Sonic Reducer]

trying to remember what it was like to start mountain biking as a kid(10) on a trek 24" kids bike with SIS and steel parts i think you would definitely want to get them something with a granny gear, lighter weight, and not too big. climbs can get pretty brutal to a kid. a quasi freeride bike with a single chainring and burly frame/parts seems very overkill for an 8 year old kid until they start to get serious and need it. plus if she is growing fast it seems pretty pointless to drop a load of cash on a bike that she will outgrow very fast and not be able to fully appreciate its capabilities anyway. an XS hardtail frame xc bike set up with 24" wheels, 50mm stem, and short cranks would be good.

 

[bpatterson6]

Thanks for the input. I'm definitely not gonna get her either bike right now.
I guess she's way too little still. I'll need to search for other bikes and see what I can find. Do you guys have any suggestions? She's a good rider and rides her brother's BMX bike frequently. She likes to ride the trails by our house and hit small bumps and jumps currently. She doesn't really jump but rolls them and she loves getting a little tiny bit of air. She's gonna start racing BMX in February. She's pretty excited about that. She's dying to get on some trails and ride with me...

 

[stoney]

Think BMX race. That's where my dad started me. The bikes fit, were light, and I was able to ride any trail that was not supremely steep.

 

[bpatterson6]

Think BMX race. That's where my dad started me. The bikes fit, were light, and I was able to ride any trail that was not supremely steep.

Thats where I started too. Although when I started in 1977 BMX bikes were hardly made for little kids. My dad ran a machine shop. He took an SE Frame and cut it down to size and made one small enough for me. Before I knew it I had 1-3/8 wheels and then later the lighter sew ups. I raced BMX for 10 hard years from the age of 6 until I was 16. She's been dying to do it. I've got her hooked up with a bike and she's ready to go.

 

[stoney]

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/archives/2010-proline--junior

 

[doc gravity]

Billy,
Matt started when he was 8, actually started with more gravity stuff and has only worked his way into XC in the last several years. Part of that was cost, you can only have so many bikes. The second was that in some ways gravity is relatively easier for younger ones. You have a lift or push up and gravity helps offset the weight of the bike on the way down.
Wish we'd started BMX sooner, it's clearly a very cost and time-effective way to learn racing skills. On the flip side Angel fire was Matt's first DH track and this year will mark his 7th season competing there.
It also seems like there are more options available for XS all-mountain or cross country rides then there used to be. Developing trail skills and racing XC or Super-D is another great way to start.
Scott

 

[weedkilla]

I got my lad started at about 7 on a 20" psuedo mtb, just because that was what fitted him. By about 8 i got him on a small dj frame with 24" wheels. At that age xc trails and VERY mild dh trails were able to offer all the challenges he could ask for! He started racing dh a year after on limited tracks, soon after an old spec big hit donated its frame for a 24" build, at 10 he is nearly outgrown the big hit (with 26" wheels) and a new frame for him is on its way. The dj frame got rebuilt as a single speed for riding with his mates and he has just started to ride xc on it - this was almost a nescessity(for him) as his Grom is a pig to ride around and just be a kid. All this was done with random scraps from my shed and fleabay/local 2nd hand stuff.

As has been mentioned shuttling held the most appeal as he could use his limited endurance just to do the fun bits and learn the skills to ride off road. It is really only now that he can enjoy a 1hr xc loop, if he continues to enjoy it then maybe the dj will gain gears again. (It'll be a pity, single speed is gold for reliability under kids!)

Everything was a stepping stone in hindsight, but he is on his way to being a fully fledged cyclist who just wants to be on 2 wheels and outdoors. Best of luck, its a rewarding part of parenting for me and I get some fantastic son/dad moments sitting on the top of a hill.

BTW I am about to repeat the process with my Daughter!

 

[Kntr]

My daughter started when she was 5yo on a 20".

She started riding the Gromhit when she was 7 and it was a little big, but she rode it at Silver Star and Whistler. Did a few things to it and got the bike downt to 31 lbs. It was 34.5 lbs stock. I changed the pedals, tires, tubes, seat, seatpost, and handlebar.

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