[bpatterson6]

My boy who's 7 and will be 8 in june will begin riding this upcoming spring. He's 51" tall and weighs about 55lbs at the moment but eating everything in sight.
I'm looking for an xs full suspension rig for him so he can start joining in on our regular shuttles. Does anyone know of any high end companies that make some sort of full suspension type frames small enough for a build. I'd like it to be as light as possible. I'm thinking xs frame, reduced travel sc air fork, Light as possible 24" wheels (tubeless) and as short of cranks as I can get (152mm?). Advice appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dropmachine]

Get him a hardtail so he'll learn right. FS will only make him learn wrong.

Look at the Kona 24 lineup.

 

[Zark]

Kona Stinky Jr.
Specialized Big Hit grom

Both of these are 24" duallies that should do the job.

 

[sanjuro]

Yeah, I would get a Big Hit Grom. It is still available from the Specialized warehouse, and you could get a smoking deal on that bike....

 

[kona-ryder]

I second the 'make him learn on a hardtale' idea. A dually will only make him lazier. If you have your mind set on a dual sus rig, then take a serious look at a Kona Stinky 2-4. They discontinued the Junior, but the 2-4 replaced it. My freinds little bro got one for Christmas last year and it has taken all the abuse he can dish out.

 

[ViciousDHer]

hardtail frame with disc brakes. 26" front 24" rear to slacken it. Thats what My son started Downhilling on when He was 7.

 

[flyboy]

i went through the exact same pain you're going through now, and I just ended it 3 says ago with a specialize bighit grom. my son has a hardtail, with 26/26 for a slack angle and it simply does not work as well as it may sound. those hard tails beat them up, and the little ones dont have the strengh or stamina to stay on the mountain for more than 2-3 runs on a hardtail. if you want them to have fun, and stay with you get them a fs rig. as far as the stinky 2-4 goes i'm sure it's a great bike, but the grom is 1/3 the price, the same component spec, and a lower stand over. i also don't buy the "put them on a hardtail and make them learn the right way" story. what will teach them more: riding all day hitting all the runs, or gettting beat up and tossed around for 3-4 runs at best? your call. one warning though, no matter what bike you get, unless you want to change components for buku more $, expect to buy it at 35#'s or so.

 

[kona-ryder]

^^^
Bighit Specs:
Marzocchi MZ Comp Front Shock
Hydraulically damped coil over rebound adjust Rear Shock
Oversized Handlebars
Hayes HMX-2 HD Mechanical Disc Front Brake
Hayes HMX-2 XC Mechanical Disc Rear Brake
Tektro Jr "V" Brake Levers
Shimano RD-MC20 Alivio Rear Derailleur
Shimano SL-MC20 Alivio Shifters
Shimano HG-50 8-speed Cassette
Truvativ Hussefelt, ISIS Crank
Truvativ DH, ISIS Bottom Bracket
Sun DitchWitch 24" Rims
Specialized Roller 24x2.3 Tires
Specialized Jumping Saddle

Kona Stinky 2-4:
13" Frame w/24" Wheels
Frame tubing Kona Clump 7005 Aluminum 4" Travel
Rear Shock Fox Vanilla R
Fork MARZOCCHI DIRT JUMPER 3 100mm travel coil
Braze-on fittings 1 bottle, fender eyelets
Headset TH w/Big Nut
Crankarms FSA Gravity Maximus ISIS
Chainrings PC Guard /33/22
B/B RPM ISIS DH
Pedals Kona Jack****
Chain Shimano CN-HG50
Freewheel Shimano CS-HG40 (12-30, 8speed)
F/D Shimano Deore
R/D Shimano Deore
Shifters Shimano Alivio
Handlebar Kona DH Aluminum Riser
Stem Kona Clump
Grips Cowan Signature
Brakes Hayes SOLE V6 w/SRL Short Reach Lever
Brake Levers Hayes SOLE V6 w/SRL Short Reach Lever
Front hub KK Disc
Rear hub Shimano FH-M475 disc
Spokes Stainless 14g front and rear
Tires Maxxis High Roller 24 x 2.5
Rims Alex DM-24
Saddle Kona DJ
Seatpost Kona Double Thumb
Seat clamp Kona QR
Color Dark Matt Blue/Black

Since when are those the same component spec. Some of the more glarring differences are:
1. Stinky has hydrolic discs, Big**** has mechanical
2. Stinky has 9speed Deore deralier, Bighit has 8speed Alivo
3. Sinky has Dirt Jump III fork, Bighit has MZ Comp.
4. Stinky has Fox rear shock, Bighit has no name knock off brand x-fusion
5. Stinky has front deralier and granny, Bighit has one ring (especially for an underhorse powered little kid, that is a big difference)

Both bikes are good, I was just trying to point out that there are deffinite reasons that the Stinky is more expensive. If you kid ever starts to huck, there will be component on both bikes that you will want to change, just more on the Bighit.

 

[sbabuser]

Gettin the little guy out for some dh Billy? Sweet.
I'm not sure disc brakes are such a necessity for someone who weighs less than 60 lbs. But suspension, on the other hand... Let's compare dh with motocross - how many real kids mx'ers do you see that are hardtails? None. And how many beginner mx bikes have drum brakes? Lots.
I'd say so long as he learns to dj on a hardtail, the full suspension dh bike should round out the quiver nicely.
Another bike to add to the list: Norco B Line.
If it was for my kid and I had money to burn: keep it light, build up your own 24" wheels and run some lite bmx cranks and xc parts. Too bad you can't get a 24" Fox fork, so you could get it Push'd...
And the best part is you can hand it down to your little girl when she's old enough.

 

[kona-ryder]

Gettin the little guy out for some dh Billy? Sweet.
I'm not sure disc brakes are such a necessity for someone who weighs less than 60 lbs. But suspension, on the other hand... Let's compare dh with motocross - how many real kids mx'ers do you see that are hardtails? None. And how many beginner mx bikes have drum brakes? Lots.

Thats not a fair comparrison at all. They dont even make mx bike that are 'hartdales'. The speeds that you reach on a mx bike far exceed that on which you reach on a bike. The rear sus on a mx bike is a must, so that the rear wheel stays in contact with the ground when you are going uphill at 20mph. The hardtale will teach a kid how to ride, rather than they can just ride over all of the rocks and roots.

 

[BikeMike]

I don't know where you'd get 152 mm cranks, but I do know that my friend growing up had a sweet MTB that his dad set up with cranks that had been drilled and tapped higher up, then cut off and smoothed out.

 

[jcook90]

hardtail frame with disc brakes. 26" front 24" rear to slacken it. Thats what My son started Downhilling on when He was 7.

i'd listen to him, maybe your son will end up like his.

i started on a hardtail a few years ago, it taught me some stuff about riding, then i got a FS and it was sooo much faster. i'm gonna go back to a hardtail though and try and get a bit flowyier. maybe you could start with a hardtail for a few months and then sell it and get a FS once he gets the basic skills down

 

[coma13]

assuming the kid already rides a bike regularly (i'd assume so since you're talking about taking him on full-on dh shuttle runs) i don't see a problem with starting him on a full suspension bike. it's the right tool for the application and he'll have more fun and be more likely to continue later rather than get bummed and move on.

you can get profile mini-mags down to 145mm straight from the factory too I believe... Look at bmx mini cranks, that'll be your best bet for short lengths.

 

[sbabuser]

Thats not a fair comparrison at all. They dont even make mx bike that are 'hartdales'. The speeds that you reach on a mx bike far exceed that on which you reach on a bike. The rear sus on a mx bike is a must, so that the rear wheel stays in contact with the ground when you are going uphill at 20mph. The hardtale will teach a kid how to ride, rather than they can just ride over all of the rocks and roots.

I'm not sure what sport you're talking about, but Billy wants to get his boy into dh, where speeds can easily equal that of a beginner mx bike, and courses generally run over rocks, roots and the nasty stuff that hardtails teach you to ride around. And dunno if you've ever ridden mx, but the rear suspension is not primarily for going uphill over bumps... It's to allow for some forgiveness for botched lines and jumps, the exact thing that a beginner dh kid's bike should have.
Now if he was interested in making the kid the best all around cyclist ever, then yes, a hardtail would be a good idea, and maybe he should take up trials riding as well, but that would be a different thread...
I think mx is a lot more similar sport to dh than xc or bmx.

 

[kona-ryder]

I'm not sure what sport you're talking about, but Billy wants to get his boy into dh, where speeds can easily equal that of a beginner mx bike, and courses generally run over rocks, roots and the nasty stuff that hardtails teach you to ride around. And dunno if you've ever ridden mx, but the rear suspension is not primarily for going uphill over bumps... It's to allow for some forgiveness for botched lines and jumps, the exact thing that a beginner dh kid's bike should have.
Now if he was interested in making the kid the best all around cyclist ever, then yes, a hardtail would be a good idea, and maybe he should take up trials riding as well, but that would be a different thread...
I think mx is a lot more similar sport to dh than xc or bmx.

Yes, I understand that Billy wants to get his kid into DH. The speeds of a beginger DH rider will never exceed that of a beginer mx bike. Hardtales dont teach you to ride around stuff, they teach you how to use your body to deal with object, they teach you how to pick a line, they teach you how to pick the line of least resistance. They also teach you how to stick a landing. With a dualy, you can land at an angle and the suspension will bail you out. If you learn that you can land crooked, then there is no incentive to land straight. When I was about 12 my dad bought me a used Norco Rampage with a DJ II. In that same month, my best freinds dad bought him a 5X5 inch trail bike. For the first two years he was better than me. He could ride over stuff without trouble that I had to pick a line and absorb with my body. Then I bought a Stinky and he bought a Norco Shore. Now that we were on level playing feilds, guess who is the better rider? I can beat him everytime, merely because I am a better rider, because I learned to feel the trail.

 

[gemini2k]

just get him a hardtail, Saw tons of kids around 10ish or younger years old rocking shuttle trails in New zealand on hardtails and they were ripping and probably better for it. And they were ROUGH trails. Plus less stuff to break. SS hardtail with 130mm fork will give him the simplicity he needs to enjoy stuff and let him focus on riding.

I think if i could do it over again i'd stick with just a hardtail for longer, but now i don't have the willpower to give up my big bike :'(

 

[PatBranch]

hardtail frame with disc brakes. 26" front 24" rear to slacken it. Thats what My son started Downhilling on when He was 7.

I agree with a hardtail... Even if it's just for a little while, it would teach him to choose lines rather than just go straight over things (like a FS could allow him). A hardtail would also make it easier to learn how to handle the bike, w/o a shock interfering.Another thing is that he would have to go slower on rough stuff, which could prevent him from going too fast and out of control. That would teach him to smooth out the trail.

A hardtail would be cheaper and lighter.

I know from experience. I rode a hardtail for everything (even dh trails like Tunnel, in SB) for almost a year. Now, I ride a bullit and I think i'm pretty smooth and much faster, although, I still enjoy downhilling a hardtail.

 

[Transfer]

The Stinky 2-4 is frickin sweet for a kid. Blows the Grom out of the water. I just wonder how stiff that DJIII is though.

 

[geeksher18]

My 7 year old rides a GT Chucker 20 hardtail and loves it. It is a very nice hard tail frame with 20" wheels, and I have gradually been upgrading parts. My older son has a Haro 24" FS bike that he has pretty much out grown, but it is still too big for the 7 year old.
We don't do any real DH, but he has a blast on some of the local trails.

 

[doc gravity]

I've got a 9 year old who has just completed his 2nd full season of the mountain states cup, and I think there's something to be said for both the hardtail as well as squishy schools of thought.
He actually started on a stinky jr and then got a stuff 2-4 last year. Both great bikes, I'm biased, but I think the stinky would eat the SPEC alive.
When he first started, there is no doubt he learned some bad habits because of the full suspension. He could survive hits that would have been much better to have been finessed. He has actually become a much better jumper working out with both a HT and a BMX bike.
In terms of getting down the hill, the FS allowed him to progress much more rapidly. His Stinky is set up for durability and weighed in a month ago at 38#2oz. when you weigh 68 lbs, you don't move the bike as much as any comparable adult. You get comfortable in the center of the cockpit and let the bike do it's thing (when was the last time any of you tried manuevering a 85-95# bike down the angelfire course?) The FS lets you get much more comfortable with jumping, speed, and keeping up with other riders. As his skills and strength have improved, he's started to make additional progress with the precision that HT bikes require. Both bikes have a role, and I think you need both for developing a balanced rider at a young age, but I think the security a FS provides is not bad for a first bike.

Stinky Jr
Modified Psylo up front
mag 30s in 24" (an absolutely great wheelset) ringle hubs
2.5 nevegals
hope 4 pistons
stock Vanilla R with a heavier spring
E13 hussfelts Shimano spd

Stuff 2-4
stockfork is marginal
Hayes sole brakes a pain to bleed, but what do you expect for entry level

anyway, my .02, peace, scott