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the best Full Suspension for a 100pound 5' tall rider..??

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
my friend Tomer is allreally a pretty acomplish rider even if he is only Eleven years old,,

now he wants to get a Full suspension bike, currentlly he rides a kona Stuff,,that is totally trash from way to many stair gaps, jumps and crap like that..

so my question his,,what do you Gals & guys think is is the best platform for such a small person, he is very agresive , super strong (for his size) and totally fearless plus super skillful, but no matter what is he is tinny,,
just for fun the other day I let him ride my M-pire (set up for a 200 pound pig) and the suspension did not even move (Oviuslly) plus the bike was half his weight so he can harlly pedal it( many DH/FR rigs are about the same mass,even if they are size Extra small)...

so what do we look for,,
a 24" capable frame?
a very "Alive" suspension design,,?
I don't think he can handle more than 4"-5' inch of travel(does not need to since it has no body mass to suspend) but maybe you guys know better.
i never being confront with this dilemma since I'm always being kind of strong, clumssy and big,,when for sure Tomer is totally the opossite

thanks for the advice..money is not really the object here, we just need a cool bike that he can take advantage as much as possible..
 

Monkeybidnezz

Turbo Monkey
Dec 16, 2003
1,212
0
Pac NW
patineto said:
cool found the preston's
nice bike too...
The Rails a sweet bike, but I wouldn't recommend it for a guy his size. My bud has one built up for his team, and it's a tank. Trully a sweet frame, but the geometry isn't really set up for dhing imo.
 
Feb 13, 2002
1,087
17
Seattle, WA
Kona used to make a stinky Jr. which was exactly for groms like yours. It was a tiny frame with 24s on both ends.

Specialized makes the ghetto single-pivot big hits which I see a lot of groms on. They might come in a 24 inch version too.
 

Msisle Dad

Monkey
Jul 1, 2003
569
0
Catonsville, MD
Have you thought of a good 4" travel, Mtx bike ? weight should be the greatest concern...

My kid started on a Giant AC1 size small. 4-6" of rear travel. You could probably get one pretty cheap... We ran a 5" front fork. The bike was dh raced and slalomed
 

bigdrop05

Monkey
Mar 26, 2005
427
0
I will have a SMALL YETI asx frame for sale tonight.Like New.look in ads soon.

That might be a good choice for the young ripper ..
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
Monkeybidnezz said:
The Rails a sweet bike, but I wouldn't recommend it for a guy his size. My bud has one built up for his team, and it's a tank. Trully a sweet frame, but the geometry isn't really set up for dhing imo.
I agrre she looks a little masive,,we need Light, just because is overall power to weight ratio is pretty limited (actually is the other way Tomer is super strong for his size) but i don't want him to be "Crush" on a heavy bike..
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
TheMontashu said:
You might want to check out an extra small giant DH if you set the suspention up realy soft he will be fine ussing all of it
Is also a tinny M-pire at the flea market forum but i'm afraid we need something a little more Cross country,,

maybe is my fault I post the question on the downhill forum,Tomer still learning after all he is 11 so maybe is better go with a more multi use rig.

thanks for the suggestion
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
SirChomps-a-Lot said:
Kona used to make a stinky Jr. which was exactly for groms like yours. It was a tiny frame with 24s on both ends.

Specialized makes the ghetto single-pivot big hits which I see a lot of groms on. They might come in a 24 inch version too.

wow those two sound like what we need, i'm going to check them out.

thanks
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
Msisle Dad said:
Have you thought of a good 4" travel, Mtx bike ? weight should be the greatest concern...

My kid started on a Giant AC1 size small. 4-6" of rear travel. You could probably get one pretty cheap... We ran a 5" front fork. The bike was dh raced and slalomed

Exactlly my kind of thinking, even if money is not object, i think is pointless to be riding on a "super bike" like the Nicolai, i'm pretty sure in 1-2 year he will have anything worn out and wasted anyway..

thanks for the great advice
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
now for a semi technic question..

is any linkage or suspension design, that provide a very low rathio of leverage,,man i don't know how to express this,,,what i think we need is a bike with a suspension that moves extremlly easy, so we can have a "Pro-pedal" shock or something to control pedal motion but still super active (do to Tomer low mass) so he can take advante of ALL the travel of the bike as little as that will be.
again I don't think he needs more than 4'-5' inches, any more and the stand over and the bottom bracket will be ridiculous

please correct me if i'm wrong, maybe is the other way around.
 

oddblob

Chimp
Aug 4, 2004
78
0
Salem, Oregon
Ironhorse Yakuza Aniki Go-Ride.com has the 24" wheel version for $569 right now. Got one for my GF who's 5'2" and its a sweet bike for the money. 1.5" headtube, up to 7" of rear travel, air-assist Manitou fork, 8" Hayes Mech brakes, set up soft for lighter riders and tons of standover. I tried putting a 26" wheel on the front and it still worked great. Overall impression is that the bike is very solid. Heavy of course, but freeride bikes are. I was impressed with it, and REALLY impressed with it at that price...
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
7,674
Transylvania 90210
maybe it is just my lust for small bikes, but i think the preston is gonna be big for a 5' tall rider, even the small one with the 17" seat tube and 24's.

my vote, check out the 24" kona mentioned earlier, or the arrow ds3. that is a tough bike with a short seat tube and low standover. check them at go-ride.com
 

patineto

The RM Mad Scientist
Feb 19, 2002
935
0
berkeley, ca
here is little ToMeR riding the big Nicolai...

oviuslly my camara suck and I did not catch much action...







43 pound Bike 100 pound Kid,,, priceless
 

doc gravity

Monkey
Oct 25, 2004
152
0
highlands ranch, CO
The rumor mill has it that Norco won't be building the B-line (their small frame 24") for 06. The Specialized is sorta so-so, We've get a couple of kids on the Mojo team riding them. They're only spec'd out OK, nothing great. I've got a grom who's ridden the whole mountain states series on a stinky jr. It's been a great bike! The frame is solid (also a little heavy). The rear suspension gives about 4 inches of travel (Vanilla R). Initially we had the stock MZ comp up front, but have since switched that out. All in all it's a very good bike for a little guy, great for downhill and hucking, a little heavy for 4X or pure jumping. Any questions we can help with, send a PM. scott
 

1000-Oaks

Monkey
May 8, 2003
778
0
Simi Valley, CA
Are the Mountain Cycle San Andreas frames any good? Some of the older ones can be found pretty cheap, and the standover looks really low. My GF is 5', so I'm looking for something too.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I have a short Specialized SX for sale for 400 OBO. There's a guy in my town with one who's this kids size and he loves his. PM me if you're interested.