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Best first kids mtb (4-5 year old)?

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Best first kids mtb (4-5 year old)?

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flag johnhebs
O+
Posted: Jun 21, 2020 at 13:21 Quote
Our son is starting to ride on trails with me when I run and ride. He's 4 now but pretty big for his age and has been riding a 16" Woom 3 bike. While he's doing fine, he does get bounced around a lot, and since he's close to outgrowing this bike, was thinking that it could be a good idea to get a suspension fork on his next bike to help make the ride a little better.

After a bit of research, it appears there are many options across a wide price range. Is there any common wisdom on these forums as to the best brand(s) for a first 20" kids MTB?

From what I can see, Prevelo, Norco, Trailcraft, Woom and Flow all seem to have pretty good options, but I can't tell the differences between them, or the weight for all of them (since he's a bit young, weight is a consideration - the light woom bikes have been very helpful I think).

Any thoughts or advice from folks here? Thanks in advance!!!
flag BobAG
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 21, 2020 at 13:34 Quote
johnhebs wrote:
Our son is starting to ride on trails with me when I run and ride. He's 4 now but pretty big for his age and has been riding a 16" Woom 3 bike. While he's doing fine, he does get bounced around a lot, and since he's close to outgrowing this bike, was thinking that it could be a good idea to get a suspension fork on his next bike to help make the ride a little better.

After a bit of research, it appears there are many options across a wide price range. Is there any common wisdom on these forums as to the best brand(s) for a first 20" kids MTB?

From what I can see, Prevelo, Norco, Trailcraft, Woom and Flow all seem to have pretty good options, but I can't tell the differences between them, or the weight for all of them (since he's a bit young, weight is a consideration - the light woom bikes have been very helpful I think).

Any thoughts or advice from folks here? Thanks in advance!!!

My impression is that suspension forks for little kid bikes add a ton of weight to bikes that are already heavy compared to the size of the rider, and offer very limited useful suspension.

When I bought my daughter (just turned 7) a new bike this summer, I ended up going with the Cannondale Cujo, which has plus sized tires, disc brakes, a low, long profile and comfortable standover - you can run the tires pretty soft, which helps, and the bike is very light compared to other similar kid bikes. I've been exceptionally happy with it.

Salsa also makes a 20" kid bike w/ the plus sized tires (Timberjack Jr, if i'm not mistaken?), but I was unable to find one in stock anywhere when I was shopping, then it turned out the LBS had the Cujo, so win win.

Anyway... I'd take a good look at the plus sized tire bikes vs. a bike w/ a fork.

I just swapped forks on my son's (adult S) 27.5" bike from the stock Suntour coil fork to a Manitou Markhor, and the Suntour weighed *6.1* pounds vs 3.6 for the Markhor (and it also sucked). The weight of those lower end coil forks is truly nuts to me.
flag johnhebs
O+
Posted: Jun 23, 2020 at 20:38 Quote
Thanks Bob. This is what I'm trying to figure out so appreciate the advice. Our son is ~45 lbs now, and on a 12lb bike (Woom 3) so moving up to any of the bikes w/ suspension forks would be a huge jump, most of which are 20-22 lbs. I am curious if others have similar thoughts, and at what point a suspension fork actually is needed so the kids don't bounce around too much...

Thanks again for this perspective - I will definitely look into traditional bikes with bigger tires as I start the search.
flag adamwilson97
Posted: Aug 19, 2020 at 21:30 Quote
Wow, mountain biking at the age of 4 years. that's really amazing, I am really impressed. I have been riding for years but never went for mountain biking but recently I read a post written by BikeReviewsHub and I really like the idea that mountain biking is best for 1-2 hours during COVID epidemic. Now I go for mountain biking every day before going to work and on weekends I go for long rides an on-road bike. Both have their own kind of fun and joy.

Anyway, have a safe ride with your son john
flag jLAWLESS23
Posted: Aug 20, 2020 at 12:24 Quote
I realize your post is a couple of months old now but you may still be looking. I purchased the REI Co-op REV 24 Plus for my 5 year old son a couple of months ago. HE LOVES IT! He rides it almost every day. As some others have pointed out, I don't think you need suspension. The plus size tires do a great job of adding a little suspension and extra traction. It fits him very well and he will be able to ride it for the next 2-3+ years. I highly recommend this bike - disc brakes, 6 speed, good geo, etc..

Here is the link to the bike: https://www.rei.com/product/143169/co-op-cycles-rev-24-plus-kids-bike?sku=1431690001&store=50&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7c21700000001700551_1431690001%7c92700051069429244%7cnone%7c71700000062344662&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh4nOyL-q6wIVCr3ACh1rfgl3EAYYASABEgJp4vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I also looked at the Commencal kids bikes. Compared to the above bike, although excellent quality, I could not justify the extra prices.
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