Bike Check: 10 Year Old Olivia Taylor's Mondraker Summum

 Do most full grown riders need it?

Probably not.

 @Allen82: pretty sure that a 80 kg rider put more stress on a bike than a 39 kg one

 How do you know? Have you ever been a 10yr old 4ft10 39kg DH racer before?

 @purplegorillaz: My point was that most people are over biked.

 @Allen82: Most people are over biked most of the time, but bikes are fun and so is being over biked....

 The teams probably sponsored by them companies so it’s mandatory to run them

 @8tom8: yeah but why not go, say, Wild Enduro instead of DH22 - up front at least? That would stay on brand and knock a little weight off.

 @Allen82: I agree with you... way too much bike. Kids bikes are often way overbuilt. It’s a cool bike don’t get me wrong but riding a bike half your weight is less fun than riding a lighter bike!

 @justanotherusername: No one would manage to make any assessments about the world around if we followed your line of thinking.

 not holding her back if you see her IG page.

 @sonuvagun: I dont follow you - biking of this type is a luxury hobby for people with disposable income, a big part of it for many is the gear, (myself included) or for a very small minority its a competitive sport.

If someone wants to spend 10k on a bike to ride once a month on trails waaay under the requirement for the bike, who gives a shit.

There is no 'assessment' to be made of a young person riding a nice bike, or person being 'overbiked' - it just doesnt matter, you do you, ill do me and she can do what she wants and we can all be happy.

You arent talking about the price of food, the minimum wage or some other requirement for basic life, we all ride expensive push bikes about in the woods, get some perspective.

 @AndrewHornor: doesn’t have the Michelin factory logos in that casing that they are probably forced to use

 Maybe. Or she pushes really hard compared to most kids her age. The weight may be a comfort when it gets rough and fast. Also for a 10year old into DH having a DH bike may just be the coolest thing in the world and that matters too.

 @justanotherusername: Bolox. I've brought up two groms that shred and a light bike is super important. If you weigh 40Kg it's hard enough to get the suspension to work properly WITHOUT having heavy wheels. If you only weigh 40Kg, moving a 15Kg bike is cracking on for 40% of your bodyweight. Do you Bruni wants to ride a 30Kg bike in the World Cup??

 The only place I definitely agree is overkill are the wheels and tyres. You could save a lot of weight there without breaking the bank. I'm 92kg and run DH34 s without inserts, so go figure

 @chris-brown225: don't get the downvotes, that is true in pretty much all cases

 @yonibois: Where did I say it didn’t matter? I asked how he knew, that’s all, so ‘bolox’ to you too sweet pea.

On this subject though - show me a DH ready bike that weighs considerably less than 33lbs?

Most enduro bikes are around 30lbs - this isn’t some old school DH tank, is it, it’s a top line lightweight DH race bike.

 One click on her Instagram verifies that if this is the bike she wants with these heavy components then we should all shut up, she rips it hard on the DH. I know many kids who grow up buying used older heavy DH bikes from pinkbike buy and sell and do just fine. Why do I feel like she’s getting her bike picked apart because she’s a female? Maybe you should rethink how you spend your time on the internet. Bunch of grumpy dads wishing their kid had a bike like this..

 @crysvb: It's a BIKE CHECK article, for a 39kg rider. Of course people are going to be commenting on or critiquing the build. That's the point.
The reason you feel like it has anything to do with Olivia being female is because thats what you want it to be.
Perhaps consider your own advice re the internet.

 Regarding the tires, my 11 year old nephew rides a 24" Norco fluid and last summer probably weighed just about 30kg. Nevertheless he managed to pinch flat the stock tires several times including on A-Line, i.e. flatting from mildly casing huge but gently contoured jumps. I was bizarre, we're riding with my teenage son, my nephew, his mom and my son's friends, and the little guy is the only one getting flats. Anyway, this was all resolved when his mom got him Minions. I'm not sure if they're DH casings but they're steel bead and not light. So for tires at least I think this bike is on the right track. I agree though that Taylor would benefit from a lighter bike, eg a 26" jump bike or a race BMX, but maybe she already has one!

 You all have way too much damn time on your hands. She’s ten and races DH. Her bike, her choice. Jesus f**** Christ.

 @Leo48333: Of course it's her choice, or her parents or sponsors at that age. But remember, this is a website for people to geek out over bikes. Here they are geeking out over bike setup, specifically a bike setup for a rider that is very different to themselves. How often do they get to think about and discuss a setup so different. And with many people here being parents as well can you really be surprised that they're excited to talk bike setup for a child.
Jesus f*cking Christ.

 @8tom8: Adrien Dailly uses Wild Enduros with the blue and yellow factory logos, so they exist. She really made the choice of running DH tires.

 @BunnyR10: the DH casing Wild Enduros were already released a while ago, is just that Pinkbike virtually ignored them. They're available at a number of EU vendors

 @justanotherusername: It looks like you want to believe people are attacking her, so you can play the hero (in your mind).

All that happened was the guy pointed out the casing of the wheels are probably overkill for someone of a specific size and weight- he doesn't need to be that size and weight to be able to make accurate estimates for the amount of stress that person can put on tires.

No, it doesn't matter...so why the hell are you trying to tell people what they can or can't say? F'n weirdo.

 It’s worth noting that this is clearly not her only bike.

In a recent IG post she’s riding a Mondraker Dune with a SC fork.

Presumably if she (and/or her dad) thought the Dune was better to ride on a DH course than the bike featured in this article then she’d ride it instead…

 That said, another IG post from earlier this month says this is the first time she’s raced ‘the big bike’, so perhaps the setup will change over time.

 @sonuvagun: I can be your hero baby....

 Yeah Deemax seems overkill for the weight of the rider and could easily get away with SG casing or similar.

 I hope the poor girl doesn’t read this freak show of a discussion, apparently most of you are grown men too, fantastic example of the MTB community for a young person.

 @Allen82: most bikes are over-peopled

 @justanotherusername: Why are you so determined to take offense by anyone speculating on dimensions and measurements of recreational equipment? Does it bother you for reasons other than the owner being a girl?
When did Canadian males become such bunch of pearl-clutching Nancies?

 @Allen82: Like most things.... but they look nice

 @sonuvagun: Im not canadian, im British, I havent ever been to Canada.

I am not 'offended' or a 'Nancie' or whatever other stereotypical garbage you want to come up, try harder.

I just find it a little bizarre that fragile grown men, such as yourself are getting all hot under the collar about a girls bike and taking this so seriously - I assume you are just jealous, no I almost guarrantee it.

Oh and comments from idiots like Jaame are the icing on the cake, which was my main reason for calling this a freak show of a duscussion - what do you think about that, or did you conveniently miss it?

Does it bother me other than the owner being a girl - yes, shes also very young and is having a great time riding that bike, not moaning on the internet about her tyres being too heavy or having fox 40's.

As I say, what a sterling example of the MTB community, obsessive old men and someone hard of thinking quesitoning a 10 year olds gender. Brill, lets hope she doesnt think this is representative of everyone in the sport.

 Thanks for the input - Sorry, how dare I give Liv a bike, without asking for your thoughts!!! For reference, i have given Liv a lighter bike too, she has a Mondraker Enduro bike. But she choose to ride one of our ex team bikes we've loaned her for the season at this race. But thanks for questioning me, you must no more than I do.

 @Leo48333: absolutely right!!

 @PaulGreenSnow: One word for you - Jealousy.

Dont sweat it, ignore the salty guys on here that take things way too seriously even though they just ride their local woods once a week - great to see Liv having a good time on bikes - Tahnee started young and look where she is now.

 @justanotherusername:
There's a Canadian flag next to your name.
Anyhow, no one complained, nor moaned, nor made any comment that a reasonable person could construe as negative. People made observations that given the size of the rider, some of the equipment is overkill. One person made a lame joke. Stop crying.

 @sonuvagun: there’s no flag next to your name -citizen of nowhere?

Many people above disagree with you, eh petal?

I’ll stop crying hard man, thanks for putting me straight. Xx

 @justanotherusername: why are you calling me an idiot? That’s a bit rude isn’t it? Just when I’d changed my mind from thinking you were a bit of a tit to thinking you were a good dude with a sense of humour.
Just kidding. We can all think what we like can’t we?

 @jaame: we can all think whatever we like of course, sometimes we shouldn’t let others know when are thinking though, that’s what makes an idiot.

 @justanotherusername: wooo! Who got out of bed on the wrong side this morning?

 @riderseventy7: LOL okay. As if it would have been the same for goldstone back in the day. How possibly could a ten year old girl need a fox 40? Like I said. She rips it harder than a lot of these pinkbike experts I can guarantee it.

 @justanotherusername: How do you know I identify as a man?

 Presumably if she (and/or her dad) thought the Dune was better to ride on a DH course than the bike featured in this article then she’d ride it instead…

@bykeco: or her Mum...

 @Paretoparent2: fair enough. (Last line of the article did specifically mention her dad though)

 @lightsgetdimmer: Nothing I read from @SunsPSD indicates jealousy to me. I agree with him: the changes he suggested would improve her bike for her needs. A lighter bike would give her more control without compromising strength in this application. It doesn't matter how hard she's riding, at her weight it's not possible for her to put the same forces into her bike as an adult could.

Yes, all these comments have a bit of a "Christina needs narrower bars" vibe which is unfortunate... and we may all be looking her gift horse in the mouth, and we don't know how many lighter rims Olivia might have already taco'd. But with that said, I hope she isn't stuck manhandling overkill DH casings around corners just because someone at Michelin didn't think it through.

 @AndrewHornor: well until SunsPSD’s kids get DH sponsors, I think Olivias dad can do her advocating a little better

 It's one of last year's team bikes. So whilst I appreciate everyone might think Liv's bike should have these tyres, this wheelset, that stem, that it is too heavy, too much bike etc, I can tell you as the owner of the bike, that having seen Liv rippin down many UK DH tracks, it's irrelevant what people think as she is loving life and having the best time with her teammates and friends of the team on this bike. Yes, It will get the new Enduro tyres fitted soon, but first we wanted to let her see how she enjoyed riding it, legs not forget she has an Enduro bike too.

 @PaulGreenSnow: fair play - and great work getting your kid into mountain biking. Dad goals!

 I can imagine a 10 year old would definitely appreciate some insight on how to shave a few grams on a bike they truck downhill at bike parks with.

 At age 10 I still had velcro shoes.

 Ah yes the good ol days when ebikes didn't exist.

 Back in my day I had to pedal 45 miles, uphill both ways, to the trailhead in snowstorms.

 @scott-townes: on the back tire, ‘cause that’s all I had

 Completely agree. Was stoked to check this out and was pretty disappointed. No mention of it but you would think custom valving on the suspension would be the first thing you do for a rider that light.

 I don't see the negativity towards the rider here.
In retrospect, I'm actually frustrated that pinkbike ran this as a "bike check" when it's actually nothing more than a last year's open box bike with some different tires.
There would have been a resounding Stoke factor if it had been all about the rider with the equipment largely ignored.
With real bike checks of unique builds, the PB masses might critique how much negative rise a stem has, why a mudguard didn't match, the surprising pressure being run etc, but in this case you've taken offense to the genuinely appropriate critique of this OEM spec bike build for a rider of such small physical stature.
Had Pinkbike lead with "GreenSnow opened the box from Mondraker with a OEM spec 2020 Summum R, changed the tires and sent olivia out for a ride...see how she shreds".. then it would have been clear there were no real choices made and therefore none to critique. As you say there's been fork work done, surely this would have been the single most important piece of information to include in this article?
There was potential to build some positive PR around the GreenSnow development program here, but i fear you just crippled that by jumping in.

 You are being oversensitive. Nothing is being said toward the rider, we are talking about a race bike. Questioning a set up on a bike check article doesn't seem strange to me (especially a race bike where there should be some rational thinking behind).
And, if you don't want people to comment about it, simply don't put it on the internet
This place is really an idiocracy

 @juanny: I simply struggle to understand what good comes from suggesting kids shouldn't have such a bike, or it's too much for them etc The general tone towards youngsters bikes seems to be quite negative on here - which isn't healthy for the youngsters who read these comments.

There is plenty of people in this world driving a car that would outperform their driving ability around a track, countless
people walking around stores in trainers designed to run a super quick marathon etc and folks wearing jackets that are designed to go up the most extreme mountains, not just for a dog walk. The point is, fair play to anyone that owns anything, why do we need to critique it? If someone has or owns something, whatever it is, that's great - just let them enjoy it, they've earnt it.

Your point around PR for a development team is an interesting one as all brands recognise that the younger audience is crucial for the long term and how they perceive a brand, now and in the future is critical. We will always support the younger generation and do our bit to ensure its about riding and having a laugh in those early years, as well as being positive and enjoying hitting the trails with friends old and new.

Enjoy your day

 Certainly no 'jealousy' here (I have no idea what I'm supposed to be jealous of, I don't want to be a 10 year old female mountain bike racer nor do I care if my daughter is, and frankly my family rides very high end bikes already) and I'm genuinely stoked on a young girl role model for my own daughter. Pretty blown away that you thought you read any 'criticism towards a younger rider' when reading bike spec and set up opinions. That's just projection on your part.
What was offered was thoughtful differences in opinion on bike set up along with direct compliments for Olivia, and I think since you are part of the team maybe that felt like a personal attack on your choices.
I'll also add that I'm a HUGE Mondraker fan boy having owned 2 and my wife's current bike is a Foxy 27.5 SL, so I'm always particularly interested in anything and everything Mondraker.
Good luck to Olivia!

 @PaulGreenSnow: That's not what's happening here. I don't think anyone is saying that kids shouldn't have awesome bikes. I'm all for kids having bikes period - at whatever the cost that families can afford.. I'm also advocating for kids who cant afford to barrier to entry to the sport to have a safe introduction to a starter mountain bike experience without the financial hurdle. Covid has made these issues immensely harder to address.
The big point that's been established through the industry over recent years with the prevalence of brands starting with Strider, Islabikes, through Spawn, Vpace etc creating a new outlook on what we should be providing to enable kid progression, scaled to their relative body dimensions.
We've understood for may years the dangers of weight training for the growing body, that people have identified this link through other sports shouldn't be surprising .
With bikes we see the issue with incorrect crank length on developing joints, the importance of appropriately sized contact points and the industry recognition of suspension products designed to work at non-adult weights.
Now, products exist to mitigate much of the physical issues that small riders see. To suggest that young riders (their parent/guardians) shouldn't be considering these things is not the best way to approach things either.
Most of the big brands are seeing the growth in the sport that is occurring without them having driven it and are jumping on the bandwagon to be a part of that. Grass roots is hugely important and Mondraker are entering this market. The new Factor is much better than the old one. But Mondrakers fwd geo and shift to 29ers puts a huge hole in their range that prevents grass roots progression though the sizes. Most other brands are missing this also and I don't think its possible to go from early rider to post pubescent teen size in any single mainstream brand at this point. Commencal might be the closest, but their bike weights are off the charts. Commencals typically heavy frames aside, much of this weight hurdle is driven by pricepoint.of the build kit by the brand managers. Wheels, wire bead tires, thick walled alloy bars, unmachined stems, cheap drivetrain etc etc.. As a devo team with industry partners you should be in a position to and motivated to mitigate these weight factors

My reference to PR isn't that of the industry players.. its your decision to point fingers at the critique commenters rather than accepting that for smaller sized athletes in your program, there IS a BETTER solution than the bike that's subject to this "bike check". If you can't see that then that's a significant hindrance to your athletes.
Hopefully Olivia continues to develop on your program through the coming years with you and we see her on a bike that through collaboration with yourselves, mondraker and other partners that is designed and built to suit her.
That would be a positive front page PB article to help drive consumer knowledge and possibly help mondraker identify where the gaps are in their current range..

 It's an article about a bike.. You're upset people are then discussing said bike? This is literally no different than any other bike check and I haven't even seen a single negative comment. If this is too triggering for you, you'll definitely want to avoid the rest of the internet. I have a feeling little Olivia probably isn't half way as sensitive as you lmao.

 @PaulGreenSnow: also don't see anyone saying she shouldn't be on this bike. You're some how interpreting it as jealousy or saying the bike is too much for her when in reality people are saying the parts are ridiculously heavy. Aka she deserves nicer stuff than you're giving her lmao. Why not set her up with some lighter parts where appropriate? Why are you stifling this young rider?

 Get a bit of air in the lines \s

 I had an acid house smiley face wheel disc, I didn't know what it meant at the time. They should bring those back as a carbon fibre enduro accessory.

 Wheel cover at the rear, plastic things for the spokes that you got free in a box of cornflakes on the front. Winning!

 What is being said? Apart from one comment suggesting her bike wouldn't be punished as much as one ridden by a 90kg dude, which itself isn't disparaging, there's nothing, just a bunch of riders discussing bike setup. It reads like most people are suggesting Olivia is out there ripping in spite of the fact she has a relatively heavy bike, and that she could rip even harder if she had a bike with a more manageable weight.

 @HankDamage: What would that example be?

 Maybe post a video of your son shredding like her instead.

 Some people are 40 and cant imagine ever owning a bike that nice - just like when someone drives past in a rolls royce or lives in a gigantic house....buuuut.....

....you can sure as hell still have a great time on your current bike so dont sweat it.... get out and do as much as you can on that bike because before you know it you will be an old shit like me and have a 100 other things to do when you would rather be riding :-(

 Its all about perspective. That bike you have now is lightyears ahead of what we had at the age of 14. Enjoy it bud.

 Won't be able to ride up in National Series. For local races some organisers turn a blind eye, especially if they are friends with the parents. They shouldn't, and BC don't allow it, but it happens.

 In Europe it's one of the last survivers. Zee is great.

 @8088yl0n: i have zee brakes on my hardtail, which came off another bike. i dunno, 8 years old? zero problems, they just continue to work...

 I was thinking these things, except on that frame the BB would end up pretty low