Full suspension downhill bike for son
Discussion
Can anyone offer any suggestions. I want to buy a full sus bike for my son, exclusively for use on downhill Alpine runs.
He's been using a hardtail for the past 4-5 years.
He's about 5ft tall I reckon. I would normally buy from Decathlon but I can't see anything suitable.
The cheaper the better!
Cheers.
He's been using a hardtail for the past 4-5 years.
He's about 5ft tall I reckon. I would normally buy from Decathlon but I can't see anything suitable.
The cheaper the better!
Cheers.
I would get him a real bike if he is starting downhill as a bike from Decathlon will not hold up to serious abuse. I would look on eBay for a used medium downhill bike from a couple of years ago. I usually buy my bikes used from ex-new year resolutioners for a steal of a price and hardly used!
If you buy a bike from eBay you are best taking it to a bike shop to have a service and a freshen up- new chain etc. Budget for around £700 to £1000 for the right bike. Anything cheaper for a downhill bike and your talking seriously old, beat up or cheap.
Looking on eBay I found this which is a great option:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275782961979?hash=item4...
Hope this helps.
If you buy a bike from eBay you are best taking it to a bike shop to have a service and a freshen up- new chain etc. Budget for around £700 to £1000 for the right bike. Anything cheaper for a downhill bike and your talking seriously old, beat up or cheap.
Looking on eBay I found this which is a great option:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275782961979?hash=item4...
Hope this helps.
As I recently suggested on another what bike thread. Have a look on pink bike classified.
Search for small size DH and Enduro bikes. It's worth including enduro as that's what everyone buys these days and anything 150-160mm and above travel at the rear will be fine for bike park stuff. It means there are more for sale so often cheaper.
Do not buy carbon as it's likely to get knocked about on alpine trails.
You may also want to budget ~ 400 quid for a full face lid, knee pads, and upper body protection if he doesn't have it. Minimum good full face and knee pads.
Search for small size DH and Enduro bikes. It's worth including enduro as that's what everyone buys these days and anything 150-160mm and above travel at the rear will be fine for bike park stuff. It means there are more for sale so often cheaper.
Do not buy carbon as it's likely to get knocked about on alpine trails.
You may also want to budget ~ 400 quid for a full face lid, knee pads, and upper body protection if he doesn't have it. Minimum good full face and knee pads.
The enduro option may be a good shout. If he intends only to ride DH & use uplifts then a downhill bike is all good but if he also intends to pedal it around the place, then DH bikes are hard work to the point of being unusable.
They really are only designed to go down whereas enduro bikes are beefy enough to cope with all but the hardest tracks but can also burn around the place like an ordinary trail bike.
They really are only designed to go down whereas enduro bikes are beefy enough to cope with all but the hardest tracks but can also burn around the place like an ordinary trail bike.
President Merkin said:
The enduro option may be a good shout. If he intends only to ride DH & use uplifts then a downhill bike is all good but if he also intends to pedal it around the place, then DH bikes are hard work to the point of being unusable.
They really are only designed to go down whereas enduro bikes are beefy enough to cope with all but the hardest tracks but can also burn around the place like an ordinary trail bike.
Cheers, only for DH with uplifts. They really are only designed to go down whereas enduro bikes are beefy enough to cope with all but the hardest tracks but can also burn around the place like an ordinary trail bike.
Amateurish said:
Thanks for the advice. What should I be looking for in terms of components and suspension travel?
You really need to give an indication of your budget, because you’re looking at anything from £750 to £1000 secondhand, to £15,000 new. And your son’s likely level of skill - is he tackling blue routes, or blacks and big jumps?
Finally, you might get more accurate info on forums like Pinkbike, or Singletrackworld than here.
Edited by CheesecakeRunner on Thursday 20th April 17:51
OP, it would be helpful to know:
Your max budget.
Son's age
Weight
Skill level at: jumping, drop offs, and steep technical riding.
Protective equipment owned - willing to buy.
That way you'll get better advice.
A dichotomy that exists on two wheels is the greater the gap between rider skill and bike capability, the bigger the crash.
Your max budget.
Son's age
Weight
Skill level at: jumping, drop offs, and steep technical riding.
Protective equipment owned - willing to buy.
That way you'll get better advice.
A dichotomy that exists on two wheels is the greater the gap between rider skill and bike capability, the bigger the crash.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
OP, it would be helpful to know:
Your max budget.
Son's age
Weight
Skill level at: jumping, drop offs, and steep technical riding.
Protective equipment owned - willing to buy.
That way you'll get better advice.
A dichotomy that exists on two wheels is the greater the gap between rider skill and bike capability, the bigger the crash.
Cheers!Your max budget.
Son's age
Weight
Skill level at: jumping, drop offs, and steep technical riding.
Protective equipment owned - willing to buy.
That way you'll get better advice.
A dichotomy that exists on two wheels is the greater the gap between rider skill and bike capability, the bigger the crash.
£1k
12
He's on the smaller size for his age.
He's happy on greens and blues but wants to progress to reds + jumps.
He has full face helmet, elbow and knee pads, gloves.
There's a few here that are well within budget
https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?region=5&...
However, for a small 12 year old currently riding greens and blues a DH bike is a big lump to man handle... Especially if you're inexperienced.
From personal experience, I took the following route with my now 14 year old.
Old 4x race full suspension with 24' wheels. 120mm rear travel.
Then small whyte 130 trailbike.
Then current bike which is 137mm travel yeti carbon trail bike + a shared jump bike.
He's able to jump 15 to 20ft gaps now - way better than I am, but the smaller lighter bikes have helped him get there.
His current bike will cope with all but the biggest roughest alpine stuff.
I did try him on a bigger heavier enduro and he struggled with moving the mass around in corners and in the air.
Pic of him jumping from last weekend. He'd massively overshot the landing.
The other thing I would suggest is a days one to one coaching with Tony Doyle. He's brilliant as is his teaching facility. Best money spent on any bike related purchase IMO. Brought my son on massively.
https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?region=5&...
However, for a small 12 year old currently riding greens and blues a DH bike is a big lump to man handle... Especially if you're inexperienced.
From personal experience, I took the following route with my now 14 year old.
Old 4x race full suspension with 24' wheels. 120mm rear travel.
Then small whyte 130 trailbike.
Then current bike which is 137mm travel yeti carbon trail bike + a shared jump bike.
He's able to jump 15 to 20ft gaps now - way better than I am, but the smaller lighter bikes have helped him get there.
His current bike will cope with all but the biggest roughest alpine stuff.
I did try him on a bigger heavier enduro and he struggled with moving the mass around in corners and in the air.
Pic of him jumping from last weekend. He'd massively overshot the landing.
The other thing I would suggest is a days one to one coaching with Tony Doyle. He's brilliant as is his teaching facility. Best money spent on any bike related purchase IMO. Brought my son on massively.
A small 12 year old does not need a downhill bike - he wont be strong enough or heavy enough to make it work.
Get on singletrackworld and pinkbike.
You want something a few years old but from a quality manufacturer, 26" wheels might be a good idea, if not 27.5s. Fox or Rockshox suspension - Air front and rear - otherwise you are going to have to buy new coils to suit. You may still find that the dampers are out of range for a low weight.
This looks ideal, and frame is plenty worthy of some future component upgrades:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3606747/
And some others:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3588036/
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3573950/
And finally - pretty old, but a very good bike:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3600921/
You must budget for some upfront maintenance on these older used bikes, expect to be doing a full stripdown, some bearings, some cables, throw a chain on it, probably pads and brake bleeding etc.
Get on singletrackworld and pinkbike.
You want something a few years old but from a quality manufacturer, 26" wheels might be a good idea, if not 27.5s. Fox or Rockshox suspension - Air front and rear - otherwise you are going to have to buy new coils to suit. You may still find that the dampers are out of range for a low weight.
This looks ideal, and frame is plenty worthy of some future component upgrades:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3606747/
And some others:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3588036/
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3573950/
And finally - pretty old, but a very good bike:
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3600921/
You must budget for some upfront maintenance on these older used bikes, expect to be doing a full stripdown, some bearings, some cables, throw a chain on it, probably pads and brake bleeding etc.
A DH bike will give a bit more room for error when he's learning bigger jumps/drops. It will also soak up the braking bumps in the PDS area, and push him to try harder tracks.
Enduro bike will be better for riding between bike parks, theres a little bit of climbing if you want to ride over to Morgins and back in a day, still doable on a DH bike but there are a few shortish climbs and you might be pushing.
There's also quite a lot of off piste trails over there away from the lifts, if I only had one bike it would probably be a 180mm enduro, but I do prefer a DH for the big stuff.
Enduro bike will be better for riding between bike parks, theres a little bit of climbing if you want to ride over to Morgins and back in a day, still doable on a DH bike but there are a few shortish climbs and you might be pushing.
There's also quite a lot of off piste trails over there away from the lifts, if I only had one bike it would probably be a 180mm enduro, but I do prefer a DH for the big stuff.
Any small bike suitable for a kid on alpine dh is going to start around 10/11kg minimum, unless you throw dollar at it & buy a carbon frame & even then, you won't shave a huge amount off, I would forget carbon. Pretty much all the bikes Snotrag linked are good options, Downhill riding is tough on bikes, so the basic requirements are a strong frame & wheelset, decent suspension travel, say 150-160mm plus, strong brakes (I.e. 4 piston calipers) and a dropper post so the rider can get their weight low down to the bike. In fact a dropper & 150+ travel suspension would be the prime considerations for me.
A pure DH bike will come with dual crown forks with 180mm+ travel but I'm keeping in mind we're looking for a 12 y/o & the full DH rig would just be overkill. A secondhand bike will generally be fine, provided there's nothing major like a cracked frame - stuff like a fork service, new chain, brake pads etc. is really a couple of hundred quid tops at a decent bike shop, less if you diy & it's all easy stuff.
Buying new is a bit of a piece of string question, there are so many manufacturers, it's hard to say what a freshy would cost but very few quality brand bikes - Spesh, Trek, Giant, Marin, Canyon etc. are going to be cheap - you get what you pay for but used can be decent bargains once you narrow down the criteria.
If you start with decent components - Rockshox, Fox suspension, Shimano/Sram drivetrains, Shimano/Sram brakes, Maxxis/Conti tyres etc. (all ok mainstream brands) AND get a well sized frame he can ride comfortably, then you'll be all good.
A pure DH bike will come with dual crown forks with 180mm+ travel but I'm keeping in mind we're looking for a 12 y/o & the full DH rig would just be overkill. A secondhand bike will generally be fine, provided there's nothing major like a cracked frame - stuff like a fork service, new chain, brake pads etc. is really a couple of hundred quid tops at a decent bike shop, less if you diy & it's all easy stuff.
Buying new is a bit of a piece of string question, there are so many manufacturers, it's hard to say what a freshy would cost but very few quality brand bikes - Spesh, Trek, Giant, Marin, Canyon etc. are going to be cheap - you get what you pay for but used can be decent bargains once you narrow down the criteria.
If you start with decent components - Rockshox, Fox suspension, Shimano/Sram drivetrains, Shimano/Sram brakes, Maxxis/Conti tyres etc. (all ok mainstream brands) AND get a well sized frame he can ride comfortably, then you'll be all good.
This looks good to me...
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3553943/
Numbers are all just about there for a mini DH bike. Only problem is it may be just a shade too big if he's bang on 5ft, think the sizing for these states a small suite people just over...
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3553943/
Numbers are all just about there for a mini DH bike. Only problem is it may be just a shade too big if he's bang on 5ft, think the sizing for these states a small suite people just over...
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