# Looking for a decent 20" MTB for my 8 year old son for less than $300



## APO.Guy (Jun 9, 2009)

My son definitely outgrew his 16" BMX HotWheels bike and he would like to ride with me on the trails (nothing too hard). I'm thinking a 20" is a good size for his age (8 soon), but I don't want to spend too much because he may not use it too often and he'll out grow it in 2-3 years. I'm thinking $300 should be decent for an aluminum framed Mtb. Any suggestions?

I'm looking at:

Diamondback Octane 20" Boys' Bike - 2014 at REI.com

Purchase the Mongoose Ledge 20" 2.1 Boys' Mountain Bike at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.

SYNC Reverb 20" Boys Mountain Bike - SportsAuthority.com


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## POAH (Apr 29, 2009)

consider a 24 inch bike rather than a 20. if you must get a 20 then buy a cheap second hand one as he'll out grow it pretty quickly


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

You really need to give us inseam- age is worthless as far as fitting a bike. Line up 10 8 years olds and their inseams will vary.

My son is 12 and daughter is 9, they are within 1/2" inseam and riding the same size bikes.

She just turned 9 and is on a 24 inch bike.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

At 8 your kid is very likely too big for a 20"
My girls are 10 and 13 while both have always been on the slightly taller side of average they are not giants by any stretch of the imagination. 
They started on ToysRus $50 bikes when they were 2 to 3. By 5 they were both on 20" bikes. By 7 to 8 years old they were on 13" Frame 24" bikes; the eldest pinched my wifes 26" bike at 10 so the youngest took over the 24". The youngest will be 11 in January and the 24" hot rocks seat post is less than 1" to go to the minimum insertion distance.

The 24" Specialized Hotrocks is pretty decent, comes with a body geometry saddle which is much more comfortable than the 24" offerings from Jamis, Marin and Giant that I compared it with (mind you this was 4 or 5 years ago when I bought it).
The models I compared the Hotrocks with also had about 1.5" less available seat post so I thought that the Hotrocks would last longer before being grown out of so worth the $50 more than the others
I also prefer the X3, X5 it came with to the lower end Shimano drivetrains, not because it shifts any better it just appears to last longer. It does have junk forks, and seriously heavy stem, bars etc but all of the kids bike seem to.


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## LewisQC (Jul 3, 2013)

This summer, I bough an Opus Doppler 20" for my daughter. She's 7 and on the tall side for her age but 24" was too much of a step from the 16" (she was a late learner for biking). Her inseam was a tad too short. So the plan was to use this bike for 1 or two years then get a 24" for her so my son could use the 24" ( he is five and just started a month ago without training wheels on 16").

But my son was struggling with the 16" because it's hilly around our house (bike is heavier than my FS 29"!!!) So he tried his sister's 20" and was able to ride it with proper setting. So I got him a Doppler as well. These bike are very light (20 pounds) and are pretty solid. He's really tall for his age but the seat is at it's lowest, the V-brake lever are adjustable for reach.

After one ride, he is already taking short-cut on the grass trying to jump hole and roots&#8230;

If your son is tall enough go with 24". He'll get used to it even if it's on the tall side. I'm afraid that next year I will have to buy a 24" for my daughter. The after market is good for quality bike like this though&#8230;

Opus » Bikes » Doppler 20??

Tires (Kenda small block 1.8) are ok for light trail riding and for streets.


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## BXCc (May 31, 2012)

A bike that is a little small is a whole lot easier to ride than a bike that is too big. Pushing them into a bigger size can backfire pretty quickly. Both of my daughters ride the girl version of this bike. One is 47" and the other is 52". Having a threadless stem and a 7 speed drivetrain makes adjusting the cockpit and adding trigger shifters a whole lot easier. Also, this is one of the few 20" bikes that has quick release wheels so they work with fork mount racks. Both of them weighed in at 23 pounds. 
GT Aggressor 20" Kid's Bike - 2014 - Kid's Bikes


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## mark! (Jun 1, 2012)

When my 9 year old wanted to start riding with us, we bought him a Nishiki Pueblo 24". He had a hard time shifting with the grip shift so I swapped out for trigger shifters (easily done). For the little while he rode it until upgrading, he loved it.


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## LewisQC (Jul 3, 2013)

BXCc said:


> A bike that is a little small is a whole lot easier to ride than a bike that is too big. Pushing them into a bigger size can backfire pretty quickly. Both of my daughters ride the girl version of this bike. One is 47" and the other is 52". Having a threadless stem and a 7 speed drivetrain makes adjusting the cockpit and adding trigger shifters a whole lot easier. Also, this is one of the few 20" bikes that has quick release wheels so they work with fork mount racks. Both of them weighed in at 23 pounds.
> GT Aggressor 20" Kid's Bike - 2014 - Kid's Bikes


Nice bike!!! My 51/2 years old son is 49" and my 7 years old daughter is 52". It really is more about size than age indeed


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## APO.Guy (Jun 9, 2009)

Thanks guys. I'm traveling at the moment but I need to masseur my sons inseam to make sure he need at 20" and not a 24". I'm starting my research with 20"s because my 10 year old daughter has a cheap 20" Target Mtb and it seems good as an upgrade for him (not too big). But I see there are better choices in the 24" range.

The GT and Opus look cool, but the both have a solid front fork. I want him to have some sort of front suspension even if its a 30-50 mm spring fork.


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## BXCc (May 31, 2012)

APO.Guy said:


> The GT and Opus look cool, but the both have a solid front fork. I want him to have some sort of front suspension even if its a 30-50 mm spring fork.


Be careful what you wish for with a fork. A coil fork adds a bunch of weight and most of them are way too stiff for a 50 pound kid riding buff singletrack. I didn't want any suspension on my girls bikes. There is no better way to learn skills than riding a rigid bike. They will learn to choose the best line rather than just rolling over stuff. I've seen a few adults ride 26" hard tails "upgrade" to dual suspension 29ers only to have their ability of picking lines diminish.


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## LewisQC (Jul 3, 2013)

BXCc said:


> Be careful what you wish for with a fork. A coil fork adds a bunch of weight and most of them are way too stiff for a 50 pound kid riding buff singletrack.


1+ Exactly why I went with Opus Doppler&#8230; They also have a model identical with suspension fork for 50-70$ more


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## APO.Guy (Jun 9, 2009)

BXCc said:


> Be careful what you wish for with a fork. A coil fork adds a bunch of weight and most of them are way too stiff for a 50 pound kid riding buff singletrack. I didn't want any suspension on my girls bikes. There is no better way to learn skills than riding a rigid bike. They will learn to choose the best line rather than just rolling over stuff. I've seen a few adults ride 26" hard tails "upgrade" to dual suspension 29ers only to have their ability of picking lines diminish.


I don't doubt your right, but front suspension is one of the biggest things he's looking forward to. He wants something my Specialized FSR Epic. I wont completely discard a solid fork, but I'll focus on some kind of front suspension.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

APO.Guy said:


> I don't doubt your right, but front suspension is one of the biggest things he's looking forward to. He wants something my Specialized FSR Epic. I wont completely discard a solid fork, but I'll focus on some kind of front suspension.


If front suspension is a must and he is, as most of us are assuming, ready for a 24 inch bike, you'll need to spend more than $300. The stock coil forks are for looks, don't do much.

The Cannondale Race 24 comes with an actual Air fork, but it's $500. The other choice is look for a $100 used bike and buy a used 26 inch fork or one of the 24 inch air forks for around $200.

Nice thing about the 24- it should last a while if they don't have large growth spurts.


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## BXCc (May 31, 2012)

APO.Guy said:


> But front suspension is one of the biggest things he's looking forward to. He wants something my Specialized FSR Epic.


And sometimes a bike they (kids or wife) will love will trump all else. Even if it means a little extra weight.


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## DNye (Sep 10, 2011)

I have also been looking at the 20 inch boys mountain bikes. My sons inseam is about 22 inches. I travel a lot for work so I have been stopping in at multiple bike shops and collecting some info. Most important to me is weight so I have been having the shops weigh the bikes fully assembled. Here is what I have so far.

Giant XTC $220. 25lbs 4 oz no suspension
Trek MT60 $299. 25lbs 12 oz suspension fork
Specialized Hockrock$360 27lbs suspension fork
Cannondale trail 20 $360 25lbs suspension fork
Reliegh Rowdy. $250 23lbs no suspension

The bikes with suspension forks did not feel like they compressed any easier then my own recon fork. Defiantly more for looks.

I am leaning towards the trek superfly 20 which I have not seen yet but have heard it is about 20lbs. the local shop said they sell it for $380. The difference in price does not seem so bad when compared to the difference in weight. 

My son was riding the nieghbors pacific from toys r us, I myself could not compress the fork so for all intensive purposes it did not have a suspension fork. Out back he was going over rocks roots and flying off a 8 inch or so drop with no problems at all. After seeing that I don't think he needs a suspension.


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