# Need Help...24 inch or 13 inch XS for my son



## weasy (Jan 13, 2004)

I prolly should have done more research before I pulled the trigger..

Yesterday I got my son a 24 inch Trek MT 220 and after I got it home I realized he only has an inch of seat post before I need to get a longer post. I'm also not crazy about the fact it is 29 lbs and I really can't upgrade any of the heavy stuff on it well.

He is 10 and 4 ft 9 (57 inches) and I started reading here last night and see some dads are getting their sons XS 13 inch frames. I'm contemplating taking back the MT 220 and getting an XS 26 incher. I have enough spare parts lying around (spare set of nice rim wheels and decent rebuilt Skareb fork) to make it alot nicer and much lighter than the boat the MT 220 is.

He likes riding and we've been dong some easy singletrack and I'd like to make sure he doesn't have to lumber with such a beast of a bike when this 24 incher may only last a year or 2.

I'd like some feedback on what others are thinking.


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## Cary (Dec 29, 2003)

I say absolutely an xs 26", he is tall enough.


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

If he fits on the XS 26" then that's the only way to go.


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

I'm in th middle of building my son his 8th birthday present, a 14" Sette Reken 26er. He is a bit smaller than a friends son who I also built a 14" Reken last year, so I happen to stumble across 24" rims a few months ago so I laced them up. Here it is now, not quite finished (and won't be for a month or so). Anyhow, I agree, small 26er. My son's 26 inch wheels are in garage for another year...


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## morningmist (Mar 15, 2011)

I just picked up a MT 220 for my daughter's 8th birthday. I got it used and for a very fair price and she and I are thrilled with it. Its a huge step up from her Diamondback Tess, which is a Walmart bike with a nice paint job. 
In your situation. I would recommend going with the xs frame. Much more bang for the buck.


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## GbrNole (Feb 13, 2008)

I upgraded my sons bike from a Trek MT 220 for his 11th birthday back in March and probably went just a little too overboard... lol

We snagged one of the last XS Yeti ASR frames for him that Jenson were selling and between a mixture of new and spares i had, built up a little baby full suspension bike that looks like a 29'er!

It's probably a bit much for an 11 year old kid but he is pretty quick and wants to race later this year so i sucked it up and let my wallet take a beating...ugh

damn kid is already asking if he can get XTR cranks? WTF?? not before your old man!!!!


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## weasy (Jan 13, 2004)

Thanks everyone. I took back the MT 220 today and ordered an XS 3700 Disc. I'm planning on changing out alot of stuff that I have just sitting around in my garage which will lighten it up significantly. 

I know the mantra is don't fix it if it ain't broke, but I got nice parts in bins that will make a big difference in his riding. (pretty much have a whole bike in parts except frame that fits him in the garage)


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## wycough (Mar 9, 2008)

Go 26" My kid loves his...
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=695963


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## GbrNole (Feb 13, 2008)

weasy said:


> Thanks everyone. I took back the MT 220 today and ordered an XS 3700 Disc. I'm planning on changing out alot of stuff that I have just sitting around in my garage which will lighten it up significantly.
> 
> I know the mantra is don't fix it if it ain't broke, but I got nice parts in bins that will make a big difference in his riding. (pretty much have a whole bike in parts except frame that fits him in the garage)


good going! your kid will fly on the bigger wheels - might take a couple of rides to get acclimated but once rolling both of you will appreciate it.

my local trails (south west florida) are approx 10.5 miles single track for a full lap with about 35% technical and the rest flowy. he used to lap the trail in ~62 mins on his old MT 220 but is already down to 56 mins on the new ride so it was a fast seen benefit and his increased speed makes it just that much more fun for both of us.


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## ak greeff (May 21, 2008)

go for the 26 incher. i built two of these 12 inch jamis durango frames. the kids can handle them and have room to grow.


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## tlcrouch355 (Aug 2, 2008)

How about a specs breakdown on those. Very nice.


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## traffic002 (Dec 16, 2008)

Good Heavens!!! Those kids bikes are bling city. Sort of like high school kids driving around in an Audi R8!!


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## jtmartino (Jul 31, 2008)

No kidding! Those are badass bikes, hopefully your kids can appreciate them.


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## JonathanGennick (Sep 15, 2006)

Wow! Clearly I need to upgrade my son's bike .

Those matching Durango's look awesome.


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## wycough (Mar 9, 2008)




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## Flboy (Mar 18, 2008)

No trying to hijack

But I am in the same boat as the OP. I can get a sick deal on Spec Rockhopper 13" frame but I think 24" wheels would make a big difference in getting the bike to fit him properly. Damn! I can not find 24" disc wheels anywhere. 

RS, is theSette done yet? how do the 24" wheels work in the 26" wheel frame? I wouldn't imagine it would affect the geo too much.


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

The bike is done, here are the latest pictures. I took a quick ride and seems it great, but he does not get it until early August when he turns 8. I laced up the 24" wheels myself, it was not too bad. Most LBS charge 25 - 35 per wheel. The good thing is I can put 26" wheels on it as he grows and the 24" wheels are going on a Kona Stinky JR (now called a Stinky 2-4) to be used at Diablo Freeride park here in NJ. I also changed the cranks to ones which were shortened to 140mm from 175mm. He's going to flip!


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

Great job.


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## rwitte (Apr 6, 2004)

Sweet bike! Question on the cranks...shortened them? Never heard of doing that before, but intersting idea. Who did that for you? I'm building an Orbea for my son and struggling a bit with cranks. Thanks.

Randy


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## IAmHolland (Jul 8, 2010)

rwitte said:


> Sweet bike! Question on the cranks...shortened them? Never heard of doing that before, but intersting idea. Who did that for you? I'm building an Orbea for my son and struggling a bit with cranks. Thanks.
> 
> Randy




Short Cranks

The guy does good work. I used him for my 140mm cranks on my son's 20" hotrock, which will transition over to his next bike until he needs 152mm cranks.

RS has a sweet bike, and the Orbea scandium frame will be awesome too. It seems pricepoint doesn't sell this frame separately anymore. I wonder why.


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

Thanks everyone, it was fun to put together a new ride for my little dude. I build all of my own bikes, but this one was special. It's pretty light, and the Manitou R7 should serve him well. Then next year, I'll throw the 26" wheels on. I'm not sure why Performance and Pricepoint stopped selling frame only. However, Nashbar has an inexpensive 14". All black, but a good build.
On the short cranks, he has a list of those that are compatible, but I opted to buy a new pair of ISOFlows from him so he could shorten them unused. The price was $104, then I bought the bashguard on Pricepoint.
Here is the link to the new shortened cranks:
http://bikesmithdesign.com/Short_Cranks/isoflow.html


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## RagerXS (Jul 10, 2006)

RSabarese, what tires are those? That looks like a pretty nice tread pattern.

Fred


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## Aresab (Mar 27, 2007)

They are a Kenda Alphbite 24X195. You can get them at Jenson:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/TI401C01-Kenda+K831+Alfabite+Bmx+Tire+24X195.aspx

I found them on Universal Cycles as a search of 24" did not show up on Jenson. I hope they work well, in 2 weeks when my son gets the bike for his BDay, I'll have a better idea.


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