# Rocky Mountain Vertex 20 for 6th birthday.



## Trumpits (Apr 12, 2009)

A few weeks ago the boy turned 6 & I was super excited to get him a new 20" bike. He has made really good progress with a Spawn Banshee 16" over the past two summers, but is due to move up a size.

My LBS keeps Opus, Kona, Trek & Rocky kids bikes in stock & that's where I was buying from.

The Superfly 20 had me interested, but they would have to order it in. This was a no sale for me, I also wanted a suspended fork.

I was kinda hell bent on the Shred 20 cause it looks bad ass & I ride a Kona. When the night came for me to take a serious look at this bike, I really liked it but it seemed heavy. I asked the mechanic to put it on the scale & it was 27.75lbs! For an 11" bike that seemed crazy & the twist shifters kinda sucked.

When I asked about other options they had in stock they both smiled & said "hold on a second". He emerged from the back with a Vertex 20, I had looked into this bike in the past but was unsure of the SRAM automatix 2 speed rear hub. I took it for a spin around the shop & really like how smooth the shift was, the hydro brakes worked real nice as well I even left a 10 foot skid mark on the floor. The fork is an air adjust, so there is a chance to make it function real nice for him. They put it on the scale & it was 24lbs, that's a lot of saved weight over the Shred. When we stood both bikes together, the bar height was the same, but stand over on the Vertex was 1.5" lower. For the additional $200 I choose the Vertex.

Kid was pretty damn happy when he saw it. I cut the post to slam the saddle & moved the headset spacers to above the stem. Brakes adjusted nice & close so he can one or two finger brake.

His feet don't touch the ground when he is in the saddle & this scares him a bit, I will teach him how to start off the correct way and he should be fine.

Really happy with the purchase & the fork can be super soft when aired down. Will have to tweak the pressure one he starts riding it.

Already had many crazy thoughts of how to drop some weight from it, but am gonna hold off for now.

I'm praying for the snow to melt now.

So darn hard to find real weights on kids bikes, so I figured this post may help some fellow parents out.


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## rdblatch (Jun 6, 2008)

Thank you for posting this review. I've been debating whether to buy this bike, the spawn cycle savage 2.0 or the Commencal Meta HT 20. I think the Commencal and Spawn are both around 22.5 lbs vs the 24 lbs of the vertex 20. Did you look at either of these bikes?

The big difference between those 2 and the vertex is that they both have gearing. I know the vertex has the auto hub. How well does that work? Is it geared easy enough to go uphill on the trails? If so, I like the idea of the auto hub for a 6 year old.


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## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Nice, thanks. That bike is definitely on the short list for this fall when my son is ready for 20". Hits a pretty solid balance between price/performance. I like the auto hub idea a lot too. I wish it were 3-speed with a wider range though.


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## QueenMAUW (Sep 3, 2010)

We won't need a 20" for 2 years likely but this bike is going on our list. Thanks.


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## rdblatch (Jun 6, 2008)

My 6y/o son test rode the vertex 20 this weekend. It seemed REALLY nice quality and the fork was excellent. The shop weighed it for me and (similar to what the OP saw), it came in around 23.5 lbs.

My son is about 47" tall and 50lbs. The bike fit him really well with some room to grow. The fork was plenty plush for a 50lb kid and it had a lockout. I could see him riding this bike for 2 seasons (and then passing to his little brother).

I wasn't completely sold on the auto hub, but to be fair, it was really hard to see it in action because there was nowhere to get the bike up to speed or try climbing a hill. Considering all of the hilly trails in my area, that pushed me in the direction of multiple gears instead of auto hub.

For that reason, and to save a couple pounds, we decided to go with the Spawn Savage 2.0 (same fork - currently on sale). Haven't received it yet, but hoping this week. And hoping it doesn't take him long to figure out how gearing works.


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## Trumpits (Apr 12, 2009)

rdblatch said:


> Thank you for posting this review. I've been debating whether to buy this bike, the spawn cycle savage 2.0 or the Commencal Meta HT 20. I think the Commencal and Spawn are both around 22.5 lbs vs the 24 lbs of the vertex 20. Did you look at either of these bikes?
> 
> The big difference between those 2 and the vertex is that they both have gearing. I know the vertex has the auto hub. How well does that work? Is it geared easy enough to go uphill on the trails? If so, I like the idea of the auto hub for a 6 year old.


We never looked at those two bikes, the Rocky seemed a great deal & the Spawn was quite pricey. He is slightly taller than his class mates (not sure of inseam or height), but he has yet to try this bike it's a little to large. A few months on his Banshee this spring should get his confidence back enough to try the Vertex.

If I wasn't gone away for work so damn much, I would have him on it already.


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