# What's the best Enduro style 24" FS bike?



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

I'm planning to pickup a 24" FS bike this winter as my kid moves on from his 20" Spawn hardtail. It'll need to be a FS as most of what he is riding warrants it and he is doing some DH races a few times a year with local mtb team.

Im looking hard at the Spawn Rokkusuta 24" and like it a lot tho I wish it was 11sp, had 140mm cranks and maybe had a steeper STA as it's a bit long. I chatted with Max at Spawn who said it's a kids version of a 160mm enduro bike and his kid and buddies love it for trail riding around Squamish as well as in Whistler nearby. 

I was looking at the RM Reaper and it's not a bad bike at all, tho I wish the fork had more travel (kind of odd). It has 11sp, nice sta, prob the wrong cranks and a decent spec for the 26" version tho I'd have to buy some 24" wheels... but it would serve as a nice 26in too. I have a second boy, tho he is 2yrs 9mo younger and currently normal sized where my oldest is a giant.

Any advice/thoughts or other bike recommendations would be great. Fwiw I want something with more travel than the 100mm options as he is easily eating up 80mm and starting to freeride a bit more and is on the freeride team this fall.


----------



## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

svinyard said:


> Any advice/thoughts or other bike recommendations would be great. Fwiw I want something with more travel than the 100mm options as he is easily eating up 80mm and starting to freeride a bit more and is on the freeride team this fall.


Propain Yuma? 11 Speed and 140mm travel.

https://www.propain-bikes.com/Yuma2018?Language=en

Not the biggest fan of the 24/26 bikes due to long chainstays in 24" mode but if you are doing mostly downhill stuff this is probably fine.

I'm pretty sure they will let you buy frame only too.


----------



## Kingfisher2011 (Nov 1, 2011)

This came up on one of the Enduro groups I'm a member of on Facebook. This was the list that I threw down for 26". Most of these outfits have bikes in 24" or the bikes take both 24 and 26 wheels so hopefully it'll help at least point you in the right direction. Doesn't include the Propain or Spawn, but you've got those anyway. The chainstay comment GSJ1973 made is definitely true. Some of these bikes have crazy long chainstays, but then you've got other folks that like Trailcraft that got it right (in my opinion) and kept it tight.

Trailcraft – Maxwell 26
Rocky Mountain – Reaper
Trek – Fuel EX Jr
Giant – Trance Jr
Specialized – Camber Grom
Norco - Fluid FS 26
Mondraker –Factor 26
Commencal – Junior (27.5)
Transition Ripcord
Marin Hawk Hill Jr
Kona Stinky
If you want to go way out there, Cube in the UK has a 27.5 140mm travel kids bike that's pretty decent and is affordable.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

All looks good guys, thanks. I also like the short stays of the Maxwell but want more travel. I do like longer stays a little bit for kids but also hate them for kids. I like the stability and bike length is rarely an issue due to their bikes being so short for a trail anyways. The longer stays give that extra stability etc. But I also hate that its tough to manual etc for little guys and that can be a life saving maneuver for a young guy nailing a drop. kind I wish the Spawn Rokussuta has those shorter stays and a touch steeper STA and 11sp...but its hard to say for kids. Feels like I'm flying blind as I can't ride it myself. Still leaning towards the Spawn I guess.


----------



## Kingfisher2011 (Nov 1, 2011)

Look at weight too. I know we've been over bike weight about a billion times, but I don't think anyone can deny that for kids, lighter is generally better. Trailcraft puts a lot of effort in to cutting weight. I'd say the bulk of the bikes on that list are pushing 30 lbs. vs. the Trailcraft which is < 24 lbs.


----------



## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

I think I get what you're after ... I'm just not sure the ALL requirements fit on 1 kid sized bike 
My first stop would be seeing if any of the older kids in the team are moving onto a bigger frame  

IMHO: 100mm is pretty low for the DH and free ride but 160mm on the 24 frame is pretty full on DH. 

I know my 160/160mm pedals really well but that's on a L adult frame (I'm pretty M/L) .. and is more stable but definitely less agile than my Size M 130/130 trail bike. I guess it's significant that Sam Hill can ride my bike in a DH ... but not win at World Cup (only scraping a 6th place) ... Yeah mines Al and only 160mm on the front... and it was Cairns but just pointing out it's not a million miles away.. YET can be pedalled (surprisingly well).

I'd stick Jnr's 100/100 Norco a lot closer in a scaled down way to my Mega 275 than my trail bike (all round in a variety of ways). Like when we get pedal bob .or general.. chuck ability, stability etc. Putting it another way on my trail bike with shorter everything I can throw it about much easier... but even on my Size L much longer Mega I need to throw my weight about a LOT less than Jnr does on his bike... (I've got 3x as much to throw about and the bikes weights are nothing like that)

On the other hand, I'd be mentally scaling a kid sized 160/160 into over 200mm ... pure gravity don't even think about pedalling category (so forget the STA.. and stick 10sp so you can put on a DH cassette???)

If it's also going to be pedalled consider if you can get a dropper in the seat-tube... 

I guess the upshot is if it needs to be pedalled I'd be looking at 140mm max ... and possibly 130mm anything bigger and it's essentially a gravity only rig ??? 

One of my kids friends/race buddies has the 20" propain's but he's sponsored by them. 
Of course these are the 20"'s but they swap bids around as kids do and both agree the 20 is not pedal friendly. His race buddy couldn't believe the difference even to his HT (which he uses for DJ) - Almost had to drag him off it... (way too big for him) before he went down a black jump line... 

Another of the kids has the 24" Yuma but don't really know the parent ... it seems very good in the DH (and he beat Jnr in the last race) but I've no point of reference .. no other kids are allowed near the bike.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

We don't want 160mm actually. Maybe miscommunication on my side. I want around 130-140mm. The spawn I'm considering is 140mm. Max over there said it's designed to be similar to the 160mm adult enduro bikes that are popular today. I think that would do the trick and still be a decent trail bike. Just curious as to the other options but I don't think are many. All of the kids on his team are older and riding Ripcord or little shredder trail bikes, but they arent doing any DH races yet. Little shredder is sure nice but it's so expensive.


----------



## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

Yeah sure is a big decision... and not neccasarily one with a right answer ...
My subjective observations based on who pushes vs rides are that the 140's are more over the pedal threshold? More the 170/180 equivalent... 27.5 med/large

Jnrs Norco is "only" 100 but it's a bigger frame than the Ripcord but he fits a 125mm dropper ... no lockout on the shock and not even possible (152mm) but he can ride up no problem compared to some of the kids he's racing on 140/150 who *onlyride gravity.

He's usually getting 3rd so room to improve but then we have to drive 2 hours whereas the kids living there are in a club and are out 2-3 times a week on the DH trails with professional instructors so I'm not sure the bike is the limiting factor  on the DH. That said perhaps another 20-30mm would be good without hitting his pedalling ?

It could also be it's just never occurred to them that you can ride a bike without gravity..
Where we live we need to pedal anyway.*


----------



## Tjaard (Aug 17, 2007)

The Specialized and Trek are no longer made.

How tall is your kid?

If they are tall enough another option you might look at is getting an XS 26” bike, putting some nice short(say 140mm) cranks on there and then putting a 24” rear wheel on. 

If you start with an older, steeper, 120-140mm trail bike, doing this will slacken the headangle, putting it more into the “enduro” or “DH” area.
It will give you an even lower standover than stock, and shorten the reach. 
Bad part is slacker seat angle(might need to run seatpost backwards) and higher stack (might need a Syntace Flatforce stem).

Or if he is tall enough, how about a straight up adult XS? Juliana Furtado XS has a 387mm reach, similar to many 24” kids bikes.


----------



## Tjaard (Aug 17, 2007)

GSJ1973 said:


> Propain Yuma? 11 Speed and 140mm travel.
> 
> https://www.propain-bikes.com/Yuma2018?Language=en
> 
> ...


The Propain is fairly big, bigger than the Ripcord.


----------



## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

Tjaard said:


> The Propain is fairly big, bigger than the Ripcord.


This is true, a very long bike too if you have to pedal up. Probably best for lift served riding.

We went to the park last weekend and there were kids totally sending it on their 24" hardtails right along (if not bigger) than the kids on 24" Demo 8's, Rokkusuta's, Stinky's, etc.. I wonder how much travel is really needed after seeing this and think bike weight is holding kids back on the 24" fs bikes.

svinyard if your son plans on using the bike for more DH/Freeride, check out the Demo 8 from 2011-2013 era. My son had one with 24" wheels, and there is really no "trail bike" on the market that is good in the steeper/tech stuff which a dh bike can handle with ease. If it's more of a trail bike with some dh thrown in, the 24" Rokkusuta looks good but I agree with Steve-xtc - if it is going to be pedaled up and down 140mm+ anything bigger and it's essentially a gravity-ish only rig and will be heavy due to bigger/beefier everything and harder to put on a diet.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

GSJ1973 said:


> This is true, a very long bike too if you have to pedal up. Probably best for lift served riding.
> 
> We went to the park last weekend and there were kids totally sending it on their 24" hardtails right along (if not bigger) than the kids on 24" Demo 8's, Rokkusuta's, Stinky's, etc.. I wonder how much travel is really needed after seeing this and think bike weight is holding kids back on the 24" fs bikes.
> 
> svinyard if your son plans on using the bike for more DH/Freeride, check out the Demo 8 from 2011-2013 era. My son had one with 24" wheels, and there is really no "trail bike" on the market that is good in the steeper/tech stuff which a dh bike can handle with ease. If it's more of a trail bike with some dh thrown in, the 24" Rokkusuta looks good but I agree with Steve-xtc - if it is going to be pedaled up and down 140mm+ anything bigger and it's essentially a gravity-ish only rig and will be heavy due to bigger/beefier everything and harder to put on a diet.


This is where it's complicated. The Rokkusutta is lighter than both the Ripcord and Norco fluids by about 2-3lbs but has an extra 40mm of travel that's pretty cool. It'd be like you getting a Trek Slash that is 5-6lbs lighter than the fuel... It might actually be somewhat comparable to climb with. My kid rides hard on his hard tail and on heavy gravity days, it's NO MATCH for a proper full suspension in the least. He gets down but it's freaky scarey to watch him skipping across the tops of everything and seeing his rear wheel deflect at high speeds all over the place. I don't think I can do that again and feel good about it. The lack of traction at speed is silly. And we love that Spawn hardtail, it's amazing but we've found the limit at times.

Maybe I'm talking myself into the Rokkusutta (probable) but it definitely looks like the geo is something like a modern enduro bike with a slightly steeper hta. It's long, has a long front center. STA is a concern but hard to say with kids. The chainstays are a touch long but any kids bike is already so short that maybe it's a fair compromise for stability and climbing traction. Won't manual as easily but it'll be much more stable in the rough theoretically. Length for cornering isn't an issue with kids bikes, they are all super agile. All that and it's quite a bit lighter than anything other than the Maxwell (which won't cut it at a 68hta and shorter 100mm bike).

Again tho it's complicated because I can't just have the kid demo everything either. Fwiw he is 51in now and I'm anticipating picking up something this winter as he'll be close to riding it or spot on for starting on a 24".

The Rocky is an option but it's a bit odd with the conversion stuff and mismatched suspension. I have two kids so I don't think I can have a kid on one and have it grow with him.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

GSJ1973 said:


> Propain Yuma? 11 Speed and 140mm travel.
> 
> https://www.propain-bikes.com/Yuma2018?Language=en
> 
> ...


This seems like a cool bike, tho I haven't dug into it a bit. I'm on westcoast USA so I doubt I'd have a great experience with Propain due to that. but maybe I'm wrong there and should look further.


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

svinyard said:


> This seems like a cool bike, tho I haven't dug into it a bit. I'm on westcoast USA so I doubt I'd have a great experience with Propain due to that. but maybe I'm wrong there and should look further.


It's a nice looking bike, and the listed weight is about 2 lbs less than the Spawn. But, they do not have US distribution yet. If you try and go through the checkout process there is no option to ship to the US. It is possible to get one (I know people that have gotten the 20") but it's a big PITA, shipping is really expensive since it has to ship from Germany vs. a US-based DC like Spawn has, and you're SOL if you ever need warranty support, etc. I emailed them about US distribution earlier this year and was told they'd have it by August. Clearly that hasn't happened and who knows when/if it will.

Commencal has a 24" version of their new Clash enduro bike coming soon. No specs yet but looks promising: https://www.commencalusa.com/clash-24-c2x26684109


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Bruh! What is that?? That clash looks extremely interesting. Piggyback shock?? Oh man. Price point isn't bad either. If they could make a light (enough) kids bike for once in their history, this could be a game changer assuming it's dialed in.


----------



## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

The Clash looks like a pretty good shrink of the adult size bike, which is what looks like a Furious with a single crown fork.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/commencal-introduces-the-clash.html


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

svinyard said:


> If they could make a light (enough) kids bike for once in their history


Yeah, weight has never been a selling point for Commencal's kids bikes. Hopefully they fix that with this model.


----------



## smartyiak (Apr 29, 2009)

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video...hreducation-with-aggy-and-8-year-old-max.html

KONA BIKES | MTB | KIDS' | Process 24


----------



## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

Looks like Kona just dropped a 24" Process today as well!

https://rideonline.konaworld.com/mountain-bikes/platform-kids-mtb/2019-process-24.html

Options galore.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Cool to see more kids bikes coming out!! I wonder what little shredder is up to now? They sold the company but apparently Brian is still working it and they are planning some newer stuff at some point. Could be interesting to but man their price point sure gets high quick compared to some already really nice bikes at 2k$.


----------



## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

I looked closer at the Clash pic... lol its a photochop!


----------



## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

svinyard said:


> This seems like a cool bike, tho I haven't dug into it a bit. I'm on westcoast USA so I doubt I'd have a great experience with Propain due to that. but maybe I'm wrong there and should look further.


I can ask the owner of one this weekend. (Assuming he's racing) .. 
I don't know if his dad would let anyone else ride it though ... so not a comparison

His other smaller sponsored buddy is still on the 20" propains so not sure when he'll get the 24, but perhaps this winter if he grows.. so the two of them will doubtless do some very extensive testing and comparisons...

Another friend has just got his girl a Marin Jnr which I haven't seen yet with 120/120 
I'd imagine Jnr will give it a try over the weekend though it might have to be on some tamer runs as I'd not want him damaging her brand new bike.
TBH I'm not a fan of the adult version but I only tried for a day a while ago when I had to rent...


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

thesmokingman said:


> I looked closer at the Clash pic... lol its a photochop!


Yeah, they don't physically exist yet. A bike coach I know who has some kids on their junior development team said he's been told they'll be available in March.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

RMCDan said:


> Yeah, they don't physically exist yet. A bike coach I know who has some kids on their junior development team said he's been told they'll be available in March.


Hopefully we'll have some details on the bike before then. I need to figure out the next bike sometime in the next 6 mo and March is pushing it for actually getting it in hand

You ever figure out what's next for you guys Dan? I know you have that sweet custom option in mind too! I might need you to figure out The Hookup with that guy 😉


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

svinyard said:


> You ever figure out what's next for you guys Dan? I know you have that sweet custom option in mind too! I might need you to figure out The Hookup with that guy 


Pretty up in the air. My son looks like he's going to comfortably finish the season on 20" wheels so I'm not in much of a rush. Haven't talked to the frame builder in a while but that's still on the table. Another friend is going to sell his son's Rokkusuta 24 at the end of the year and has offered me right of first refusal on that.

Commencal also asked the bike coach I mentioned if he had any recommendations for kids who deserve a spot on the development team and he recommended my boy and his BFF. Nothing is certain yet, but there's a chance he might be getting a free or substantially discounted Clash 24. Fingers are crossed.


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

Oh yeah, I emailed Propain back asking what the status was on US distribution. Just got a reply saying nothing moved forward this summer and it will be next summer at the earliest. Sigh.


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

RMCDan said:


> Pretty up in the air. My son looks like he's going to comfortably finish the season on 20" wheels so I'm not in much of a rush. Haven't talked to the frame builder in a while but that's still on the table. Another friend is going to sell his son's Rokkusuta 24 at the end of the year and has offered me right of first refusal on that.
> 
> Commencal also asked the bike coach I mentioned if he had any recommendations for kids who deserve a spot on the development team and he recommended my boy and his BFF. Nothing is certain yet, but there's a chance he might be getting a free or substantially discounted Clash 24. Fingers are crossed.


Dang, that's a sweet deal.

Have you put your kid on a 24" Rokkusutta lately? If so, what'd you think of the fit and everything else? I think my oldest boy is similar in size to yours iirc (he is about 51" at the moment).


----------



## RMCDan (Feb 28, 2008)

He's pedaled his friend's around a bit and it's still clearly too big. I'm not sure what his height is these days but I'd be surprised if it's over 48"


----------



## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

RMCDan said:


> He's pedaled his friend's around a bit and it's still clearly too big. I'm not sure what his height is these days but I'd be surprised if it's over 48"


Yeah at 51", my kid still looks too small on the Ripcord as well. He is getting close tho. I'm guessing it'll be a bit big this spring (for whatever 24" we get) but should be close enough. Should make for an interesting 2019 with these new bikes.


----------



## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

Would love to hear from folks on 24 and what they are happy with.

Agree. There is a market for a 130-140 travel 24 inch bike with suspension tuned to kids (not adult tune/doesn't work) and light components.

I love that Trailcraft does frame and rolling frame, with so many component options, but looking for 130-140 travel.

Was a bit dissapointed Spawn went convertible rather than a smaller 24 Rokkusuta refresh, and a larger 26 rokkusuta refresh. 

Lil Shredders NICE, but still single pivot/older design (I think).

Clash 24 looks nice. Wish they did that frame and fork only as get a ton of boat anchors for wheels and components. Emailed to see if they would do that.


----------



## CeUnit (Jul 9, 2014)

cakemonster said:


> Was a bit disappointed Spawn went convertible rather than a smaller 24 Rokkusuta refresh, and a larger 26 rokkusuta refresh.


We've had the new Spawn Rokk 24" now for 2.5 weeks and just finished a 9-hr day at Whistler Bike Park plus cumulative 10-12 hrs of enduro (ride up for 1+ hrs, and then back down) on the North Shore. It's pretty awesome!

The reach (horizontal top tube length) on the new Rokk is 63mm shorter than the older Rokkusuta and hence is 'smaller' and a much better fit for my 50.5" tall son. The only downside I see about its convertibility to a 26 is the wheelbase is long when running 24" wheels, so it's theoretically not as nimble. We'll see when he's big enough to ride 26" if the Rokk's shorter cockpit will be a concern.

Yesterday on Whistler's Peak, about to ride Top of the World:


----------



## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

CeUnit said:


> We've had the new Spawn Rokk 24" now for 2.5 weeks and just finished a 9-hr day at Whistler Bike Park plus cumulative 10-12 hrs of enduro (ride up for 1+ hrs, and then back down) on the North Shore. It's pretty awesome!
> 
> The reach (horizontal top tube length) on the new Rokk is 63mm shorter than the older Rokkusuta and hence is 'smaller' and a much better fit for my 50.5" tall son. The only downside I see about its convertibility to a 26 is the wheelbase is long when running 24" wheels, so it's theoretically not as nimble. We'll see when he's big enough to ride 26" if the Rokk's shorter cockpit will be a concern.
> 
> ...


Yeah, maybe I am being too critical. Look back to 2015 when really only option was a Lil Shredder. Now many great bikes. STOCK kids tuned forks (and rear shocks).

Solution probably more time riding, less time on the internet.

Just want to make a good decision.

That said I think there is a niche to fill in the Enduro category that is one notch up, kinda like Lil shredder used to be with customization from frame, similar to what Trailcraft is doing now.

There is Meekboyz, but that is more than 2x as much, and very DH oriented.


----------



## paulm7508 (Jan 3, 2016)

My boy races the Marin Hawkhill Jr. Took us ages to decide on the right bike for him, but at the spec and price point, the Marin was the best we could get. Has served him well over the last year, however we have given it some choice upgrades to get the best from the bike, (standard forks were poor, better brakes, tyres, etc.). We've just ordered him some 26" Hope Fortus wheels that will be in next week ready for his final 2019 race meet, so look forward to seeing how the bike performs on them


----------

