# Kids mountain bike size



## gene22 (Feb 14, 2008)

Hello,

Is a 24" (wheel size) mountain bike too big for a 7 1/2 year old?

Thanks


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## jsnider8 (Jan 5, 2008)

It depends. How tall is the child and what is the inseam length? If it would be a borderline fit now I would say go ahead and do it. You will get more use out of it and he/she is about the age where growing starts to accelerate. If it is too big try a 20" (assuming they aren't on a 20" now) and it will help build confidence in riding, but then you will either face buying another bike in about a year or try to wait a bit more and get a small size adult (26").


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## Fabulous (Jan 20, 2008)

My 9 1/2 year old is just moving up to a 24" bike. He's 54" tall. I got him a 20" bike for his 7th birthday and he rode that until this last weekend. I highly recommend taking your kiddo into your LBS to have a proper fitting done before you buy a bike. A lot of the kids bikes come with adjustable everything so the bike can grow with the kid. The drawback to this is it adds a lot of extra weight.


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## Ka_Jun (Oct 1, 2007)

http://www.trail-kids.com/standard.php?id=32&pageID=5

http://www.bikemaine.org/parentsguide.htm

http://www.ibike.org/education/buying.htm

Do a lot of research before you pull the trigger.


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## baraant (Feb 25, 2005)

Generally a 24" bike will be to big for an average 7.5 year old.


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## TFitz (Jun 21, 2008)

*rule of thumb for kids' bike sizes*

I work part time in bike sales and have 3 riding grandkids. In general, I have found that 5.5 to 6-yr-olds do fine on 20" wheeled bikes, 7.5 to 8-yr-olds are right for 24" wheeled bikes. At 54" in height, even though a full size bike is technically too big, many kids can handle a 12-13" (frame size) 26" wheeled mtn bike.

All kids are different, so ymmv.


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## IAmtnbikr (May 17, 2008)

Just tonight got our 9 yr old daughter a 24" bike, an '08 Trek 220. She fits on it very well and there is a ton of room for her to grow as well. One nice thing about a decent quality bike is that you can change out the stem easily if their arms really grow, so you can quickly do more than just raise the seat up. I also like the dual pedal mount holes so as the legs grow you can move them to the longer crank arm position. I'd imagine this bike will be good for the next 3 years as she continues to grow.


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## Razorfish (May 9, 2008)

My 9 y/o daughter has been riding a small 26 for 6 months. I don't know her height off-hand but she's an average height 9 y/o girl.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

It will depend on their height off course, don't push a bigger tire just because but if you still want to move to the bigger wheels check the frames with sloping top tubes so standover is not a big deal.

When my son moved from 20" to 24" the seat was all the way down and a super short stem to make the cockpit smaller, eventually the seat went up and a regular stem in place. Two XC seasons later he moved to a 26" bike with sloping top tube (XS GF Marlin).

Now he's into DH and is running a Small/Medium Norco with 24" wheels to lower the bike for his height. If things go as planned and we sell his roadie we'll get him a Transition Syren and move him to 26" wheels.


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## daleksic (Aug 26, 2007)

I just took my (soon to be) 7 year old to several LBSs to try out for a 24" Specialized bike, but he's still a little to small for it. He fits fine on his 20" BMX but he wants a MTB like Daddy with suspension and gears.

I hat dragging him out on his 20" BMX, but I'm not going to buy a 20" MTB so he can ride for just 1 year. That's $250 that can go towards a nice 24" for his next birthday.

This brings me to my next dillema. Do I sell his old 20" bike when its time or hold on to it for my 2 year old daugther to ride it in a few years? She just got a Specialized Hotwalk and these bikes just aren't cheap either. I was thinking just to keep it, revive it in a view years by repainting it in pink and white and get out of it cheap(ly)


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## baraant (Feb 25, 2005)

Keep it. Last year I bought my 6 year old a 20" XC bike and he rides it alot, but he still also rides his 16" bmx bike because he likes to toss it around.


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## motoxer913 (Apr 21, 2006)

Maybe I'm a bit old school but I don't think a kids BMX bike can be replaced by a mountain bike, so keep the BMX bike. When they are tooling around the neighborhood with their friends the BMX is way better and you don't want him putting the wear and tear on a nice mountain bike that a kid will put a bmx bike through. I think of all the stuff I did on a bmx bike as a kid and there is no way a mountain bike would have held up....my dad would have constantly been pissed off at me having to replace all the broken parts. The simplicity of the BMX bike is key to its durability.

My boy will definitely have a both and the MTB will only be ridden on the trails. For now I have the same dilemma, spend $ on a 20" MTB or wait another year or two for him to fit a 24" Trek 220? Guess I'll see how much he grows over the winter.


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## bdundee (Feb 4, 2008)

Our 6 year old is on a 24" but he is tall for his age.


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## LB412 (Nov 28, 2012)

Razorfish said:


> My 9 y/o daughter has been riding a small 26 for 6 months. I don't know her height off-hand but she's an average height 9 y/o girl.


My 9 year old girl is on a 14" 26 wheel. We rode 8 miles in the mountains today. The bike is a hair to big but will be perfect in 6 months. She thinks its great now!


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## LB412 (Nov 28, 2012)

LB412 said:


> My 9 year old girl is on a 14" 26 wheel. We rode 8 miles in the mountains today. The bike is a hair to big but will be perfect in 6 months. She thinks its great now!


Failed to mention she is 4'9"


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## skiploder (Dec 17, 2012)

LB412 said:


> Failed to mention she is 4'9"


I think the OP's kid is probably big enough for a 26" wheeled bike by now


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## kaochaos1 (Mar 14, 2011)

skiploder said:


> I think the OP's kid is probably big enough for a 26" wheeled bike by now


Lol...I think you are correct!


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## thegrozz (Dec 11, 2013)

So, general theme seems to be at 9yr old they may start to outgrow the 24" and be ready for the 26"?


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## Jordan300 (Jul 26, 2008)

Some people are all for moving up to the larger wheel. Some people think giving them more time on a smaller bike can improve their handling skills. I have a friend who just put his 9yr old onto a 26" and it's a little big, but he manages just fine.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

thegrozz said:


> So, general theme seems to be at 9yr old they may start to outgrow the 24" and be ready for the 26"?


Typically, a 24" frame should provide a bit more standover height but the top tube length of 24" frames are only a bit shorter than an XS 26". You could easily change stem length a couple of times as they grow in order to keep them fitting on the 24" longer. Other consideration is where the frame locates the handlebars, most 26" bikes (especially with much front suspension) will put the handlebars very high up in relation to the seat height for a kid. A 24" frame and short A-C fork can help keep the handlebars reasonably level with the seat instead of at chest height.


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

Jordan300 said:


> Some people are all for moving up to the larger wheel. *Some people think giving them more time on a smaller bike can improve their handling skills. *I have a friend who just put his 9yr old onto a 26" and it's a little big, but he *manages* just fine.


^^ I'm of this opinion.

It's pretty simple really:

Step one: Take front wheel out of 24" and 26" bike.

Step two: Put both wheels between legs. 26" first, 24" second.

Step three: if kid crotches 26" and has to tip toe over 26" in order not to touch, kid needs 24". If kid crotches 24" on tip toes, kid needs 20".

Generally our kids have fit 24" from 50" to 57". 50" is seat slammed on a 24" at 7.5 years on average for our "50th percentile" kids. 56" is really in between sizes, but technical trails should still be on 24" due to much better stand over. Once 5 feet tall, 26" wheel 13" frame bikes work well. They grow like weeds once they hit 9-10 or so!


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## TFitz (Jun 21, 2008)

A lot depends on what style of riding your kid likes. See my post above (long time ago!) for my general view on this. If you're taking them out on even mildly technical xc trails the bigger wheels may give them more confidence (did with my grands). But if your kid likes to jump, etc, keeping them on smaller wheels as long as possible may be better. Each of my grands in the same immediate family were all different; one did great on a 24" wheeler for years even tho' he wasn't terribly aggressive, another didn't learn til he was too big for a 20" and then almost immediately hopped to a 26", etc. Taking them to the LBS is good advice. Maybe right after you've had them seen by a pediatrician!


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## ilmfat (Mar 10, 2007)

i got my then 4.5 year old on a 20" asap.

she'll be going to 24" asap, and 26" asap.

i got a 3 yr old im gonna jam onto a spawn banshee asap.

i look at it like this, my 16" sette reken felt just fine, but then i got an 18" jabberwocky, and now i cant go back to tiny wheel short TT bikes.

kids are very adaptable.


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## tekkamaki (Mar 3, 2007)

My 8 year old rides a 24 inch Kona and he loves it. He is on the cusp or going up to a 12.5 size womens specialized era comp - I am looking for a decent 155-165mm crank for this bike right now.

Take a look at Islabikes for some great kids rides- they are all kids specific - we just picked up a 26 inch cyclocross bike from these guys- they are new to the US but have been in the uk for a while


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## ProjectMayhem (Aug 23, 2013)

I did put my youngest son on a 16" wheel before he was three, and he is small for his age - 36" tall at 3. He had been riding (without training wheels) for over a year and the small 12" wheels were really holding him back on bumpy ground (we have loads of tree rooty trails). However I will be keeping him on his 16" until he is at least 5.


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## QueenMAUW (Sep 3, 2010)

Sorry...meant to start a new thread and not bump the old thread...not finding a way to delete a post...:blush:


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