# Best kid's bike ever - Santa Cruz Nomad



## Bertleman (Feb 10, 2004)

You have clearly never seen Meekboyz bikes. Purpose built carbon kids downhill bikes. 20 24 and 26 inch www.meekboyz.com


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## Loll (May 2, 2006)

All due respect, because both father and son can ride. As a parent, I am a full believer to give kids the basic or the standard equal to their peer, and they need to earn premium. It looks like son clearly has earned it in skill level and a sponsorship will take him far.

On the other hand, this is a bike that someone easily pour their annual savings to get. In LA, it is not uncommon to pull into a gas station to see 17 year olds in their Lotus or BMW. This reminds me of that.


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## DPeper (Jan 24, 2013)

Wow! That is a fantastic bike for the young rider. Extra Mom points for talking the wife into that... Awesome Nomad. M90s in a 26" someone knows someone cuz you can't just go order that stuff anymore!

@bert sawicki- That is a nice spam post but those bikes are nowhere near the level of this fathers labor of love. This young mans father has thought of everything and hand selected the best part for the job. This bike is a one of a kind and meekguys are looking like less in comparison to the obsession featured here.


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## Vermont29er (May 27, 2006)

So what? Why is it any of anyone else's business how much the bike costs? Everyone has their own priorities. Most kids are stuck on junk, so it's great to give them a bike that's actually fun to ride and will encourage them to ride more.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

@DPeper.... "This young mans father has thought of everything and hand selected the best part for the job." .. you mean apart from cranks and saddle???

"nowhere near the level of this fathers labor of love"
Go to any kids race ... DH or XC and you will see plenty of examples of labor's of love. 
In this case I'm missing perhaps where the love is directed ... is it pouring money into the bike regardless of functionality... why not buy a kids saddle? It seems the problem is not that they don't exist but that the label is wrong....why not buy some appropriate cranks (e.g. Trailcraft) or have some machined? (Or just do it himself) ... if its not simply a problem that the label is wrong.... Sure the XT have hollow crank arms and that would mean sticking a older Deore LX or Zee ... obviously then upsetting the labels on the bike..


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## fc in the house (Dec 8, 2016)

great points @Dpeper

And this bike is just an object, dream bike project. The real love is displayed every single day as Forrest interacts with his two sons. They've done more together in 7 years than many in a lifetime.


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## fc in the house (Dec 8, 2016)

@Steve, we can criticize the spokes or the grips, etc...

The key though is the amount of time that went in to this bike and get the kid ready to ride it at Whistler and the Sierras at this very young age. That means hundreds and hundreds of rides and coaching and motivation.

And understand that this is work in progress. Cranks, saddles, tuning are all being worked on for this bike and the local, milder trails.


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## dtimms (Apr 28, 2006)

@Francis, You say hundreds and hundreds of rides? He states in the article he goes a couple rides a month. I don't get the bike for a kid this size but not my money and he can do what he wants. But it seems like a big show and how fancy he can make his kids bike.


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## fc in the house (Dec 8, 2016)

good point @dtimms

I'm thinking the past seven years including all the rides in the neighborhood, with friends etc. When your kid is that small, every pedal session counts.

Little Finn didn't get to this level with just a few rides.


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## Forrest_Arakawa (Oct 17, 2018)

@dtimms, he rides a lot around the block. Not too much on the trail because he, like most 7yo's has a schedule that doesn't always allow for it. He loves to fish, read, paint, play baseball, ski, swim, skate, scooter, play soccer, look for bugs and spend time hiking with the family. We built the bike because it keeps him safe while riding double black diamond trails in the bike park. So, it may look to you as an extreme expense but to me it's just the best tool for the job and gave me solace while on the trail watching him fly.


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## dtimms (Apr 28, 2006)

@Forrest - You built a very nice bike and it is your money and your feeling of comfort your son. Enjoy!


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Hi @Forrest, beauty of a trophy ride right there! How tall is Finn? Sizing is always challenging for kids bikes and they can't demo everything. Any reason why a Spawn FS 140mm bike wouldn't cut it? Watching those spawn kids whip the bageezus out of A-line with Brook McDonald in their sponsor video certainly makes me think it'd be hard for a kid to out ride one of those bikes.


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## Forrest_Arakawa (Oct 17, 2018)

He's definitely not getting a Lotus my friend


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## Forrest_Arakawa (Oct 17, 2018)

Thanks @DPeper!!! It's working perfectly as he smiles every time he's on it!!!


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## Forrest_Arakawa (Oct 17, 2018)

@Steve - He is 58" and growing fast! He's a monster dude, WAY off the charts in terms of height and weight! He's bigger than many 10yo. The Nomad is equivalent to me riding a V10. It's just the sickest bike for the job. He ripped all the tech trails as well as the jump lines. When he got into trouble the geometry and suspension did it's job! There is no better bike out there for him when riding the park.

Thanks bro


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## orion1 (Dec 16, 2019)

bro i will by it for 16,000


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## Jaxon1 (May 4, 2020)

that things insane


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