# Felt Q24, Giant XTC Jr 24, Trek Superfly 24, Specialized Hotrock 24



## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

I'm looking for a 24" bike for my son. Currently, he's riding a Specialized Hotrock 20". Below are the choices, all are around same price, ~$400. Are they all the same or is one better than the other. I do plan on making few upgrades to bring the weight down.

Felt Q24, $400 - I like the lime green color scheme.
Giant XTC Jr 24, $400 - only one with disc brakes (mechanical though)
Trek Superfy 24, $450 - lightest one at 25lbs
Specialized Hotrock, $400


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

I would probably go for the trek at that price. I bought the 24" hotrock 7-speed for my son, and it was over 30lbs stock. Took a lot of effort and loot to bring it down to 22lbs


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## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

i'm also adding cannondale race 24 to the mix. it's the only one that comes with an air fork but also the highest price at $500.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

It's worth it for the fork alone then. I have an rst first air on the hotrock, way lighter than the boat anchor 2200g coil that came on it, and way more adjustable for the kids weight. IIRC, it's closer to 1600+ grams, and I had to ship from Germany to even get one.


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## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

thanks. i'll take your advice and go with the cannondale. MSRP is $550 but my LBS is having it for $500.


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## hallin222 (Oct 13, 2005)

WOOM 5 | Bike 24" | 7-11 years | 49-57" | 19lb 3oz 8.7kg | WOOMBIKES USA

19 lbs, $450 USD


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## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

Wow, thanks. Son is scrawny so weight is most important factor for me. However, I would prefer to have an air-fork and I'm not sure how easy it is to upgrade to an air fork with the 1" shaft. Also, I think the 1.5" tire is too thin for trail riding, would like something around 1.85-2.00". 

I'll need to rethink which bike I want to get for my son.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

I think that c'dale weighs around 25+ lbs after sniffing around, so not too bad IMO. Most kids bikes come with steel bars, stem, and seatpost, so another easy way to save a pound or so on the cheap. I couldn't find a better suspension fork than the rst first air in 24", without modding a 26" anyway. Also another heavy part is usually the wheels. It can start to get pricey though when you begin adding it up. Have you looked at cleary and trailcraft yet? They make some great light rides for kids, that are trail ready.

I went a little nuts with my sons hotrock, but it's been over last season and the winter, so I spread the cost out. It was far too heavy stock without frustrating him a lot. I ended up building a set of stans crest with Koozer 24h hubs, and rocket ron tires for a wheelset. It saved a lot of weight, and it's rotational weight which makes a big difference overall. My son is 64lbs, so also pretty light. I also went carbon for the bars and seatpost, which can be had cheap. I used a trailcraft crank, which has a good length for kids, along with a shimano zee shifter and 10-speed derailluer off fleabay. Also went with some hydro juicys for brakes which were on closeout. I think the wheels and fork made the biggest difference, but the extra gears really helped on the climbs.

It's actually tough to keep up with him now, lol. 









I ended up up building a set of wheels for my sons 20" too, which also weighed close to 30lbs. Got his down to 21lbs with similar upgrades, but couldnt find anything as cool as the stans crest. The 10 speed gearing really helped him on the climbs too. Used a Spawn crank for his. The little capa isn't air, but actually has a usable preload and was around 1600g.


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## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

that's impressive. I wish I knew how to build wheels as I've also been looking at the Stan's 24" Crest rims. Another factor when upgrading kids bike is time. You just don't have forever to sit and wait for deals since they'll grow out of it by the time you're done. I'm fortunate since I have another little boy who will get whatever bike i'm going to buy/upgrade for his big brother so I don't feel it's a complete waste.


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## LewisQC (Jul 3, 2013)

I really like Opus bikes for kids. I had two 20" Opus Doppler (20 lbs but with rigid fork) for my kids. My son is now riding a 24" Opus Fever with Spinner Fork. Not as good as RST it seems but good enough... The bike is ok stock but now 1x10 with XT rear mech and shifter, Sram S600 (shortened to 132mm), shimano square tapper UN51 BB and Rocket Ron tires.

Edit: Our build is 25 lbs


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

kle5701 said:


> that's impressive. I wish I knew how to build wheels as I've also been looking at the Stan's 24" Crest rims. Another factor when upgrading kids bike is time. You just don't have forever to sit and wait for deals since they'll grow out of it by the time you're done. I'm fortunate since I have another little boy who will get whatever bike i'm going to buy/upgrade for his big brother so I don't feel it's a complete waste.


Thanks man. You're right about the time too. I upgraded him to the 24" at the end of last summer, so it was good timing to wait for deals over the winter(northeast). The blue bike was actually his before, but I knew the little guy would inherit it, so upgrades wouldn't go to waste.



LewisQC said:


> I really like Opus bikes for kids. I had two 20" Opus Doppler (20 lbs but with rigid fork) for my kids. My son is now riding a 24" Opus Fever with Spinner Fork. Not as good as RST it seems but good enough... The bike is ok stock but now 1x10 with XT rear mech and shifter, Sram S600 (shortened to 132mm), shimano square tapper UN51 BB and Rocket Ron tires.
> 
> Edit: Our build is 25 lbs
> 
> ...


Nice ride man! I tried to find a grind air, heard good things about them, but kept hitting dead ends. I even tried buying it direct from Spinner with no joy. Looks like it actually came with some nice wheels too!


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## Szy_szka (Oct 29, 2015)

Take a look at Diamondback Sync'r 24.


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## Erock503 (Oct 20, 2014)

Szy_szka said:


> Take a look at Diamondback Sync'r 24.


I originally wanted that bike, but the stand over height was a little big for him. Loved the components except the fork though.


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## kle5701 (Jun 3, 2016)

Thanks for everyone inputs. Just when I was about to go to the bike shop to purchase the Canondale Race 24, I found a really good deal on a used Scott Scale 24 Jr. It was heavy so this is going to be a project.

I started another thread on this.

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/scott-scale-jr-24-build-need-advice-1017700.html


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