# Choice on larger 24" vs xs 26"



## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

I am looking for a bit of advice. I am looking to buy a mountain bike for my son who will be 9 next month. I'd like for him to be able to go with me and he has said he would like to. Right now he's riding a bmx bike. I had been looking at 24" bikes, but after taking him to sit on a few at different bike shops it has me thinking about possibly a xs adult 26" wheel bike.

My son is 55 1/2 inches tall. I measured his inseam at 25 inches. He seems to fit okay on the 24" bikes , but there isn't much room to grow. One bike shop owner even popped him on a 26" bike (not a mountain bike and not an xs so it was a bit big). One shop had a Charge Cooker 24 fat bike. Pretty cool looking bike. The owner let me and my son take out fat bikes for a spin. Out of all the bikes we looked at my son fit the best on the fat bike. I'm not sure it would be the best bike for normal trail riding, but he did fit well. Taking a look at the geo on it, it has an ETT of 550mm and is listed at a 14" size, no standover listed. The Kona Lanai comes in an xs with 26" wheels and has a ETT of 559 and a standover of 640mm in a 13" size. The Specialized Hotrock XC Disc in large is a 13" with a ETT of 530mm and standover of 643. Specs are reasonably similar between the Specialized and the Kona. The Kona is about $130 cheaper at msrp.

I would appreciate any thoughts on size of bike or any other alternative bikes. I checked out Islabikes, but the Creig 26 is out of my price range. I'm going to have to talk fast and apply tax refund to convince my wife on even the Specialized.


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## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

Assuming he's growing pretty quickly, I'd go 26. If you think it's going to be a few years before he breaks 60", I'd probably stay with a 24. 

If you can, try to find a used XS locally. Typically you can get better suspension and components and it will still be cheaper than any new XS you're going to find. Same thing goes for 24's. I see hotrocks and equivalents in the $100 - $200 range all the time. You can use the money you save to lighten or upgrade some components on it.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

Thanks. He's always been a bit big for his age. I'm leaning towards the xs 26. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on a used bike, but might end up going with a Kona Lanai and look for deals on lighter parts.


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## JonathanGennick (Sep 15, 2006)

My son was always on the high end of the size range for his age. I was shocked at how early he fit onto a 26er. You do get better fork and tire and wheel options in the 26er size, and more of them too. That's something to think about.


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## joe_bloe (Nov 18, 2010)

My son has been on an XS 26er since he was 9. The bike (XS Trek 4300, 13" seat tube) is as common as cockroaches around here, I got his for $100 and built it up with parts-bin stuff. It now has XTR wheels & brakes, SID fork, weighs under 25 lbs.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

When my son was 5, he was on a 20" Gary Fisher Precaliber. By the time he was almost 7, he was way too big for it so I put him on a 24" bike that I built from a bare frame. He was on and off that bike in the blink of an eye. 
At 9 1/2, He was on a 15" 26er and now, at 11, he's on a Medium 9Zero7 fat bike. I built him 65mm rims with 3.8 Knards for regular trail riding and 82mm rims with 4.8" tires for snow and sand. He loves it. He's about 5'5" now. At least I can transfer all of his parts to a larger frame as he grows now. 
I guess what I'm saying is if you can go right to the 26, do it. I put a bunch of money into building a decent 24" bike and sold it for a song.


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

RedBen said:


> My son is 55 1/2 inches tall. I measured his inseam at 25 inches. He seems to fit okay on the 24" bikes


Your son is about the same size as mine @ 55 1/2" tall but with a 26" inseam. I just built an xs carbon frame for him and he rocks it well. He still fits his 24" Scott Scale perfectly but now benefits from the larger tires of the 26". Go 26". Also, I ended up using 145mm cranks to get a proper spin on him.


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

Here's Beast Boy tryin' his newly built bike last April.


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## jh_on_the_cape (Jan 12, 2004)

It's a tough call. He has to be as big as the smallest adult to fit on an xs 26 so about 56 inches. I don't think it's a good idea to get a bike a kid will grow into. One season on a I'll fitting bike could turn him off to riding. That said my son didn't care what he rides really.i would look on Craigslist amd see what you find. But the 26 is better if it can fit because it is so easy to upgrade the fork wheels and other bits.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

NYrr496 said:


> View attachment 1053922
> 
> 
> Here's Beast Boy tryin' his newly built bike last April.


Very nice!

Based on the suggestions I've decided to go with a xs 26. I ordered a shorter crankset (From Trailcraft) and got a good deal on a narrower (and light) handlebar. A lighter fork will have to wait for a good deal, but the options are nice to have. Hopefully my son will get a few years out of it. Then I can hand it down to one of my other two. Thanks all.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

I don't know about the rest of you, but bikes for the kids is at least partially an excuse for me to tinker with their bikes even though color is probably more important to them than specs. Lol


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

That's the plus side to building bikes for the family, the friend's kids...

Keeps me occupied. I couldn't possibly build all these bikes for myself.


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## fishrising (Mar 11, 2012)

Maybe a little late, but remember a 24" fat tire bike is similar in size to a 26" regular tire bike. Here is my son on his new 24" Cooker, with the seat as low as it can go. He is very excited!


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

That thing is cool.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

fishrising said:


> Maybe a little late, but remember a 24" fat tire bike is similar in size to a 26" regular tire bike. Here is my son on his new 24" Cooker, with the seat as low as it can go. He is very excited!
> 
> View attachment 1055921


The Cooker is a great looking bike. That's actually the one my son was able to try out in one of the bike shops I went to and the reason I started looking at xs 26 bikes.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

My son's bike should be in next week sometime. I'll post a pic once I get it set up and my son on it.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

*First ride*

We were able to get ot for our first ride today. The bike is a Kona Lanai XS. I swapped out the handlebar for a 670mm one and the crankset for a 152mm 2x crankset from Trailcraft Cycles.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

Next on my list is a lightweight fork and wheelset. I think I can shave off at least 5 pounds.


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## Steve-XtC (Feb 7, 2016)

RedBen said:


> Next on my list is a lightweight fork and wheelset. I think I can shave off at least 5 pounds.


Check your BB, pedals, saddle, bars seatpost and stem .... As well .... I was surprised just how much weight was in my kids very cheap to replace components.

Bars cost me about $10 for carbon, light Chinese stem about the same ... Saddle only slightly more ... 15 or so in $

Seatpost I got a titanium one that went very cheap on eBay as it was already cut ... Deliberately didn't go carbon for a seatpost as I can see him over tightening the quick release. The Old seatpost and saddle were both incredibly heavy ... Just the bolts and steel fittings to the alloy post weighed 120g ....


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## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

RedBen said:


> Next on my list is a lightweight fork and wheelset. I think I can shave off at least 5 pounds.


At least you're dealing with a 26. Should be really easy to find a light fork and wheelset that won't break the bank.

I'd still personally go with an older SID as they work great for lightweight riders by just lowering the air pressure. Easy to find parts to rebuild if necessary and you wont really find any lighter suspension fork.

I've purchased 2 lightly used wheelsets in the past year off ebay, both are under 1700g. Both were disc sets, one using SUN DS1 hubs and XTR hubs - $125 for the whole set. The other was a never ridden DT Swiss EX 1750 for my AM bike - $250. Should have no problem finding a wheelset with good hubs under $250.

We also saved a ton of weight replacing the heavier components on my daughter's build. Did aluminum post, carbon riser bars, aluminum stem, even were able to save several hundred grams on some rockbros pedals.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

I already swapped out crankset, BB, pedals, and bar. I'm a little reluctant to drop cash on a new stem without weighing the current one. I think I'll get better bang for my buck with fork and wheelset. I was looking at either the Manitou R7 or the Rockshox 30 Gold. Both look reasonably light (1550-1650 grams) and can be had on ebay for a decent price too. Bicycle Wheel Warehouse has some light wheelsets for a decent price as well.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

Any recommendations for a light saddle in a youth size?


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## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

RedBen said:


> Any recommendations for a light saddle in a youth size?


WTB volt or devo or deva are my current youth recommendations, the volt's going to be easier to find and cheaper since the devo was discontinued. They also make the female specific deva but it's a bit heavier. Check out the WTB site though because they offer several other short and / or narrow saddles.

Also, I believe the R7 only comes in 100mm which might add a lot if the bike is on an 80mm. Double check the axle to crown on whatever fork you're looking at to avoid making the head tube angle too slack.


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## RedBen (Nov 4, 2010)

Thanks for the saddle recommendation.

The fork it came with is 100mm so the r7 should work fine. The axle to crown, etc are about the same.


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