24” Bike for daughter

[andrew_j]

Any suggestions for 24” bike for 10 year old smallish daughter.

Thanks.

Our use case is rail trails that are mostly hard pack gravel and occasionally paved.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Got mine a Specialized but she’s tall for 10 at 5’1”. I think it’s a women’s small or medium on 27.5” tires.

 

[edyvw]

Any suggestions for 24” bike for 10 year old smallish daughter.

Thanks.

Our use case is rail trails that are mostly hard pack gravel and occasionally paved.

Any steep grades etc?
I got my son last year Trek Wahoo with hydraulic brakes. Excellent bike.

 

[FZ1]

Any suggestions for 24” bike for 10 year old smallish daughter.

Thanks.

Our use case is rail trails that are mostly hard pack gravel and occasionally paved.

Go to a bike shop and get a bike fitted to her.

 

[GON]

What I learned buying bike for my Grandsons'. The weight of the bike is a key factor. For a smaller daughter- the bike weight might be the very top factor.

My oldest Grandson was given a secondhand bike. The bike was heavy, and he didn't enjoy using the heavy bike. He turns seven years old this October and I will be buying him a 20" bike for his birthday. Weight will be key for this purchase.

 

[Lubener]

Any suggestions for 24” bike for 10 year old smallish daughter.

Thanks.

Our use case is rail trails that are mostly hard pack gravel and occasionally paved.

Go to a good bike shop with your daughter. There, they can match a proper frame size to her dimensions and for the type of trails to be encountered.

 

[BISCUT]

My 12 year old daughter is 5"4 and rides a Trek Marlin for the last few years. It has held up well to rocky trails we ride. She spends most time on pavement and hard pack gravel roads with some harder rides that have plenty of east coast rock gardens. Plus 1 on getting her fit. I have multiple bikes (Fat for winter; road; gravel; and 2 MTB's) and I spend time and $$ for fit. Once dialed in you get why it's so important.

 

[SC Maintenance]

When my girls were that age I also got them both a Trek and I was happy with both - although the bike shop itself was awful. Not worth the story. Its the time of year where you might get a deal. If one isn't shown - ask - they will sit on that inventory till Christmas at this point.

Unless your handy with bikes - then bikesdirect might be worth a try - but be prepared to have to re-assemble everything yourself - even if its not supposed to be something that you are supposed to need to do.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

Go to a bike shop and get a bike fitted to her.

I agree with this. A shop will set up your daughter with something safe and fun to ride. Even their entry level bikes will be good quality and well put together. Don't go to a ****'s or big box store, that's a total crap shoot with often very poor results. I say this as a former bicycle mechanic (tech).

 

[AZjeff]

Price has to be considered. A 24" Specialized Jett is on sale for $449 right now. I'm all for good bikes, it's my thing but everyone doesn't want to sink $500 in a bike for a 10 YO. As far as brands at Walmart etc who knows if one cheap brand is better than another. I recently bought a like new Trek mountain bike with an extra small frame for a 10 YO girl to ride when she visits for $200 on Craigslist. OP didn't mention price range.

 

[IndyIan]

What's your budget? For that usage it does matter too much as long as it fits well. V-brake would almost be prefered just because they work well and aren't fussy like mechanical discs. Something with quick release wheels and seat post is usually a good quality bike, aluminum frame, stem, bars, etc. No department store ones, but a used name brand one with tune up is great and pretty cheap.

 

[Cheetah-kins]

Price has to be considered. A 24" Specialized Jett is on sale for $449 right now. I'm all for good bikes, it's my thing but everyone doesn't want to sink $500 in a bike for a 10 YO. As far as brands at Walmart etc who knows if one cheap brand is better than another. I recently bought a like new Trek mountain bike with an extra small frame for a 10 YO girl to ride when she visits for $200 on Craigslist. OP didn't mention price range.

Yeah I agree. I had hoped OP might find something for $300 at a shop, something entry level. If not I would not buy a first timer/child a $500 bike. Lots of kids don't end up getting into riding, plus theft is highly likely. I was gonna say, OP could also buy a basic kid's bike at ****'s and have a shop assemble it. Do NOT let ****'s assemble it though, have a shop do it.

Also, I agree that used bikes is the way to go, I've bought my own that way in fact. But if you know nothing about bikes, I would not buy used. Most sellers/buyers are clueless about size and other factors that are important. So unless you're knowledgeable I would not go used.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Price has to be considered. A 24" Specialized Jett is on sale for $449 right now. I'm all for good bikes, it's my thing but everyone doesn't want to sink $500 in a bike for a 10 YO. As far as brands at Walmart etc who knows if one cheap brand is better than another. I recently bought a like new Trek mountain bike with an extra small frame for a 10 YO girl to ride when she visits for $200 on Craigslist. OP didn't mention price range.

Cheap bike can be made useable, but it required know how to set it up properly, and the tires and saddle that come with cheap bikes are terrible. So even if you can DIY your $100 Walmart bike just became $200 anyway.

Its unfortunate the world left the 26 inch bike tire realm. You used to be able to get an extra small 26 inch frame that would support a height from around 4-10 to maybe 5-3? A lot of smaller female's don't get past 5-3, so a good bike can last a really long time for them.

 

[andrew_j]

Any steep grades etc?
I got my son last year Trek Wahoo with hydraulic brakes. Excellent bike.

Railroad beds no steep grades for obvious reasons. However i would like to get her to local park with 22 miles of riding under 1 mile from my house that is 400 foot in elevation. We live at elevation 5. That bike was recommended however the color she disliked a lot and paying that price I passed.

 

[edyvw]

Railroad beds no steep grades for obvious reasons. However i would like to get her to local park with 22 miles of riding under 1 mile from my house that is 400 foot in elevation. We live at elevation 5. That bike was recommended however the color she disliked a lot and paying that price I passed.

My 8 yrs old does 32 mile loops from Breckenridge to Copper Mountain and back. Sometimes grades are 8%, long ones, hitting 40mph easily going on bike trail following I70. That Whoo is an excellent bike for anything off-pavement or some extra load. Do you have shop that buys back bikes after 2yrs?

 

[JTK]

Oh gosh I think you'd be lucky to find a new kid's bike for $500 in any of my local bicycle shops. It's kind of a catch.. A really good bike might make the difference that sparks a kid's interest in riding. Or they still might loose interest or grow out of it and now you have an expensive bike sitting.

The only think I liked about the COVID era was my kids and I did a lot of bike riding during that time. All of our stuff has been of the walmart variety though.

 

[i6pwr]

Check out the Giant Liv series. These are designed for a woman's frame, my daughter loves hers. Maybe even add a more upright handlebar stem.

 

[Weogo]

Our bike co-op occasionally has older, brand name, mountain bikes with 24" wheels.
Any co-ops near you? :
https://bwanh.org/bicycle-recycling/
I suggest a rigid frame and wide tires for some cushioning. A suspension fork is just a lot of weight.
A short stem might be helpful.

Thanks and good health, Weogo

 

[Nick_Scandic]

Hi Andrew,

Kids grow up so quickly, so you might not need to stress too much about finding the perfect bike right now. It’s likely you’ll be searching for a new model again before you know it! Best of luck and health to you and your family.

 

[vwmaniaman]

I had a Peugeot bike in Arizona and rode it to work and back because riding it to work was quicker than fighting traffic in the car. I sold it when I moved to Kentucky cause there was no safe way to ride it to work. Later on I moved to a very nice mobile home community that had paved streets and very little traffic. I found a very nice riding Schwinn Tourist at a yard sale for $20. Rode it till I broke my left hip on the ice. Wife wants me to dump it but it still rides very well although the paint doesn't look to great now the mechanical are still good. When my son was 6 years old I took him to a bike shop near the ASU campus in AZ and let him pick. He really liked a red Raleigh bike. It fit him perfectly and was light weight. He rode it for a couple years and hated to get rid of it when he outgrew it.