24” Bike for daughter

[JHZR2]

Trek 24” has served us well. Wahoo model I think. It’s a hard fork but for any reasonable price you’re not going to get a good suspension. So it’s a better bet.

 

[NYEngineer]

Are these rail trails gravel? Or Dirt? If they are, look for one of the Plus bikes. 2.8-3" wide tires. They were all the rage a few years ago. There are still a few being made. Think Cannondale or Scott.

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/kids/7-to-12

 

[John105]

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.

I was thinking the same thing my sons bike was from Walmart. Some of his friends do have the $700 bikes and yes they are lighter and yes they are nicer and better built. They won’t be spending too much time on a given bike since they are growing. My son is a mere 2” away from being too big for 24”. He’s 10.

My thoughts are maybe to wait until next year when he can get an adult XS bike. People here are wealthy so it’s fine to spend. One thing to consider is kids grow fast. With a nice bike a nice rack is going to be needed

Edit I followed the link to Cannondale.
When I was in junior high, I dreamed about Cannondale. But I compromised (got nothing), sorta like Frank Vincent in the Sopranos. No, not the grilled cheese off the radiator, the other one.

 

[greenjp]

Whatever "real" bike fits the bill that you can find used on Facebook lol. I just today picked up a used Giant XTC Jr. for my 8 year old son at a bit over a quarter of the new price. As others have noted, aside from fit, a lightweight frame is arguably the most important feature. The aforementioned Liv models from Giant are good too (my 12 and 14 year old daughters have those), Co-Op from REI are nice, plenty to choose from if you're patient and willing to drive a little ways.

jeff

 

[IndyIan]

I was thinking the same thing my sons bike was from Walmart. Some of his friends do have the $700 bikes and yes they are lighter and yes they are nicer and better built. They won’t be spending too much time on a given bike since they are growing. My son is a mere 2” away from being too big for 24”. He’s 10.

My thoughts are maybe to wait until next year when he can get an adult XS bike. People here are wealthy so it’s fine to spend. One thing to consider is kids grow fast. With a nice bike a nice rack is going to be needed

Edit I followed the link to Cannondale.
When I was in junior high, I dreamed about Cannondale. But I compromised (got nothing), sorta like Frank Vincent in the Sopranos. No, not the grilled cheese off the radiator, the other one.

I ended up getting my 5' 11 year old a 27.5 rocky mountain Soul 10 in XS. I still need to replace the boat anchor fork with a low end air fork, but I added a 100mm dropper, some decent pedals, tires, grips, and the geometry is ready for even northshore type trails. I doubt even now there is another low end bike with modern hardtail geometry.

 

[John105]

I ended up getting my 5' 11 year old a 27.5 rocky mountain Soul 10 in XS. I still need to replace the boat anchor fork with a low end air fork, but I added a 100mm dropper, some decent pedals, tires, grips, and the geometry is ready for even northshore type trails. I doubt even now there is another low end bike with modern hardtail geometry.

I started to read "5' 11 year" and thought your 10 y.o. was 5'11"

I have a lot to learn with repairing bikes. I thought if I can fix a car, how hard can it be to fix a bike....on my own bike I removed the front derailleur without marking where it was originally positioned, man....

 

[NYEngineer]

I started to read "5' 11 year" and thought your 10 y.o. was 5'11"

I have a lot to learn with repairing bikes. I thought if I can fix a car, how hard can it be to fix a bike....on my own bike I removed the front derailleur without marking where it was originally positioned, man....

I have a whole separate tool box for bike tools. In fact, I even have an open top style box just for wheel building.

 

[IndyIan]

I started to read "5' 11 year" and thought your 10 y.o. was 5'11"

I have a lot to learn with repairing bikes. I thought if I can fix a car, how hard can it be to fix a bike....on my own bike I removed the front derailleur without marking where it was originally positioned, man....

Only at the little league world series!

 

[Gillsy]

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.

I bought my first son a GT mountain bike for his tenth bday. At the age of 41, he still has the same bike. Buy a quality bike from a local bike shop where the techs are savvy.