The 5 Best Mountain Bikes for Kids in 2017 & How to Get Your Kids Riding
Mountain biking, especially those with suspension forks and a light aluminum frame, are great for kids of all ages. Though road bikes are great, a mountain bike is going to make it a whole lot of fun for your kids to get out and enjoy themselves with friends and with family. With so many different mountain bikes out there each featuring different wheel sizes, carbon fiber or aluminum frames, quality brake levers, as well as hardtail bikes and softail bikes, it can be difficult to find something that your children will really like and that be able to handle your child on some rough terrain. After all, you don’t want to be buying your child a bike every year from the local bike shop so you need something to grow with them and their skill level.
Specialized Riprock
This bike is designed to make sure you have a great ride whenever you want to get out there with the large tires that provide additional comfort and suspension. The Specialized Riprock is great for getting off the trails rather than just riding down smooth sidewalks and it has mechanical disc brakes, which are designed for stopping quickly and easily. There are even seven different speeds to choose from, which is great when the terrain starts to get a little rougher and your little one wants to keep right on going.
Though a little expensive, this bike comes in several colors and makes riding a whole lot better for your little one, so they can learn to love bike riding with the entire family. They’re definitely going to want to be out there with you once they get a chance to look at this.
Cannondale Trail 20
With this bike, you’re going to spend a little bit less and you’re going to get a lightweight bike, which is great since most kid’s mountain bikes are really heavy. The Cannondale Trail offers six different speeds, so it works great on different terrain styles and is easy to shift from one speed to the next even for younger riders. It offers 20” wheels and works great on rough terrain as well as smoother. It has hand brakes that are similar to those on any adult bike and even though they’re not excellent, they’re still going to get a great performance that’s safe and comfortable for your child.
Available in a couple different colors and both a girls and boys style, this bike has front suspension, SmartForm C2 Alloy frame and sets your child up in the ideal position for bike riding so they’ll be comfortable and prepared as they switch to a larger bike later.
Diamondbak Sync’r 24
The Diamondbak Sync’r is definitely a sleek looking bike that lets you go all over as a cross-country rider. It’s light, made with alloy, and it has a lower frame style that makes it really easy to ride whenever you want. It has a SRAM 1x11 drivetrain that’s found on a number of adult bikes as well as hydraulic brakes and a Suntour fork, also common with adult bikes rather than youth ones. All-in-all, it’s great for a child who’s really into riding and wants to get serious about it.
The 24” wheels are large enough and comfortable enough for anything and the seat makes it great for children who have grown past their first bike and are looking for something that promotes a little more adventure. More expensive than most of the other options here, it’s definitely going to make sure your kids enjoy biking and that they will continue doing it for a long time.
Rocky Mountain Reaper
If you’re looking for something that will help your child go from a children’s bike all the way up to a full-size one then you’re definitely looking for the Rocky Mountain Reaper. Though it’s going to cost more than any of the other choices, it’s able to use both 24” and 26” wheels, which means you’re going to have no problem transitioning this bike to fit a growing child. It has tunable shocks that can easily be changed as your child grows and it has plenty of suspension and slack angles that will help your child perform on the roughest terrain.
This bike has all the features you would look for on an adult bike and can easily keep your child entertained for any length of trip through any type of terrain, which is definitely the point. They’ll be able to ride it and enjoy it as well because the features are what they would expect to find on any bike, including one for an adult.
Transition Ripcord
Finally, the Transition Ripcord is right at the high end though not quite as expensive as the Rocky Mountain Reaper. It provides everything your child could possibly need from the 24” wheels to the slack head angle. There’s even a short chainstay which helps to make sure they can climb up hills or ride over rocky terrain. The low standover and the lower handlebar height makes sure that they get plenty of longevity out of the bike itself and it provides you with 100 mm travel shocks, which are great for more advanced but still young riders.
There are hydraulic brakes to make sure that you can stop fast and 1x10 gearing so that they can always get up that hill the way that they want as well. With a moderate weight, compared to other mountain bikes and especially youth bikes, this one is something you’ll definitely want to consider. It comes in several colors and has everything you need to ride for an extended period.
With any of these bikes, you’re going to have no problem getting your kid out there and wanting to ride. They all let your child experience riding not just on their sidewalk, but through the park and even in rougher areas, which really makes the experience more fun. If you can show them the fun places they’ll be able to ride that mountain bike, they’re definitely going to be more interested in riding it for themselves, and it’s going to give them more options for speed and how they want to ride too, which is definitely a great aspect.
