Giant XTC JR 20" Bike?

MST.ESQ

MST.ESQ

New Member
I am looking for a new bike for my older son (7 1/2 yrs old). We have a Scott Voltage 12" and Haro Z1 16" at home. They are great bikes! I need to upgrade him to a 20" and thought I was settled on the Gary Fisher Pre-Caliber. I just saw the 20" XTC JR on the Giant website. I must say, when I checked last year, Giant's kid's offerings were, well, quite lame. However, this one seems to be on par with the "grown-up" functionality and styling of the Gary Fisher bike. The only possible downside is the lack of 'a cool looking' front suspension fork.

Anyone have any experience with it? Know the weight compared to the Gary Fisher? Seen it in stock at any stores?
 
I don't have experience with the GF kids bikes. But I have bought about 4 Specialized Hot Rocks. IMO Specialized is a bit more serious about kids' bikes than the others. Lighter weight and reliable.

I just put my 7 yo on a 24" Hot Rock and my 5 yo on a 20", both geared and suspended, trading up from single speed. They love it.
 
I looked at the new Hot Rock also but just forgot about it. Do you know the weight of your kid's bikes? Some tell me weight does not matter but the way I look at it, if my 35lb bike feels heavy to me, imagine how heavy a 30lb bike feels to an 80lb kid!

Perhaps I am undersizing my kid's bike? Our kids were playing together at the MTBNJ picnic last fall - they appeared to be the same size to me.
 
MST.ESQ said:
I am looking for a new bike for my older son (7 1/2 yrs old). We have a Scott Voltage 12" and Haro Z1 16" at home. They are great bikes! I need to upgrade him to a 20" and thought I was settled on the Gary Fisher Pre-Caliber. I just saw the 20" XTC JR on the Giant website. I must say, when I checked last year, Giant's kid's offerings were, well, quite lame. However, this one seems to be on par with the "grown-up" functionality and styling of the Gary Fisher bike. The only possible downside is the lack of 'a cool looking' front suspension fork.

Anyone have any experience with it? Know the weight compared to the Gary Fisher? Seen it in stock at any stores?
Click to expand...

when you get the whippersnapper on a 20" what are you gona do with the 16"?

my son is on a 12" fisher and its gettin small
 
MST.ESQ said:
I am looking for a new bike for my older son (7 1/2 yrs old). We have a Scott Voltage 12" and Haro Z1 16" at home. They are great bikes! I need to upgrade him to a 20" and thought I was settled on the Gary Fisher Pre-Caliber. I just saw the 20" XTC JR on the Giant website. I must say, when I checked last year, Giant's kid's offerings were, well, quite lame. However, this one seems to be on par with the "grown-up" functionality and styling of the Gary Fisher bike. The only possible downside is the lack of 'a cool looking' front suspension fork.

Anyone have any experience with it? Know the weight compared to the Gary Fisher? Seen it in stock at any stores?
Click to expand...

Did you check out Trek.

I hope your son likes trail riding.

I have a Trek Mt60 20" wheels for my son so we could hit the trails. The bike is very nice, but the "cool" factor isn't there. The front fork has maybe an 1" or 2" travel and runs 1x5 I think? I installed XT V-brakes and Short reach Sinz levers. It's heavy so thank God for the gears.

It's been collecting dust since Santa delivered the Mirraco BMX bikes.

Perhaps my 3yr old will ride it in a few years.
 
MST.ESQ said:
I am looking for a new bike for my older son (7 1/2 yrs old). We have a Scott Voltage 12" and Haro Z1 16" at home. They are great bikes! I need to upgrade him to a 20" and thought I was settled on the Gary Fisher Pre-Caliber. I just saw the 20" XTC JR on the Giant website. I must say, when I checked last year, Giant's kid's offerings were, well, quite lame. However, this one seems to be on par with the "grown-up" functionality and styling of the Gary Fisher bike. The only possible downside is the lack of 'a cool looking' front suspension fork.

Anyone have any experience with it? Know the weight compared to the Gary Fisher? Seen it in stock at any stores?
Click to expand...

A 7 year old can often ride a 24" wheel bike. You might just skip right over the 20".
 
MST.ESQ said:
I looked at the new Hot Rock also but just forgot about it. Do you know the weight of your kid's bikes? Some tell me weight does not matter but the way I look at it, if my 35lb bike feels heavy to me, imagine how heavy a 30lb bike feels to an 80lb kid!

Perhaps I am undersizing my kid's bike? Our kids were playing together at the MTBNJ picnic last fall - they appeared to be the same size to me.
Click to expand...

He needs to ride both the 24 and 20.

The guy at the Specialized shop said there is no way he would fit on a 24.

We went out in the parking lot, and he rode it around, including on some little grass hills and stuff, and he was fine.

They both also been riding since they were 3.

You can watch this short clip, they're totally comfortable. This was at allaire yesterday

http://vimeo.com/10629206
 
I am glad I posted... I never would have thought to try a 24".

My older son has been riding since he was able to walk. Your son looks very comfortable on the larger bike. It would be great to save some money by only having to buy one more bike. Plus, IMO the 24" bikes have better specs.

Thanks guys.

Tony C: Save the Trek for your younger child - kids bikes are not getting any cheaper.
 
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