Average sized 8 year old boy, about 134cm
Can anyone recommend a decent bike for him?
He is upgrading from a Merida 20"
Looking for a decent brand 24" with mechanical disc brakes.
I'm guessing he's a bit small for an XS sized 26" bike

Open to all suggestions

Does anyone know if the Giant XTC JR 1 is any good? $420
Also looking at the Giant XTC SL Jr with hydraulic brakes (but probably can't justify the price) $680
Or the Marin Bayview Trail 24" $549

I just bought the XTC Jr for my 7yo nephew.
It's heavier than I would have really liked (neph is a bean pole) but it'll last him quite a while I feel.
Went with the mechanical brakes rather than hydros simply cos they're easier to deal with. My nephew is unlikely to need the stopping power of hydros for a while yet.

The Norco Storm was another option I looked at. Also considered the Specialized Riprock (but spendy and neph doesn't really need stupid big tyres)

We just bought our 8yr old a Rocky Mountain Vertex Youth 24". It was a bit pricey but is way nicer than anything else we could find for the money.

The proper short chainstays mean he can loft the front end at will. The air fork is amazingly effective and well damped.

cep32 wrote:We just bought our 8yr old a Rocky Mountain Vertex Youth 24". It was a bit pricey but is way nicer than anything else we could find for the money.

The proper short chainstays mean he can loft the front end at will. The air fork is amazingly effective and well damped.

Seconded. Great little bike. I think we are up to year 3 (will need to upgrade soon - getting too small) but an excellent bike. It doesn't weigh a tonne either.

We went with a Specialized Rip Rock for our littler guy. Come in various specs - the lowest was fine for him at the time @ $600 new: single chainring, disc brakes, 24+ tyres. We sold it for $350. He got pretty good on it and is now on a 26" Trance Jnr.

BrokenKonaRider wrote:We went with a Specialized Rip Rock for our littler guy. Come in various specs - the lowest was fine for him at the time @ $600 new: single chainring, disc brakes, 24+ tyres. We sold it for $350. He got pretty good on it and is now on a 26" Trance Jnr.

+1.
We recently got the Comp (air fork) for $800 for our 9 yr old. The big volume tyres make it effectively 25 inch wheels.
The big tyres/traction is great for confidence and gives them some valuable cush on the hardtail rear.
It's still too heavy for a kids bike IMO but there's no solution to that without spending $2k+.