2024 Early Rider

Hellion X20

The Early Rider Hellion 16 looks more like a bike for the bike park than your backyard. But how much trail cred does it really have?

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Is suspension a good idea on a kids mountain bike? We all grew up with fully rigid bikes, and “it never did me any harm”, the internet roundly told me. The idea that the next generation of riders should have a crap time on their bikes because us millennials did is daft though. Just because we rode around on bone-crunchingly hard shopping bikes doesn’t make it a good idea. Suspension makes it easier to ride without crashing, more comfy, and my kids are increasingly likely to come riding with me again. That sounds like a win to me. Enter the Early Rider Hellion, it’s the epitome of mountain bike development, with a lightweight alloy frame, a 100mm travel fork and a host of little details dialling it in to young riders. It is truly standing on the shoulders of giants, passing down the painfully acquired knowledge of decades of riding, thousands of bikes, and millions of rides. Here’s why it’s one of the best kids mountain bikes around, and why my kid and I like it so much… – Short of time? Click here to skip to the verdict – Early Rider Hellion 24 need to know Triple-butted aluminium kids hardtail, with CNC’s chainstay yoke and sliding dropouts to grow the frame Three ‘sizes’ thanks to a choice of 16, 20 and 24in wheel options First RST fork with light damping tune for small riders Kid specific cockpit and components, with short cranks and a narrow bar Sizing The Hellion comes in a choice of three wheel sizes, 16, 20 and 24in, spanning ages 4-11 years. There’s very little difference between the Hellion models, except the smallest bike gets a rigid fork. The chainstays grow proportionally between the wheel sizes, as does the front centre measurement. Really then you can think of the wheel sizes as akin to sizing on an adult bike. This is really important – on any bike – because it ensures the smallest or biggest sizes don’t end up with out of whack geometry. Specifically, chainstays that are too short for proper stability when descending and climbing, or too long to turn corners properly. Building three different sizes is absolutely going to add complexity for Early Rider, and therefore cost too, but it’s worth paying in my opinion. Afterall, the goal is for your kids to have a good time… and want to come back and do it all again. Frame The frame is made from the same stuff pretty much all kids bikes are made from, 6061 alloy. It’s light, cheap and strong. Early Rider has used triple butted tubes to give it an edge though, saving weight where the frame is under less stress. In my experience kids like bright colours on their mountain bikes, and it’s a shame the Hellion doesn’t come in bright orange or hot pink. Clearly it’s been designed to appeal to mums and dads, with a brushed metal or army green finish. The finishing is sublime all the same, …Continue reading »

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