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DH bike for a small rider

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Apache249 
#1 ·
I'm a small rider at 5'2". I've recently really started to get into DH at bike parks. I bought a full face, will be buying pads soon and started looking at bikes. I (like most people) don't want to spend a ton of $$. Mostly because I see myself getting up to a mountain twice a month tops and I already have five bikes.

I see a bunch of "kids" bikes like Stinky 2-4's. I love being able to really slam the seat down when riding DH. I realize the suspension travel is about half of what the adult bike is. Would that be something I can change? Or will finding a fork and rear shock be impossible? I realize the suspension on these was meant for a kid my height but 70% of my weight.

Does anyone have any other recommendations for a small DH/FR bike?

Just tossing one train of thought out there. Any input is great.
 
#3 ·
Thanks, I hadn't seen an XS DH bikes in my searching (I admit not extremely thorough). It's just frustrating because most mountains don't have small bikes. One mountain I went to gave me and my buddy who is 5'8" the same size bike since it was the smallest they had. It sucked.

$1200 is more than I'm looking to spend, though. If I lived near a mountain and could go a couple times a week I could justify that amount. I do agree it's a smoking deal though. I appreciate the link!
 
#4 ·
If 1200 is out of your budget then you might as well ride 1 of your 5 bikes or sell some.. Sorry but when it comes to DH , get something thats a little more then just decent. The speeds and terrain that you ride , i am damn sure i have good working quality stuff . Just sayin ...

Do it right the first time so you dont end up breaking things right away and spending money right away which you could of used to buy a newer better bike .
 
#6 ·
Oh I completely agree on not wanting to ride junk down the mountain.

If I didn't say it, I meant to say that i don't mind buying a project and putting some time and $$ into it over time. I just don't have $1200 that I can justify dropping on another bike right now. I have no problem buying a $600 bike and putting some work into it to get it ready for next season.
 
#9 ·
That was for the whole bike he posted.

My 5 other bikes are 2 DJ/urban bikes, 1 vintage roadbike, 1 bmx bike and 1 POS dept store bike.

I'm really just looking for either a frame or a bike that needs TLC and build it up / fix it over time so it's ready for next spring. If my other extra bikes were worth anything, I'd sell them to start the DH fund but they aren't.
 
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