kq2dc7

My grandson enjoys riding the single track with me and currently is riding a Trek 7.2 fx hybrid. It is a child size with 24 inch rims and a 13 inch frame. I'm considering putting mountain bike tires on it and maybe a front shock. Has anyone had any experience altering this bike? Would the rest of the bike handle the abuse? Were we ride there is some rocks and roots but not a lot of downhill sections that would be considered very technical.

qclabrat

It can be done, but you can probably find a used 26r XS frame bike for cheap and not worry about parts matching issues. How tall is he? Btw, pretty awesome to be riding with the little guy. I hope I'm still able when mine are around in 20ish years...

kq2dc7

He is a little on the small side for his age, the seat is as low as it can go. He really likes it though and is wanting to try new trails all the time. It is great to have something that he would rather do than a video game.

grubetown

Tires would be an easy swap. I wouldn’t spend money on the fork as his growing years are just starting and he will probably need a bigger bike a few times over the next while. I would save money for a fork and keep it for the inevitable crashes he will probably have trying to keep up with you

dylanschaw

Pretty good option)

JonathanGennick 

Is the fork aluminum or steel? Putting on wider tires and then running lower pressures for shock absorption is easy and worth making the experiment. Beyond that, I am leery about spending on a suspension fork and trying to cobble the bike together into something it's not.

Is a new bike a possibility? If you stay with Trek, the Wahoo 24 and Roscoe 24 models look interesting.