A lot of birthday or Christmas lists are going to get started as soon as young mountain shredders lay their eyes on Transition’s latest bike. The Ripcord is a 24” do-everything mountain bike with kid-specific ergonomics and a solid build of quality components, aimed at young riders who would otherwise be thrashing lesser bikes to pieces as their skills develop.
“We wanted to build a kid’s bike that provided the same killer riding experience as the rest of our line, and the last thing we wanted to do was create a product that required immediate upgrades due to sub-standard components,” said Transition Bikes Marketing manager Lars Sternberg. “The young riders these days pick mountain biking up so quickly they can easily outgrow their equipment, and we wanted to be sure our bike was going to go the distance. The Ripcord is meant to do that and much more.”
Curious to see what your kid could do with a bike like this? Keep reading…
The Ripcord was designed to be ready to rock right out of the box for average sized 8-12 year old riders. The alloy frame and components are strong enough for bike park laps, but light enough for climbing and trail riding.
The frame provides a low standover height and a zero-stack headset is used to keep the front end down and within reach. Since this bike is intended to go up and down, Transistion has made sure there is enough height in the seatpost to achieve a proper pedalling position. The frame’s geometry strikes a balance between a typical kid’s main priorities – Cruising the streets to friend’s houses, and trail riding. The bike is slack enough for confident descending, but not so much that it rides like a chopper on the road. With a head tube angle of 67º and chainstay length of 381mm, the Ripcord is set up to cruise, climb and descend.
The Ripcord rides on a 26” air sprung Rockshox XC 32 fork and standard sized Monarch R rear air shock with 100m of travel in both ends. Without weight-specific coils, the suspension can be appropriately dialed in for smaller, lighter riders. While the stock setup likely won’t leave anything to be desired, Transition was smart to use non-proprietary components that can be easily upgraded or serviced.
But there are a few kid-specific touches. The bike runs a wide range 9-speed drivetrain, with a single ring up front and an e-thirteen LG1 chain guide. With this setup, kids only have to learn how to use one derailleur (and hey, that might be all they ever need to learn) and won’t be dealing with constantly dropped chains. The Shimano M396 hydraulic brakes offer reach adjustments so smaller hands can easily rein things in when needed.
With Race Face bars and stem, SRAM X5 shifting, FSA 165mm cranks, double-wall rims with transition hubs, a Kore seatpost and WTB saddle, this bike gives your mini-shredder all the high-performance equipment they need to overshadow your own skills by the time they’re 15 or so. Or younger:
The complete Ripcord weighs 30lbs, and comes in Blue or Black. Suggested retail is $1699 USD.
Frame Geometry:(mm)
- Reach- 366
- Stack- 503
- Effective Top Tube- 510
- Seat Tube- 317
- Seat Tube angle- 74°
- Head Tube length- 90
- Head Tube Angle- 67°
- Chainstay length- 381
- Wheelbase- 1005
- Standover height-576
