Scott has overhauled their entire kids line-up for next year under the tagline of ‘Heroes Inspire Heroes’ to help parents motivate the next generation of riders. Whether you are looking at the new Future Pro line of bikes for those who are already seriously racing off-road, the Junior kid’s bikes for smaller budding cyclists, or just quality shoes, helmets & riding gear, Scott has all bases covered for 2019 (and maybe even in time for some holiday shopping)…
Scott Heroes Inspire Heroes, motivating kids on bikes
Scott’s general philosophy around getting more kids on bikes revolves around the idea of outfitting young riders as well as adults to get out on the trail more. Treat kids on bikes just like adults on bikes, and build a new generation of cyclists (and consumers?!) Give them more than just kid-sized bikes, but also helmets, shoes & riding kit that pack all the same performance and features as their parents have.
The Heroes Inspire Heroes concept boils down to – show your kids how cool and fun it is to ride, show them the great places where we usually ride, and young cyclists will be psyched to get out & ride more too.
You’re a hero if you take you kids cool places to ride – whether that is to the mountains, to a bikepark, or just to your local trails. The kids will think you are cool, and will want to become a better biker like you.
As a parent of two small kids that aren’t always so easy to motivate, I know it’s a bit more complicated (and harder) than that in reality. But to be fair, outfitting your kid well, letting them see how much fun biking can be, and visiting the cool places a bike can take you works pretty well. So, Scott’s new approach seems like a pretty good place to start.
Scott Future Pro line of performance kid’s bikes
The new Future Pro lineup aims to fill in a bit more between kids & adult bikes. These are meant to be proper high-end, race-ready mountain bikes for kids who have aspirations of ditching child-specific designs and getting on more adult bikes.
The highlight of the Future Pro line is probably the 2000€ Spark 600 alloy full-suspension mountain bike. Basically as XC race bikes have gone fully to 29″ wheels, Scott has brought back the 26″ wheel for the smaller rider (from about 4’7″/140cm tall). The geometry of the Boost-spaced kid’s bike is adapted back to 26″ wheels but the frame can fit up to 27.5″ wheels. The bike gets 120cm of trail or race-ready travel with lockout, a tapered steerer, Shimano disc brakes, and a SRAM NX 1×11 drivetrain.
Besides the 26″ alloy Spark, Future Pro also includes some 27.5 Sparks, 27.5 Scale XC hardtails, and the 26″ wheeled Contessa & Roxter alloy trail hardtails.
Scott Junior line of category bending kid’s bikes
Scott Junior is basically everything else for kids, from balance bike up to that 26″ XC racer. But for 2019 there are a few new bits to drop in some extra variety and fun for young riders. Since gravel is the rage, Scott has a Junior Gravel bike now too.
The 700€ Gravel 24 is a 9.3kg/20.5lb aluminum drop bar bike with 24″ wheels to join ma & pa on their next gravel adventure. While this certainly could also do mixed duty from road to cyclocross the 6061 alloy frame & fork get gravel friendly details like flat mount disc brakes (still QR axles mainly for wheel availability), full fender & rear rack mounts, and wide range compact gearing – here a short reach Shimano Claris 2×8 setup with 145mm cranks, 46/34 chainrings & a 11-32 cassette.
Beyond a gravel bike, Scott is letting kids onto the e-bike bandwagon too. The new Roxter eRide will come in both 24″ & 26″ setups from 2000€ sporting 2.6″ wide tires on the smaller bike, a 70mm Suntour fork, and a 250W Bosch Active pedal assist powertrain.
Scott Junior, solid regular kid’s bikes too
At the same time every young rider doesn’t need to be racing. Many of the regular kid sized bikes do carry over like 24″ Scale, Contessa & Roxster alloy hardtail mountain bikes.
Smaller kids get 20″ Scale, Contessa & Roxster, with the Roxster packing in a meaty 20+ setup running 2.6″ tires for trail-taming with mom or dad.
And you can’t go wrong for inspiration with a 16″ Scale 16 sporting a Nino Schurter replica finishing kit.
The kids themselves can dress the part like Nino too. It starts small with the Nino Junior collection including a Spunto JR Plus helmet for small kids with MIPS protection, a top-level adjustable fit system & integrated rear flashing light.
There’s a full Nino Junior RC team kit with jerseys, jackets, shorts, gloves and more for the ambitious XC racer. Or if your kid is more into trail riding, there are plenty of nice looking semi-baggy kits in muted tones. Plus trail-ready dirt gloves, knee & elbow pads all properly scaled down to fit kids.
It’s a full head to toe treatment as well, focusing on quality breathable fabrics, comfort, temperature management & protection. It includes a couple of different off-road helmets for kids, down to the good-looking MTB AR Kids flat pedal shoes with lace-up or velcro strap options that borrow tech direct from adult versions of the same.
Scott’s move to scale high-end tech down to junior size looks like a solid way to get more kids interested in biking. And the idea of matching their parents bikes & riding kit in not just style, but kid-adapted performance is sure to pay dividends. Again the pricing here doesn’t look like it is trying to compete with budget kid’s bike options. But for parents dropping many thousands of euros on the latest carbon XC racer or gravel bike, why not spend a bit more and bring your kids on the next adventure ride!
