2021 Hotrock 20

Bought one for my 6 yr old son. Wanted to start teaching him about gears and some downhill. Two worst things are the shifter and derailleur. Very hard for young hands to shift. After letting the shop tune it up I started doing my own maintenance. Pretty much once a week I readjust the cables and tune up the shifter. After 2 years the derailleur has been ordered for replacement and I have 2 cables ordered as well. I dislike the setup on the adjustable brake handles. The adjustment knobs back out on their own and the cables get frayed on the ends pretty easily. Other than maintenance, the bike rides very well. The frame is great for riders looking to master a range of skills. We ride gravel, hard pack, tight trails and greenway. My son is doing quite well on it and developing ahead of many of his friends. Overall very pleased. Would like to see more common sense shifting for kids and a way to prevent damage to the derailleur. Expect to do regular cleaning and adjustment.

This bike design for kids 7-10 years. I bought this bike 10/26/20 for my son. Very good bike but the grip shift is hard for 7-8 years old. My son 7 1/2, he can shift up speed ok but can't down shift is too hard. For adults is normal but for kids should not be hard. I told my son maybe another year for you to be able to down shift.