My 11 y/old son is 4'11 and bought him a 29er hardtail, he raced xc a month ago and struggled with the 24in tire bike, he easily beat his best race time today during 7 or so laps we did at the same place(just training) there was a technical section which he struggled on during his race (had to come off the bike 2 or 3 times) today he never had an issue at that section. I got a Liv Lurra Size L 177cm male. He got Marlin Team 1 size S( a bit big for him for now but no issues), mine is a better featured bike with a 150mm dropper but found it lumpy on the xc kids course. It is however nice on our green/blue trail. The head angle definitely more slacker than his Marlin 66 vs 67deg so Liv Lurra definitely around 65deg head angle, I found it very very easy to get used to coming from an old geo hardtail, I however have found the huge space between the downtube and front axle causes the front wheel to be all the way forward on the Thule top ride roof bike carrier, drove with it for 2 hours mounted on the roof and was ok.

Check out Marlin team1 or team 2 which are xc bikes but can do trails ok.

Apologies, it's my jacket zipper-pull tapping on the mic.

@@dustybettymtb happens 🫣😅

Thanks, Mark! I hope you're having a beautiful summer up in Ouray.🤜🤛

I appreciate my non-lady viewers too!

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing your personal experience too. That makes this a helpful resource here in the comments. Cheers!

Thank you so much! That's really fun being able to create reviews.

A little bit, but only two or three PSI because there's so many square edge Rock hits. I didn't want to ding a rim. It's a tricky balance.

Oh, thanks! She's getting so big now. I think her Mac ride days may be coming to an end pretty soon!

@@dustybettymtb Even better. She'll be able to just ride along with you. Thats the best. LOL So much fun. Our daughter turned 9 this year and is really gaining confidence riding and its an absolute blast.

She's right on the edge between a medium and small. I think if she likes writing really steep stuff she might benefit from a medium, but for a lot of trail riding, a small might be great. I might even size down on this depending on where I was riding.

Wisdom ✊

I feel really good. If you like a strong initial bite, these will be right up your alley!

I haven't run a forecaster in a bit. I bet that goes great with a recon 👌

That is such a great loop! I love adding the newish little rock/rabbit ears loop to it. It's been a few months since I rode it. I should ride over there soon too!

I don't run inserts. It's just extra weight I like to avoid. I run 21psi in my rear tire and 18 or 19 in the front tire. I don't any problems with pinch flats at that pressure. Occasionally I'll increase my psi by 2 or so if I'm worried about sharp rock.

Ha ha, so true! My BB had a creek and it was like a blaring noise without the buzz of a hub to drown it out. 😂

I now can really tell how dirty/loud my chain is when I stop peddling. The noise just stops when I glide. I never noticed as much when I had a loud hub.

Yeah, weight really does matter when you're at the lighter end of the spectrum. Thanks! On a good month, Steve is able to ride a couple times which is so nice for him and me. Progress is slow but we are seeing positive chances.

Thanks! We have talked about doing his and hers reviews where we both wear our mics and talk about the bikes as we ride. Wouldn't that be fun?! Those ground controls are great!

@@dustybettymtb Both of your inputs at the same time? That would definitely by awesome! Just a matter of time and Steve will be his old self again!! You both have awesome channels! Hope one day to maybe ride in Sedona! Seems like a beautiful place to live!

Can I ask, were you running hydra or 1/1s?

I am running Bontrager hubs and they are too loud for my liking, and they aren't nearly as loud as I9 hubs lol. I have been looking to pick up a pair of Onyx hubs to have laced onto my hoops, just have to find a local builder for them which seems to be a needle in a haystack right now.

My local bike shop put a grease in my Hydra hubs and they are not noisy. I would love to feel the difference with the soft engagement of the Onyx hubs.

Thank for a great and informative video. How does the soft engagement of the Onyx hud compare to the Hydra hub?

So true! I love the engagement and peaceful silence but I have to announce myself a lot... it's worth it though!🤘

Definitely upgrading to onyx vespers is amazing in techy terrain! I think I'm going to try these wheels on a hardtial next because I think the ride quality of the berdspokes will be even more pronounced than on FS.

I think the rad method has its place, but it also depends on which MTB discipline you are looking at. For example, I would ride a shorter XC bike than an enduro bike. That's because I'm looking to take advantage of different geo strengths and ride different kinds of trails.

@@dustybettymtb I think the RAD measurement is best suited to riding styles that involve more standing. You do need a shorter/longer reach to make up steeper/slacker head tubes. But RAD is more about the build then the frame alone.

Awe, thanks! So many fun memories of this trip!

Ha ha, yeah. I get Steve's craving for elegance and simplicity. New is fun too though, right?!

I'll post that on the final review! I still need to sling this up on the scale, but I have a hard time getting it on there without an extra set of hands.