Three New 2025 Kids Mountain Bikes from Transition 4

Transition released three alloy trail- and bike-park-ready machines for kids of all sizes in 2025 - meet he new Bandit, Ripcord and Scout. Vital's mini-testers have spent some time on all three with smiles being the result from the bikes' performances. Here's a quick rundown of each bike with some initial impressions.

All of Transitions new kids bikes feature alloy frames, 12x148 Boost rear axles, Fidlock bottle mounts and UDH interface.

Transition Bandit Highlights

• 3 colors available
• 20-inch wheels
• 100mm-travel Manitou Junit Sport fork
• Shimano Short Reach levers on MT410 brakes and CUES Shifter
• Shimano CUES 9-speed drivetrain, 11-36t cassette
• 135mm Samox cranks with 28t chainring
• Maxxis 20x2.3-inch Minion DHR II tires
• SDG Slater youth control points
• WTB i30 wheels
• One size, 310mm reach, 457mm stack, 66-degree head angle recommended for kids 3'6" to 4'6" (106-137cm)
• Weight as tested: 23.5 pounds / 10.65kg

The new Transition Bandit is a little beast of a hardtail for young riders. The tires, the fork and geometry paired with Shimano CUES 9-speed drivetrain and MT410 brakes with 180mm front rotor will leave no excuse for a bad day on the bike. The hardtail will help kids build pumping and jumping skills while the fork will take more than its fair share of hits at 100mm of travel. While a bit hefty, the build is extremely robust and the controls and S reach Shimano levers match grom body geometry perfectly.

Transition Ripcord Highlights

• 3 colors available
• 24-inch wheels
• 130mm-travel Manitou Junit Expert fork
• 130mm rear travel, custom-tuned RockShox Deluxe, Giddy Up suspension layout
• Shimano Short Reach levers on MT410 brakes and Deore Shifter
• Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain
• 145mm Samox cranks with 30t direct mount chainring
• Maxxis 24 x 2.4-inch Minion DHR II tires
• SDG Slater youth control points
• WTB i30 wheels
• One size, 365mm reach, 515mm stack, 65-degree head angle, low standover
• Weight as tested: 29.75 pounds / 13.49kg

Fresh out of the box, the Boysenberry color of our Ripcord was a hit. While Transition does offer a popping Glacier white with red and a dad-favorite Raw alloy finish, Boysenberry was the hit in our 'hood. The move to a refined Giddy Up platform on the Ripcord is a great move bringing this extremely capable youth shred machine into the modern day. Standover is low, travel is ample and the geometry is spot-on for its intended use. The Manitou Junit is stout and buttery smooth with plenty of damping for those "what happens if I ride off this" scenarios that kids like to find themselves in. The custom-tuned RockShox Deluxe paired nicely with the fork's performance, creating a balanced ride. The SDG Slater controls are a standout of fitting smaller riders, and the 10-speed Deore drivetrain will most definitely outlast the never-ending energy of any kid who hops aboard the 'cord.

"The Ripcord in Boysenberry is the coolest color I've ever seen on a bike and it flies great throught the air," said our 9-year-old pilot. Repeated airtime excursions and curb smashes later, and the Ripcord rolls as fresh as the day it came off the shelf. Our only nitpick with the Ripcord is that the tires are not tubeless compatible. The rims, however, are taped and ready to go, so an upgrade to tubeless would be easy for when the time comes. We have zero hesitation in recommending the Ripcord as a fantastic mountain bike for young shredders.

Transition Scout XT Highlights

• 2 colors available
• 27.5-inch wheels
• 150mm-travel Marzocchi Z1 Bomber fork
• 150mm rear travel, custom-tuned Marzocchi Bomber Air shock
• Updated rocker links for lighter riders on Giddy Up suspension layout
• Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain
• TRP DH-R EVO brakes
• Maxxis Assegai 2.5 and Minion DHR II 2.4 tires, 3C MaxxTerra, EXO+
• OneUp Dropper Post
• DT Swiss X1900 wheels
• XS (tested), Small and Medium (cough, cough, slalom anyone?) sizes
• Frame only option, $1,799, Scout Deore with RockShox Deluxe and Psylo, $3,299
• Weight as tested: 34 pounds / 15.42kg

27.5 ain't dead! At least for sizes XS-medium as Transition continues the heritage of the Scout and tunes it for young riders. The Scout uses the same Giddy Up suspension as it always has, but new rocker links make the suspension kinematics improved for lighter riders wanting an agile feel on the trail. The size XS that we received popped in Dandelion yellow and was fully adorned with adult-sized componentry.

The TRP DH-R EVO brakes and Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain are standout, dependable performers. The lever-adjust on the TRPs was extermely handy for pulling the levers in for the small hands of our young rider. The no-frills Marzocchi suspension was easy to setup. At 150mm of travel, this was the longest-travel bike our tester had ridden, and for the local bike park conditions which showcases jumps, pumping and flow more than technical trail obstacles, we went a bit firmer to maximize the bike's pop and efficiency. Bigger jumps were sent and higher drops were plunged on the Scout. Everything about the build screams workhorse and that medium frame has us oldies eyeing up a potential fun slalom-ish build for ourselves. 

Transition's new youth models are everything we'd want in a bike for our own kids. Groms ride harder and go bigger than ever these days, and we have no doubt that the bikes will survive all the learning and progression that can be thrown at them. The suspension tunes are spot on and the spec is durable. Plus, according to our pint-sized testers, 'they look cool.' We wouldn't hesitate to run to our Transition dealer or their website to grab one for our pint-sized pinners. Hit up transitionbikes.com for more and don't miss their hilarious launch video below!

View key specs, compare bikes, and rate the new Transition youth models in the Vital MTB Product Guide.