KIDS DISC BRAKES
Here our some of our favourite brakes for kids mountain bikes. Disc brakes are a game changer for the descending kids out there. Stick to two piston brakes as 4 pistons are usually heavier and the extra power/price is not necessary.
Magura MT4 Flat Mount Disc Brakes
These are great little 2 piston brakes with more modulation than the on/off feel of shimanos so great for first time disc brake users. Light weight at 230 gram/brake and reach adjustable lever designed for two or one finger braking. This is really good for little kids (7 and under) who typically use 2 fingers no matter how hard you try to get them on one finger...but they are equally good for one finger braking.
MSRP: $114.99 | Where to buy: Jenson USA
Shimano Deore M6100 Disc Brakes
We really like the Deore M6100 2 piston brakes for kids. Great short reach lever with reach adjust and a quick engagement. More on/off feel with these brakes and they offer great power for the kids. Defiantly a favorite. Easy to self-service due to mineral oil fluid use and easy to find bleed kit. 2 piston SLX and XT are also fantastic for the kiddos.
MSRP: $114.99 | Where to buy: Jenson USA
Hayes Dominion A2 Disc Brakes
Yes, very expensive but very awesome. This is probably our top pick if price is not a concern as the lever is in its own class for kids and the modulation and power is amazing in these 2 piston brakes...and they should be as they are premium brakes. I ride the short reach lever in the 4 piston version and can attest they have one of the lightest feel levers out there. More power with less force=great for kids. All the premium adjustments you would expect (no tool reach adjust etc).
MSRP: $219.99 | Where to buy: Jenson USA
Shimano BR-MT201
These are a great value brake. Don't let the price fool you as they offer plenty of performance for the kids. Upgrading from mechanical disc brakes? This is a great option. Two pistons and easy to bleed, the only thing we would change would be lever length (too long) but you can still dial it in with an allen key reach adjust and make it work for the preteens. These are suited for more budget bike upgrades that are disc compatible.
MSRP: $48.99 | Where to buy: Jenson USA
Ashima Ultra-light weight rotors
Chipping away on weight, these rotors are the bomb! 140, 160, and 180mm rotors that weigh 64, 73 and 104 grams respectively. While you are at it, grab some Ti rotor bolts below as well!
Price: $15 | Where to buy: Ali Express
Titanium rotor bolts
Modifying and upgrading is fun. Ti rotor bolts are fun. Why not? They are uber light but go easy on them when torquing as they strip easy.
Price: $18/24pcs | Where to buy: Ali Express
Got a Nukeproof Cub Scoot 12in balance bike for my son, looking at fitting a brake onto it as it has an IS mount on the frame and a 6 bolt hub. As Nukeproof doesn’t really exist anymore I’m struggling to find any information on it. I was thinking either a Magura MT4 setup or Shimano Deore 2 pot, would you say a 140mm disc is right for the job? Seems hard to come across a Magura or Shimano 6 bolt rotor though…
Yeah, looks native 140mm.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005859326220.html?src=google&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=272-267-0231&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&gclsrc=aw.ds&albagn=888888&ds_e_adid=&ds_e_matchtype=&ds_e_device=c&ds_e_network=x&ds_e_product_group_id=&ds_e_product_id=en1005005859326220&ds_e_product_merchant_id=5069815913&ds_e_product_country=CA&ds_e_product_language=en&ds_e_product_channel=online&ds_e_product_store_id=&ds_url_v=2&albcp=20695954287&albag=&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccN4fbDs4weM8SI12SyNcQ4qZMLqZdTYe93JIfP_9j-Js0zi5lVEpAhoCWIEQAvD_BwE&aff_fcid=2c3b8717082c41df968892f6353f8692-1713282911871-09419-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=2c3b8717082c41df968892f6353f8692-1713282911871-09419-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=39d68c1148d047cba20837c4e9e7c94a&afSmartRedirect=y
All this is great info. I am ready to retrofit my son’s 20″ mtn bike but it’s not looking like adapting the disk to the rim is an option. What is the best 20″ rear wheel for this upgrade?
Found those brakes that look really promising for the little hands – Clarks M2 Junior (https://clarks.bike/product-range/brake-systems/hydraulic-disc-brakes/m2-junior-hydraulic-brake.html?att_color=40&attr_diameter=229&attr_wheel_option=224)
But I can’t find those anywhere for sale. Any suggestions?
What do you generally think about Clarks?
Nice find Forest, they look good. Would just want some experience for reliability. Its the worst having to constantly bleed brakes. They do hit the mark for lever, 2 pots and decent weight.
Reliability should be similar to the non-Junior M2 which have a bunch of positive reviews.
The main issue is availability. Those brakes sadly cannot be purchased anywhere 🙁
I reached out to Clarks US distributor – they don’t have any in stock
Today I swapped the levers of stock Shimano MT201 for deore and the difference is mind-blowing. Not just in the adjustability (mainly reach) but the feel of the brakes. The deore 6100s reach, as mentioned, can be adjusted to really small hands – my son is now 4,5. TBH I do not see the real point of manufacturers putting Shimano MT201s on kids 20-24 inch bikes (rather than price alone). The levers are useless for kids hands. They are super far away from handlebars even in their closest setting, I am kind of surprised to see them on the list here. I would never recommend these for kids (although they come on a lot of kids bikes as stock).
One small comment to Maguras though. But I do not know if it is just my experience.. My goal when ordering the bike (20inch) was also the reliability and robustness. That’s why I specced shimanos over Magura MT4s (those were the 2 options for kubikes 20s trail). Of course little did I know at the time that shimano MT201s levers were unusable. But back to the point – as I expected, the brake levers get most of the beating when going down (after 1 season the levers are pretty scratched and all, as opposed to the rest of the bike). That’s why I find it difficult to have trust for Magura’s “plastic” levers – Shimano ones are alloy on the other hand. Not to mention the possible reliability issues. My experience with Magura brakes (I had Martas ages ago and now running MT7s) is that they are really good (power and modulation) but not exactly low maintenance. As opposed to shimanos which are mount and forget (basically for years to come). After almost 2 seasons with MT7s I must say that Magura still stands to its reputation years later – the brakes are anchors and work really well when set properly… BUT they needed to be bled several times, one lever was replace under warranty (pucnhed bladder membrane) etc. Although I find them perfect when working, I would not buy maguras anymore. That’s probably why a lot of people I know run ShiGura setup 🙂 – Magura calipers with shimano levers.
The MT201’s are listed because they are cheap and work extremely well. Yes, the lever is too long and not ideal for little kids (we made a note these are for preteens and older). Our experience for pre-teens and teens is they work. You can dial in the reach no problem. Swapping the levers as you did is interesting and may be the right call for those on a budget that can get hands on some cheap levers. We have loads of experience with the Maguras and no problems with reliability or issues with levers failing.
My daughters specialized rip rock has C-STAR Hydraulic brakes. They are labeled as mineral oil. Do you think I could swap out the levers for deore 6100 and keep the existing callipers? Thanks!
Those brakes are terrible, air gets in the system and we are not sure how. We have spent many a frustrating night in the garage trying to make those brakes work, both of us. Our suggestion would be to ditch the whole brake.
hello
what do you think is the best choice for very small kids (5 yrs old) hands between magura and shii BR-MT201?
i need to replace c-star radius brakes on my daughter’s bike, since they don’t brake with short reach setting. bleeding and refilling did not help 🙁
thank you in advance for helping me
maguras or deore great short levers for kiddos. The MT201 are budget brakes for teens/adults with long levers
thank you!
appreciated
Any rules of thumb for rotor sizing on a new carbon 24″ build for my 10 year old son who weighs <80 pounds? I went with the deore 6100s for front and rear. Thank you. Great site by the way.
Depending on what your native frame and fork mounts are we would go 160mm or 180mm Ashima rotors. Soooo light and work great with Deore brakes. $15 bucks on Ali expresss… https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DEFCh2p
You guys rock! Thank you for adding the rotors to the page after I asked a question about rotors. Sounds like I need to take a measurement after I install the calipers to see what fits.
What are your thoughts on the SRAM level T brakes for 6-7 year olds? I got them on a stock Norco. Worth keeping around?
Work great, we have had them on numerous bikes including a 20 inch for 5-6 year old. Both worth switching out…
I really love how brands resist to make quality components for kids (of course not, i hate it).
Why is it that we must end up looking around for what “works” instead of having shimano, sram or magura make a “Junior” lineup of brakes (in the case of shimano and sram full groupsets). I have a little 5 year old that is ready for his new bike (leaving balance bike for pedals) and I can’t find a good enough set of hidraulic brakes that will actually provide him a decent stopping power for his littlw hand force, and will let him even reach the brake lever and actuate it.
Seems like I will end up making him settle for a cheap bike while he grows up more and then I will purchase a proper MTB on a 20″ wheel scale.
The levers on these brakes listed are great for 5 year olds. Combine with a smaller diameter bar/grip combo and shims for brake mount, they are good to go, tons of stopping power.
What about the 4 pot BR-MT420?
Sure, good brakes if weight of kiddo is close to adults and they are really shredding steep sustained descents. Our experience is vast majority kids don’t need the 20% more power of a 4 pot brake. Bigger rotors and metallic pads offer plenty of adjustment to more power iwth 2 piston brakes. Might as well save some weight and money and stick to 2 pots.
Valid points, but these are quite cheap, cheaper than MT4s and the weight is also not bad. I am actually deciding between MT4 and these on the front. Regular 2-pot Deore will go on the back.
I have a pair of 4-pot M6120s on my old bike and these are quite good for the price, but I have no experience with MT420s.
I am concered about the bite, I would prefer less initial bite and more modulation on the front for my 10yo.
We have used the MT410’s a lot and they work just fine for the kids. We have used with kids as young as 9 with great success. Not quite the initial bite compared to an xt/slx/deore but still has that “shimano” feel, just less power (which is just fine for 70 lb kid). The lever is a bit long and note as nice a feel compared to a deore but you can dial in the lever reach and get it working no problem. On the cheap, they are great brakes. I personally would not be concerned with getting the 4 pot 420s but if they come up on a deal…would not have reservations with them.
So to update, last year I actually went with Magura MT4s for my 10yo. I found it for very good price on bike24. Plenty of power, great modulation, super lightweight, easily bled, short lever throw even when the lever is moved closer to the bars as is necessary for kids (this was a problem with Deore M615) . The best choice for kids I would say.