Triumph TXP-24 tested: electric trial for young riders

The Triumph TXP-24 promises genuine electric trial riding even for young riders. Our 11-year-old tester Ben brings several years of trial experience with him. The practical test shows: power and riding pleasure are plentiful, but size and weight set clear limits.

To put this test into context, it is important to know who was riding the TXP-24. Ben is eleven years old, around 1.50 meters tall, and has already been riding trial for several years. He therefore knows how to ride standing up, slow balance passages, and overcoming obstacles. His assessments do not come from a child twisting a throttle for the first time.

This plays a major role with the TXP-24. Triumph positions the flagship of the TXP family for riders aged ten and up and allows a rider weight of up to 90 kilograms. In practice, however, age alone says relatively little about whether the bike is already suitable for serious trial use. Height, strength, and experience are at least as decisive.

The TXP-24 offers speed and power levels respectively. This allows the TXP-24 to be adapted to the rider. It's precisely this setting that should be taken seriously with children.

The higher the selected level, the faster and more energetically the bike reacts. For Ben, with his trial experience, this was manageable, but even he noticed that the throttle response can be quite direct in certain situations. Especially when slowly approaching an obstacle, the TXP can accelerate more than originally planned. This is crucial in trial. Anyone wanting to ride over a tree trunk or a step doesn't simply need as much power as possible, but a very precise amount of it. If the thrust comes a bit too abruptly, the bike goes up faster than the young rider intended.

For less experienced children, a setting that's too high can therefore quickly become too much. The ability to adjust power, speed, and throttle response is not merely a nice electronic feature on this bike, but a central part of the safety concept.

At 1,600 watts, the TXP-24 is the strongest model in the new Triumph TXP range. According to Triumph, top speed is up to 38 km/h. Ben thoroughly enjoyed these reserves during the test. Riding freely away from classic trial sections in particular gave him a lot of fun. Trying out just how fast the Triumph actually goes was also part of it. At higher speed, the bike felt stable and safe to him.

However, this statement should not be generalized to every eleven-year-old child. Ben brings several years of experience on trial bikes with him. Where he can still confidently handle a bike at higher speed, a beginner could already be significantly more challenged.

The biggest difference between the manufacturer's target group and real trial everyday use shows up in the weight. Triumph states 48.1 kg for the TXP-24 in trial configuration and 49.4 kg with the XPlore setup. For an adult, that sounds like a very light bike. For an eleven-year-old rider at 1.50 meters tall, it's a different world.

Ben manages fine with the TXP-24 during normal riding. As soon as classic trial techniques come into play, however, the mass becomes noticeable. Unweighting the bike while stationary, deliberately lifting the front or rear wheel, performing stationary jumps, or clearing an obstacle without a run-up is currently difficult for him. This reveals a particular characteristic of trial sport: it's not enough for a child to reach the ground and be able to accelerate the bike. In more demanding trial riding, the rider must be able to move the machine with their entire body.

From Ben's point of view, another one to two years of growth would help here. A teenager measuring, for example, 1.60 to 1.65 meters tall would already have significantly better prerequisites with identical riding skill.

In tight corners too, Ben notices that the TXP-24 is no longer a small children's trial bike. Size and weight demand more physical effort and make slow direction changes more challenging. This doesn't mean an eleven-year-old can't ride the Triumph. On the contrary: Ben could ride, practice, and have a lot of fun with it. The difference lies in what one understands by "suitable."

For normal off-road riding and learning basic techniques, the bike already works at this age. However, anyone wanting to ride demanding trial sections with tight spaces, slow obstacles, and stationary techniques should look closely not only at age but also at physical prerequisites.

The brakes stood out positively to Ben. The hydraulic system can be operated with little hand strength and finely dosed. Triumph fits the TXP-24 with a hydraulic braking system with a 203 mm disc at the front and a 180 mm disc at the rear. Especially on a youth bike, easy operation is more important than the most spectacular braking performance on the data sheet.

Ben found the deceleration pleasantly controllable. This fits well with the intended use, since in trial you're working the brake constantly and need a lot of feel at the lever.

The TXP-24 was tested in trial configuration without a classic seat. The rider stands on the footpegs and actively moves their body over the bike. The fact that the upper body is oriented somewhat toward the handlebar is part of normal trial riding technique and is not an unusually forward-leaning seating position.

The TXP-24 can, however, be converted. With a seat, the standing trial concept becomes the variant Triumph calls XPlore, geared more toward seated off-road riding.

For younger riders, this use could be exactly easier. In smoother terrain, obstacles tend to be ridden over with some speed and momentum. In trial, the same tasks sometimes have to be solved extremely slowly or directly from a standstill. Then weight and dimensions become considerably more noticeable. The 2-in-1 concept thus significantly expands the range of use. The same machine can be used for trial practice, but also simply for off-road riding and having fun.

One of the biggest practical advantages was immediately noticeable during the test: the noise level. More precisely, its absence.

The TXP-24 is extremely quiet when riding. Especially on a children's bike, this can significantly ease its use. Practice sessions produce virtually no classic engine noise, and the bike can therefore be useful in situations where a combustion engine would stand out much more.

The electric drive also made an uncomplicated impression in everyday family life. Charging caused no difficulties, and the available battery charge was enough for a full afternoon with children during the test. Recharging was also found to be simple and quick. Triumph, respectively OSET, states up to around three hours of riding time for the TXP-24 with light use. With more intensive trial or competition use, the runtime is correspondingly shorter.

The adjustment options are particularly useful on the TXP-24, because the bike can be tailored to very different riders. Triumph allows a power limitation between 25 and 100 percent, and top speed as well as throttle response can also be configured. The settings are PIN-protected. In addition, there is a magnetic safety tether and a two-stage activation designed to prevent unintended starting.

Especially given the direct reaction at the higher settings, the setup should not be left to chance. A child who rides well technically doesn't automatically need maximum power right away. What matters is a setting where throttle response, speed, and physical abilities match up.

Our test therefore shows a somewhat more nuanced picture than the plain age recommendation of "from ten years." An experienced rider around eleven years old can already ride, practice, and have a great deal of fun with the TXP-24. For free off-road riding and the first to intermediate trial tasks, it offers plenty of possibilities.

For serious trial techniques, however, physique is decisive. At 1.50 meters tall, the machine was still too heavy for Ben to actively lift and shift in every situation. A slightly older or larger teenager would probably manage the almost 50 kilograms considerably more easily.

Anyone who selects the TXP-24 solely based on the minimum age is making it too easy for themselves. What matters is what the child wants to do with the bike.