What awesome bike did you build for your kid? And do they even care?

glenn1529

Likes Dirt
I’ll kick this off with the treadly we just got for my 9yo daughter. A Merida Juliet 7.40d from DNA bikes in Narrellan. great guys, great service.


Got it home, went for a burn around the streets then into the dungeon

Off came all but cranks, bar, stem, seat, post(for now)

The Merida is a very sweet frame. Double butted hydroformed alloy. Neat welds. Really nice paint. IS disc brake mounts. Zero stack headset. Threaded BB and 135mm qr with replaceable hanger.

Rebuilt with
Fox F32 RL 15qr 100mm fork
Mavic Crossmax ST 26” wheels
9sp XTR drive train
Hope 30t NW ring
Xt brakes

Went from 14.4kg to 11.3kg. Hoping to get to around 10.5ish when I come across some good 165-170mm cranks and may even chuck on some Ritchey carbon bars I’ve got lying about.

Well the fruit of my loins absolutely loves it...... but only because it’s pink.
 

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Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
Nice one! Colour is the most important feature of a bike after all :D. Good to see you put some quality gear on there, should be a pleasure to ride.

I built this one for my at the time 1.5 yr old. Probably a touch early as he didn't use it for a few months, until he saw some other kid try out the second one i'd built as a gift. Then there was no stopping him.

The design was from a photo I saw on the net and some well spent time at work working out the finer details in CAD. Templates out at A1 on the plotter, the some time on the tools at home. Only thing pre-fab'd was the wheels which were Strider Ultralights from Pushy's.

It got good use up until he got his next bike with pedals at 3 1/2. Over it's life it suffered a broken seatpost (sat on it, and I originally got the grain the wrong way), broken handlebars (rode it into the back of the car down the driveway when I turned by back for a second) and plenty of hucking to flat. Even when he got his new bike it was almost impossible to convince him to hang this one up & use the new one. Eventually I just had to take it away as he totally out-grew it.

Already plotting the next 2; another balance bike for no.2, and what happens when the 4yr old out-grows his 16" Merida. I've already had to change the tires to off-road ones, he just wants to spend all his time at the pump track & skills area these days (copped some flack from the wife on that one :D).
 

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moorey

call me Mia
Have a look in the Vets section, ‘what do your kids ride’
Plenty of us out there living vicariously through our kids, and raising pinners.
 

glenn1529

Likes Dirt
R.E.S.T.E.C.P. To JJ I like that you actually “made” the bike, not “built” it.

I figured there might’ve been similar thread somewhere, but search came up empty.
 

Paulie_AU

Likes Dirt
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9yo daughters bike.

Reba Team
XT hydros
X9 9 speed
Bontrager bits
35mm stem
11.2 kg.

Unfortunately she doesn't love it but does ride it. When my 7yo son is big enough I might just paint it black if I dont have something better lined up for him. He is mad keen currently thinking Norco Fluid 4.2 as his next bike.
 

68deluxe

Likes Bikes
i've been upgrading my daughters bike, for my own fun really.. it's a polygon relic 24", which came with a crap zoom fork, steel bars.. so it now has a manitou 100mm fork, sealed bearing headset, and some ally brand-x bars. will probably do a 1x conversion on it, and will put my shimano m365 hydraulics on it. have got it down to around 13kg which is pretty good.

I do wish it had an integrated head set but oh well... the frame is quite nice, good welds, disc brake mounts, threaded BB. the cranks are alloy, and the mech brakes actually stop okay! Came with alloy stem, alloy seat post, alloy rims (single wall only though)..for $350 its a good first mtb!

I've since re-run the front brake line, it was very short with the longer forks! it's actually a fun little bike and she can pedal up hills just fine on it. Could probably loose another 800grams by removing the kick stand!
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68deluxe

Likes Bikes
new bars and hydraulic brakes added. oh and to answer the question do they even care? not particularly! she loves the bike, but she loved it pre-upgrade!

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Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
I've made 2 different ones for my kids as a 1st birthday pressy. CAD design and all machining and welding by me.
Orange one has 1 1/8" integrated head stem bearings and a Ø30.9mm seat post, 12" wheels fit in the frame for when he gets bigger.

That yellow one is awesome; what a beach cruiser! Jealous of your welding skills for sure
 

latheboy

Likes Dirt
Thanks guys, I'm pretty happy with them... the only problem is now I really have to lift my game for the next ones when they get older haha
 
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