What do your kids ride?

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steve24

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I just picked up a small 26" HT Santa Cruz Juliana frame and Duke fork for free (frame has a cracked chainstay that shouldn't cost too much to fix).
Thinking about building it up with some 24" disc wheels and shortened cranks for my daughter.

Anyone have thoughts on good rims for the build? I am looking at Alienation Deviant (415g), which CRC has for a good price but only in 36H, would prefer 28 or 32 to use something like circus monkey or Novotec hubs (cheap/ light).

I also need some tips on finding short cranks (around 150mm), perhaps even single ring as i am thinking either 1x9 or 2x9 with grip shifters.

The fork looks like it should work OK after a service....

Is there anything else i need to consider when building a 26" frame up with 24" wheels for a kid?
 
S

SummitFever

Eats Squid
For 24" rims there's very little choice in 32 or 28h lightweight rims:
- Alex ACE20 - avail in 28h and 32h 380-390g;
- Velocity Areoheat - 425g;
- Deviant - 415g.

Send a message to ebay seller bikewagoncat - they can normally get the ACE20 rims for around $40 each.

For hubs, bikehubstore.com has the MTB252 hubs that are light and cheap and should be plenty strong for kids. I haven't used the MTB252's personally, but have read a few reviews that suggest they are good.

For short cranks take a look at this article for some ideas. You can also shorten an existing set of cranks.
 
S

si618

Likes Dirt
rick79 said:
heres my just turned 8yr old sons Stinky 2-4..he loves it..he so stoked he can finally start really flying on the local DH tracks :single_eye:
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Love the stinky 2-4! What height is your son?

My boy just turned 7 (today!) and is 120cm with shoes on. He's way too small for a 24" and only just fits the 20" GT aggressor we go him for his birthday. Putting a shorter stem on tonight before first ride tomorrow.

Coming from a 16" BMX with coaster brakes, it's going to be interesting to see how he goes with v-brakes and grip-shift. I think we'll start in the local carpark before heading off-road :)
 
OIL

OIL

Likes Dirt
midgie

my 4yo is cruising round on her Dakar but has earmarked my custom Mongoose 26" family rider for when she grows up...




she had a great stack last night! i reckon training wheels are a 'crash instigator'.
 
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jan1

Squid
Well here's my 6 year old, not a mtb bike but she has fun. The race picks are with her old bike, I got a bit carried away building her new bike and it weigh's about 6.2kg's. Her older brother has just started on a mtb bike but no size issues with him he's 13 and 6 ft tall, for those that know bmx size's he rides a pro xxl as a under 13.
 

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OIL

OIL

Likes Dirt
Fantastic! i took my daughter for her first 'walkthrough' at Frankston BMX club a month ago - cant wait to get her out there for a ride!!!
 
XC_BIKE

XC_BIKE

Likes Dirt
Bikes for kids

I did allot of research for bikes for my 2 boys once they progressed to MTB and road and be happy to provide any advice to other parents.

I am fortunate I can build anything.

Boys started with 16" BMX bikes I upgraded at 2 years of age with training wheels I made up with ball bearing Urathane scooter wheels. When they ended up pulling reo's off banks on training wheels at 4, it was time to get them onto only 2 wheels.

After they out grew the 16" BMX I progressed them onto size expert 20 BMX bike that I still have and will probably sell. GT brand.

Eventually built size small framed 26" MTB bikes with 24" disc wheels, fox air forks (for easy adjustment for weight) and short cranks, one with Sugino 152mm cranks and old XTR m900 chain rings and another with quite rare Truvative Iso flo 160mm cranks with 3 XT chain rings. The 8 speed cranks and rings adjust perfectly with 9 x 3 setup. I have never had a problem using the LX to XTR 9 speed HG chains. Try the bikesmith in the USA for short cranks or actually options of shortened cranks. He is a great guy and very helpful. I suggest the crank lengths are a vey important part of the build. I will eventually sell the 152 cranks for a deserving young rider. You can get heavy steel suntour cranks also. I also use BB-UN72 XT bottom brakets 113mm.

You can use disc brakes from deore to XT depending on you budget or even other brands. I started the younger one on cable disc then progressed onto hydro.

The good thing is as they grow, you can change wheels to 26", longer stem, raise seat, etc.

Now with clip in pedals at 10 years, older boy uses shimano PD-M540 SPDs on both the MTB and small road bike.

Older boy has a Norco EXC MTB now on 26" wheels with Fox RLC 100 forks and LX/XT mix. Plus a Giant XS road bike at 105/ultegra 9 speed level.

Younger boy on a Kona Stuff lime metalic, Fox RLC 90mm forks LX with 24" wheels and deore disc brakes.

Pics below FYI.

Progressing the boys on bikes that are properly sized for their age has fast tracked their development so I can suggest this is important if you have the technology. This web site has been great for finding parts and also USA sites for retro parts that are still perfect for kids to develop.
 

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RB 24

RB 24

Likes Dirt
loving the fact my two kids ride and love to ride... the issue now is that they are quicker than the mrs so she cant keep up.

Looking for a new roadie for the youngest. He is currently on a Giant tcr comp 1 and he is super keen on the Kuota KOM.

The eldest boy loves his caad10 crit weapon.

hmmm a new bike for me soon I think.. help me to keep up with the boys.
 
XC_BIKE

XC_BIKE

Likes Dirt
Added some pics

Added some pics of the shorter cranks and I also listed the second set of 24" wheels for sale in the for sale section as noticed some members asking about what wheels to buy in 24".
 

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S

SummitFever

Eats Squid
It's with more than a bit of sadness that I've just sold the smallest of our MTB's. Its the bike that both of my daughters did their first single track rides on as well as hundreds more. It was a pleasure to build and I tried to involve my kids as much as possible in the machine work involved and generally putting it together and keeping it maintained. Its lightweight (9kg), gears and front suspension really made a big difference to my kids wanting to ride (and wanting to ride off-road).



There's more info here including links to the cassette mod and fork mod.
 
O

obrien-r

Cannon Fodder
To enable the family to ride together, I moved my daughter off her 20" Mongoose Rockadilly onto a Specialized Myka 26" Elite Disk. She is just short for the XS frame, but first day out did 20km of single track. The bigger wheels and better gearing made a huge difference.

She also loves the disc brakes cause they still work if she goes through a puddle or mud...
 
C

crowash

Likes Dirt
Got my 7yo son a specialized hotrock 20' for christmas, I thought he'd struggle with the gears but it was the brakes that freaked him out. He was used to the back peddle brakes. Anyway he's now used to them now and loved the singletrack this morning. Made me very proud watching him power into berms and being so excited.

Luckily he didn't see the brown snake he almost ran over, while on the topic, he prefers it when I ride behind him, I can offer advice and he gets to ecplore the trail for himself. Is that how you guys do it?
 
Bjorn

Bjorn

Likes Dirt
crowash said:
....he prefers it when I ride behind him, I can offer advice and he gets to explore the trail for himself. Is that how you guys do it?
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Definitely better to ride at the back. I sometimes go to the front to show a line through a difficult section. I usually only do that if we stop and session the section.
 
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