What do your kids ride?
- Thread starter kapitaal
- Start date
Miguel75
Likes Dirt
Hi gang, I'm at the start of the process of building up a bike for my 9yr old daughter. I just picked up a 14" On one frame to which I was going to add bits of my old 26"...
So far I have just about everything I need though am thinking 165mm cranks would likely be better then the current 175's I have spare. Are there any hints around setting up the bike for kids? I have a Reba rl, m785's and some rainbow/unicorn stickers I was planning to put on for her. The other good thing about building this up is my 6yr old son will be able to ride it too and he want to play on the "cool" trails at Bright
So far I have just about everything I need though am thinking 165mm cranks would likely be better then the current 175's I have spare. Are there any hints around setting up the bike for kids? I have a Reba rl, m785's and some rainbow/unicorn stickers I was planning to put on for her. The other good thing about building this up is my 6yr old son will be able to ride it too and he want to play on the "cool" trails at Bright
SummitFever
Eats Squid
165mm cranks will be much better than the 175mm, but see if you can get some shorter ones. My 150cm daughter uses 150mm cranks and they are the perfect length for her height. I shortened a set of cranks for this purpose because there was very little available at the time, but there are more and more options out there now.
bootsandall
Likes Dirt
Replacement for Stolen Bike
So some gutter scum has stolen my 9 yr old daughter's bike from her school on 'Ride to School' day. She did all the right things locked it up and even locked up another friends bike cause she forgot her lock.
Reported to the Cops but I'm a realist and the likelihood is low on getting in back, and if we do hate to think of the state of it. Can't imagine their is a great deal of $ for kiddy bikes but I guess less questions asked about them if they are aiming to move it fast.
It was a BYK e450 with 8 speed, I really like that they aren't stupid heavy. You pick up some kids bikes and you think that weights close to a DH rig. Did a few tweaks to it like got rid of the stiff grip shift and put on a thumb mech, nicer brake levers cause I had them and a mud guard so her school dress didn't get tyre rub all down the back and she was happy as.
So now working out what to get her as a replacement, she ain't the tallest and the 20" frame would be good for a little while but am think if I can get a 24" it will last longer.
Notice a few kids her age on here seem to be getting about on some 26" bikes, is this a size too big a jump?
Have done plenty of ground up builds and even laced up a few sets of wheels in my day, so building a bike is an option for her but I'm wonder what people have found the best approach.
Get the feeling the frame is the hardest part to source.
Summit fever's website on mods is well a tinkers inspiration to say the least, and wondering if the BMX conversion is a worthy approach or has the new generation of lighter kids bikes mitigated this approach?
Cheers for reading.
Boots
So some gutter scum has stolen my 9 yr old daughter's bike from her school on 'Ride to School' day. She did all the right things locked it up and even locked up another friends bike cause she forgot her lock.
Reported to the Cops but I'm a realist and the likelihood is low on getting in back, and if we do hate to think of the state of it. Can't imagine their is a great deal of $ for kiddy bikes but I guess less questions asked about them if they are aiming to move it fast.
It was a BYK e450 with 8 speed, I really like that they aren't stupid heavy. You pick up some kids bikes and you think that weights close to a DH rig. Did a few tweaks to it like got rid of the stiff grip shift and put on a thumb mech, nicer brake levers cause I had them and a mud guard so her school dress didn't get tyre rub all down the back and she was happy as.
So now working out what to get her as a replacement, she ain't the tallest and the 20" frame would be good for a little while but am think if I can get a 24" it will last longer.
Notice a few kids her age on here seem to be getting about on some 26" bikes, is this a size too big a jump?
Have done plenty of ground up builds and even laced up a few sets of wheels in my day, so building a bike is an option for her but I'm wonder what people have found the best approach.
Get the feeling the frame is the hardest part to source.
Summit fever's website on mods is well a tinkers inspiration to say the least, and wondering if the BMX conversion is a worthy approach or has the new generation of lighter kids bikes mitigated this approach?
Cheers for reading.
Boots
ozzybmx
taking a shit with my boobs out
Father of the year bonus points !!!
No Dirty weekend 24 for me this year as I have a couple of lil blokes who are trying to eliminate me from my 2-3 races a year.
Ok, I got an exception to put a team of 10 & 11 yr olds into the Dirty Weekend 24, they did the max 12 hour youth category, the youth cat is for 13-17 yr olds.
Smashed it and came 4th !!! So proud of these lil blokes, I rode around with them, popped up in strange places with a gopro, lubed bikes, helped them with interchange, tweaked gears... I reckon I had more fun than riding it myself.
Still 2-3 years too young to qualify for their category, they are state champs of the future.
Watch in HD
[video=youtube;npqJXDmKZTk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqJXDmKZTk&t=14s[/video]
No Dirty weekend 24 for me this year as I have a couple of lil blokes who are trying to eliminate me from my 2-3 races a year.
Ok, I got an exception to put a team of 10 & 11 yr olds into the Dirty Weekend 24, they did the max 12 hour youth category, the youth cat is for 13-17 yr olds.
Smashed it and came 4th !!! So proud of these lil blokes, I rode around with them, popped up in strange places with a gopro, lubed bikes, helped them with interchange, tweaked gears... I reckon I had more fun than riding it myself.
Still 2-3 years too young to qualify for their category, they are state champs of the future.
Watch in HD
[video=youtube;npqJXDmKZTk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqJXDmKZTk&t=14s[/video]
Last edited:
stirk
Burner
Nice one Mr Ozzy.
Being that role model for your kids and other parents can only influence positive outcomes. I'm inspired to try and get my son out on the trails again after our last stack filled session which has left him a bit nervous. Thanks for sharing. :thumb:
spikenet
Likes Dirt
Picked up a Scott Scale JR 24 Plus (what a mouthfull!) for my 7 year old son. His first MTB, coming from bmx he finds the gears tricky. Overall the bike is well made and very rideable, the only thing I dont like are the gears, the twist shift if difficult to use and the derailleur is very low quality, lots of slop in it so will look for alternatives.
Love the plus size tyres on the bike, really grips well and absorbs the bumps, forgoes the need for crappy and heavy suspension fork!
Love the plus size tyres on the bike, really grips well and absorbs the bumps, forgoes the need for crappy and heavy suspension fork!
Attachments
ozzybmx
taking a shit with my boobs out
Cheers Stirk.
Get the young fella out, its a great bonding sport where they look up to you. Wont be long before they faster than us old boys.
Michael_Roberts
Squid
My son is loving his Specialized Camber Grom. Takes 24 and 26 inch wheels. Riding 24 inch at the moment.
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
spikenet
Likes Dirt
Nailing the drop! awesome.. where is that pic taken, up here on the coast there is nothing even remotely "skills park" so find it tough getting a nice progression for the young fella to learn stuff. Its great to see other kids out there having a go, I find it sad that neither of my boys know any school mates that even own a bike, if local area had some decent infrastructure that would change.
That specialized is great bike, the scott I got him was $340 in easter sales, but will do him for a few years.
Michael_Roberts
Squid
It's Stromlo. Yeah it's hard to find riding buddies for my son. Kids just don't ride bikes anymore.
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
Hank.
yes yes ya'll
Back to kids crank lengths ideas.
My thoughts on kids cranks are that its a fundamental thing, setting up good pedal practice from the start.
I reckon that kids (like adults) are better off spinning a higher RMP then becoming a grinder. Spinning quicker on the cranks is better on your knees and easier on the bike too.
For my boy I built him up a bike (24" wheels in a 26" frame) for his 8th birthday and cut down some cranks from 175mm to 152.5mm and he has a 32t front and a 12-34t 8spd cassette on the back with the bottom two cogs locked out.
The other younger boy has a 20" bike with 127.5mm cranks, 34t chain ring with a 13-28t 6spd cluster on the back, again bottom two cogs locked out.
I'm going to change this to 140mm cranks with a 30t chain ring and a 13-28 7spd cluster (again bottom two cogs locked out) and change out the 6spd shimano revo shifter to an old school top of the bar friction shifter. If I can find a 7spd 13-32t cluster I would rather put that on.
If they want to go faster I don't think its about pushing bigger gears, they can get off the brakes and get smooth.
Also, I'm looking for a set of cranks to cut down for the younger boys bike?
If anyone has anything they would like to donate get in touch and we will talk turkey.
My thoughts on kids cranks are that its a fundamental thing, setting up good pedal practice from the start.
I reckon that kids (like adults) are better off spinning a higher RMP then becoming a grinder. Spinning quicker on the cranks is better on your knees and easier on the bike too.
For my boy I built him up a bike (24" wheels in a 26" frame) for his 8th birthday and cut down some cranks from 175mm to 152.5mm and he has a 32t front and a 12-34t 8spd cassette on the back with the bottom two cogs locked out.
The other younger boy has a 20" bike with 127.5mm cranks, 34t chain ring with a 13-28t 6spd cluster on the back, again bottom two cogs locked out.
I'm going to change this to 140mm cranks with a 30t chain ring and a 13-28 7spd cluster (again bottom two cogs locked out) and change out the 6spd shimano revo shifter to an old school top of the bar friction shifter. If I can find a 7spd 13-32t cluster I would rather put that on.
If they want to go faster I don't think its about pushing bigger gears, they can get off the brakes and get smooth.
Also, I'm looking for a set of cranks to cut down for the younger boys bike?
If anyone has anything they would like to donate get in touch and we will talk turkey.
Attachments
moorey
call me Mia
I donated knuckles a set of older LX that Summitfever had drilled and threaded at about 150mm. Don't think he ever used them. Worth asking.