[Closed] New Bike Day - Kids build

Good work. I can't wait to do stuff like this. I think we're about 6 months away from our first balance bike.

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Cranks were particularly tricky to source as I wanted some short enough to actually fit him. I've seen kids full builds with 165mm, which would have been way too long. These are 150mm BMX cranks with a nice and narrow Q-factor, as a bonus they were a very reasonable 35 quid. Square taper BB was found on the classifieds here.

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Wheels are Brand X with Schwalbe Nobby Nics. The frame spec's a max rear tyre of 2.3", these are 2.25's and it's tight. TBF, the rim has an internal diameter of 28mm, so that won't have helped. £25 an end from Merlin and they went up tubeless first time.

More to follow...

And here's the finished result

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Final spec highlights as follows..

Brakes are parts bin XT M785's. The lever shape and reach is ideal for little hands. These are 10 years and four bikes old and have never been anything other than spot-on reliability-wise.

Stem and dropper are Brand-X, off his old bike. No fuss, fab performance.

10 speed Cassette is an Amazon cheapie and the old XT derailleur don't work together (doh!). I've had to wind the bottom limit screw right in as it fouls the biggest two sprockets. I'll have to find a new mech or a narrower range cassette I suppose. Shifter is Deore (new).

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Bar is a Truvativ Noir Carbon, cut down to 680mm.
Grips, seat and valves are all Nuke proof, and all new.

So did I manage to save a fortune compared to an off the peg equivalent? Erm no, not really. The whole build came in at a little under £500 which is more than I planned, but still not too bad considering the spec. I ended up buying more new parts than intended, but it's unique and I really enjoyed building it. Jr has had a bit of a whizz round the close and he's made up with it.

That's all for now. I'll post again when he gets it dirty!

Dad, take a bow. Excellent work!!

Superb work! My daughter has exactly those cranks on her build, they’re great.
For your rear derailleur, forget the b screw and get one of these and you’re sorted.

https://www.merlincycles.com/sunrace-rear-derailleur-extender-link-134836.html

nice - still got Samuels old Clash Jr F&F in the garage.

Looks awesome!

Good call on the hanger extender, I’ll give that a whirl, cheers.

Cracking work LimboJimbo! Your little one is very lucky!

I'm in the middle of a similar build for my eldest. Where did you get the cranks and super-stubby stem from just out of interest?

Very nice!

Bonus Dad Points for the matchy red bits!

Thanks @dogthomson

The cranks were from here

The stem is this one CRC

Looks good.

But I'm more interested in the work stand. I have the same one and completely can't get the rotation control bit to work. There's a lever that sometimes engages/ disengaged the toothed clutch thing, but it doesn't seem to do it twice the same way.

Don't suppose you have an instruction manual for it?

Or get a newer Deore 10 speed mech, they have a clutch and will work with a 42t rear no worries. Nice build mind.

I've the same stand: the lever is twist clockwise/anticlockwise to lock/unlock the teeth. If it's not reliably working then it sounds like it's broken as it's fairly simple. That said I've had it for years and I *still* flip the lever instead of twisting it.

Nice build though! £500 is fair, just remember it's an investment: I built my kids their 24" bikes from frames up, and my son's new size medium 650b build is the third bike that the brakes (deore)/drivechain (zee)/etc have gone on, which were all purchased used off eBay in the first place.

Looks good.

But I’m more interested in the work stand

Sounds like you might have a dodgy one, mine’s always locked in place with a half turn.

Nice build though! £500 is fair, just remember it’s an investment:

That’s my view really. There’s five years between him and his little brother, who now has a 20” Saracen and a 24” Commencal to grow into. They’ll hopefully then be sold on for other kids to enjoy. I’ve had as much enjoyment upgrading them and building up this one as I have my own.

They’ll hopefully then be sold on for other kids to enjoy. I’ve had as much enjoyment upgrading them and building up this one as I have my own.

This! ^^^
My two had Islabikes up to 24” wheels but I then built them 2 really nice 26er’s, all of them were passed down to their cousins. The little Isla’s have now gone to our friends little one and the whole cycle carries on.
Kids on bikes is ace and a nice to ride bike makes is so much more fun.

@Sharkattack - the first balance bike conundrum, do I buy a £30 POS that I know is worthless afterwards, or get a Isla/Frog/etc with a good resale value? We went for the Frog Tadpole Jnrs when they turned 1 (broke even due to COVID making all balance bikes impossible to buy) and then a Tadpole and Rothan when they turned 2. Probably only lost about £20-30 when we resold the Frog and broke even on the 2nd hand Rothan.

Not sure if there’s a right or wrong way as kids will either like the bike or not (mainly on colour regardless of price).

That NS Clash Jnr looks like a very nice bike now it’s built up. One lucky 10 year old.

I think we’re about 6 months away from our first balance bike.

It's a cliché, but the years pass by in the blink of an eye (wells up a bit)

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Balance bike

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14" Isla Bike

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16" Vitus (now his little brother's)

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20" Saracen - Gears!

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24" Commencal

If anyone else feels like sharing their indulgent Dad (or Mum) builds, please feel free.

Before you know it they will be on a 29er like my 12 year old!  But he is very very tall for his age!

If you're kids have outgrown 24 or 26in wheels you could do a lot worse than this...:ahem: cheeky not very stealth ad...

https://singletrackmag.com/classifieds/advert/xs-ragley-bluepig-rolling-chassis/

Daughter’s super lightweight carbon XC built from AliExpress parts.
OGEvkin frame
ZTTO cassette
Shimano brakes and shifting
Chines Carbon wheels (eventually - ordered in early 2020)
Paint is Spray.Bike

Edit dismal fail on image link to FLICKR!

@drinfinity You need to click the little share button and select BBCode, then just copy and paste the text into the message box. Don't bother trying to link it.

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Thanks to @LimboJimbo it works, using desktop not iOs app

Drinfinity can you link to the frame and wheels and best place to buy? Looking for a new bike for my daughter, 140 cm/4ft 7. She is 9 so not massively string but pretty tall. currently on an orbea 24 which is getting small. Wondering if she can skip 26inch wheels and go straight to 27.5. especially if it can do a 26 mullet for a while.

Wheels

Frame

I specified no decals on the wheels after spending hours trying to get the frame decals off before painting.

I’ve also got a set of road wheels from the same vendor.

That’s one sweet looking ride @drinfinity 👏🏼

Thank you for the links. Are you running 27.5 in 29 frame?

Top work @LimboJimbo. You did well with the spec for <£500 IMO. I favoured building up 26ers for my kids but ended up buying off the shelf for similar money (one at £460, the other at £500): https://vitusbikes.com/products/vitus-nucleus-26-youth-hardtail-bike. The one negative on these is the ridiculous 165mm cranks which I intend changing. During your searching did you find any HT2-style cranks in 150-155? If necessary I'll change the BB too, but if I can avoid that I will as those Jet BMX ones look spot on.

I really like the BMX style balance bikes but they're all over £200. I'll be hunting for a lightly used one in time for Xmas

If I can manufacture an excuse to hang around skateparks my own brand new BMX might materialise.

@a11y

got 127mm and 152mm cranks off alibaba.

127mm on sophies bike

and the 152mm on samuels

Anyone wanting cranks for kids bikes, I've got a set of suntour xtc 152mm long, fitted with a 32t N/W chainring* and square taper BB to go with it. £20

*Chainring is purple btw.

@a11y
The only short HT2 style cranks I’d seen were silly money boutique ones from the States. I did hover over the buy button on those Alibaba ones Poah got after seeing his post on Mtbr (not stalking, honest). In the end I was too impatient and went for the quicker option. I may still get some, as I can rarely hold out on upgradeitis for long.

@poah, @LimboJimbo - thanks.

@ads678, I might come back to you on that. It might solve it for one of the bikes.

Got me thinking I might try the 165 cranks I'll remove from the kids bikes on my own bikes. What could possibly go wrong...

Yeah, no worries. I'm in Leeds if you're anywhere near, would be happy to meet up and pass on.

I can post up some photos if you like?

@mrl the listing was for a 27.5 wheeled frame when I bought it in 2020. you have to hunt around a bit to find the right spec.

@ads678 - I've messaged you via the forum.