So, Jnr is growing out of his 20″ wheel Trek, looking to move on to 24″.

He’s 8 years old, a fairly lazy rider, no great sense of adventure or skills. Very like his Dad, really.

We’ve bought him decent quality second hand bikes so far, Ridgebacks and Treks, not paid more than £75 for any of them, but I’m tempted to get a frame and build it up with him as a bit of a father/son project, plus he is quite interested in mechanical things, and if I learn to build up frames for him, I might be allowed another one for me one day!

My concern is that I run the risk of spending way more than a secondhand complete bike would cost, for something that he may not use a huge amount.

What does the panel think? Anyone done this for a reasonable total cost?

And what frames should I be looking out for – thinking jey-core-lite rather than anything jump-tastic, unless he has a personality change this summer

I think its a great idea – but how about letting him spend his pocket money on some parts? That way he has a financial interest in the bike and will feel more a part of the process.

Done carefuly you should be able to recoup most of the money if yo use secondhand parts surely

Sure it might cost a little bit more but IMO building a bike is such a fun and constructive thing to do. Well worth the possibilty of a little extra money. You’ll remember the time spent a lot more than what ever you spend the extra bit of money on.

26” would be easy on the wallet. Can’t imagine 24” spares are easy or cheap to come by so maybe for the bike after next????

Thinking frame/forks/wheels.

Tim

Buy a mega-small 26″ frame and put 24″ wheels on it, that way only the wheels need to be sold later.

Although we bought my son a Trek MT220 at that age, perfect job.

It will cost more than buying a good secondhand complete bike, but.. if you buy smart you casn pick up some of the parts for peanuts, and 2-3 years time you can reuse most of the parts building them onto a bigger frame.
the idea of using a very small 26″ drame is a good one..

Currently in the process of acquiring parts to do this with my son. So far I have got a 14″ Giant alu-lite frame off Ebay for £9.40 and £40 on a Cane Creak headset. I already have some brakes (mixture of v-brake rear and disc front), rear XT mech, right deore shifter, Manitou forks (kindly donated from a work collegue), r ear wheel (old XT with rm20 rim, will get something light when it comes up), saddle, bars and cassette.

Need to get 165 cranks, front wheel, seatpost and 50mm 25.4mm stem, then we can start building.

Oh and some sort of chaindevice. My thinking is as he grows i will upgrade the frame and transfer old bits from my bike when I need to upgrade 😉

good question.

i’m in the same boat, my 8yr old is just about to outgrow his isla bein 20 and i’m wondering whether to go the build up route or used complete myself.

my thinking on the build up is that i can put on better drivetrain etc than i’d find on a kids complete.

another option – buy a bike for him, strip, and rebuild it

Done it
Costs plenty – so don’t think it’s going to be cheap
The build is nice but quite short lived
My son rides every week now so feel its been worthwhile
Just about to do our second
Getting a cheap frame is a good start. First time around got a new rockhopper for 80
Now gone for a rocklobster

Thanks for the thoughts.

I’m thinking the fun of building it together – and both of us learning to fettle – should outweigh any extra cost. The Fun Police may not see it that way!

I’d considered the idea of a small 26″ frame (you know what I mean) but he’s not that confident riding and so I thought the 24″ would be a more confidence inspiring fit/ride. This will be the summer he’s allowed to roam free around the village to his mates – within reason – so I want it to be a bike that really makes him want to use it, as well as hopefully riding more with me on easy local rides.

I was thinking of building it up 1×9 or 1×8, as his riding so far doesn’t really justify a double or triple chainset, also saving a mech and shifter!

Beargotsoul – are you building up a 26″ or 24″ wheel frame? How old/tall is your lad?

This will be the summer he’s allowed to roam free around the village to his mates – within reason – so I want it to be a bike that really makes him want to use it, as well as hopefully riding more with me on easy local rides.

Ah, this is why we kept the Trek for my son – so I’m not paranoid about whether his decent bike is safe or not.

I was thinking of building it up 1×9 or 1×8, as his riding so far doesn’t really justify a double or triple chainset, also saving a mech and shifter!

IME (of having 3 kids) this is not a good idea – granny/11T is not known as ‘kiddie gears’ for nothing.

Mine has a Dr Jekyll aluminium frame, he ran it with 24″ when younger and now its on 26″. Its running all my old XC drivetrain and various bits/pieces – but is light as that is the key for kids to enjoy.

Also depends how big he is and how fast he grows – my just turned 12 year old has been on my old (slightly too small) 26″ bike for well over a year now – and he’s got his eye on my Fire trail!

PS – I got him an extra big seatpost for a while too!

Starting to see the attraction of a very small 26″ frame with 24″ wheels – a mate has a very small Inbred, might have a sneaky pop round…..

Be careful. Shiny stuff on chidrens bikes tends to lead to them getting nicked where I’ve lived. Kids can form stronger attachments to things too and its even more gutting for him if he’s built it himself. If he’s gonna use it as transport to school, shops, park etc. make sure he’s got a good lock attached to the frame so it goes everywhere the bike goes.
have fun doing it, but try to stay away from obvious magpie kit, no XT rear mechs or simiar, even if youve got a spare one in the shed.

My thinking is as he grows i will upgrade the frame and transfer old bits from my bike when I need to upgrade

Also built up a frame for son. Got a 14 inch on one. Used a lot of bits I had lying around – but you can go down the ebay route. It won’t be particularly cheap compared with buying a 24inch kids bike but chosen wisely the bits will transfer to larger frames in due course.

Main problem I found was finding a 165mm crank, shorter than that was impossible. Shimano do one in XT I think bit too expensive. Found a TA crank on ebay but still not cheap. My daughter has an Islabike with 1×8 and a gripshift shifter so I went 1×9 with a 32 ring up front and a 36 tooth cassette at the back. I can easily add a granny if I need to but for the moment am saving weight on the front mech etc. Modified the avid brake levers with slightly longer grub screws to reduce the reach. Other problem was a chain device. Finding a crankset with the double ring chain device found on kids bikes was impossible so I went for a bashring as the outer part and an N gear jump stop for the inner support.

Son just in process of switching to it – still riding old bike some of the time. Should be fully converted come the summer.

I rebuilt cast-off road bikes from the tip and neighbours with the occasional help of my grandad. Wish my dad could have helped. Do it.

not maligning my old man in any way, just a bit hopeless with anything vaguely mechanical, he did teach me a lot about woodwork though.

If you use disc brakes, don’t let him chop his fingers off in them.

Hope this helps.

I did this with my nephew – a very different set of circumstances tbf. It was “free” but also cost a heck of a lot for many folks – who had never met him. Him and me have the “bestest” bond since. I’d do it again no questions.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-bike-build-with-a-difference/page/4

#Edit – getting him involved in the earliest stages – CAD – then seeing every step afterwards and choosing colours etc was the clincher.

Just buy the sepsh hotrock I have for sale in the classifieds-you could always change the bars and a few bits for a minor fettle session!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60449858@N07/

Its the red one for sale- addie in profile if interested

@MCTD – building a 26″, 24″ not an option as rear wheel is v brake. O is 8 1/2 next month, tall for his age 140 cm. Even if it doesn’t work out he will learn how to put a bike together.

Buy a decent second hand 24″. I have a Kona Hula 24, bought used about six years ago and it has been great. About to be passed down to a nephew. Trek and Specialized also do nice bikes in this size.

Thanks for asll the input and ideas with this

I did this for my 11yo daughter last autumn. Eventually ended up buying a 14″ pompetamine frame/forks and fitted new 26″ wheels and s/h everthing else (including some fantastic white disk brakes) to make a very very light SS urban bike.
It’s brilliant frankly.
Cost was a bit more than a new halfords paperweight but less than an Islabike (but just as light as her 24″ Islabike)

Buy a whole bike cheap, take it apart then build it back up together. Win win all round

+1 for the Trek MT220 – just moved my 9yo up to it. Got an older 24″ wheel bike and together we replaced the old cables (inners & outers) changed shifters (again cheap stuff) & brakes and put on a new (cheap – Alivio) rear mech.

According to her it is “the best bike I’ve ever owned”. I felt close to tears proud…

Do it!