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What else did you spec on the bike dirkpitt?
My issue is that as far as I can see stans wheelset plus rst fork = £450 - and I don't have any other bits around, so by the time the rest is added the cost is going to get much higher.
Most of the kit is second hand or stuff I had in the spares box.
It's got some Shimano M365 brakes I picked up of a guy at work for £20.
SRAM X5/X7 shifter 7 mech off here for £20.
Shimano 11-42t 10sp cassette from Bike-Discount.de £30.
Suntour XCT Jr crankset from Amazon £30.
Forks are some 26" Fox Float 32's with 80mm travel - picked up locally for £50.
@rossburton - what size BB did you go with when switching to single ring?
The crankset I swapped it for was a triple so I didn't want the chainline to move. I needed a new bottom bracket anyway (the LBS had to use an anglegrinder to get it off...) and they're 118mm apparently.
118 for the suntour crank
Thanks chaps. That's what I have at the moment and swapping to single ring. So if I put the n/w in the middle position it should be ok?
Yeah just put the single on the middle and that neatly means you can put a bash on the outer. Go 32t on both and it's super neat.
I'm still super-confused how one is meant to know what axle length to use, pretty sure the cranks never said 118mm on them anywhere.
Quick question on the frame. Seems like the newer carrera frames are a little different that slightly older ones. One of them has a little extra tube piece under the saddle. Any view on one frame being better than the other. Or lighter etc?
Or are there any other donor frames worth considering?
Don't think there is any major difference - I suppose the tab from top tube to seat tube looks more 'Enduro'.
As for other frames I don't know - didn't really look at any others as the general consensus was the Carrera frame was fairly light.
That seems to be consistent with what I've generally seen. Sifting through one thread, found a reference to a Poison Zyankali - £100 for the frame and around 1600g , so prob better to stick with the blast frame and spend money on other things.
Hmm, a few hesitant ebay clicks and I have a frame sitting in the garage. Guess I'll go down the building route!!
Next stop wheels....
Such a shame that photo bucket managed to skrew up a lot of the pics on this thread. 🙁
Was just on the Isla website and noticed that they've changed the Creig to be 11 NX speed and 11kg (instead of 10 speed and 10.5kg).
Wondering what people think of that - have those with little ones found a 11-36 10sp cassette sufficient (which is what I was thinking of using) or have they found instances when 11-42 would be required - and if so when?
I'm thinking 11-36 will be sufficient for most needs throughout the lifetime of the 24 inch bike (which he will be in around this time next year), maybe a bigger range on the next 26 inch bike down the line...
my 7yo has a 20in wheel isla and she can just about fit on it but because of the relative power of the rider to the size of the bike she's constantly in the lower(st) gears so the lower you can get the ratio they will use it, especially as they get tired - better to have it and not need it than be found wanting and have your child lose interest at the furthest point from home
32x11-36 is fine for my 9yo but we're doing rides where the climbs are short but steep, I can see that having a few more gears could be useful if we went on rides with longer climbs as emergency bail-out gears.
Hmm, I'm at the stage of looking for a bit of reassurance as I'm getting a bit concerned about how long my sprog will be in a 24 inch bike!
Anyone here with tall boys/girls and can advise as to how long their kids have spent on the 24 inch wheel format bike before moving on...
My sprog has just hit six and just over 125cm and going up fast. I only got him a 20 inch bike last Xmas! <span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">I was planning on starting the build (collecting bits and bobs now though but haven't got the wheelset) around December this year so its ready for Spring next year. Just concerned that we will spend effort putting a bike together, respray etc and then he'll be out of it in a year.</span>
my two eldest aged 10 and 12 years old have been on 24" wheels for nearly 2 years. One has a Luna (blast with different colour paint) the other a Hotrock 24, both kids are about 145cm tall and with the scarcity of X-small frames for larger wheel sizes around here they'll both probably be still riding them until they can fit an adult small or medium size frame. Although this may require a 400mm seat post and riser bars to tweak their riding position.
Yeah my lads been on his for 2 years now and i'm just starting to think about building him a 26" wheeler, if I come across the right frame. He's still ok on the 24" and he's just over 140cm, but it will start getting too small now. Although his next bike might be governed by how fast his sister grows as she's starting to get too big for her 20" wheel bike!!
My lad has had his a couple of years.
He's now 11 and needs a bigger bike, plus his 7y/o sister has outgrown her 20" Luna - so she need the 24" blast now!
I have got a small 26'er to build for my lad - just need to get it done.
My 9yo has been on his Blast for a year now. It's still running the seatpost at just a couple of inches up and the stem is just 45mm. I expect he'll be on it for a few more years!
The good thing about doing a 24" build from bits is when they do out grow it, everything but wheels and fork can be moved to a 26" frame. That's how I justified buying reasonable parts anyway 🙂 (Deore brakes, Sora mech, etc).
OK, thanks for the posts, that is somewhat reassuring - although my sprog will be a bit younger and I fear that he won't slow down his vertical aspirations.
Rossburton - that is exactly the line of thinking I have been using to justify this folly to my wife. It's only that I need to invest in some wheels which won't be transferable that I am now pausing.
One other side question - I'm planning on going 1x11 on it. Picked up a decent priced XT mech and a sunrace 11-46 cassette for reasonable money. What the verdict from experience, 32T or 36T front chainring?
Our kid just turned ten last week and has outgrown his blast, should have got him on earlier as he only got a year out of it. I don't think of him as that tall, because he's in a very tall class and a lot of his mates are lanky, but I guess he's at the taller end of things. If you've sprung for a decent wheelset then the biggest difference will be the drivetrain, as 1x7 on the stock wheels is a bit narrow. It's not ridiculous, but a wider range will help for little legs IME when you start to do more longer, hillier mountain biking rides.
Just as a general FYI I've got our kid a secondhand Creig 26 as the next step and it fits him perfectly, which was not what I was expecting. Thought it would be more of a grower, but it looks like he'll be rinsing through this one in short order as well (it seems like a pretty short reach frame). So if there are any Dads out there looking at the Creig as a long term rental, it's prob a good idea to get the bairn on it asap - they might fit it sooner than you think.
One other side question – I’m planning on going 1×11 on it. Picked up a decent priced XT mech and a sunrace 11-46 cassette for reasonable money. What the verdict from experience, 32T or 36T front chainring?
I'd go with what Ross said.... not Blast specific but really what/where he's riding
Jnr uses a 34T for kids XC.... then he only uses 6-11.... but that is only for a few miles and 20-30 mins. He could easily push a 36T but would lose clearance... (and I don't have one spare)
When we go on longer rides though he has a 30/32 Oval... I doubt he would enjoy doing long climbs like the Wall with the 36T or he would end up using 1st (which is pretty much reserved as a bail out gear)??? Either way the 32 is "fast enough" on the way down.
Thanks again all, I have the 32T chainset as that was my thinking, but only have a few days to change my mind; so it is helpful to take stock!
Thanks again all, I have the 32T chainset as that was my thinking, but only have a few days to change my mind; so it is helpful to take stock!
For normal riding the 32T is plenty... they might spin out on long firetrails but at least they get up them.
Nothing worse than a long day and they are worn out so you take a fire tail route back and the last few climbs are misery....
The other thing worth noting is for a 104 BCD crank 32T is about as small as you can remove without having to remove the crank...
So if you want flexibility its a couple of minutes to fit a larger chainring ... without the hassle of removing the crank to do so.
Hi folks, what 24" tyres are around that would be good for a couple of weeks in the Alps?
My daughter's bike has Small Block 8s on it which seem pretty good but I think something a bit chunkier might give her some more confidence on the steeper stuff.
The schwalbe black jacks look ok, but I'd really like something like a little High Roller or Trail King...
"The other thing worth noting is for a 104 BCD crank 32T is about as small as you can remove without having to remove the crank…
So if you want flexibility its a couple of minutes to fit a larger chainring … without the hassle of removing the crank to do so."
I was going to with the hoy crank chainset - so it come in 32t or 36t; doesn't look like an easy switch over for that one.
The Hoy 32t one is out of stock until July
Right....picked up some Reba dual air last night, need some work but hopefully at 80mm they will be great on the upcoming birthday Luna build.
Rocket Rons on the way from Germany too.
In the immortal words of DJ Shadow, it is happening again.
Stock weight: 13.5kg. Let the strip commence!
Actually, whilst this thread is briefly alive again: does anyone know a good source of hot pink parts? My girl wants a pale blue bike with hot pink (not baby pink, not purple) accents. I've got some hot pink chainring bolts already but annoyingly can't seem to find matching touches: seatpost clamp etc.
Sounds good Ross. My Luna build will be going on simultaneously then!
Light blue and hot pink does seem to be the order of the day in our house also.
Looks like we got ourselves a good ole' fashioned Dad build off......
PINKKKKK! http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dmr-v6-flat-pedal/rp-prod132636
I'd already bought some nice pedals from China (good size for kids feet) but that colour is spot on...
We're going for RAL 5012, btw. Hope to have the frame in the powder shop this week.
Sounds good Ross. You got a link for the China pedals? I did wonder if the DMRs would be too big.
Wellgo KC001. https://gravitykids.wordpress.com/2015/07/15/first-impressions-wellgo-kc001-flat-pedals-for-kids/.
Delivery from Germany...featherlight!
[url= https://preview.ibb.co/dowWNJ/B6_F47206_3_ACC_413_E_9_B0_C_06_CC23_DA1063.jp g" target="_blank">https://preview.ibb.co/dowWNJ/B6_F47206_3_ACC_413_E_9_B0_C_06_CC23_DA1063.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
If you want matching pink then have a look at Santacruz palmdale grips and DMR v6 plastic pedals. The colours are exactly the same. The V6 pedals wont be too big. I just put them on my daughters Luna on the link below.
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/carrera-luna-build-24/
https://www.evanscycles.com/lizard-skins-mini-machine-single-compound-grip-EV240814
My daugther has these grips on her bike.
So this happened last night to the Blast that started this thread:
The local woods have quite a hill in the middle and 11x11-32 wasn't quite cutting it. I can fully endorse 10-speed Zee kit, available for a reasonable price, has a very short cage so isn't in the way of rocks, and in Freeride mode (the default) will happily shift like a dream over a 11-36 cassette.
And she's stripped and off to be powder coated.
Important question: tyre choice! The other bike is running Rocket Ron's front and back, but I found a pair of Smart Sams for a good price. Any opinions on running Smart Sams front and back on the new bike (which won't be going proper off-road as much yet), or run both bikes with Rocket Rons on the front and Smart Sams on the back, or Sams are rubbish and spend the extra fiver on Rons?
Bump for the morning crowd ^^^^
Smart Sam is a very versatile tyre in 700 and seems to fit the bill. How it works in 24" I don't know.
I have smallblock 8 on my daughter's 24" bike which would also fit the bill.