A hi-viz(ish) jacket so it’s less of an obvious “safety thing”?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/altura-kids-night-vision-jacket-1/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&sku=5360575521&ci_src=18615224&ci_sku=5360575521uk&utm_source=google&utm_term&utm_campaign=UK_PLA_Clothing&utm_medium=base&utm_content=mkwid%7csjEMVNdgR_dc%7cpcrid%7c67090791662%7cpkw%7c%7cpmt%7c%7cprd%7c5360575521uk

If it’s a busy urban environment then hi-viz might not be as effective as you think it is anyway. Personal experience is that it’s effective in rural environments (against fairly uniform greenish back grounds) but doesn’t make as much difference in urban environments. There’s some studies that back this up.

So a load of diddy flashing lights attached to the bike might be a better solution… if she likes that idea of course 😉

I’ve got a narrow head at that difficult 59cm “inbetweeny” size. Giro used to fit well until they changed their size boundaries and they became either too big or too small. As other have said, Specialized works well for me (use an S3 on the road) and Met Kaos fits OK as my off road lid, although I don’t like the “gel” brow pads as they leave me looking like a Klingon after a long ride.

Oh and rubber mallets are rubbish on proper stuck stuff – need something more solid/brutal 😉

As someone else said – looks like ISIS cranks. You need to plug that hollow axle with something to be able to get a traditional extractor to shift them. 5p does seem to be traditional, but anything that will solidly span the hole in the hollow axle to give something for the extractor to push against will do.

If they’ve been on for 10 years then they may well be very reluctant to move and require (a) the correct tools and maybe (b) some heat applied to the crank arms before they’ll shift. If you can arrange a solid plug for the extractor then try heating the cranks up (boiling water, heat gun, even a hair drier on full belt).

Am I right in thinking there’s several ways this works? Mine works as per Mark ^^^. Forerunner 235 > Blutooth > Android phone > Garmin Connect > Strava – but this seems to link your Garmin Connect app to your Strava app, rather than relying on linking your Garmin account to your Strava account. I’ve had a sync fail for Garmin connect, but it had got far enough to trigger the Strava ping and successfully upload the run to Strava via the app. It did then try and upload it to Strava again when it successfully sync’d with Connect.

This seems to be a different mechanism than linking the accounts and getting your Garmin Connect to push the ride/run through to Strava?

Satmap is worth a look if you want a solid device with a really good map display. They’re standard issue to SARDA dog search teams and I used one for navigating for a day for a team. Very quick and easy to use with a great map display.

Eg…
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/gps-device-satmap-active-12.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAl5u2BRC6yszC1_75v5wBEiQAD-hdz-JnwOwgrMirMP6_zyZ8gR7Qn_axj3JicaOnJoxYlYUaAnj98P8HAQ

Yep it should do – width is the same, dropouts will be for slightly fatter axles, but only a touch. Check the weight though… may not be far off the sus fork 😉

There are some really good 24″ wheeled bikes about now that I would be looking at before pushing a rider onto a 26″ before they really fit it. It depends a bit on the sort of riding they’re doing, but having a bike that fits makes a big difference to confidence and handling skills. I really hate seeing kids trying to hulk about what are essentially adult bikes – there’s a whole set of off road skills that they find really hard to learn on them.

That said, check out exactly how big he is and compare the standover of 24″ and some of the new kids 26″ bikes (eg Trek and Whyte). The Trek Fuel EX Jr is really small (12″) – lower standover than our 24″ Kona Stuff – and the Whyte is 13″. The kids sized 26″ frames can be quite a bit smaller than small “adult” 26″ frames. They’re a lot for a “kids” bike, but you might be able to justify it if they’re going to get a good length of use from it.

Realistically I think you are looking at £500+ (new) for a 24″ bike you’d consider as really good off-road machine (I probably spent £400 building one up from shed bits and ebay!). Less if it’s more of a do-it-all bike, but certainly if you think disks and suspension are what you want then you’re looking at something like the Commencal Meta HT (£600ish) or the Islabike Creig (£700). Considering how few ones you see about and the general demand for them I reckon you’d get good resale on one if you only needed it for a couple of years. If you’ve got other kids coming through then it’s much easier to justify the spend.

I’m going through a similar process at the moment on an Islabike Beinn. Think it’s on its third set of Vs now (some nice old SRAM ones), but it’s the levers that always let it down. I don’t think even the junior levers get the leverage/stroke right for little hands – certainly for sustained braking on anything remotely interesting off-road.

At the moment I’m heading for disks (Deore 2-finger levers are fantastic for little hands), but if that doesn’t work out (and there’s various reasons why it might not!) then he’s getting an old set of Magura HS33s I’ve got on another bike. They’re the older type lever, but I’ve checked and they adjust down plenty small enough. They are great brakes – lots of power and modulation. It’s ages since I’ve done it but shortening hoses and bleeding them was always pretty easy IIRC.

Wellgo do some “road” flats and other small platform type pedals. Like this: http://en.wellgopedal.com/products_detail_6_480.htm

Good for kids bikes too – I’ve usually found the model I want then hunted for them on eBay

I shifted my cleats back on my MTB shoes a few years ago and noticed a good difference in feel. I was playing about with ski boot/ski fit and balance a lot at the same time and it all made a lot of sense together – aiming for better feel throughout the foot. Definitely more control and also less fatiguing downhill – also noticed a big difference landing drops and jumps.

Have you seen this? http://www.cotic.co.uk/news/2016/26aintquitedead

Oh – and another thing. The only ways I’ve managed to deal with steaming is to start with super clean glasses (warm water rinse, gentle sponge with diluted washing up liquid, rinse again, soft cotton cloth wipe/dry) and then avoid touching them at all. With grippy arms you can push the glasses away from your face to help them clear a bit.

Wiping glasses when riding is an absolute last resort. If they’re really mucky I squirt them off from a bottle (or a mouthful from the Camelbak) and just shake them off.

I started wearing glasses about 15 years ago in my late 20s. I haven’t got a strong prescription, but I need them for riding with. I got some prescription Oakleys early on (Straightjackets) and they were great. I didn’t change those as often as my day-to-day specs, but when they were a bit too far from my current prescription I got some Halfjackets, which are a bit long in the tooth now. So that’s about £500-600 over 15 years of riding, so maybe 40 quid a year. I avoid riding in my normal specs for a number of reasons…

1. Many years ago (probably 25!) I had to call an ambulance for a riding mate who’d crashed in his specs – which had sliced a large gash across his cheek. A lot (but not all) everyday “non sports” specs probably aren’t that safe to ride in.

2. Riding specs get covered in crap and will get scratched. That’s annoying enough, but if they’re not also my day-to-day specs at least I don’t get reminded of the scratches all the time.

3. I hate contacts.

4. The wind protection you get from decent riding specs is really noticeable. When I do ride in my normal specs (usually after hunting around and realising I’ve forgotten my riding glasses) I find it quite irritating and if it’s cold and windy my eyes water a lot more.

5. Good “sports” glasses will grip your head, don’t bounce about and don’t fall off easily.

I can’t use the insert type glasses as my eyelashes are too long, but they do mean you can change lens colours more easily/cheaply. Suspect not as good as good full prescription glasses.

I’ve got Oakley Crosslinks as my day-to-day glasses, with non-Oakley sports lenses in them. They’re good and they’re OK for riding/running in if I’m without my Halfjackets. The optics aren’t quite as good a proper Oakley lenses though

Gloves – we’ve used some warm Polaris ones, or ski gloves/mits if it’s horrible. Eldest is now on XS 661 Storms – great for warmth and feel/dexterity, but suspect they’d be too big for you.

Feet: went from kids walking boots (youngest still on these). but eldest went to SPDs quite early so into small women’s winter boots.

We’ve had great use out of some Keen kid’s boots. Waterproof, but also a good sole for riding and not too restrictive around the ankle. Worth it if you can find them on offer somewhere.

I don’t ride flats at all, but I’ve found my cleat position (on mountain bikes) gradually moving back, so now the ball sits in front of the axle when clipped in. I think some of this came from wanting to get more feel back through my feet and also reducing the impact load on the ankle through drops and hits. It’s aiming for that balanced feel – through the centre of the feet, both feet, to both wheels. Probably influenced by messing around quite a bit getting my skiing set up right.

Fingers crossed you don’t need these guys 😉

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And should the photo have been taken in France then the subject has a whole pile more legal rights under French law – people have the right not to be photographed (so strictly speaking you’re supposed to ask the permission of everyone you take a photo of) and full rights over the use of their own image.

Lucky it was in Italy 😉

Driveside Surly Tugnut and a Ti Salsa QR – been fine for years

I’d definitely be looking at ebay for the lightest half decent 100mm air fork I could find. Suspect you’d be looking at £150 rather than £100, but there’s quite a bit out there. Tapered vs straight is probably your limiting factor (depending on the frame you’re using) – there being more tapered than straight around it seems.

But nice rigids and a fat and supple tyre could be perfect if that suits rider and usual terrain. I’ve transformed smaller bikes with decent fatter tyres, to the extent that they completely stopped complaining about sore hands… that or they just gave up complaining 😉

Worth noting that with kids you really don’t need aggressive treads – they don’t really have the weight to make them work properly. High volume and “fast” treads (think Small Block 8) can be amazing effective.

As said Maxxis Ardent in 26 x 2.4 comes up pretty fat for the numbers (wider than other 2.5s I’ve had). It’s definitely a high volume tyre, but with a reasonably aggressive tread. I love them on my rigid singlespeed. I’d run them on my FS if I had the clearance.

Mine are standard EXO walled ones run tubeless, but they do an EXO tubeless ready one now I think. I think they’re all under 800g too.

It definitely works n wider rims. Here’s a “26+” with Surly Dirt Wizards (rubbish pic) – I had a go and it rode very nicely

Surly by Jonathan Bateman[/url], on Flickr

You’d need unusual clearance to run those on a full sus though. They fit nicely on that Surly 1×1, but they have massive clearances. Been thinking of trying it on my 1×1 but I’ve got fairly fat rubber already (2.4 Ardents) and it’s a lot of faff/expense for a bit more.

jonathan – why not?

I guess they’d do the job, and the soles are definitely sticky, but I haven’t found them very robust and you get wet toes as soon as they sniff dewy grass.

I’ve got Dirtbags on right now. They’re not blue, but I wouldn’t ride my bike in them. Definitely not really what you’re after I suspect.

I think I’ll have to dig out my old Cygolite Night Explorers (actually a reasonable 10w + 10w) and see how they do 😉

I actually find anything getting towards 1000 lumens can be a bit too bright – too much glare – but I guess that depends a bit on how good the spread is.

WHat he said – in what way does it not work with the Hope caliper?

The 180mm one of these should be what you’re looking for:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-mount-adaptor-front-post-to-is/rp-prod13743?gs=1&gclid=CjwKEAiA9uaxBRDYr4_hrtC3tW8SJAD6UU8GeAcm6DWGyHQe4PEuIbI-d6Xu0zShbfskheWzSJx1yhoCApLw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Those little Konas are pretty solid bikes, but ride well as XC machines too. I built up an older one from frame-only and it’s been ridden long distances and raced as well. Those later ones have better standover too, the earlier ones (like ours) don’t have the dropped top tube.

Little Kona by Jonathan Bateman[/url], on Flickr

Realistically 14″ tends to be the smallest (often XS). There are some 12″ frames around but they’re pretty rare (see the Hotrock up there ^^, the Trek I’ve just reviewed http://singletrackworld.com/reviews/review-trek-fuel-ex-junior/). You’ve got to be careful about what will fit though. My eldest only just fitted onto the 24″ bike a built him when he turned 9 – if I’d got my act together and it had been ready 6 months before I don’t think he’d have been able to ride it!

So measuring him up, trying real bikes (so known measurements) and then knowing the measurements of what you look at buying are key. I see a lot of 9-10-year-olds on 26″ bikes and sometimes it works, but more often they simply don’t fit very well. So you need to buy carefully.

Satisfaction from knowing I’ve built something a little bit special for my daughter and she loves riding it – Priceless

This ^^^ 🙂

P-Jay – please tell me it’s the Rasta one? 🙂

Ad hoc entertainment..

Wes tongue by Jonathan Bateman[/url], on FlickrSaul jump by Jonathan Bateman[/url], on Flickr

Ready made fun

Definitely need to start building something bigger.. got a lot of wood lying around at home 🙂

And another thought – Scott Voltage 24″ers are very popular at MTB hire places, which maybe looking to off-load at this time of year. No harm in phoning around some of the big trail centre hire places.

Yes – prowling ebay is the key, and double checking descriptions. “Collect in person” listings are always going to be the cheapest, but often things are listed as collection only but they say they’ll post at cost in the description. Might well be worth the journey to pick some up though. You need to be patient to wait for a bargain with these things though. There’s quite a lot about, a very quick search turned up these, which would all be good buys..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carrera-blast-24/331697025646

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carrera-Blast-Mountain-Bike-24-Age-8-12/272028942979

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carerra-Luna-Light-Blue-24-Mountain-Bike/171981973576

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-Cycles-24-Kids-Mountain-Bike-/141814012875

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Kids-Bike-24-/262116036944

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Felt-Q24-Kids-Mountain-Bike-24-wheel/331696370396

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KONA-HULA-Kids-White-Mountain-Bike/331697200164

Mis-described things can be good too – this is 24″ not 20″:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20-Inch-Kona-Hula-Kids-Bike-Orange/391309076897

Just to add that Rockrider would do the job, but it is pretty heavy and not brilliantly specced. But if you’ve not turned anything up 2nd hand then all bikes are good bikes 😉

Yes, but those Uber bike ones were 8 quid (with a discount code) including collars.. I don’t spend £25 on my grips, let alone the kids 😉

Great build! Brave doing your first full build with a child awaiting for the results – no pressure 😉

So, honestly, what do you reckon it cost you? Obviously these sort of builds are really about the bottom line (they always end up costing more than you thought they would!), but it’d still be interesting to know.

I see someone else already picked up on the front mech cable housing, so I won’t mention that. Those foam grips look a bit fat to me. Are they comfy in use? Soft squidgy grips can be comfy for small hands for short periods, but get more tiring over longer rides (IME). ODI Ruffians have always been my skinny grip of choice for the kids, but I discovered Uberbike do some nice lookalikes (in fun colours) which I just got a few sets of (in suitably garish child-pleasing combinations):
http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/view-product/Uberbike-Skinny-Logo-Lock-On-Grips-Grip-Builder

OK – keep it coming, just toying with how best to “develop” a Beinn20 myelf 🙂

On-One has a gusset on the top tube.

Yep. 1. Any more?

😉

Spot the difference..

Been out a while 😉
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/youth/mountain/caribou-jnr

Pepsi… baby… Pepsi… baby… Pepsi… baby.

Pepsi.

Disappointed there’s nothing in the front basket 😉