Building a budget cyclocross for girl/teen
mrrafs
Posts: 3
Hi bike peeps -1st post -eek!
Need to get my daughter a bike - she goes to the local bike club that does CX, and although she can hire a bike from them, i want to get her a bike for her birthday in a few months that she can also maintain,go to school with and use at the club.
As most teen CX start at about £400-500 and i don't have that sort of money(as well as London not being a good place for expensive bikes).... i'm looking to build one.
What's bike model is good to start with ?
-Hybrids are often shorter and have better clearance as well as having 700c wheels - so looking for that to start with(as ebay has no cheap CX bikes but loads of of hybrid ex.commutes).
-Alu, mass produced and a few years old - (basic components ok -can upgrade as they break)
-Small size 15"-17"
-£100 -ebay
Then what would i add?
-Short reach breaks/sti shifter? + Tektro top mount levers (made for women/child?)
-Aluminium drop 'bar, short reach, shallow drop? (made for women/child?)
-Cyclo Cross Race tyres (Continental ?)
-good/bad idea?
advice please?
ta. .r
Need to get my daughter a bike - she goes to the local bike club that does CX, and although she can hire a bike from them, i want to get her a bike for her birthday in a few months that she can also maintain,go to school with and use at the club.
As most teen CX start at about £400-500 and i don't have that sort of money(as well as London not being a good place for expensive bikes).... i'm looking to build one.
What's bike model is good to start with ?
-Hybrids are often shorter and have better clearance as well as having 700c wheels - so looking for that to start with(as ebay has no cheap CX bikes but loads of of hybrid ex.commutes).
-Alu, mass produced and a few years old - (basic components ok -can upgrade as they break)
-Small size 15"-17"
-£100 -ebay
Then what would i add?
-Short reach breaks/sti shifter? + Tektro top mount levers (made for women/child?)
-Aluminium drop 'bar, short reach, shallow drop? (made for women/child?)
-Cyclo Cross Race tyres (Continental ?)
-good/bad idea?
advice please?
ta. .r
0
Comments
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Jeez... that's tough, with a budget. I mean, light/strong/cheap - you can pick any two. Factor in smaller sized, and it's getting REALLY tough.
Firstly, I'd probably nix the 700c, if she wants small. Quite a few smaller roadies/CX/tourers have 650c, so something with 26"wheels is likely to give you clearance, and availability, as well as V-brakes/cantis or even discs. (Avoid caliper, for obvious reasons - nothing like having a tonne of mud attached to your rear).
So... potentially a 26" alu hybrid. Solid forks. But then... most of them come with flat/riser bars. Assuming you'd want drops. The pull ratios for brifters are different to that of hybrid/MTB brakes. I'm not an expert of the derailleurs either, but I'd imagine they could cause an issue, as the indexing is not the same across all models.
Argh... my head hurts. Good luck - hopefully someone else has better ideas and plz keep us posted. I may be doing the same thing in 5-10 yrs...Commute - MASI Souville3 | Road/CX - MASI Speciale CX | Family - 80s ugly | Utility - Cargobike0 -
At a push, and if you're handy with a spanner, it might be worth looking at old touring bikes on eBay. Some of the old Dawes touring bikes have canti mounts (though you'd be hard pushed to find a Galaxy for that money). They should also have clearance for slightly larger tyres.0
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thanks for the replys..
for anone on the same mission as me -read my cross-post:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.ph ... -girl-teen
ta..0
