My daughters first 26" wheel MTB (custom build)

othello

After her brother had his custom build done (http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12929664&p=18421450#p18403280) my daughter didn't want to be left out! She is only 7 but is very tall for her age and was ready to step up to a 26" wheel like her older brother. She is a very competent cyclist (she riders competitively) and I knew she could handle the step up fine.

We ended up with the following:






Frame: 2010 Cube attention comp 14"
Fork: Rockshox SID team
Wheels: Superstar XC430 on superstar hubs
Tyres: Specialized The Captain s-works and control
Brakes: Shimano Deore and Deore LX
Discs: 160mm
Stem: Superstar 50mm
Bars: Truvativ
Shifter: SLX 10 speed
Chainset: Lasco 152mm arms triple with outer removed
Cassette: SLX 10 speed 11-36
Rear mech: Shimano Deore shadow
Front mech: Shimano SLX
Pedals: currently her brothers wellgo flats
Seatpost: Superstar (cut down length)
Saddle: Old islabike saddle

One criteria from my daughter was purple as a highlight colour Hence the purple chainring bolts, disc rotor bolts, seat post, stem etc. But it works!

All in weight is 25.1lb, which is OK but I was hoping for a little lighter. Her brothers rockhopper has ended up at 23.5lb now he has a front mech and shifter. But he does have wheels which are 200g lighter. The Deore shadow mech is a bit of a lump compared to the XT. But plenty of time to take off a bit of weight as she wears things out. The aim, as with her brothers bike, is to upgrade the frame as she grows and keep the bits.

cat_with_no_tail

How tall is she?

Debating something like this for my 7yr old who is also pretty tall for her age. I feel like she's borderline between a 24", and a small 26" bike.

Kowalski675

That's a very long way from the cast off bikes I had at that age. :shock:

I presume that front wheel's not yet secured in the first two pics?

othello

Cat With No Tail wrote:

How tall is she?

Debating something like this for my 7yr old who is also pretty tall for her age. I feel like she's borderline between a 24", and a small 26" bike.

i'll need to measure her and let you know

She has been riding a 24" wheel MTB for about 18 months now, and still had growing room to be fair. But she was riding her brothers small 26" wheel and fitted it, so I worked on this one for her.

If you are doing a build like this the key is finding the right frame in the right size. It took about a month of scouring to find a decent one. I was looking for a 13", but when I checked the geometry of the Cube 14" it was really compact.

othello

Kowalski675 wrote:

That's a very long way from the cast off bikes I had at that age. :shock:

I presume that front wheel's not yet secured in the first two pics?

Me too! But they cycle a lot and enjoy it. She is the British Schools MTB champ for her age, and rides road, cross and track.

Plus I had a lot of fun building this bike, and we did a lot of the picking bits and the build together, so she felt a real part of it.

Kowalski675

Cool, bet she's well chuffed with it. The bikes i had at that age weighed about as much as a small planet, lol.

othello

Kowalski675 wrote:

I presume that front wheel's not yet secured in the first two pics?

Yeah, not secured. Mid-build shots were all I had to hand to show detail.

I should also say that cost-wise it didn't work out too bad at all. Lots of bits of eBay and the spares bin at home. A few new bits (the wheels) and stem & seat post.

Kowalski675

Can I look in your spares bin for aome forks, lol?

othello

Kowalski675 wrote:

Can I look in your spares bin for aome forks, lol?

The forks were an eBay bargain. The steerer was so short, hardly any frame would take it. Luckily it was perfect for this bike.

Kowalski675

Nice find then.

Lewis A

Your daughter is a very lucky girl!

russyh

Wow, my 8 year old is only using a 20" wheel bike, but then she is tiny. Can't wait until she is big enough for me to build her a proper bike. She loves going on bike rides with me, I doubt she will be big enough for that frame when she is 10 though.

CitizenLee

Looks awesome! I'm at the point of deciding where to go from a 20" HotRock for the younger of our two (9). Her big sister (11) got a BMX when she was too big for the HotRock but the younger one still wants gears

Might have to build one up after reading this thread. Great work!

othello

Interestingly when I put her new 26" wheel bike alongside her old 24" wheeled Hotrock there is very little difference. The Cube frame is so compact that her body position is not very different. Like swapping from a 26 to a 29er!

apreading

I did think that looks like a very compact 26" frame.

gt-arrowhead

Thats bloody better than my bike! Nice build!

pesky_jones

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Thats bloody better than my bike! Nice build!

Hate to kick a man when he's down but the camera looks better as well

gt-arrowhead

Pesky Jones wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Thats bloody better than my bike! Nice build!

Hate to kick a man when he's down but the camera looks better as well

I admit to that Hopefully getting a new phone soon though, as mine wont read SD cards anymore :roll:

The Rookie

Awesome build for a kids bike, liking the colour scheme as well.

Irony is my eldest daughter (20 but 5' 3.5")) rides a smaller frame than that!

Kowalski675

The Rookie wrote:

Irony is my eldest daughter

That's an odd thing to name your daughter...