20" Full suspension build
Yakboy
Posts: 55
Well after building my oldest daughter a 24" full suspension bike...
viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12982278
My younger 7 year old daughter is starting to get more serious about biking. She is very light and is getting battered about a lot on the rocky sections of Dalby. She is currently riding her older sisters 20" hardtail (resprayed and with a few improvements from her sisters build)
But there's only so much you can do with a steel frame, bmx crank and spring front forks...so I thought I would use the smaller 20" version of the 24" Carrera sol that I built for my oldest, as they can be picked up cheaply if you look hard enough...
So bought this for £45 on Preloved...
A hefty 12.5kg but with rear disc mounts so has potential. 7 speed(13-28) Sram X3 with gripshits and a 140mm crank with a 36T chainwheel (will manufacturers never learn to put shorter cranks and smaller chainwheels on kids bikes !!)
So using the knowledge I gained from 24" build I know where huge weight savings can be made and how to make the bike a usable prospect for the riding we do at Dalby. It will be no Islabike pro or Lil' Shredder but will cost me an awful lot less and I will have the enjoyment of the build.
I have been toying with the idea of setting up a little business repurposing these bikes and will use this as a test bed to see if it's feasible and worth the effort (It'll never make me any money but will be more of a hobby).
Anyway I have amassed a few toys to put on already....
I will give more detail as to what they are as I go along.
The frame has a fair few scratches on it so I thought I'd strip it completely and see how much the powder coaters will charge...so
I'll report back when things have moved along a little....
viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12982278
My younger 7 year old daughter is starting to get more serious about biking. She is very light and is getting battered about a lot on the rocky sections of Dalby. She is currently riding her older sisters 20" hardtail (resprayed and with a few improvements from her sisters build)
But there's only so much you can do with a steel frame, bmx crank and spring front forks...so I thought I would use the smaller 20" version of the 24" Carrera sol that I built for my oldest, as they can be picked up cheaply if you look hard enough...
So bought this for £45 on Preloved...
A hefty 12.5kg but with rear disc mounts so has potential. 7 speed(13-28) Sram X3 with gripshits and a 140mm crank with a 36T chainwheel (will manufacturers never learn to put shorter cranks and smaller chainwheels on kids bikes !!)
So using the knowledge I gained from 24" build I know where huge weight savings can be made and how to make the bike a usable prospect for the riding we do at Dalby. It will be no Islabike pro or Lil' Shredder but will cost me an awful lot less and I will have the enjoyment of the build.
I have been toying with the idea of setting up a little business repurposing these bikes and will use this as a test bed to see if it's feasible and worth the effort (It'll never make me any money but will be more of a hobby).
Anyway I have amassed a few toys to put on already....
I will give more detail as to what they are as I go along.
The frame has a fair few scratches on it so I thought I'd strip it completely and see how much the powder coaters will charge...so
I'll report back when things have moved along a little....
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Comments
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Looks like a great fun project!
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Got the frame back from the powdercoaters tonight. A very reasonable £35. The guy builds bike frames so all the bolt holes are clear and headset tube/ bottom bracket tube were masked.
Not the most exciting colour I know but there is method in my madness, now at least it is Unisex so eventual resale will be easier.
So put all the suspension linkages back together and trial fitted the Spinner 300 fork.
Just got to get the rear shock sorted out. I am jumping through lots of hoops with a Taiwanese manufacturer at the moment to get hold of a 100mm airshock but hopefully should get one soon so I can continue the build.0 -
It's finished!!! Only took 2 years...well my youngest is now on 24" wheels so this has now become a demo bike for my fledgling business "Yakbike" (see my other thread)
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