Build up Frog alternative for teenager
larkim
Posts: 2,485
One of my boys has some issues which mean he is weaker / smaller than "normal", so 3 years ago we bought him a frog 62 which has been great - simple, well built, lightweight. The only item I swapped out was to get a wider set of bars as the very short stem and relatively narrow bars made it quite twitchy for a kid with slightly slower reaction times.
He's now outgrown it, so whilst it's still rideable we're thinking about the next bike.
Initial thoughts are that the Frog MTB 72 https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-k ... tb-72.aspx would fit the bill - he's a teenage lad so having a suspension fork for him is a priority (even though I know that we could "get away" with a rigid fork and get the Frog 73 https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-k ... rog73.aspx for £300 less) so I was wondering how close I could get with 2nd hand frame etc to self-building a lightweight, small hard tail that didn't need to be bullet proof in the way it would be if a lightweight HT was being built for an adult.
So cheap the "cheap-light-strong - pick any two" scenario is cheap & light. So we're looking at a 1x9 / 1x10, hyrdo-braked (for my own sanity) lightweight HT with an air-fork at about 11.5kg or lighter for around £400 - do-able?
He's now outgrown it, so whilst it's still rideable we're thinking about the next bike.
Initial thoughts are that the Frog MTB 72 https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-k ... tb-72.aspx would fit the bill - he's a teenage lad so having a suspension fork for him is a priority (even though I know that we could "get away" with a rigid fork and get the Frog 73 https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-k ... rog73.aspx for £300 less) so I was wondering how close I could get with 2nd hand frame etc to self-building a lightweight, small hard tail that didn't need to be bullet proof in the way it would be if a lightweight HT was being built for an adult.
So cheap the "cheap-light-strong - pick any two" scenario is cheap & light. So we're looking at a 1x9 / 1x10, hyrdo-braked (for my own sanity) lightweight HT with an air-fork at about 11.5kg or lighter for around £400 - do-able?
2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #4s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #4s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)
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Comments
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Perfectly doable, better still used some good condition 'pre-loved' parts and you could spec up a really nice bike.
An effective way of doing it would be to buy a used adult bike and reframe it using a suitably sized and weight frame and make the changes you need as you build it, add in a few carbon bits and you could get to circa 10Kg, forks will be most costly but look for a good used SID or Reba, both fairly light, readily available and parts interchangeability in the RS range is really good.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
That frog bike is 26 in wheel. I'm not getting it but how is it different to an adult bike.
Seems a cunning marketing strategy selling what could be an adult bike geared towards juniors and charged extra.0 -
How many adults bikes at that price point are 11.5kg? For a kid with less power, low weight is very important so they can focus on riding not just getting somewhere!Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0
