Finding a first Mountain Bike

MTB at 5 years old


My kid started riding pedals at 4. After a BYK 250 then 350, it's now time for n+1. The 350 with it's slick tyres and coaster brake isn't great on trails, although we've had fun rides at Woodhill and Ambury.




When I was a kid my Dad got me in to fly fishing, golf, and duck hunting. Those hobbies didn't stick, but I'm glad I tried.

Hazel is keen as to try MTB, so I'm going to push it as long as she's interested!

So where do I start with a kids MTB? She's just about big enough for a 20" bike now. That opens many options.

These are the bikes I considered:
  • BYK450: 22" wheels, but MTB spec is rare.
  • Giant XTC Jr
  • Kona Makena
  • Specialized HotRock / RipRock

I wanted something with common parts that can be swapped with modern adult MTB parts from my stash.

I'm sceptical of the current trend for fat 2.6"+ tyres on kids bikes. I think it's style over performance. There's a reason those dropped out of favour for adult bikes.

Suspension forks aren't much use either when the rider weighs so little. I'd rather the bike just be lighter.

This is the list of requirements I ended up using:

  • threadless headset
  • 3 piece crankset
  • low stand over and seat height 
  • 2" ish tyres
  • rigid fork
  • long wheelbase 
  • v brakes
  • pink paint job!
  • aluminium frame
  • good quality base to build from
  • cheap on trademe or fb marketplace!

I buy all my bikes second hand so I can customise for less than the price of new.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tech Tip: V-Brake Arm Lengths

 This very useful post is copied from http://www.gravelbike.com/v-brake-arm-lengths/ which is gone from the internet :( Tech Tip: V-Brake Arm Lengths June 20, 2014 Mark Chandler Gear & Tech Despite their age, our articles on  v-brakes  and  v-brake conversions  remain  very  popular with GRAVELBIKE’s readers. To help folks determine whether a certain brake will clear their bikes’ fenders or fat tires, we’ve compiled a list of popular v-brakes’ arm lengths (the list will be updated as new information becomes available). Model Length (mm) Tektro 917A 75 Tektro 926AL 80 Paul MiniMoto 83 TRP CX8.4 84 BOX Eclipse (short) 85 Campagnolo Mirage 85 Promax P-1 (short) 85 Tektro BX3v 85 Tektro RX5 85 Shimano BR-R353 87 Shimano BR-R463 90 Shimano BR-R573 90 Tektro RX6 90 TRP CX9 90 Tektro 930AL 95 Tektro BX25 95 Bullseye Raceworks 96 Tektro M530 102 Tektro M730 102 TRP M920 102 Paul Motolite 103 Avid SL 104 KCNC 105 AEST 106 Koski Lite 106 Shimano Deore X...
Read more

Kona Makena 20

Image
 After checking out a few 20" frames, many with geometry that just didn't make sense for trail riding, I found this Kona Makena on FB for $90. It is well loved and needs a fair amount of work. Which is exactly what I'm looking for, a good base for customisation. Pink was the requested colour from Miss 5. I quite like this pink and teal colourway. So what have we got? 2018 Kona Makena  Bald tyres Worn brakes and chain Bent derailleur  Stiff cables Smooth bearings Wonky wheels The goal is to build a bike for trail riding on greens, build some skills, and hopefully create a biking addiction.
Read more

Makena build list

Image
 Here's the parts list Lizard skin mini machine grips in pink Polished aluminium bar 580mm to replace the boat anchor steel bar.  Ultegra RD-6600 SS to replace the junk Tourney derailleur. New pads New chain New cables New derailleur hanger Schwalbe Smart Sam 2.35" tyres. The rear stays have approx 60mm of clearance so I hope it fits. I did consider Minions but they're twice the price. DMR V6 pedals in pink. Might be too big, TBC. Oxford cartridge bottom bracket (68x122) The current crankset is 32T and 140mm so I'm also considering finding something shorter and lower. Thanks to  Josca Bicycle Repairs  for some of these parts. The V brakes don't quite fit with the 2.35" tyre so I need to find ones with longer arms. Or get smaller tyres...
Read more