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I need little person bike parts

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B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
So I've decided to undertake a lil' Manimal style project for my 8 year old brother's birthday. He's turning 8, and is currently riding a crushed 16 inch BMX bike that used to be MINE (I'm almost 19) everywhere and anywhere.

Anyway, most of the kids bikes I've seen from bike companies (aside from the $600 Scott beast) are on par with Wal-Mart junk, so I think building something for him would be a better (and cheaper) move. I need a 20 inch MTB frame with 135mm spacing, as well as a 135mm spaced 20 inch rear wheel. Does anyone make/have one, or am I going to have to build one? I have a Marz EXR lying around, I was thinking of cutting the spring down and give him 30-40mm of travel, but I think a lighter air fork would be a better choice.

Manimal, suggestions?
 
I

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
Trek makes a fairly rocking kid's bike for cheap. The fork is crap unfortunately, but unless the kid is really abusing his current ride or really heavy for his age I wouldn't see a problem with it.

I think you'll have so many problems and expenses outfitting a nice 20 inch kids bike that it wouldn't be worth it. However it might make a fun project.

The Ito
 
B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
ito said:
Trek makes a fairly rocking kid's bike for cheap. The fork is crap unfortunately, but unless the kid is really abusing his current ride or really heavy for his age I wouldn't see a problem with it.

I think you'll have so many problems and expenses outfitting a nice 20 inch kids bike that it wouldn't be worth it. However it might make a fun project.

The Ito
Click to expand...
He's actually quite small...not sure of the specifics, but it's really skinny. He looks 5. The current ride is being ridden hard (I wouldn't say abused...he's too light to break anything)...he rides it everywhere (lots of dirt near where he lives). My parents (as well as myself on my own) have checked out kids bikes from Trek, Speshy, Giant, etc, and they're all about on par with Wal-Mart garbage. The only benefit to purchasing a name-brand kid's bike for $300 I can see is brakes. They're all heavy, 10 cent derailleur clunkers. I've got many parts I need, but its the kid-specific items I'm going to have to find.

-Frame...I really like little Manimal's Hotrock, but finding a kid's frame with 135mm rear spacing and a 1 1/8th headtube is tough. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find them?

-20 inch wheels with machined braking surfaces...QR front, 135mm rear. Front hub disc would be nice, but not necessary right now. Need to be light, and cheap. Durability is not a huge issue, as he weighs next to nothing.

-Brake levers...? I've got a pair of 3-finger Tektros, but I know his hands will be too small to use them effectively. Suggestions?
 
BurlyShirley

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
blue said:
He's actually quite small...not sure of the specifics, but it's really skinny. He looks 5. The current ride is being ridden hard (I wouldn't say abused...he's too light to break anything)...he rides it everywhere (lots of dirt near where he lives). My parents (as well as myself on my own) have checked out kids bikes from Trek, Speshy, Giant, etc, and they're all about on par with Wal-Mart garbage. The only benefit to purchasing a name-brand kid's bike for $300 I can see is brakes. They're all heavy, 10 cent derailleur clunkers. I've got many parts I need, but its the kid-specific items I'm going to have to find.

-Frame...I really like little Manimal's Hotrock, but finding a kid's frame with 135mm rear spacing and a 1 1/8th headtube is tough. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find them?

-20 inch wheels with machined braking surfaces...QR front, 135mm rear. Front hub disc would be nice, but not necessary right now. Need to be light, and cheap. Durability is not a huge issue, as he weighs next to nothing.

-Brake levers...? I've got a pair of 3-finger Tektros, but I know his hands will be too small to use them effectively. Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Dude...
http://www.harobikes.com/2003/v20.html
 
B

blue

boob hater
Jan 24, 2004
10,160
2
california
I looked, and am not impressed...If I could find that frame alone, it would be nice, but for 300 bones with tax I can build a killer little bikey.
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Just get any old 20" frame and spread the rear end. The chainstays should be thick enough that you should be able to do it without buckling the stays. Use a propane torch and heat the stays near the CS bridge slightly. Then push. Use a metric ruler to know when you're there. You can make a simple alignment gauge or use a Park gauge to make sure the rear end is straight. With that much spread, you will need to make sure the dropouts stay parallel to each other. This is easy to do with some 3/8" all-thread and some nuts.
All of this is easier than it sounds.
You should be able to build a 135mm 20" wheel. Or find one off of a recumbent.
You might have a hard time finding a 20" frame with a 1 1/8" headtube.
 
I

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
blue said:
He's actually quite small...not sure of the specifics, but it's really skinny. He looks 5. The current ride is being ridden hard (I wouldn't say abused...he's too light to break anything)...he rides it everywhere (lots of dirt near where he lives). My parents (as well as myself on my own) have checked out kids bikes from Trek, Speshy, Giant, etc, and they're all about on par with Wal-Mart garbage. The only benefit to purchasing a name-brand kid's bike for $300 I can see is brakes. They're all heavy, 10 cent derailleur clunkers. I've got many parts I need, but its the kid-specific items I'm going to have to find.

-Frame...I really like little Manimal's Hotrock, but finding a kid's frame with 135mm rear spacing and a 1 1/8th headtube is tough. Anyone have any suggestions on where to find them?

-20 inch wheels with machined braking surfaces...QR front, 135mm rear. Front hub disc would be nice, but not necessary right now. Need to be light, and cheap. Durability is not a huge issue, as he weighs next to nothing.

-Brake levers...? I've got a pair of 3-finger Tektros, but I know his hands will be too small to use them effectively. Suggestions?
Click to expand...
A few things. The reason they don't put QR's on kids bieks is that kids have a tendency to play with things, meaning they knock a QR loose and ride it like that. Sure, you can tell him not to, but at some point it may happen. Why does he need a quick release? Be safe and stay nutted.

Why does he need 135mm spacing? Do you have a wheelset for him? Stop making things difficult for yourself and just use what most kid bikes have. If you have a wheelset for him then go for it, but it doesn't look like it.

Some problems I see. You say you have parts, but you don't seem to have much of anything. THe adult parts you do have are going to cause problems. For example, kid bike handlebars are thinner than most adult handlebars. A small kid can't grip the larger handlebar as well as he can a smaller diameter one.

Cranks. Throw on a regular crankset and he will be hitting rocks left and right.

Pedals. You need kiddie pedals for kiddies cranks.

Brake levers. Reach on regular brakes will be too long for him. Even women specific brakes would be too big unless the kid has gorrila hands. I believe kiddie brakes have a different leverage than adult brakes, so you'll need new brakes too.

Tires. Unless you have a BMX you probably don't have 20 inch tires.

Saddle. You need a kiddie saddle to go with this thing. And a seatpost to fit the frame you don't have.

And now you want to make sure that everything is light weight and cheap. However most of the parts you are asking for can't be bought at a shop or through a catalogue. They are also not cheap. If you have a shop with these parts lying around, then yes you might get the bike under $300, but only if they have the parts you need.

I understand what you are doing and it is really nice, however it is a headache and an expensive, not worthwhile one at that. I have worked at several shops and we always get a parent trying to build something up like this. IF (and that is a big if) we have the parts around and the parent is willing to brainstorm to make things work I have seen some neat little bikes come together (ala lil manimal's ride). However most of the parts you are looking for either don't exist or are OEM or are more expensive than you would like.

I've also built up a number of kids bikes (Scott, Kona, Trek, Gary Fisher, Giant, Specialized). Not only are these bikes great for kids, they are well built and miles beyond what you can get at Wal-mart. I have seen kids who have beat the crap out of these bikes for years and never have a problem.

I'm not saying you have to stop this project, but these are the problems I've seen and had to sort through in the several custom kid bikes I've worked on/helped build. A final hint, kids don't care what parts are on their bike or how much suspension it has or if it has 135mm spacing. They want it to look cool and not break. Parents want the bike to be safe, which means proper fitting brakes and no quick releases. The kid will ride whatever you give him and I doubt he'll damage it if he is as light as you say he is.

The Ito

P.S. That Haro looks sick, I'd totally go for that.
 
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