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Kids DH rigs ????

Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
So my 8 year old wants to do DH this coming season. I've heard of people custom building their kids dh rigs and wanted to see some pics or get some info on what frame was used. My son is 4'3 and pretty lean. He's currently on a 20" wheel Marin Hidden Canyon. So far xc stem was traded for DMR short stem and got a DMR riser bar, some eastern pedals and maxxis maxdaddy knobbies. I'd like to get him on a full suspension. Checked out the Stinky 2-4 but the standover is too big for him.
 

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Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
thought about just getting some mechanical disc brakes and new wheels and letting him get one more year out of his marin. and possibly a new 20" fork because one he's got now bottoms out everytime the little guy lands any jumps.
 
bullcrew

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
Dec 8, 2004
8,939
2,618
I'm dude playing dude pretending to b another dude
I did a specialized big hit I the single pivot and had a custom set of 24" wheels built along with a air shock to accomodate the changing weight.
Worked out great, another option is an original bullit small with 24" wheels, the centers a little lower and a inch less with the 24s.

Mine just graduated up to a kona coilair and again Im having 24s built for him for the movement, hes 5'4" now.
BTW: Little dudes rippin it up! Congrats.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,377
1,612
Warsaw :/
Commencal also had a 24'' version of their supreme rig made for kids. Pretty nice I'd say


The big hit for kids was called big hit grom. A bit less burly setup

 
DhDork

DhDork

Monkey
Mar 30, 2007
352
0
Hell, AZ
A local guy here took a Scott Nitrous 20", added a cut down shiver from 4", a Push'd Fox RP3, and a one-off set of 135mm profile cranks. The little bike is bad. He set it up as a single speed, as he went through derailleurs like a fat kid goes thru cake. No Mercy.

He also shuttles with us on South Mountain occasionally. Little tough for him with the 20" wheels getting bogged down through the continuous strew of rock, but he still rips it.







He's already in the process of building him a custom frame. From what I remember, he's already got the jig set up and all.

*Scott also used to make a 24" Nitrous as well.
 
DiRt DeViL

DiRt DeViL

Monkey
Feb 6, 2005
347
0
CNY
Looked around and couldn't find anything affordable, the best seems to be the Kona Stinky 2-4 and Big Hit Grom, the Commencal is new for me. Was able to find an used S/M Norco Shore VPS and fitted it with 24" wheels. So far so good, now he's asking for something lighter.

Saw a kid on the Grom and I was glad we didn't purchased it, looked weak and small sized IMO.

 
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doc gravity

doc gravity

Monkey
Oct 25, 2004
152
0
highlands ranch, CO
My little guy started about the same age.
Even though the standover is not great we had great luck with a stinky 2-4 with 24" rims front and rear. Very solid bike which served us very well upgraded the brakes to inspire a little more confidence.
Matt's been rideing with RPM for a couple of years now. We got him on a 303 with a little help from Push Industries (Fox float up front, RP23 to reduce the rear travel and lower the bottom bracket {and standover}, and a 24" rear rim. The R-dh will be even better because the standover is really low.
Downside of all of the above options is weight (Matt's all the way UP to 5'1" and 90#)
Jack Serra on racemsc.com has a real little guy as well (jserra), I think he's just running a small specialized, but he's gotten it down T-ride and Angel Fire.
Any of the small frames can work, but I'd recommend the stinky. He'll get strong riding it, and it will hold up well when he comes up short.
Scott
 
O

Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
I started my son at 9 on a small Bullit with 24" wheels. That was a LLLLLONG time ago and nothing was available for kids at the time. Even tuning the suspension was a major pain.

There is plenty more available now. But here are a couple things to keep in mind.

Get the HIGHEST leverage ratio you can find. Kids can be featherweight and finding a correct spring rate for anything less the a 3-1 rate can be tough. Even air shocks often don't run well at really low pressures.

On the fork, you may not be able to get soft enough springs. So make sure and get one that uses springs in both legs. That way you can run it with a single spring if necessary.

Most suspension is over damped for kids. Stick with a basic rear shock, like a Fox vanilla or RC or better yet, get a Romic and have Roger custom tune it (yes, Romic is still tuning shocks, but you'll have to buy a used one.)

Whatever oil weight your fork normally runs, you'll probably have to replace with a oil half its weight.

All I can think of right now. Been a few years since I've had to worry about it. My boys are now 6'+:banana:
 
Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
thanks for all the info. I own a small Bullit and was told to throw some 24's on it and let him give it a try but am worried the cranks will be a problem. but I'm willing to give it a try. So far he seems to be able to ride down pretty much everything on his hartdtail and said he doesn't want a new bike yet but I just feel bad him taking a beating on a HT coming full speed downhill. If he was a couple of inches taller it would help. Maybe he'll have an inch or more of growth spurt between race season start and now. :brows:
 
O

Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Roo said:
thanks for all the info. I own a small Bullit and was told to throw some 24's on it and let him give it a try but am worried the cranks will be a problem. but I'm willing to give it a try. So far he seems to be able to ride down pretty much everything on his hartdtail and said he doesn't want a new bike yet but I just feel bad him taking a beating on a HT coming full speed downhill. If he was a couple of inches taller it would help. Maybe he'll have an inch or more of growth spurt between race season start and now. :brows:
Click to expand...
You just need 150mm cranks.

That will knock 3/4" of of standard 175mm cranks. Bullit's have kinda high BB anyway. At least the older ones did.

Here ya go.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bulletproof-Components-BMX-Mini-Cranks-150mm-Length-NEW_W0QQitemZ370129257238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item370129257238&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50
 
DiRt DeViL

DiRt DeViL

Monkey
Feb 6, 2005
347
0
CNY
Roo said:
any chance any of you got your kids old dh rigs for sale or parts i might make use of?
Click to expand...
If I had parts to sell you I would gladly do it but have nothing to offer so far. I may be in the market for a new frame for my kid if we sell his roadie and come up with additional bike money. The only thing that I have is a set of 661 knee/shin guards and elbow pads that are too small for my son to wear.

Check often eBay, classifieds, forums and shops on your area. We found the Norco on a shop that we never been before, the kid saw it, climbed on it and the rest is history.

Just be patient, in no time your kid will be rippin' down the trail on a great bike.

 
weedkilla

weedkilla

Monkey
Jul 6, 2008
362
10
I went through the same thing this year with my 8 year old lad, too small for a norco B-line, Kona stinky 2-4, Big Hit Grom....... So I built a norco ryde with 24" wheels, any dj type frame will do but the ones with horizontal dropouts let you get the chainstays nice and short with 24" wheels. This seemed to really help when little arms cant hold the front end up properly off drops/jumps, etc. I didnt need to use anything too weird, 165mm cranks, 630mm bars and various scrap from my shed. I could probably cut a couple of inches off the bars and slightly shorter cranks would be the go but he has gotten used to it really quickly and his confidence is going through the roof - his 20" was just getting too sketchy. The only real problem has been finding sensible tyres in 24", they seem to be too bmx/street or 3.0" wide. If anyone has some suggestions I would be glad too hear them.
 
doc gravity

doc gravity

Monkey
Oct 25, 2004
152
0
highlands ranch, CO
Tires in 24" can be a pain, Kenda makes a 2.5 Nevegal which is big for it's stated width (damn close to your 3" reference). great tire for rough stuff, but the rolling resistance is through the roof.
You can get small block 8's in 2.10 or 1.95 if conditions will warrant that small a tread pattern
Specialized also has a couple of tires that will work. They're light duty. but tread patterns are OK for someone as small as an 8 year old Rollersport in 2.125 and the resolution in 2.1
Intense also has several 24" cruiser tires which can work, but they tend to be narrower sizes.
Micro Knobby 1.5 -1.85
Haalo 1.5-1.85

Scott
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,377
1,612
Warsaw :/
There are maxxis high rollers in 24''. Look for them on euro auctions and shops if not available in us.
 
Brian HCM#1

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
Jan Karpiel sent me a brand new small Armageddon (old style) for my 9 year old:thumb: I put 24's on it and a buddy of mine gave me an old Hanebrink fork and reduced it down to 5" to lower the bike for him. It's still a little too big, but I'm hoping to have him riding it on the trails by next summer.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,377
1,612
Warsaw :/
Brian HCM#1 said:
Jan Karpiel sent me a brand new small Armageddon (old style) for my 9 year old:thumb: I put 24's on it and a buddy of mine gave me an old Hanebrink fork and reduced it down to 5" to lower the bike for him. It's still a little too big, but I'm hoping to have him riding it on the trails by next summer.
Click to expand...
I think Ania (Dibi) in Polish e-pay Karpiel team has an XS new Armagedon(or S but the bike seemed tiny) if I'm not wrong. She's quite short so putting 24''s on that rig and it would be perfect for a kid ~150cm.
 
46chief

46chief

Monkey
Jun 12, 2007
296
0
The Rocky mountain flatline is an xtra small, my wife bought one this fall and it sure makes a nice plowbike.

She has a petite sized Cannondale Prophet she upgraded from. It made a pretty good starter DH bike for her. We ran it with the lefty and had no issues. Needless to say she prefers the Flatline for lift serve, and the prophet hasn't moved. I wish I had a prophet with an MX rear.
 
Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
Thanks for all the input. So I went to Mojo Wheels today and we threw the little one on an XS Santa Cruz Juliana. Almost fit like a glove, just needs a few changes. But I figure it comes with the fox float on rear, my kids only 50 lbs. and throw a 24" fork and wheelset and smaller cranks should be good. Going to think about it but sounds good to me.
 
Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
I picked this up from a friend yesterday, his kid rode it a couple of times and decided riding wasn't for him. Its got the tabs for it so I figured a couple bucks for new disc wheels, throw on spare set of Avid BB5's I got laying around, shorter stem and possibly a plusher 24" fork and it should be ready for a downhill race for my little one. Sure its more of an XC frame but he's only 50 lbs.

 
Roo

Roo

Chimp
Apr 28, 2008
48
0
Vanconver, WA
pic shows a 26" but I got the 24" version. The fork is very stiff but the rear shock actually seems to work good for him and its got 2 mounting positions for the rear shock, one is little more slack which is good. It's also got a triple chain ring which I figured convert to either single or double with a bash guard and if possible a chain tensioner.
 
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