One of my friends was talking about his 4 year old son tearing up the single track mountain bike trails on his strider and said that he just upgraded him to 16" bike. I guess his son really rips on the downhills but can't pedal that heavy bike up the hills at all. I told my friend that I had some kids bikes hanging around the house and I'd see what I could come up with for a light, trail ready bike.
Here's the parts pile I started with. I'll use the wide tires for better shock absorbing. I'll also be mounting the caliper brake on the rear along with the coaster so he can start getting the idea of hand brakes while still having the good old panic back up.
The crown and upper tubes from a cheep suspension fork were the perfect length for a mountain fork. the original fork was just too narrow for the wide tires I wanted to use.
I already wish I had a reason to keep this one for myself but... the frames a little small
Narrowed some mountain bars to be more kid friendly.
Starting to look really cool!
Dropouts welded onto the new fork. Still need to clean them up but they are good enough for a mock up.
Now it's time to strip it all back down and give it some fresh white paint and a "Wackosgarage.com" sticker on the chain guard. we talked about other paint options but white covered with stickers seemed to be the best choice for a kid who's tastes might change daily.
Here's the parts pile I started with. I'll use the wide tires for better shock absorbing. I'll also be mounting the caliper brake on the rear along with the coaster so he can start getting the idea of hand brakes while still having the good old panic back up.
The crown and upper tubes from a cheep suspension fork were the perfect length for a mountain fork. the original fork was just too narrow for the wide tires I wanted to use.
I already wish I had a reason to keep this one for myself but... the frames a little small
Narrowed some mountain bars to be more kid friendly.
Starting to look really cool!
Dropouts welded onto the new fork. Still need to clean them up but they are good enough for a mock up.
Now it's time to strip it all back down and give it some fresh white paint and a "Wackosgarage.com" sticker on the chain guard. we talked about other paint options but white covered with stickers seemed to be the best choice for a kid who's tastes might change daily.
