RickTheUncivil
Old School Grand Master
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My boy is 8 in a few months. He enjoys riding his bike around the place, not it a great big ride every day type but he does what he does. About this time last year I started planning his next bike. He had not long since moved on to a 20 inch wheel (Kona Makena), and I figured the next step would be 24 or maybe 26.then I thought, if I get a small mtb frame with disc mounts I can pop 24s in and then 26s a bit later when he's ready.
I thought it would be a fun project for us to do together, he can choose the parts, the colour, the style. He can help with the dirty work and learn from the master
My first mistake was including the boy in the process.
He picked a scabby old azonic DS1 I had lying about, and didn't want to repaint it. Never mind the wee zaskar, or the Chameleon. Fair enough. I ask shall we paint it a funky colour, he says he likes it as it is. So we start with a black frame with red and white details.
Fair enough. He wants disc brakes, good. I offer black or gold wheels, he chose the gold which set a bit of a gold theme going. Gears were essential, he was sensible there. Forks had to be red, apparently, and it just so happened that I had a red set in the shed doing nothing. Handy that
Now, as a nod to the fact this is a 'full size' bike I got some narrow-ish riser bars and a short stem, we can change later as he grows but I had a genuine sensible reason for wanting him to be able to reach the handlebars!
So here we are. Azonic DS1 frame , Marzocchi Bomber Z3.5, Halo SAS rims on diatech hubs, Hope mono mini, XT 750 gears, FSA crankset.
... built almost entirely from spare parts. New headset and bottom bracket, new gear cables and brake pads. Total spend was about £70.
And so far he's been out every day this week. He seems enthusiastic which is great, just need to keep up now!
I thought it would be a fun project for us to do together, he can choose the parts, the colour, the style. He can help with the dirty work and learn from the master
My first mistake was including the boy in the process.
He picked a scabby old azonic DS1 I had lying about, and didn't want to repaint it. Never mind the wee zaskar, or the Chameleon. Fair enough. I ask shall we paint it a funky colour, he says he likes it as it is. So we start with a black frame with red and white details.
Fair enough. He wants disc brakes, good. I offer black or gold wheels, he chose the gold which set a bit of a gold theme going. Gears were essential, he was sensible there. Forks had to be red, apparently, and it just so happened that I had a red set in the shed doing nothing. Handy that
Now, as a nod to the fact this is a 'full size' bike I got some narrow-ish riser bars and a short stem, we can change later as he grows but I had a genuine sensible reason for wanting him to be able to reach the handlebars!
So here we are. Azonic DS1 frame , Marzocchi Bomber Z3.5, Halo SAS rims on diatech hubs, Hope mono mini, XT 750 gears, FSA crankset.
... built almost entirely from spare parts. New headset and bottom bracket, new gear cables and brake pads. Total spend was about £70.
And so far he's been out every day this week. He seems enthusiastic which is great, just need to keep up now!
