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Hi all, I don’t seem to post much about my builds, but realised I ought to contribute, as I spend so much time reading everyone else’s! thanks for all the great stories & builds.
I’m going to start with a recent summer build I did with my daughter for her 9th birthday present. Throughout her childhood she’s had Islabikes until now. Pretty confident cyclist & her 24” wheel had finally been outgrown. The thought of buying a £799 Islabike Creig got me thinking what could I get for the same price in retro money (quite a lot comes to mind)? Couple this with my daughters interest in my many retro builds (she often helps clean bike parts & assembles things with me = pocket money) I hatched a plan… a daddy & daughter retro bike plan = budget £700 (max) & get as close to an Islabike Creig 26 layout/setup/weight for kids as possible. Hopefully being lighter too!
Cue 3 weeks over the summer school holidays, in time for her birthday (of course), daddy & daughter together searching all the usual online places & choosing / buying parts with my daddy guidance. Various posts were put in the wanted section on here & on other facebook sites. Many of you responded to our call & needs. Strangely it taught my daughter a lot about what things are worth, postal transactions & internet behaviour that I had not planned (for the good).
Wadsy on here came to be a regular contact by supplying us the perfect foundation = Trek OCLV frame in super small size (15”)! Plus many more parts. Thankfully it had some purple as chosen by my daughter. Thereafter all parts needed some purple or pink bling (as requested by my daughter). All parts had full daughter consultation (much to my wife’s amusement).
Cue a fantastic 3 weeks of regular parcels in the post that my daughter got totally excited by, the anticipation of delivery, opening & then almost daily assembly on to her bike with daddys guidance. Genuinely a special heartwarming moment for us both as we engaged in the project together. Thoroughly recommended to all parents on here to do.
Areas we had to cut back to keep in budget were… XTR 950 got downgraded to XT (still light enough, reliable & functional). Which in the end looked better on the bike imho (silver vs dark grey).
Colour was a hot “must” topic & to meet birthday deadlines… we couldn’t source a purple USE seat post or purple Chris King headset in time / in budget. So, we bought current items (at least the headset is still Hope = homage to the early years)
A usable / reliable bike was a must too… so new cables & chain were not so retro. Also the flat pedals are Giant female specific with a curve / smaller foot area. Her current Islabike seat is small/comfy so we borrowed that too.
Weight saving activities came from… the Trek frame (and small size), Mavic cross max wheels, Ti bolts, Ti Syncros bottom bracket, Ti skewers folding Panracer tyres with light tubes, Rockshox Sid forks & middleburn cranks.
Regarding the middleburn cranks, these are professionally shortened cranks & re drilled to 155mm to suit my daughters age / height. Copied from Islabikes sizes along with shorter stem too.
Rockshox Sid air forks got a full service / repaint to match upon request from my daughter. I wasn’t allowed to put the £10 rockshox/sid replacement decals I bought back on as she didn’t like the look of them!
How did it all come together… I let the photos speak for themselves. Weighing in at 20.5lbs it’s a lovely bike for a kid and I know my daughter is totally delighted by it. Budget tipped the scales @ £710 (we can live with that).
Since building it, my daughter has used it weekly, regularly off road & even enter her first kids off road race. No mechanical issues to date either = Happy days…
I’m going to start with a recent summer build I did with my daughter for her 9th birthday present. Throughout her childhood she’s had Islabikes until now. Pretty confident cyclist & her 24” wheel had finally been outgrown. The thought of buying a £799 Islabike Creig got me thinking what could I get for the same price in retro money (quite a lot comes to mind)? Couple this with my daughters interest in my many retro builds (she often helps clean bike parts & assembles things with me = pocket money) I hatched a plan… a daddy & daughter retro bike plan = budget £700 (max) & get as close to an Islabike Creig 26 layout/setup/weight for kids as possible. Hopefully being lighter too!
Cue 3 weeks over the summer school holidays, in time for her birthday (of course), daddy & daughter together searching all the usual online places & choosing / buying parts with my daddy guidance. Various posts were put in the wanted section on here & on other facebook sites. Many of you responded to our call & needs. Strangely it taught my daughter a lot about what things are worth, postal transactions & internet behaviour that I had not planned (for the good).
Wadsy on here came to be a regular contact by supplying us the perfect foundation = Trek OCLV frame in super small size (15”)! Plus many more parts. Thankfully it had some purple as chosen by my daughter. Thereafter all parts needed some purple or pink bling (as requested by my daughter). All parts had full daughter consultation (much to my wife’s amusement).
Cue a fantastic 3 weeks of regular parcels in the post that my daughter got totally excited by, the anticipation of delivery, opening & then almost daily assembly on to her bike with daddys guidance. Genuinely a special heartwarming moment for us both as we engaged in the project together. Thoroughly recommended to all parents on here to do.
Areas we had to cut back to keep in budget were… XTR 950 got downgraded to XT (still light enough, reliable & functional). Which in the end looked better on the bike imho (silver vs dark grey).
Colour was a hot “must” topic & to meet birthday deadlines… we couldn’t source a purple USE seat post or purple Chris King headset in time / in budget. So, we bought current items (at least the headset is still Hope = homage to the early years)
A usable / reliable bike was a must too… so new cables & chain were not so retro. Also the flat pedals are Giant female specific with a curve / smaller foot area. Her current Islabike seat is small/comfy so we borrowed that too.
Weight saving activities came from… the Trek frame (and small size), Mavic cross max wheels, Ti bolts, Ti Syncros bottom bracket, Ti skewers folding Panracer tyres with light tubes, Rockshox Sid forks & middleburn cranks.
Regarding the middleburn cranks, these are professionally shortened cranks & re drilled to 155mm to suit my daughters age / height. Copied from Islabikes sizes along with shorter stem too.
Rockshox Sid air forks got a full service / repaint to match upon request from my daughter. I wasn’t allowed to put the £10 rockshox/sid replacement decals I bought back on as she didn’t like the look of them!
How did it all come together… I let the photos speak for themselves. Weighing in at 20.5lbs it’s a lovely bike for a kid and I know my daughter is totally delighted by it. Budget tipped the scales @ £710 (we can live with that).
Since building it, my daughter has used it weekly, regularly off road & even enter her first kids off road race. No mechanical issues to date either = Happy days…
