X-small 26" frame for 11 year old

redwarrior · Jul 2, 2015

My son is about ready for a 26" bike & I found a screaming deal on a bike with top level components -X0 9speed, Elixer CR brakes, SID fork & lightweight Crank Bros wheelset. The only problem is that all that is on a medium frame & he'll need an XS or at most S frame (13" - 15"). I've been searching all over the internet & am coming up pretty much empty. I'd like to keep the cost low. I'd love to find an On One Scandal in a 14" frame but can't kind one. I'm thinking Inbred but it'll be pretty heavy. Performance has a frame I'm interested in but the 14" won't be back in stock for 8 weeks or so. Another option I thought about was a bikesdirect full bike purchase, use the frame until he's outgrown it, rebuild & sell it after that. The have a 13" aluminum frame that would fit him quite well, I think.

Any other suggestions?

mevnet · Jul 3, 2015

in the same boat here my son is outgrowing his 24" and I need an xs bike for him. I was looking at 27.5s as the built 26ers seem to be just entry level bikes. Still only finding 28-29lbs bikes fully built that are not cheap either... right now I'm at a loss as well

hobiesmith · Jul 4, 2015

try to find a used specialized myka. it was a hard tail alu frame they made for girls. i dont know if they still do. but the stand over is low and i think they went down to 12" frames.

BXCc · Jul 6, 2015

What's your price range for a frame? You could get a cheap carbon frame direct from China for $350ish. That would keep it light.

redwarrior · Jul 7, 2015

Thanks for the idea about the chinese carbon frame. I'd like aluminum because I don't trust him not to destroy the carbon somehow. Actually, he'd probably be fine with one so I'll keep that in mind.

othello · Jul 8, 2015

redwarrior said:
My son is about ready for a 26" bike & I found a screaming deal on a bike with top level components -X0 9speed, Elixer CR brakes, SID fork & lightweight Crank Bros wheelset. The only problem is that all that is on a medium frame & he'll need an XS or at most S frame (13" - 15"). I've been searching all over the internet & am coming up pretty much empty. I'd like to keep the cost low. I'd love to find an On One Scandal in a 14" frame but can't kind one. I'm thinking Inbred but it'll be pretty heavy. Performance has a frame I'm interested in but the 14" won't be back in stock for 8 weeks or so. Another option I thought about was a bikesdirect full bike purchase, use the frame until he's outgrown it, rebuild & sell it after that. The have a 13" aluminum frame that would fit him quite well, I think.

Any other suggestions?

if the full bike build is that good a deal then go for it, and save the frame for when he grows. The look for a replacement XS frame.

I have done XS 26" wheel self-builds for both my children (aged 10 & 9), and the hardest part was sourcing the frame! For both I picked up the parts gradually in sales, eBay and the spares box in my shed. But finding a 13"/14" frame took a while.

My son currently has a 2008 13" Specialised Rockhopper, which has been great. Pretty light AND bombproof. My daughter has a 14" Cube alloy frame which is stupidly light. The only problem is it has a very short top tube, and she is getting a bit cramped on it.

I picked up a 14" on-one scandal frame off eBay while back and am going to switch my son to that one. So I will have the Rockhopper frame for sale in 3 weeks or so, if thats of interest (and if you are in the UK)?

redwarrior · Jul 8, 2015

othello said:
I picked up a 14" on-one scandal frame off eBay while back and am going to switch my son to that one. So I will have the Rockhopper frame for sale in 3 weeks or so, if thats of interest (and if you are in the UK)?

Thanks for the offer! I'm in the US, though. Fortunately, a friend has a frame I'm going to check out tonight which should work out well. I'm also thinking of picking up a used crankset, cutting & tapping new threads to give him 150mm crank arms.

watts888 · Jul 8, 2015

I'd get the bike too and swap parts. A litle overpriced for a frame with a cheap junk fork, but:
BikeIsland.com - Bicycle Parts, Accessories and Clothing at Affordable Prices with Free Shipping

I'd rather keep an eye out on ebay or amazon for a 13" frame. I'd also stay away from carbon. End of the day, 11 year old kids have no fear. He's more likely to push the bike to it's limits and crash.

tomfish · Jul 8, 2015

I found a Giant Reve aluml frame for my 10 year old it is an xs 12.5" frame he loves it. Also I just built up another one for a buddy. He got a brand new Felt brand womens specific frame the whole bike was only $650 it is a 650b bike and I replaced the wheels with a nice set of lightweight 26" wheels and flipped the stem that kid is 9 and the bike is a 13" I think with nice sloping top tube he loves it.

sloonz · Jul 8, 2015

redwarrior said:
Thanks for the offer! I'm in the US, though. Fortunately, a friend has a frame I'm going to check out tonight which should work out well. I'm also thinking of picking up a used crankset, cutting & tapping new threads to give him 150mm crank arms.

Much easier to go with these 152mm cranks from Utah Trikes. Utah Trikes Catalog - Trikes, Upgrades & Accessories
I had my 10yr old on 140mm cranks from Bikesmith when I built his 26" but immediately found them to be to short. Contrary to calculations, I went with the 152's and they're perfect. He's now 12 and still riding his 26er. Built it for ~$500. Donor bike for parts and brand new xs Sette frame.
Upgrades and hand-me-down parts over time and his bike is ~24lbs.

On One makes good low cost bikes and you'd probably only sacrifice a pound or so.

kahunacohen · Jul 8, 2015

Same boat here. Didn't want to spend much more than $300, but not finding much used either.

Really thinking about this: Islabikes Beinn 26 small ? Quality, lightweight bike for children age 8+

for $500. Looks pretty light, and my son is not doing hard-core mountain biking, really xcountry and I'd also like to get him touring a bit with me, so this will be perfect I think. Still I hate to spend even $500 on a bike he'll outgrow in a few years. Though I have two other sons it can get passed down to.

odyssey12305 · Jul 9, 2015

i was thinking of getting an XS Niner EMD. He's not 5 ft. yet so I'll put a 26" wheels on them.

GrayJay · Jul 10, 2015

One of the smallest used 26" bikes I found available when I was recently building my 55" tall 9 year old her first 26" wheel bike was an older trek 4500. The seattube length is just 12", she has no problem with the standover height and the ETT from seatpost to center of headtube is 52cm, only slightly longer than her last 24" wheel bike, fits her great.

Build thread on this bike (including info on DIY crank shortening) at;
http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/sx-26-trek-4500-kid-build-961774.html

askibum02 · Jul 10, 2015

odyssey12305 said:
i was thinking of getting an XS Niner EMD. He's not 5 ft. yet so I'll put a 26" wheels on them.

I built an XS EMD for my son who is just Barry over 5 ft. It seems to fit him pretty well.

Sent from a telecommunication device with a touch screen keyboard.

hobiesmith · Jul 12, 2015

very nice find!!!!

redwarrior · Jul 26, 2015

I ended up with a 14" Miele TT650 aluminum frame from eBay. We did most of the build together & got a good ride in yesterday morning. Then I tried swapping in new brake pads on the Avid Elixir CRs... I ended up winding the pad adjust out too far & removing the lever from the hose assembly. That was dumb. Best to bleed them anyway, right?! Should be up & running again tomorrow evening.

mevnet · Jul 28, 2015

Bike Discount in Germany has 14" Cube Acid 27.5 frames for 112$ and they charge 20$ shipping. Just ordered one, hope to get here intact
Also CRC has clearance Shimano wheelset MT15 for 110$ or so with discount for clearance items as well. Straight steerer needed, looking for a fork now

othello · Aug 5, 2015

mevnet said:
Bike Discount in Germany has 14" Cube Acid 27.5 frames for 112$ and they charge 20$ shipping. Just ordered one, hope to get here intact
Also CRC has clearance Shimano wheelset MT15 for 110$ or so with discount for clearance items as well. Straight steerer needed, looking for a fork now

Interesting, but how will a 27.5" frame handle 26" wheels?

mevnet · Aug 5, 2015

Work just fine. There are people using 24" wheels on 26" frames for the same reason, to lower the bike a bit.
I found Shimano MT15 27.5 wheels on clearance for 156CAD delivered and Manitou Marvel Comp Air fork for 300 so about 600$ later I have all major components. Can't find anything comparable for that money...

Fargo1 · Aug 6, 2015

What about this Trek: Kids? Dual Sport - Kids' Bikes collection - Trek Bicycle

Its not cheap at $550 msrp, and components aren't great, but it gives you a nice 13" frame with 26" wheels and a 7spd cassette. Swap on some better tires, add a shock if needed and maybe some better derailers and it should be a nice bike.

EDIT: I haven't checked it out yet, but I'll bet this frame has 152mm cranks and the proper height BB for those cranks as well. Which might make it a better starting point than putting 152mm cranks on a bike designed for 170mm. Just an issue I had with my kids 24" bike. His 152mm cranks sit pretty high since the bike was speced with 165mm.

X-small 26" frame for 11 year old

redwarrior

mevnet

hobiesmith

BXCc

redwarrior

othello

redwarrior

watts888

tomfish

sloonz

kahunacohen

odyssey12305

GrayJay

askibum02

hobiesmith

redwarrior

mevnet

othello

mevnet

Fargo1

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