So here are my questions:

1) Any advice on where I could get an older model Superfly or another sub 20 lb bike in Canada for around $400?

2) MEC Dash - could I buy it and shave off 2-3 lbs without spending too much?

Thx

1) Keep an eye on Pinkbike Buy/Sell and your local craigslist/online classifieds. Good bikes tend to go fast so check every day and if you see something jump on it quick. Maybe see if a local Trek dealer does a trade-in program and request first dibs if they get one in.

2) You'll probably be spending more than your $400 CAD goal before you know it. It's still more than $400 CAD, but consider the Orbea Mx20 Team: https://www.orbea.com/us-en/bicycles/mx-20-team

edit: Stampede Sprinter 20 is worth taking a look at: https://stampedebikes.com/product/sprinter-20/ Out of stock right now but will be back in the spring.

 

8lbs heavier shell notice but kids adapter quickly.

As said keep an eye on used stuff, best way to go if your trying not to spend much.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks. I am leaning toward :

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5043-877/Dash-Bicycle

And then swapping the suspension fork with something like this to shave off some weight. I am told the suspension fork is 1940g .

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2016-New-TEmani-3K-Glossy-Matte-Full-Carbon-Fiber-Folding-Bike-BMX-Fork-14-16-20/618808_32693571267.html

Any suggestions on potential rigid fork I could use? There doesn't seem to be much out there or may be I am looking in the wrong places.

 

Most of the mainstream specialized, trek, etc., ones can lose a pound of two without a ton of work, but it definitely depends on the bike. They're probably easier to find at least.

 

I think you are on the right track. The MEC seems to be a good deal. I'd lose the suspension fork too. Looks like it may already come with aluminum handlebar, stem and seatpost; the handlebar on many of the big brands stick a steel bar on the kids bike. Carbon bars and seat post from China are pretty darn cheap, some folks here have used those. There is a Uno stem that some have used that is really light.

Another member here rebuilds his wheels with fewer spokes to save weight.

I bought a Specialized Hot Rock Street off of Craigslist so it came with an aluminum fork rather than suspension. There isn't a big market for aftermarket rigid 20 inch forks. Aliexpress or *bay would be your best bet IMHO.

 

Both of my daughters had one of these. They weighed in at 23 pounds completely stock. I chose the GT's for a couple of reasons. 1) 7 speed drivetrain so you can ditch the grip shifter and pick up a Shimano M310 shifter for $15. 2) Quick release wheels meant I could put them into my fork mount roof racks. 3) No heavy useless coil fork. 4) Threadless stem meant a plethora of cheap stems on eBay in any color you choose.

The handlebars are steel and the seat post is heavy but you can find some cheap carbon ones on eBay that would save quite a bit of weight. The wheels have 36 spokes so I'm sure you could save some weight there too.

GT Laguna 20in Kids' Bike - 2016 | Competitive Cyclist

 

thank you, these are great ideas. Looks like GT Laguna is no longer available at Sportchek in Canada. I will pick up MEC, change the fork, and given it is 7-speed I can also replace the grip shifters with trigger shifters. Now just need to find the fork, not much out there currently...

 

I know I'm a little late to the party, but in my experience, it is hard to beat a used BMX race bike when it comes to mountain bikes for kids that are light and in your price range. We had one for several years through two kids. One of my buddies has one for his kid that he takes mountain biking quite regularly. Look into it, it may not be what you want, but they are light.

 

JoSlo,

I'll be doing the exact same thing for my son. From a Banshee 16 to Mec Dash. The 275$ deal is too good to pass up. My plan is:

(1) swap stem+bars for a shorter one and carbon bars (40mm truvativ stem + some pro taper carbon; I already have both and they are gathering dust anyway)
(2) swap the cranks for Spawn 4bolts cranks when they are back in stock so I can stick 30t NW on there for lower gearing (Alloy Cranks - 127MM - Parts - Gear - Born to Ride | The World's Best Kids Bikes!)
(3) find a good rigid fork if they are not too expensive. Otherwise, I'll stick with the suspension fork. I know they are heavy, but I don't want to end up spending half or more of the price of the bike on a new fork; doesn't make any sense. Plus my son thinks it's cool to have suspension (coolness factor not to be understated!!!)
(4) relace the rear onto an old shimano lx QR hub I have. That will enable me to install a ZEE deraileur I have in my part box with a PROPER shimano rapidfire shifter.
(5) try to set up the wheels tubeless

Otherwise, it's got a pretty nice Al frame, and I think it's a really good deal. Should put the weight of the bike down maybe 2-3lbs.

And also, for that price, I'm not worried about my son locking the bike at school like I would with a Spawn or Meta HT. We bike-commute to school everyday so it's an important factor also.

I'll report here once I start building the thing!

Good luck with your build

 

If you want light and cheap.... and you have time

Buy something (really nearly anything in aluminium) with a rigid fork and cassette rear wheel.... there is very very little difference in frame weights between a $500 and $200 bike... there simply isn't enough frame on a 20 for a expensive triple buted one to make so much difference....

All freewheels are heavy and suck... and the cost of a new wheel with cassette hub might be as much as you want to pay for the bike.... even if you build yourself and use the rims you'll need spokes, new hub and cassette....

Honestly if you want light and cheap and have time just get a half decent bike swap the BB and cranks (if you don't have a 9-11 speed compatible crankset) for a 9,10,11 speed and replace stuff like stem ($10), seatpost ($20), saddle ($15), bars ($15) off ebay...

Loads of 9,10 speed setups going for not much $$$

Or just use it the way it is until you go to a 24"....
We only got 9 months out of the 20"....

 

Yep^^^.

When my son was small, I got him a 20" Gary Fisher Precaliber. I lightened the bike up and gave it better gears. He rode it off road like a champ.
Then, when he needed a 24" bike, I bought a like new Gary Fisher Tyro off Craigslist for 60 bucks. Bike weighed ten tons with a 3x8 drivetrain. Much to my relief, once I stripped it to the frame, the bare frame was nice and light. I built nice wheels and a 1x10 drivetrain and disc brakes.
All of this is easy if you have a cache of parts from past bikes.

 

JoSlo, which Storm were you looking at? I have decided to try and go light with less features for our 20" so I can spend more once we hit the 24" bike. The Storm 2.3 (rigid fork) is CAD$339 and seems to be speced similar to the Superfly. Wondering which Storm you had weighed at/above 22 pounds? If it's the 2.3, I'll keep considering the Superfly.

Edit: I compared some more and see the Storm 2.3 has more steel on it (hubs, handlebar, fork) so it is going to be heavier than the Superfly. Frame may be heavier too as Trek is using their middle grade aluminum rather than their entry level which they use on other lower priced kids bikes, and Norco may choose to use their lower end as well.

 

I suspect that the Islabikes Bienn 20s is more than $400 CAD, but I'm happy with our experience with the bike. In fact, my son just unboxed his Creig 24 for his seventh birthday. Great company and great bikes.

 

The value on that bikes gets lost one it gets shipped to Canada. US$549 + US$160 for shipping is CAD$888 plus we have to pay the sales tax and 13.5% duty when it arrives. So ends up being over $1100 landed.

 

My God that is expensive! I had no idea that the tariffs were so high.

 

The exchange rate is bad right now and the duty doesn't help, nor does Isla's high shipping cost. The USA has probably lost a ton of sales from Canada in the last several years due to the poor exchange rate. Was nice for that brief period probably about 5-10 years ago where Canadians saved money ordering from the USA. That was cool since it's rare.

 

I love this topic. I've built a few kids bikes now and unfortunately I'm finding that all of the gains to be had are mostly in the wheels which is really expensive. However, rebuilding the wheels with better hubs will give you the ability to use a high quality 9 speed cassette and drive train which will save even more weight. I got my sons Trek MT60 down to 17lbs. He really noticed the difference when riding a lighter bike, and it showed; he had a different riding style on that bike.

Here is what I would do in order of importance / benefit.

-Buy a used kids bike. Trek MT60 has a really light frame. Important part is that the frame and rims, saddle, brake levers are in good shape as you will use those again. Everything else can be trash- but keep that stuff as you will put that stuff back on when you sell the bike.

- Circus Monkey Hubs off of ebay (If going disk) If not then you have a huge selection of high end rim brake hubs from which to pick. You may even have some in your parts bin.

- Have a local wheel builder rebuild your wheels with the new hubs. - This may require cutting and threading new spokes. :-(

- XT Cassette off of Ebay

- XT Rear derailleur

- Rapid fire shifters - My boys didnt like the grip shift that came stock on their bikes as they sometimes had troubly turning the shifter.

- 1X Crank - There is some used stuff on ebay - (Im following 2 of them right now) but if you cant find a used one I recommend Sinz or Trailcraft.

- Bottom Bracket - Raid your parts bin for that.

- Spinner Grind Air Fork - This will cost about 200 bucks but will save a ton of weight and because its an air fork you can tune it to your childs weight. Hard to find these days. We had one for a while. My boys LOVED it.

- Seat posts and handlebars - The stock steel ones are super heavy, but try not to spend money here. Instead hopfully you have some good but unused stuff in your parts bin? Or, give your self an upgrade and move your old stuff on your kids bike.

- Pedals - We've been using these kid sized platform pedals. The bearings are really great and these are nice and light. You will not save much weight, but I think the importance of good bearings in the pedals is often overlooked.
GUB Bike Pedals CNC Alloy Two-side Bearing Road Bike MTB Platform Pedal | eBay

Saddle - Trailcraft is the best one for the money. Smallish, light and $30 USD. also, SDG saddle on ebay, THE Icon junior saddle.

If you do everything here you'll have a 17lb bike but you could spend close to 1000USD. However, if you do the top few items you'll get most of the benefit and only spend a few hundred.