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Looking to build a 26" kids bike that DOESN'T weight 35lbs?

1215 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by bikeCOLORADO, Aug 11, 2004

kitchenware

Discussion Starter · Aug 2, 2004

Jensonusa has about a dozen of these Durango SX frames in 12", 26" wheeled WITH disc tabs for $109. I ordered one for my daughter and it arrived Saturday and although it was damaged in shipping, it turns out that it's going to be a great frame for her once we get the replacement. So great in fact, that I think I'm going to order another one to build this fall for my son.

This one didn't have the headtube wrapped and died an early death on the way here, but JensonUSA is taking care of it in the best way possible. Props to them.

Anyway, here it is. There are '03 stats on Jamis' site, but I can tell you that my 6yo could probably stand over it and ride it now. It'll probably last my 9yo a few years with stem/seat adjustments.

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daveM

· #2 · Aug 2, 2004

No problemo...

Full XTR, carbon bar/post, cossmax wheel...oh wait...d[email protected], forgot about that budget thing

Hey Jim, if you need a free fork, you can have the old RST that I took off Rachel's bike. It's kinda' a POS, but it's got 2 inches of sticky travel (could help prepare her for becoming a Manitou customer

)

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Loudpawlz

· #3 · Aug 3, 2004

Quite a beefy HT junction on that thing -

looks like the bike is made for dropping out of the sky.

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ibmkidIII

· #4 · Aug 3, 2004

His kids will be out dropping him in a year tops.

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MrBalky

· #5 · Aug 8, 2004

Thanks for this tip; bought one for my daughter. So what are you doing for cranks? I am concerned about 170s and up being too long for her. Cheers.

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kitchenware

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 9, 2004 (Edited)

woodchuck said:
Thanks for this tip; bought one for my daughter. So what are you doing for cranks? I am concerned about 170s and up being too long for her. Cheers.

No prob.

We're going to run 170s on hers (Deore), that's what the 12-14" frames came stock with. I measured it out with 26" wheels and a 80mm suspension corrected rigid fork and it doesn't look bad at all as far as pedal clearance goes. I think it'll work out for her long legs too.

I'll post up when the build is done.

Here it is in "how's it going to fit" mode.

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DWF

· #7 · Aug 9, 2004

kitchenware said:
No prob.

We're going to run 170s on hers (Deore), that's what the 12-14" frames came stock with. I measured it out with 26" wheels and a 80mm suspension corrected rigid fork and it doesn't look bad at all as far as pedal clearance goes. I think it'll work out for her long legs too.

I'll post up when the build is done.

Here it is in "how's it going to fit" mode.

If she needs a shorter cockpit you could always turn that seatpost around or get a straight post. There are a lot of cheap square taper BB 155 cranks around too if you need them. My kids both ran 155's until they were around 10 or so. AC Racing has mini square taper crank for a single 110 chainring that run in lengths from 135mm on to normal lengths. Someone else makes mini square tapers but I can't think who it is right now.

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kitchenware

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 9, 2004

DWF said:
If she needs a shorter cockpit you could always turn that seatpost around or get a straight post. There are a lot of cheap square taper BB 155 cranks around too if you need them. My kids both ran 155's until they were around 10 or so. AC Racing has mini square taper crank for a single 110 chainring that run in lengths from 135mm on to normal lengths. Someone else makes mini square tapers but I can't think who it is right now.

I've got a Thomson 27.2, but I was holding off on cutting it, but it looks like I'll have to

hehe. As for the cranks, well, that's something I've been worried about until about 15 minutes ago when I found the perfect crank. BMX euro square taper cranks will work perfectly and there's a buttload of lengths avail. I think we'll try 155-160 now. They aren't as cheap as Deore, but they'll work better and that's what matters most. I think we'll be running 1x8 as a friend has a bunch of 8spd stuff sitting around. Anyway, here's the crank... There are better ones out in the BMX world, but these will do her just fine.

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DWF

· #9 · Aug 9, 2004

kitchenware said:
Anyway, here's the crank... There are better ones out in the BMX world, but these will do her just fine.

Yep, that's exactly the one I was talking about. You should be able to pick a set up for around $75 or so. They'll last for two kids easy, so when your daughter outgrows them, the next one in line can inherit so you get to stretch out the ROI by many more years.

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bikeCOLORADO

· #10 · Aug 10, 2004

A year ago I built up a 12" Jamis Eureka for my ten year old son...bought the frame of Jenson for $98 at the time. His skills have gone through the roof since dumping his 35lb 24" giant kid's bike.

Here's a shot of him dropping a rock on Porc Rim back in April: