Reducing weight on a 24" kids/junior bike

[Snytjie]

there seems to be two Momsen 24" bikes. JR40 and a JSL40

 

either way they both have suspension forks which is crazy.

 

edit. mentioned already above.

 

Yep. The JSL has a lighter aluminium frame and thus higher price tag. I cannot understand the suspension fork only option in all 24" bikes in SA: which 7- year old utilises that?

[Eddie Stafford]

I have a mate who goes to the UK a few times a year, but I don't want to put the stress on him of going through customs with a bike and trying to avoid paying import duties... I'm not even sure how you manage that.

 

I have travelled to SA at least 10 times with a bike/s and will again do so in December with our bikes (x4). I have never been questioned by Customs in SA.  Also it is “sporting goods” so you don’t have to pay for extra luggage.  If you are worried, then you can get your friend to take the bike out of the box, put some mud on it and bring it in as a used bike.  I have done this a few times bringing new bikes to Mauritius (where we also have a VAT burden).

 

To order from Isla, you will need a delivery address in the UK.

[gummibear]

How cool is this idea for a 20" to 26" bike......just change the wheels.

 

As a parent of a child who has taken up cycling, the last thing on your mind should be buying a custom bicycle for them. That is, unless the bike can literally grow as they do. 

Nao at Tomii Cycles felt challenged by this very issue. Rather than fillet braze a new frame every year as his son Fugo grows, he developed a bicycle frame that could adapt to the rapid growth of a young boy.

This frame utilizes Paragon slider dropouts and disc brakes, two crucial components to the equation. In doing so, this frame can accept 20″, 24″ and 26″ wheels. All Nao has to do is relace the hubs as Fugo grows. From there, a longer stem and an extended seat post will take care of other fit concerns. 

At this weekend’s cross races, I caught up with Fugo after his race and asked him if I could shoot photos of his beloved race bike. When I asked him what his favorite part about his bike was, he replied “the gears” – a fact that Nao brought to my attention later – “he just figured out how to use the grip shifters.”

Ride on, Fugo, ride on!

 

http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Fugos-Tomii-Cycles-Disc-Dirt-Machine-1-1335x889.jpg

 

http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Fugos-Tomii-Cycles-Disc-Dirt-Machine-4-1335x889.jpg

 

http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Fugos-Tomii-Cycles-Disc-Dirt-Machine-13-1335x889.jpg

[gummibear]

Fugo has grown up, as kids do and it was time for him to ditch his 20″ wheels for brand new 24″ wheelset. Remember, the design of Fugo’s bike allows him to upgrade to even a 26″ wheel. Nao, I love this photo and I think everyone here greatly appreciates your documentation of this unique project. 

See more at the Tomii Flickr!

 

http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Fugo_Follow-Up_Tomii_high.jpg

[arendoog]

Under 10kg .Good componants and light wheelset .Shopped around everywhere until i found this .R5000 .Made a huge difference to my boy,s riding and i would be able to sell it again when he needs a bigger bike Edited October 31, 2015 by Blitzer

[Stretched@Birth]

I bought my son the Frog bike - https://m.frogbikes.com/lightweight-kids-bikes/hybrid-bikes/frog62.aspx - 9.3kg's, alu frame. It is more hybrid than MTB, but a tyre upgrade sorts that. It seems Ballistic Bike Trading is now the local agent, not sure who the dealers are. I know The Cycle Hub at Rietvlei had one in stock.

[Snytjie]

image.jpgUnder 10kg .Good componants and light wheelset .Shopped around everywhere until i found this .R5000 .Made a huge difference to my boy,s riding and i would be able to sell it again when he needs a bigger bike

Hi,

 

That seems to be an older model of the 20" bike. It is indeed a great option for that size. Such a pity they don't offer the same configuration in 24"...

[Snytjie]

I bought my son the Frog bike - https://m.frogbikes.com/lightweight-kids-bikes/hybrid-bikes/frog62.aspx - 9.3kg's, alu frame. It is more hybrid than MTB, but a tyre upgrade sorts that. It seems Ballistic Bike Trading is now the local agent, not sure who the dealers are. I know The Cycle Hub at Rietvlei had one in stock.

Thank you Sir! If I could double-like I would have.

 

They have but are low on stock, 2016 models arrive in December....

[Edition 507]

If you want to reduce weight on a 24" kids bike, then feed the kid less cake!

[dracs]

I must warn you from personal experience....the Titan grip shift is poor quality, becomes sticky very easily and the kids generally battle to shift it as they do not have the hand strength.

 

I replaced with trigger shift and the problem was solved.

True story - I have x 2 for my 7 and 9 yo's.  they battle and the grip also always wants to slide off...  How easy is the conversion to trigger shift and or who can do and for how much?  (technically challenged as I am)

[Ed-Zulu]

True story - I have x 2 for my 7 and 9 yo's.  they battle and the grip also always wants to slide off...  How easy is the conversion to trigger shift and or who can do and for how much?  (technically challenged as I am)

Cost with labour was R700 from LBS and the triggers just work so much better.

 

Ask your LBS to suggest a set of 3x7's, could come in cheaper than me...

[FC&P2C]

Bought my girls a few years ago then 5 and 7 the Momson 20" and 24" respectively. They are now 8 and 10 and the 8yo is riding the 24" and I sold the 20" for a decent price and it went down on a very nice old Small 26"

Those Momsons are the bomb! Kids dont need the suspension. My 8 year old won her first usn race last weekend after her sister has won many before on the same bike.

[rock]

cannondale has save weight by just giving you the left side of the fork

 

http://media.cannondale.com/media/catalog/product/cache/3/small_image/725x/17f82f742ffe127f42dca9de82fb58b1/C/1/C16_C53256M_BBQ_3.1440862689.jpg

Edited November 3, 2015 by rock

[Snytjie]

Update:

 

We bought a 24" Frog. No unnecessary front suspension and 1x7 trigger shifter. 

 

Comes in at 9kg, a whopping 4.5kg less than standard Scott, Trek, Titan etc 24" bikes. 2015 model was R4500 at BikePlus, Constantia.

 

There were only 2 left at distributors (Ballistic Bike Trading) who said they are getting 2016 models towards the end of 2015.

 

Thanks for all the inputs.

[markmad]

This makes for an interesting read .

 

At my daughters first Spur schools I saw many kinds in sub nipper on 24 inch bikes and imo most of them should have been on 20’s  , perhaps parents skip a size to save money but It’s not worth it as kids struggle on bikes that are heavy and  sized incorrectly .Mine won sub nipper on a 20 inch (JSL 20)one of only a few used on the day.

 

However 24inch is not too far away perhaps 6 months or so I’ve been looking and came up with a list of below 20 k bikes .

 

Momsen JSL 40 (nice , pitty about 3 blade crank )

 

Giant XTC (might be worse than the JSL 40 imo)

 

Cube SL (though they don’t answer emails so I guess you can’t do business with them )

 

Specialized (though listed at 24k doesn’t look any better than the competition but does have a better groupset and brakes )

 

Scott (probably the better option at +/ 15k but having no fork and standard as a 1x it’s not that light .)

 

My thinking is to go Momsen and convert to a 1x 10 or similar and save weight where possible in the obvious areas .

 

Any insights on this would be appreciated 

[Job]

I've watched 2 Spur/Solomons schools races here in Gauteng, on both occasions the top 5 supnippers aged 7-8 yrs were riding 24" bikes with 26" wheels, on the last race, I saw an 8year old in a Scott 650B and she was very comfortable. No chance to win for a kid riding a 20" bike.