I try to ride my bike(s) a lot on the weekends. When I can, or better yet, when we can as a family. We live in Sacramento, which is so spread out as a city, that it can be difficult. Still, I knew that we would be riding a lot this weekend. A local bike club was hosting a ride, and there was a BBQ that was close enough to ride to.
One issue is that when my youngest son Connor is with me, such as this weekend, I have to ride really slow, because his little nine year old legs can't keep up with me on his little 20" cruiser.
He loves doing bike stuff with me, because it gets us doing something <i>together</i>, and his bike is very cool, as we are constantly doing new things to it, but it occurred to me that if he could fit a full sized 26" bike, he would be able to keep up with me better. The bigger sprocket, wheels, and crank movement would help him go faster. <i>If</i> he could fit. And <i>if</i> he had the leg strength to push a bike that big.
So, why not try? I started with a girl's bike frame that I already had.
I then chopped the seat post in half, cut off the rear seat stays, bent them down until they met up with the low front, and re-welded the whole thing back together.
I then built it up with parts I had around the garage, and had Connor spray paint it black (it was pink, and we'll be repainting it nice later). I think it came out well.
But best of all, he loves it, and he was totally able to keep up with me the whole weekend! We rode a total of about 15 miles, and he never complained. He's excited to have a big bike, and I'm excited to be able to ride more briskly when we go out.
I'll call this a success!
One issue is that when my youngest son Connor is with me, such as this weekend, I have to ride really slow, because his little nine year old legs can't keep up with me on his little 20" cruiser.
He loves doing bike stuff with me, because it gets us doing something <i>together</i>, and his bike is very cool, as we are constantly doing new things to it, but it occurred to me that if he could fit a full sized 26" bike, he would be able to keep up with me better. The bigger sprocket, wheels, and crank movement would help him go faster. <i>If</i> he could fit. And <i>if</i> he had the leg strength to push a bike that big.
So, why not try? I started with a girl's bike frame that I already had.
I then chopped the seat post in half, cut off the rear seat stays, bent them down until they met up with the low front, and re-welded the whole thing back together.
I then built it up with parts I had around the garage, and had Connor spray paint it black (it was pink, and we'll be repainting it nice later). I think it came out well.
But best of all, he loves it, and he was totally able to keep up with me the whole weekend! We rode a total of about 15 miles, and he never complained. He's excited to have a big bike, and I'm excited to be able to ride more briskly when we go out.
I'll call this a success!
