Need ideas.wanna build something unique for my little girl..

[Gusset76]

Guys, I'm new to the forum and need some help.

I just bought this used 12" trek to build my little 2 1/2 year old girl something different for Christmas.
It's her first bike, so I want it to be something kinda special.

I bought it because it has a little cantilever-looking frame and I want to build something with a 40's/50's feel to it. The rear fender has a dent,
so the fenders will be replaced or painted. May paint the wheels,etc

Got some cool ideas? Seat? Paint? wheels? tires?
I can weld, fabricate, buy parts, and paint.
Oh yeah, It HAS to be red...that's her favorite color.

 

[B607]

Your little girl would probably love that bike just the way it is because you bought it for her. :wink:

Having said that...to make it look more "40's or 50's", I'd paint the frame a solid red then paint the headtube a different color with some darts coming back on the top bar. I'd also paint the fenders red with colored tips and pinstripes. An old time seat with big springs would scream 40's. Fabricate a small rack from a piece of wood, and maybe some sort of basket for handlebars. Just my 2-cents. Gary

 

[XC204]

I built a springer front end for my grandsons 12" bike ....He just got this motorcycle jacket from a friends kid.....Does he look happy?
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=47234&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

[Gusset76]

Your little girl would probably love that bike just the way it is because you bought it for her. :wink:

Having said that...to make it look more "40's or 50's", I'd paint the frame a solid red then paint the headtube a different color with some darts coming back on the top bar. I'd also paint the fenders red with colored tips and pinstripes. An old time seat with big springs would scream 40's. Fabricate a small rack from a piece of wood, and maybe some sort of basket for handlebars. Just my 2-cents. Gary

Exactly along the lines I was thinking. The bike has scratches and the fender is dented, so I was thinking that a repaint would be necessary.

 

[CRASH]

My wife forces me to make them as "girly" as possible. So... I would say something light and pastel for the paint. Maybe a light pink or white, with pink accents. The pink/white streamers off the grips. And don't forget a tiny basket for the front.

 

[Gusset76]

My wife forces me to make them as "girly" as possible. So... I would say something light and pastel for the paint. Maybe a light pink or white, with pink accents. The pink/white streamers off the grips. And don't forget a tiny basket for the front.

It's gotta be red. Red is her favorite color and all she talks about is "riding a red bike when I get bigger".

It's impossible to find a 12" girl's bike in red, so I decided to do something custom. I will definitely be adding a basket and
other "girly" stuff to it.

Gotta figure out how to build a rack for the rear...

 

[kingfish254]

Find a miniature Radio Flyer red wagon and mount the body of that to your rear rack.

Kinda like this. It will give her a place to put her toys.

 

[dragnusa]

I like the mini wagon idea, as for the dent in the fender Id put the fender on a bench with a couple pieces of carpet under it and use a ball ping hammer and tap the dent out from the inside. as for the paint Id strip all the decals off then spray it red with white pin stripes then spray the fenders white with red pin stripes. and the rims white with red stripes, and put the mini trailer on the back

 

[Gusset76]

You guys are coming up with some great ideas. The coolest part is that when she was born my office sent a floral arrangement in a little metal Radio
flyer wagon. Very cool idea! Thanks.

 

[danthrift71]

Very cool bike right from the get-go. Red & white is always a classic combo. To give it a little more old school feel, off-white like Dupli-Color's "Wimbledon White" would look good. And STREAMERS !!! Gotta have streamers on the handlebars. Good luck. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[bmxerpete]

I would do the frameset and fenders red with cream/tan darts and pinstriping, and do the wheels in the cream with red pinstriping. The tires have a white pinstripe, you could paint white from that stripe down to the rim to give it a wide white look. The mini wagon idea is great, or you could build a little wooden rack for it. Streamers as mentioned, and possibly build a mini set of truss rods out of 1/4" or 3/8" stainless or aluminum rod.
Whatever you do I bet she loves it!

 

[Gusset76]

I would do the frameset and fenders red with cream/tan darts and pinstriping, and do the wheels in the cream with red pinstriping. The tires have a white pinstripe, you could paint white from that stripe down to the rim to give it a wide white look. The mini wagon idea is great, or you could build a little wooden rack for it. Streamers as mentioned, and possibly build a mini set of truss rods out of 1/4" or 3/8" stainless or aluminum rod.
Whatever you do I bet she loves it!

BMXerPete,

I like your ideas. I dig the mini wagon idea, but I wanna be careful to make it not look too "Radio Flyer" bike. I've been trying to find wooden rack ideas and truss rod ideas. If anybody has links to pictures, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[CCR]

I would go for something like this

these cat stickers and rabbits feet always remind me of the skating rink too ...