Giant Bikes, Race Face and partners build the sweetest kid’s bike ever.

Source: Race Face

Most 5 year old kids dream of riding a bike – it’s the first real taste of freedom. Typically the bike doesn’t matter, as long as it has two wheels and can handle dropping a curb or two. But Riley is no regular 5 year old. This kid dreamed big - and sometimes when you go big, it really pays off.Riley got on the horn and made a few calls to some bike industry guys he knew. A few months later – voila! Riley had a full on custom dream machine with a roster of one-off parts that aren’t even available to fully sponsored riders, never mind a 5 year old ripper from California!

The whole project was almost two years in the making but the bulk of the work was done in about three months. The bike started with a stock Giant 20 inch MTX frame – a tight little ride but no disc tabs. This meant drilling and tapping the MTX to accept custom machined disc tabs.


The biggest challenge was finding a fork that could be set up for 20 inch wheels, getting the axle to crown height right but still be super plush. The guys at Marzocchi stepped up and created a one of a kind, custom Shiver. Everything about this Shiver had been re-worked, cut and machined to fit the bill. They had to get the ride height correct, as well as set it up for Riley, a 40lb rider at best. These guys thought of everything, from the custom decals to the exclusive titanium hardware. Did we mention the word custom yet?


From there this kid’s 2 wheeled Caddy picked up some serious momentum. Hayes produced a killer set of Stroker Grams complete with composite levers and Ti parts – 160mm rotor on the front and 140mm on the back. MRP donated a composite Chainguide and Crank Brothers provided a headset. Kenda threw down a set of 20 inch Small Block 8’s and shifting duties are handled courtesy of an XTR light action trigger and an XT long cage rear derailleur (which has since been swapped out for a short cage version). A Dura-Ace road cassette gives Riley a nice 9 speed spread mated to a DT 340 rear hub. DT Swiss also provided a DT 440 front hub, all laced up to disc specific Alienation BMX rims.


Not to be outdone, Race Face rounded things out with a RIDE O degree offset seat post chopped to a svelte 3 inches, a D2 35mm 0 degree rise stem and of course, the piece du résistance, a completely re-engineered set of Atlas FR cranks. These cranks had to undergo a full on modification. They were carefully scaled down to retain the signature sweeps and machine cuts of the full size versions, yet still had to maintain all load bearing qualities in structural areas. Gently tapering the crank to its final 140mm length was a feat of engineering prowess, Race Face staffers’ spare time, and possibly a six pack thrown in for good measure.


The end result? Let’s just say this may be the most dialed grom's bike ever made. So if you’re in California and you see a 5 year old pulling a moto whip on a sweet Giant ride, it’s a good bet it's Riley. He’ll be the kid with the bike all his bros (and bros parents) are drooling over.

About Race Face Performance Products:
Based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Race Face Performance Products designs and manufactures leading-edge performance cycling components, clothing, and protection. RaceFace products are distributed in more than 40 countries globally. The company sponsors a number professional teams and riders. For more information, visit www.raceface.com.

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