Bike Check: Nathan Riddle's Son Is One Lucky Kid

Feb 10, 2021 at 11:41
by Daniel Sapp  
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Like many dads who ride, Nathan Riddle was more than stoked for his kids to pick up the habit as well. We're starting to see more high end kids bikes hit the market, but Nathan decided to take matters into his own hands and make a titanium full-suspension bike for his youngest son, Zenyn. Riddle tackled the project head-on, building a frame on the same scale as his Santa Cruz Nomad, reducing it to kid proportions with 20" wheels.

The fork is a Manitou JUNIT fork with 120mm of travel, and the choice for his front suspension from the start. As far as rear suspension goes, finding a shock that will work for a 50lb human is tricky, so Nathan decided to use an older rear shock he had with a custom tune by Cascade Suspension works. The frame design uses a high leverage ratio to help the shock move under a lighter rider.

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The frame has a titanium front triangle with a carbon / aluminum swingarm. Knowledge was pooled from several people including Ron Sutphin at United Bicycle, Mike DeSalvo, and John from Landshark Bicycles to help it come together. There's internal routing for the rear brake and Di2 wires and, of course, a water bottle mount inside the front triangle. Al in all, the frame weighs about 4.4lb and has around 120mm of travel.

Wheels are Sunringle Duoroc J-unit 20" rims, butted spokes, and boost hubs set up tubeless. Brakes are XTR M9000 with a light pull and short reach for small fingers. The rear caliper is a GRX flat mount because it lined up well with the design. Rear shifting is handled by XTR Di2, and yes, Nathan is aware that's a bit fancy for a kids' bike, but it was already on hand and provides a light shift action for small fingers. If crashing is commonplace, the Di2 may get swapped for something a little less fancy.

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Internal cable routing.
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Flat mount rear brake.

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With kids, there will be accidents. A replaceable hanger helps.

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There's eccentric hardware on the shock and handlebar in order to allow for experimentation with geometry.

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The complete bike weighs 22lbs. It's as proportionally correct as possible to a larger bike, although it's more of a 2/3 scale replica, since one of the challenges was getting chainstay length proportional to an adult bike, a task that proved nearly impossible to achieve and still have a functional drivetrain.

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Member since Jan 18, 2007
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179 Comments
  • 108 12
 No bar end plugs? That's going to hurt
  • 23 4
 Also not complete without tubeless minions
  • 17 6
 It looks fricken awesome, and I really want one for my little boy, but man, that shock is it the firing line of crap from the back wheel. I managed to chip the kashima on the Fox shock on my Foxy and that shock is nicely tucked away. It was not cheap to get sorted.
  • 26 46
flag IluvRIDING (Feb 11, 2021 at 2:31) (Below Threshold)
 If you have lock-on grips like this bike has, it's not such a hazard.
  • 25 3
 @bigtim: so you chipped a piece of marketing away? Wink
  • 7 0
 @pinkbike1000: Good luck finding Minions in 20"?
  • 34 27
 I hope everyone who downvoted me has tried to pierce something with a handlebar with a locking ring on the end. Let me know how it went.
  • 11 0
 @IluvRIDING: Ive seen a handle bar embed itself in a buddies thigh Razz
  • 20 1
 @IluvRIDING: I have personally pulled my punctured thigh off the end of a lockringed handlebar and have the emergency room bill to show for it. That one even had an end cap on it.
  • 3 0
 @pinkbike1000: I would have expected Riddlers! But yes, probably not a 20" option...
  • 18 1
 Speaking as someone who had to rush my son to A&E after the bar end hit him in his inner thigh after an otb.... Never, ever, ride without plugs. If they're sharp or scuffed replace.

He ended up having plastic surgery (full general anaesthetic) to drag the skin back into place because the skin had gone into a form of shock and retracted. 3 years on, the scar looks like a shark bite and covers most of his thigh.

Watching your 8 year old son go into surgery, looking tiny in an adult bed, with pipes hanging out of him is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.

The cause... A tiny scuff on the bar end.
  • 7 1
 @rhinochopig: Saw the same thing happen when I was kid... Kid crashed on his bmx bike with bars exposed. It stuck him right in his inner thigh/artery... they had to fly him out via medic helicopter. After that I never ride with bar ends exposed.
  • 1 0
 drainage
  • 3 7
flag IluvRIDING (Feb 11, 2021 at 10:36) (Below Threshold)
 @Stinkywiz: I can't argue with that. What I am saying is, that If you have a lockring on the end, the plug might not help you at all. The most important thing is, that the end is not sharp and that the outer diameter is as large as possible.
  • 4 0
 @IluvRIDING: depends how hard you crash. Yes it will blunt the end considerably, but you can still hurt yourself. Imagine the amount of force it would exert in a crash.
  • 11 0
 Ha well funny story there.. I was just getting ready to take the first photo of it and a breeze tipped it over and broke off the drive-side bar-end cap (which was one of those ODI ones). So all the photos show no bar end plug. But it is fixed now Wink
  • 2 0
 @railin: I’ve asked for 20” Riddlers. I actually think that tread would make a sweet BMX tire
  • 1 0
 @aljoburr: oh man, my dream tire... old school minion fr tread on a 20x 2.25, 60 duro for speed/durabilty. also a wee bit more of a sidewall than a bmx 20...i'm thinkin' like 1.5 ply?1?... i can smell the new maxxis rubber now!!!! mmmmmmmmmmm. tires.
  • 1 0
 @bigtim: lizard skinz is still alive and sells a nice neoprene cover for that.
  • 2 2
 Custom build, Di2, attention to detail to chose small person suitable components but cannot find $20 close ended grips or $2 bar end plugs to address the glaring small person crash safety issue. PB shouldn't publish photos of bikes without bar end plugs unless it is to specifically comment on it being a safety issue.
  • 49 1
 So many engineers in the comment section, wow
  • 25 2
 Ain't that the truth. The best thing the genuine ones just sit back and watch the internet ones fight over things that they think they know about!
  • 17 0
 What did you expect from pinkbike? We are all engineers here...
  • 39 2
 Right? Disappointing to see how many people are totally missing the point of this article about a fathers passion for his kids and his sport.

“BuT tHe sHocK iS CLosE tO tHe TiRe!!”
  • 1 0
 3/4 of pinkbike readers are, what did you expect.
  • 6 0
 It’s engineers all the way down.
  • 2 1
 @ninjatarian: I also smirked/groaned at that comment. I think a little piece of me died when I read it.
  • 30 2
 This comment section this week has Pinkbike's community showing its worst side. Look how stoked the kid is, look at the photos of him out on the trails, look how much fun the dad and his friends had designing and building the bike. That's what matters, not derailleur clearance or the shock's dirt protection. The comments on the article about Trek giving bikes to underprivileged minority children were an absolute racist shit show. I do agree on the bar end plugs though. Core samples taken out of your leg aren't appealing at any age.
  • 11 23
flag jaame (Feb 11, 2021 at 7:21) (Below Threshold)
 @Patrick9-32: Silly me for thinking we could get through a whole article without anyone talking about racism. Everything is racist now, even water apparently.
  • 15 5
 @jaame: this just in, (presumably) white guy is fed up with how much racism he encounters and has to deal with...
  • 9 0
 @ninjatarian: Just finished a full rebuild of a used Rocky Vertex Jr 24” for my son. Tore it all down including fork rebuild and added upgrades where I could. It is all about the passion for both the sport and our kids. Spot on.
  • 3 7
flag jaame (Feb 11, 2021 at 9:50) (Below Threshold)
 @mllachance: Do you see how your comment is racist?
  • 2 0
 Pinkbike is the home of armchair CWIs and mechanical engineers don't you know. The amount of people I've seen critiquing welds on here who just straight up don't have a clue about the process is mind blowing.
  • 1 0
 @bendrew: critiquing welds is often under an article which is full of marketing hype to launch a new frame, so it is a deserved cynicism.. but here is a dad building a bike for his kid, the way he knows it , the way he wants it, not forcing it on anybody..

i dunno, i’m just stoked for the kid.. and not because of the bike, but because it shows that their family has some cool vibes going..
  • 1 0
 @GZMS: I would love to do that for my son, but (i) I don't have the skills and (ii) I know my friends and I would be a lot more excited about it than he would!
  • 2 4
 @ninjatarian: Furthering passion for kids??? You want that to happen how bout an article about a kids bike anyone can afford... like a decent kids bike for 500 or less that would definitely further the passion! Why would you want to glorify such a waste of resources and money that kid will out grow this bike in no time. It will be a nice garage ornament! Also kids on 20" bikes dont need DI2, titanium and carbon components. I rode a bike with a coaster brake at that age it worked fine for me! This is just another example of Pinkbike trying to make you think you need something you clearly dont!! Does this family even shed that hard??? $$$$ and components will never make up for bike handling skills!
  • 2 0
 @Bikebikebike03: I like how you completely misread his comment and have no idea that Nathan riddle is a professional rider to boot. I bet his son shreds harder than you do.
  • 43 0
 Pffft, look at the outdated, tiny reach on that thing. What is it, a kids bike?!
  • 6 0
 I don’t think a 200mm dropper would even fit that frame!!
  • 36 6
 Be forewarned Nathan Riddle — Knolly will probably sue you, your son, and all project collaborators for infringing on their straight-seat-tube-in-front-of-BB patent =P
  • 2 0
 This gave me a chuckle. Are they really known for that?
  • 2 0
 @defineindecline: www.pinkbike.com/news/knolly-bikes-suing-intense-for-alleged-patent-infringement.html
  • 3 0
 @BallerBoy33: well that's unfortunate.
  • 16 0
 Ignoring all the negative comments here. The bike is super sick, I'm sure dad had a great time building it, and the kid is going to rip it like it like it's the best thing ever. The raw Ti made me think of the Grim Donut at a glance. Now, wheres my red spray paint...
  • 15 0
 I'm available for adoption. I'll clean my room, eat my veggies and I've already been through college! Good at mowing the lawn and can dress myself. If you're looking expand your family, and build another custom bike, please give me some consideration. XOXOXO
  • 12 0
 If you like that you love what Reclaim Designs are doing to old Santa Cruzs

instagram.com/reclaimdesigns?igshid=1hv069l2231rc
  • 2 0
 Wait, do I could find an frame size carbon bike and bash some longer carbon tubes in to make it bigger! Hmmm!
  • 1 0
 @tall-martin: yes
  • 1 0
 So awesome. Thanks for linking us to Reclaim.
  • 1 0
 Came here to say this. Mini-Nomad is sick!
  • 3 0
 Hey, I was wondering where I got all the followers over night lol.


Great job Nathan . Amazing job you did there !!! Can’t wait to see a 24”!
  • 1 0
 @RcClarke: I can accept my commission by cash, cheque or PayPal ;-)
  • 12 1
 Wow, Pinkbike. The % of haters here is unreal... Dad builds his kid a bike you never could, Hate, Hate, Hate, Hate..... Killer work Nathan! #dadgoals.
  • 3 0
 And I thought we were past all this hate....sad, really. Nathan 1 Nerds 0
  • 3 0
 @dhoushour: Ashland love. When you know, you know.
  • 15 6
 I love how cool this is, money spent vs smiles for your kid. Priceless. That said, I want to ride in a place that never gets muddy enough to ruin a rear shock in 5 minutes! Lucky kid.
  • 21 25
flag Neale78 (Feb 11, 2021 at 1:52) (Below Threshold)
 It should be a hardtail.
  • 5 0
 The Siskiyou mtns above Ashland, OR are mostly decomposing granite. The trails are like pure velcro in the wet. Wouldn't even call it mud.
  • 1 0
 @Neale78: Why?
  • 1 0
 Why why?
  • 1 1
 @Neale78: let people have fun. The kid rides a bike. Who cares if it's a hardtail.
  • 2 0
 @fruitsd79: So he can learn basic bike control skills??? Also, kids don't need 3k bikes.
  • 12 1
 Pinkbike comments are at an all time high on this one... i guess no one could be happy for a kid and his bike
  • 12 4
 "building a frame on the same scale as his Santa Cruz Nomad, reducing it to kid proportions with 20" wheels."

You used "scale" and "proportions" completely backwards. It was built to the same _proportions_ as a Nomad as evidenced by the comparo pic, and was _scaled_ down to kid-sized.
  • 6 0
 Awesome. I am so jealous!

Nathan Riddle was one of my teachers at UBI in Ashland teaching the Professional Repair and Shop Operation class (in 2018, and yes he was my favorite teacher. Very friendly and chill) I remember we only had him the last 2 or 3 days because he was off racing...

He is also the way I found out that people stand up whilst mountain biking. I was riding back to my Grandparents house after class and saw him on the other side of the street pedaling away and the next day I asked another teacher why he was doing that and he told me when mountain biking you can be thrown otb if you sit down and some people ride that way all the time. Took me a while to get used to it but now of course I do it all the time.

At the time I assumed he must be famous or something because WTB made a tire named after him and designed by him Smile they sold those at the school, too.

Great guy! Beer
  • 7 1
 Awesome project ! The derailleur hanger caption is killing me, "with kids there will be accidents, a replaceable hanger helps" proceeds to attachto it one of the most expensive derailleur on the market ????
  • 11 1
 Coolest bike yet in 2021
  • 6 2
 That is so cool. The ‘shock in the firing line’ folks have obvs never used a generic kids bike from the likes of Specialized! Heavy (like heavy as s dh bike) over priced, the absolute worst spec, etc, etc.
That kid will be riding round with a massive grin whilst dad ponders the lack of hand-me-down options. You never sell a bike like that. Goid work.
  • 13 9
 Bought my son reasonable priced BMX race bikes since he was 4. Never spent more than $250. And other parents happy to buy used. He rode all of them like they were the best bike ever.
  • 7 10
 Ya, really, just get your kid a BMX bike. The single speed rigid BMX will teach your kid bike handling skills that will make him/her a much better rider when they reach puberty. Gwin didn't just put down the moto and pick up a DH bike; he raced BMX for years, and after giving up on a moto career he went to college and jibbed around on dirt jumpers with buddies for a bit before starting DH racing.
  • 1 1
 same here bought a used redline race bike with single speed ,narrow tires good brakes and super light , he rocked the trails around our place with no problems and we would get comments on how it ripped .
  • 1 0
 I must be doing it wrong. My son's race bike rear hub cost more than that.
  • 7 0
 "Thanks Dad! I'm gonna go play Fortnite now"
  • 3 0
 I am sensing this will be the post of the week. A kid's bike I wished I could have experienced at that age all I had was a destroyed banana seat imitation BMX cruiser from Crappy Tyre. That is one sweet carbon ride any little king could desire.
10/10 dad points rite thur rite thur
  • 3 0
 What a fantastic project, and a sweet looking bike. Will be looking out for this on my local Southern Oregon trails*. Aside from how awesome the final product turned out, it must've been so amazing for that kid to see how to design & build a bike, and I'm sure he helped out too.

*If I do see it, I'll be sure to pass on all the comments here from all the kind people about how wrong everything is!
  • 4 0
 That is sick, looks like fun was had in fabricating it! I miss watching Riddler bounce off trees..and rocks..and dirt. Full send all the time!
  • 6 1
 Dude is a try hard... nope I`m just jealous I couldn't do that for my kid. I`ll nominate for Father of The Year!
  • 2 0
 Certainly any kids dream bike!
Great ingenuity and craftsmanship, but why would you choose a full Titanium frame with carbon rear end for a bike the kid will probably outgrow within literally just a year?
I mean... am I the only one to think like this?!
  • 16 11
 Is it possible to fit the stanchion closer to the tire?
  • 26 0
 He'll have grown out of it before the stanchion wears out
  • 1 0
 @beeekilbee: exactly my thoughts.. but if your kids skills are up there, the money spent is good, you'll salvage some back at resale.
  • 12 0
 I knew there’d be some complainers. Thanks for not disappointing me.
  • 3 1
 You build one
  • 3 0
 Just a thin zip tie fender would help solve that problem.
  • 4 0
 Btw; Are there any kid's specific trail worthy tyres out there except for the Vee tyre Crown Gem?
  • 2 0
 My lads have each got a Conti on the front, not very fat but it has improved things compared to the original.
  • 1 0
 Not that I know... I had this dilemna trying to replace my kid's 24" Crown Gem's. It's either High Roller with DH casing, or lighter/thinner XC options. But nothing like a versatile tubeless trail tire.
  • 2 0
 Try Brood bike co "Maxtion" tubeless ready 20,24''
  • 1 0
 @Urwho: they look great but have been sold out for 12 months.
  • 2 0
 Minion DHRs and DHFs are available in 24". I don't know about 20".
My son has a DHR2 on the front of his bike. My mate's son has a pair of Smart Sams which have a large volume but also a low weight.
  • 1 0
 @jaame: Yes, there are 24" Minions but no 20". My son has stock 2.4 Kendas but they are more like 2.1.
Real 2.4 (or fake 2.6) not overly heavy tyres with decent grip and possibility to run them tubeless would be really nice. I can't believe that industry is so much lagging behind when we talk about kids bikes.
  • 1 0
 @pakleni: if I had to guess I would think it would be due to cost being the most important factor. Are there now decent BMX tyres available, or just not wide enough.
  • 1 0
 The Maxtion tires in the DH casing (more inline weight wise with a DHF EXO) is the ticket and in-stock. Their light casing is pretty easy to slash if any rocks are around. Awesome kids tire.

spawncycles.com/brood-maxtion-20-dh
  • 1 0
 @Svinyard: And widthwise? But real life measure. Hope it isn't like 1.9
  • 1 0
 @pakleni: They are pretty spot on in my estimate. Definitely a sick tire in 20" but they sell fast. They are similar to a HR2 I think. For 24", we run a DHF/DHR for my 9yro on ultralight but strong 32h Stans Crest wheels.
  • 1 1
 @pakleni: Kenda also make some nice 20" x 4" tyres with good treads!
  • 1 0
 Do Not get the black jack from schwalbe.
They suck.
Used to be able to get table tops and small block 8's in 20"
  • 1 0
 Schwalbe Rocket Ron Super 20"x2.25 tubeless ready tires.

thebikedads.com/kids-tires

I just ordered these for my 3 year old son's 20" fs Propain Frechdax (which came with Vee Crown Gems):

www.instagram.com/p/CLIw4awBLw_/?igshid=1ab5qyeqxdkok
  • 1 0
 @Svinyard: do you have a measured weight on those 20" DH tires? Those tires are available now from Spawn, but the lighter weight ones are all sold out for 5-6 more months. The DHvoption sounds great other than the weight, as I am trying to lighten up our son's 20" fs bike (he weighs 35 pounds).
  • 6 0
 Slow-mo huck to flat!
  • 4 1
 In contraposition they are getting probably as much fun making their own wooden cheap ones:
www.worldvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/D324-0343-329.jpg
  • 1 0
 For what it's worth (I do this for a living and have built a couple dozen kids bikes) if you're not required to satisfy CPSC requirements (which for kids bikes involve the shape/appearance of the front triangle - legacy rules from 100 years ago) you are better off with a Trek Y/Cannondale Super-V style front end to allow enough standover for safety/fun.

This is a 24", but same idea:
www.instagram.com/p/CE_6vGbF9Oi

It matters less on hardtails where the unsprung standover is about the same as loaded, but on this particular frame, standover appears to be about the same as the saddle height, yikes.

Still, awesome bike. Should be super fun, and the straight seat tube might someday allow a dropper (though he might outgrow the bike before his legs are long enough).

-Walt
  • 7 3
 wow. Needs bar end plugs though!
  • 3 0
 Look at that little ripper looking through the exit of the turn! Nice work dad!
  • 6 6
 This is nice and likely a VERY fun project, but you can just buy a Commencal Clash off the shelf and it's a lot nicer and properly tuned/fited if you swap out the wheels for something like the ultra-light stuff that TrailCraft will sell you, tho the SunRingles are very nice with a minor amount of extra weight. You'll also get the super thin ergonomic handlebar grips that are 19mm...and yeah barplugs are a must, you don't want to gut the kid. Kids are weird in that they will often wreck and stuff the handlebars into their guts way more than normal people. More importantly you'll get a fully custom kid tuned Manitou McLeod shock that is ULTRA nice and actually tracks. Everyone will tell you that "oh the frame is high leverage so the 125lb adult tune works" but that's not entirely true because the rebound will still be jacked as will the compression to a degree. You have to run shock PSI SO LOW to get proper sag that the shock becomes something you'd only want for slopestyle. Hayes Dominion brakes with the Small Finger Lever is also a godsend if building...there is no substitute. My 5yro's hand pain completely disappeared, even on 11mile downhill shuttle days. Those flow snap tires are absolute tanks as well, there are better options. Rotational weight is probably the number one impact on a kids bikes performance. Way more than an adult. That expensive derailleur is nearly dragging the ground, I dunno about that. A shortcage 10sp is a better solution and shift real nicely for young kids and certainly an 8yro.
  • 2 0
 Ah or that sick Norco 20" FS too. You can find those for KILLER deals by buying the used bikes from a Bike Park rental shop.
  • 7 0
 But your completely missing the point. A fab project from father to son! Yeah, it could have this or that or he could have bought something off the shelf! Its about having fun and creating something that no one else has! Mountain biking should be about fun and that should include fun projects like this!
  • 1 0
 Do you know the reach from the bars to the Dominion SFL lever? We ran into a reach issue for our son and found that the Deore m6000 brakes had the shortest reach we could find. But we hadn't previously heard about the Dominion SFL.
  • 2 0
 So rad Nathan! Sad to see the negativity in here. I’d love to have the resources and skill to build something like this for my kids. Nice one!
  • 2 0
 Almost completely off topic, but hats off to manitou for cramming that much travel into those lowers, holy crap I wanna see the bushing setup in one of those...
  • 1 0
 I used a spinner 300 20" when my son was that size. It performs well
  • 2 0
 Way to go Nathan! Nate was an instructor of mine at UBI school in Ashland. Not surprised of all the ingenuity in this build.
  • 3 0
 Cmon dad werz ma spokeydokes?
  • 1 0
 I'd imagine the spokeydokes mould is in the CNC mill getting ready for carbon weave layup on Monday.
  • 3 1
 Looks amazing! Smashes my sons modified Specialized Hotrock 16 out of the park! Time for another project!
  • 3 1
 He grew out of it by the time I finished reading.... (I speak from experience)
  • 4 0
 will you be my dad?
  • 2 1
 Smashing little bike!

I see what happened though! Too many cans of IPA and then made a questionable judgement call on tyres!

Don't drink and choose tyres! Wink
  • 1 0
 What else are they going to use for 20"? Most of the big/well-known tire makers don't even do the good patterns and compounds in 26, let alone 24 or 20.

Besides, you're pretty far off suggesting that Vee Tires just aren't good. Pretty sure they actually manufacture a bunch of other brands... They have their own damn rubber tree farm!
  • 1 0
 @just6979: I've had Vee Rubber branded tyres hence my comment. Yes, they probably more than likely do manufacture a number of other brand tyres, but they probably up their game from a quality point of view when producing premium brand tyres rather than budget tyres.
  • 2 0
 @just6979: Spawn Maxtion's are the ticket in their trail (pretty light...not for rocky park laps) or their DH. We have those Flow Snaps in 24"...they are heavy.

spawncycles.com/brood-maxtion-20-dh
  • 1 0
 @wythall1: "Vee Rubber branded" When? Their recent stuff is legit casings and legit compounds, and not exactly "budget" even if it might be less expensive. Might not feel exactly the same as a Minion, but that doesn't make it bad.
  • 1 0
 What pedals are you all putting on your kid's 20" mtb? I have been looking at bmx mini class pedals, but they seem really thick or they are $$$.
  • 2 0
 Chromag Radar's are real nice. Helium BMX pedals are sick too and super thin and light. Commencal makes a nice metal junior pedal that is like 90mm with real pins and very affordable. Don't get the SDG style stuff, those are crap fake pins but work great for my kids DJ where they are taking their feet off the pedals for tricks/bails.
  • 1 0
 Vp001. Comes in lots of colors.
  • 1 0
 Argh waiting on my kids vpace 24 fs just got told it will be another month due to fox suspension delays O well at least he is still ripping on his 20 hardtail
  • 4 1
 Beer can for scale
  • 1 0
 For cold shot! Lol
  • 11 10
 Looks like that derailleur is so low, it's going to get ripped off pretty quickly.
  • 14 23
flag Patrick9-32 (Feb 11, 2021 at 1:53) (Below Threshold)
 I am sure your home built kids full sus trail bike has a much better solution and you aren't just slinging shit without anything to back it up. So go on, where are the photos?
  • 7 2
 @Patrick9-32: That cassette is probably unnecessarily big for the size of the wheels, so maybe a road or DH cassette would allow the use of a derailleur with a smaller cage, although the cage on that one does already look pretty small.
  • 2 1
 @DavidGuerra: kids are so weak. My son's 24" has an 11-36 Zee/XT setup coupled with a 32t ring. The low gear could be a lot lower. He never gets into the highest three or four gears. I mean, he could spin out 10th down a hill on the road but he's still not confident enough to do so. I would love to pick up a used DM crank and put a 26t chainring on it. Only problem is, all the 150-ish cranks seem to have a 104bcd spider with a minimum size of 30t. It's a shame. Not really worth swapping the 32 to a 30 for the sake of such a small difference. I would totally do it for a significantly lower gear though.
  • 3 0
 Looks like a Zumbi
  • 1 0
 Look at Vee Tire stepping up and making good tires for a ton of wheel sizes!
  • 2 0
 Rad bike for a lucky kid, Good going Dad, FTW!
  • 3 1
 "That's nice dad, thanks."

(Goes back to Fortnite)
  • 2 0
 That xtr derailleur is licking the ground
  • 1 0
 I thought under age porn was illegal! I'm sure father and son are going to smiles on their faces for a while!
  • 1 0
 Very cool. I wish I could make a adult sized version for myself but alas, I am a talentless doofus
  • 1 0
 Why isn’t Nathan riddle’s bike covered in ??????????????????
  • 1 0
 that swingarm ... holy shit
  • 2 0
 Brought back memories of the Trek 9000.
  • 3 6
 Kids have different proportions to adults, and they change as they grow. Why scale down an adult design rather than designing to fit actual kids? This is why Islabikes have such a cult following, they design each size around the proportions of the kids who will ride them.

OTOH... a 20” Titanium FS?! Sick!
  • 8 0
 “Di2 is a bit fancy”

What on a custom titanium and carbon bike? Lol

Love it though!
  • 2 0
 THAT IS AWESOME
  • 1 0
 Now thats a sugardaddy stuff!
  • 1 1
 What?!! This bike is not electric??!! Poor kid who has to pedal. Life's unfair.
  • 1 0
 The world is a playground with that bike.
  • 1 0
 Damn...all my dad ever did for my bike was strip my cranks out.
  • 1 0
 i really like this 1 piece swingarm design.
  • 1 0
 I love it. My 2 years olds are jeslous
  • 1 0
 Single pivot don't get much more simple than this.
  • 1 0
 What the heck is the hatchet for.
  • 1 0
 that derailer must smack so much stuff
  • 2 2
 made a masterpiece but forgot the bar end plugs.
  • 1 0
 Badass.
  • 1 0
 Ashland?
  • 1 0
 Awesome
  • 1 0
 Now that is a cool bike?
  • 1 0
 Needs 230 mm rotors
  • 3 4
 As per the quality of the titanium and carbon work, I applaud this. Regarding specs and geo, I am very doubtful though...
  • 4 3
 Looks like a session
  • 1 1
 Good to see it can take a fruit shoot bottle ????????
  • 1 0
 Siiiiiick
  • 1 1
 When a kid has a doper bike than youlol
  • 1 0
 Jealous
  • 1 0
 #dadoftheyear
  • 2 3
 I hope this bike holds up. I know 8 year old kids who broke there bikes.
  • 3 1
 The good thing is, if it does brake they can repair it or make another one using the skills and lessons learned making this one.
  • 3 12
flag Neale78 (Feb 11, 2021 at 4:05) (Below Threshold)
 Its just a shame that he won't gain skills from lessons learned properly, if all he rides is a FS bike. He is a lucky kid though, no doubt.
  • 5 1
 @Neale78: yeah totally, look at all those guys racing supercross: zero bike handling skills because they all had fs their whole lives..
  • 1 9
flag Neale78 (Feb 11, 2021 at 6:06) (Below Threshold)
 Right, because we're talking about racing motocross, on a motocross website, and you know everyone that does, and their backgrounds?! You don't seem to know how truly beneficial riding hardtails are, for any MTB rider, especially in the beginning though. Upvotes too. Funny.
  • 3 0
 @Neale78: at 54 with 15yrs on a hardtail mtb and 20yrs on a FS mtb, I still benefit from the 10yrs of rac BMX before riding MTBs
  • 2 2
 Awesome man. BMX, even better. Many motocross riders must have started out with one of those.
  • 4 1
 @Neale78: The right answer is BMX for skill development and a hardtail for the trails until they are outriding it. Kids should always have both if they are riding a lot of MTB. The BMX stuff is dirt cheap used and nothing comes close for skill development. Having both is important as it spices things and keeps them on the bike more. There are days we are on long shuttles with my 5/6yro on hardtail...and there are days where he is throwing one-footers off the step-upss at dirt jump parks trying to keep up with big brother. Most of the FS I see are on junky adult suspension anyways so it's almost a hardtail. The issue with kids hardtails is nearly every single one is a freaking XC hardtail. Even our Spawn Yama Jama. The HTA is 68 but about 69d when sagged out...even worse under chunder, it's like a DJ. Kids go OTB in an instant with those tiny ass tires that hang up everywhere and a frame so small it gets bounced around. Flatout unnecessarily painful and not the kids lack of skill. The minute we swapped for the the Manitou JUnit fork (more travel and longer A2C), ALL of those OTB's immediately went away even with doing bigger park laps at higher speeds in the technical stuff. So I get why people go FS once the kids are shredding, it also opens up bigger shuttles and park laps.
No one gets beatup on the trail more than the little guys with 20" tires. Its not a big deal at all as long as they are getting their time on the freestyle BMX bike. Regardless, the real bike problem is LBS brands like Trek, Spesh, Cannondale etc. putting out absolute garbage kids bikes for the price. Then you look at what Norco, Nukeproof, Prevelo, Commencal, Rocky Mountain, YT etc are doing and its laughable...those guys care about the kids scene and aren't just buying catalog junk and snaring parents.
  • 1 1
 'The right answer is BMX for skill development and a hardtail for the trails until they are outriding it' Exactly where i was coming from.
  • 1 3
 Fucking flat mount! BARF!!!!!!!! The rest is super sick!
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