Just thought I'd start a thread for my son's new bike, it is a bit different and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has done this before.

I'm making a 46er - 24inch rear with a 26inch front, it looks like it will work from my first mock up, but I'll need to get a rear wheel and fit the forks properly to be sure.

I spend sunday morning stripping the frame and with the intension of a respray, but it looks great naked.



Ive used a 26inch rim without the tyre to get an idea on how it will sit but the angles are looking ok.
I get the actual forks this week (orange F7s)

and will polish the frame and let miniKen Design the decals for it.



The frame is a 2005 Specialized Hotrock 24 and it is pretty light and very well made, the welds are lovely.

My intention is to build a bike that is as light as possible for a reasonable amount of money.

Spec so far....
Orange F7 forks
XT rapidfire+ brakes
Front is an Alivio Parallax on an Alex rim
Fuji 150gm bars with bontrager foam grips
STX derailuers
HG70 Cassette
Tioga Avenger headset.
XT hollowtech BB - if I can find shorter cranks!

He won't be getting the Use post, Turbo seat, or Kooka stem! But he might get hope XC hubs, depending how I feel about wheel building.

humour me but what is the thinking on the different size wheels- pro's con's?

He isn't big enought for a full 26 inch bike yet and the suspension available for 24'' kids bikes is sheng, unless you spend well over £100.

So taking inspiration from late 80's small frame Cannondales and modern 69ers I came up with the 46er

I like different as long as it works.

i cant find a pic of it without the crap cranks

Perry is that a frame designed for 26 or 24inch wheels? as those forks look mighty long. At least I'm not doing anything too unusual. I was going for a trials/jump type look for him.

has removable v mounts for both

forks are 435mm axle/crown

you get less rotating weight so it accelerates quicker and a stronger wheel as its physically smaller . sometimes you get more mud clearance ( but not always , look at reanimations )

itl slacken all the angles unless you use a large volume tyre . 2.6 or 3.0 that makes the circumference similar to a 26" but weighs a lot and you lose all the benefits except a much smaller chance of bashing the rim

i had a mate who used a 24 on the front and a 26 rear with a big tyre , more cushion for the wrists but looked odd

whats your plans for a rear brake ? would a u brake fit in there ?

looks alright , i like

Yeah have a look at my Last Rufus thread, 2 bikes wearing 24's in there.

I was chatting to a chap in bike shop, bit of a downhill nut. Made a lot of sense of running a fatter tyre on the back really as he suggests, but also have a look at MotoX bikes and stuff good enough for them this combo.

I never got on with my 24's but that was more to do with the package of the bike i think.

An inventive solution to a kids bike brief this. perhaps a 2.35 light tyre on the back might not be too much and thinner on front.

Any progress on this wee beastie yet TK?

Look's like a great project ken, that frame should polish up nice



There was a version of the Specialised Big Hit that used a 24" rear wheel, not sure why though but i was thinking of getting one and using 24's front and rear for more standover height (they tend to be quite tall), seen one like this on E-bay already, with 24"x3" tyres front and rear it looked like a beast

Bigger wheel will roll better smaller wheel will accelerate faster and turn better. Soo roughly

24" accelerate fast and turn tight but hook up in divots etc
26" accelerate good and turn good rolls over most things
29" slower acceleration but rolls well over obstacles

mixing and matching theoretically will give the best of both worlds. Furinstance the 69ers are 29ers with a 26" rear wheel this lets them turn a bit better without compromising too much the big wheel advantage. I'm rubbish at explaining but hopefully you get what I mean.

Very clear and consise- nice one.

Will never catch on anyway.

Yesterday I finished miniKens 46er - Street tests seem pretty good, will do some offroad soon, front brake snaps like a piranha which will take a bit of getting used to, never had a brake that stops so fast, I think the tyre helps.

Pedals are a little pink when they were meant to be red, he doesn't mind them just now. And a nice red cnc stem will finish it off... when I find one I like for under a tenner

I reckon he will ask for suspension and a 24 inch front wheel before too long, but this will teach him how to pick a line and land a jump properly.



The 2.35 rear tyre fits, just, I had to shave a little rubber off




He has added stickers now too, reasonably well placed, I made him polish it first he didn't like that.

Costs:
Wellgo Pedals £16
DMR Tyres £36
Halo Skewers £10
Suntour 153mm Cranks £20
Hope Hub Rear £25 - Thanks to big eck for the karma rim and wheel build
Forks Project 2 - £18
Frame - 24'' Wheeled Hotrock - Packet of biscuits and bottle of wine to LBS
All the rest karma and previous donor bike.

Total £125

aye thats turned out well, a great starter, much better than what i started on!
dont suppose the lbs has anymore of these frames going?