Look out! It's a mountain bike with gears!

It's hard to convince her to keep the bike throttled back a bit.

Because Big Sis has been rapidly progressing in her bike skills and because she's grown tall enough, I put together a mountain bike with 20-inch wheels for her. I found a 2007 Kona Makena on Craigslist a while ago. The bike had a couple of positives going for it; it's a well-built, good quality frame. It also has a surprisingly nice Suntour suspension fork with about 50mm travel. The Kona is also an acceptable, not frilly, color. As much as I don't want to admit it, the color of a bike does come into play as far as the successful acceptance of its intended rider. So the present compromise is sort of a Joan-Jett-tough-girl version of pink rather than some nauseating Disney-pastel-princess pink. 

2007 Kona Makena, rebuilt and upgraded.

When I got it, the bike also had a few negatives, with some worn out and/or sub-par parts and was in dire need of maintenance. So, of course, I stripped it to the frame and rebuilt it from the bearings outward. I replaced the boat anchor bar and stem with aluminum versions, the battered Tektro brakes with Avid levers and v-brakes, and the saddle and seat post with nicer versions. I also installed a 7-speed freewheel in place of the worn 6-speed, and gear changes are accomplished via a new SRAM chain through a vintage Deore XTII M-737 rear derailleur controlled by a Suntour XC Comp 7-speed thumbshifter. As a nod to the preferences of my little mountain biker, I found a pair of hot pink Oury grips. She chose the pink bottle cage, and is overjoyed to finally be able to carry her own water. 

She seems more appropriately sized to this bike than to her old bike, as valiantly as it served.

One thing that I couldn't do anything about was the solid cast steel 140mm cranks with riveted 40 tooth chainring. It's a crime to equip a kid's bike with any single part that is so egregiously heavy when a better aluminum version can't be much more expensive. These cranks alone are about 3+ pounds. Ordinarily I'm not overly concerned with bike weight. After all, I ride a Big Dummy, a Pugsley and Denver B-cycles regularly. However, looking for ways to reduce the weight ratio of a 25-ish pound bike to a 48-pound rider, thoughtful changes can make for a nimbler, better experience when learning to ride off-road. A 34-ish tooth chainring would also make for much better off-road gearing for the 7-speed rear end. As soon as I can find a better setup, I'll swap the cranks and chainring out. 

With Chloe, riding through the park.

The little Kona is still equipped with the Duro brand imitation Panaracer Smoke 20x2.0 tires that it came with, but I'm looking for something with a little rounder profile. I've found the selection of real mountain bike tires, as opposed to BMX tires, in the 20-inch size somewhat limited. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open.

Rocketing on the new bike down the local dirt track.

So far, she's done well learning to use hand brakes only, as her previous bikes have had coaster brakes. She's also figured out the shifting, and seems to really appreciate the lowest gear to climb on the dirt trail, and has remarked on how the suspension fork smoothes out some of the bumps. The larger diameter tires seem to have increased her speed, in a similar manner that moving from 26 to 29-inch tires can do for an adult. I can only imagine how fast she's going to be once she's gotten the bike completely sorted out.

A celebratory rock climb in lieu of fireworks.

She's a daredevil, just like her old man

Look Daddy, no legs!

We've been having some great weather around these parts as of recent. I'm proud to say that we have been making the most of it. Our girl has been riding the wheels off her Electra, and her bike tricks are getting more daring by the day. I can't wait until the trails dry out enough to bring her mountain bike skills back into practice. She made great progress last year, and I've been eyeing 20-inch wheeled mountain bikes equipped with gears and hand brakes in anticipation of an escalation of off-road skill building. Her 16-inch bikes have been great and she's learned a lot, but there are some real mountain bikes out there on the 20-inch platform. It won't be long before she's ready to move up.

Most of the major bike companies make some sort of 20-inch wheeled mountain bike, some of which are miniature versions of their serious adult offerings. I was very impressed with the Scott Spark JR 20; a real full-suspension mountain bike, not just a department store ornamental knockoff. It's more than likely outside of our present budget and/or needs, but cool in any case.

Mastered: circa 1990 Murray "Fashion Crew" ersatz BMX bike.

On the other end of the spectrum from the Scott, is the bike pictured above. Before proceeding, I should note that I have long been fortunate to have a wife who understands that it is beyond my capacity to let an intact and usable bike, no matter how ugly, end up in a landfill. As is symptomatic of my two-wheeled illness, I retrieved the neglected late '80s or early '90s department store bike from an elderly neighbor's trash a couple of weeks ago. It was likely once used by visiting grandkids who are now grown. Although the bike is a Murray "Fashion Crew" model, it is no beauty; sporting faded neon yellow and pink paint, worn out tires and a rusty chain. 

As aesthetically deficient as the Murray may be, it made for a fine testing platform. After airing up the tires, she threw a leg over and had soon mastered this up-sized bike, although the high handlebars were received as somewhat awkward. She was doing figure eights and loops in the street, and even some "look Daddy, no fingers" taunts aimed at my parental sense of safety. We then ventured to some dirt to get a different feel.

Dirt riding on 20-inch wheels.

The Murray has a higher minimum seating position than most new or near-new 20-inch wheeled mountain bikes, so something a bit more modern should fit her just fine. However, she is no bike snob and was more than happy to put the Murry through some paces, that is, until the front tire started going flat. Even this was a useful experience, as I coached her in how to gingerly ride the low tire home, taking care to make no sudden turns. It never fails to astonish me in how she's a sponge for soaking up this kind of information. The Murray will likely hang around in our bike barn for a little while, until it inevitably finds a new home where someone will put it to good use.

A little later, I rode downtown to my friend Andy's New Orleans themed party at the Denver Beer Company.

The boiling tent, with Andy and his crew hard at work.

A few of the guests of honor, affectionately called mudbugs.

It would be hard to top the day as a fine end to Standard Time until Fall. With any luck, we'll have a lot more dirt riding before then, and perhaps some more delicious marine creatures as well. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead!