cierrecart

For my sons 5th birthday, I building him up a new 16" bike to replace the 12" he's outgrown. We had an old POS Magna laying around, so I've completely dissasembled it to get ready for paint. I've ordered the following to spruce it up a bit:

Hoffman 16" Skidmark Tires
FMF Power moto Jr bars
new grips
Poverty Peddler 1/2" pedals
UGP pad set
new chain
misc. nuts and bolts

Frame and fork will get new paint (or powdercoat maybe) and then everything will et re-assembled with new lube.




Here's my dilema though. When I was dis-assembling the bottom bracket and one piece crank, I found that a few of the threads on the crank were jacked up, so it took some effort with a screwdriver and a hammer to spin that nut off the crank. I'm worried that it will give me trouble when it comes time to put the crank back on. I've looked for 140mm one piece cranks, but can't seem to find anything. Would it be worth it to go to a cheap 3 pc. crank?

new_dharma

honestly, the magna isn't worth the money to powdercoat

cierrecart

Well, I'm only going to powdercoat if I get a buddy to do it for cheap. I'm just looking for a durable finish, not an award winning show bike.

eightdip

Its just just worth getting a new 16" bike. The hoffman rhythm is good, aswell as the haro nyquist

cierrecart

No it's not. All of the parts will have cost me less than $80. A new rhythm or DK Genreal Lee is $200. I have no interest in spending that much on a bike he will outgrow in a year.


Honestly, do you guys think the frame and fork from a cheap chinese bike is going to make a difference to a 35 pound 5 year old? Not quite.

eightdip

Meh your choice I suppose

wds178

It's your kid - have fun with the bike. Give it a sweet paint job & let him have at it.
If he starts to really thrash it, then look into getting a better 16"
-Bill

cierrecart

Thats the plan. I love doing projects like this so it's no big deal really. I honestly don't see the frame and fork being a weak link.



I ended just buying a new Poverty 1 pc crank so I have it if the old one doesn't work. The only problem is that the new one is 175mm, so it may be a tad long. We;ll see.

callumrides

those cranks will be almost touching the ground. in the world of cranks 35mm is a damn lot.

KinetikBiker

And by the time it is a weak link, he'll be ready for a 20". So it's no big deal, and he'll love all his new stuff and fresh paint.



The Poverty crank is going to be way too long for a 16 inch bike, it will hit the ground.

new_dharma

see now...you didn't mention a possible deal on the powdercoat.
i've had frames powdercoated, so I know the cost (without a deal).

still (and i'm only pickin' nit here), it depends on how much the 'deal' is...and i'm not knockin' the frame...it's the cost of the new Magna vs the cost of powdercoating the old frame.

there is an industrial sandblaster near me...i've had frames bead-blasted & painted for $30.00...i asked nice if he could add the frame and fork when he was doing a bigger job...I had a nice 'Post-office mail-box blue' bike for a while...

randya

Adult ZooBombers ride crappy 16" Chinese bikes all the time, they may not have the cachet of a Haro or a Hoffman, but the frame will probably stand the abuse, although the wheels may not. Use a shorter set of cranks, though.

cierrecart

Yeah, after doing some measuring I relized those are way too long. I was able to find a 4 1/2" crank (that matches the old one) from Konasports.com, so I ordered that as well.

AS for the finish, I realized something. After taking to it with some steel wool, the small rust areas are surface only, and the chrome finish underneath is fine. I may forgo the repaint and just polish it up after taking off all the stickers. It will be a pain to get that finish scuffed enough for paint, unless I get it blasted.

new_dharma

try using 3M white scotch-brite pads and a metal polish...the white pads are super-fine (like 0000 Steelwool without the steel)...I use them at my shop to clean chrome all the time...you can also use WD-40 and the white pads (this will also help with the decals!).

cierrecart

Thanks for the input. I actually got it all polised up this evening while watching tv. I used a heat gun on all the decals, then a razor blade. An hour or two with some 000 steel wool and Turtle Wax metal polish and it looks great! Just need to wait for the new parts and get the wheels polished and it will be ready for assembly. Pics to come soon.

new_dharma

pics are good

did you go with shorter cranks?

heat gun + decals = [usually] good results...WD-40 gets the goo off

eightdip

Yeah he said in a previous post about shorter cranks, he's got some

cierrecart

Yup, I found some basic 4 1/2" one piece cranks for like $8 from Konasports.com.



I'll take some "during" shots for you guys tonight.




I'm trying to come up with some cool decal designs to put on there. Any ideas?

new_dharma

missed it...sorry

cierrecart

Here's is everything I have enroute to me

The seat thats on it is blue and black so I figured I'd go with a blue/black/chrome theme.

Michellin tires:


Standard 1 pc. 4 1/2" crank


36t chainring with double guard


FMF Power Moto jr bars


Pryme grips (blue)


Odyssey 1pc bottom bracket


Blue KMC chain:


UGP padset:


Odyssey Twisted pedals (plastic)

eightdip

Hmm, so so stuff there. I would've got some better grips if I were you. And what brand is that sprocket?

cierrecart

lol, better for a 5 year old? He's not going to notice/feel a difference between this and something more expensive. All of this is mostly cosmetic anyways.

eightdip

But grips are important, they need to be comfortable to keep your son interested

cierrecart

Well, I know for a fact those are head and shoulders better than the things that were on there.

If you couldn't tell I was working with a budget.

jsharr

I think what you are doing is awesome and agree that it would be a waste of money to buy top notch gear for a bike for a 5 year old.

Make sure to post some pics of him on the new build. I hope to get my son going without training wheels this weekend.