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Update on 7 year old triathlete
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I'd asked some questions a month or so ago. The bike I mentioned modifying is finished. It's a Raleigh rx24, the wheels were off AliExpress as at 100.00 to my door I couldn't build them cheaper already having hubs and the knowledge. They're pretty amazing for weight and stiffness being designed for a folding 20" bike.
The cranks started at 155mm and with the new wheels they would touch the ground. There was plenty of material to take off 35mm and still not have the hole go through the milled out area in the back, she can (and has) still scrape the pedals on the pavement but they could go no shorter. One hole did come out .5mm off to the side but both are the exact same length which is more important. With the post set forward it puts her over the bb closer to what a road bike would be. At this point she's scary fast to watch as a parent and my wife was getting ansy watching her but she had a blast. We've also found a tri group that does swimming and will be joining them soon.



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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Awesome build dude, seats too low...(-;
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Get her some clipon aero bars at least
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Gonefishin5555] [ In reply to ]
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What? No.

maybe you were joking?
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [ajthomas] [ In reply to ]
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I thought this was a critique the bike fit thread 😀
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [monty] [ In reply to ]
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monty wrote:
Awesome build dude, seats too low...(-;

It is a touch, its where it was supposed to be with the cranks the way they were, chopping them down left the seat a touch low, but if the seat goes up any she won't be able to touch the ground at all when stopping so kind of stuck where they are for the moment till she's more comfortable stopping.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Perhaps most important-- just look at that smile on her face!!!
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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So you put some smaller wheels on it? I got my son a road bike for xmas and its similar in fit. Just a tad to big right now, but hoping by summer he will get another inch on him. His is a 24" though.

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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [AlyraD] [ In reply to ]
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AlyraD wrote:
So you put some smaller wheels on it? I got my son a road bike for xmas and its similar in fit. Just a tad to big right now, but hoping by summer he will get another inch on him. His is a 24" though.
Yes, the real oddity to the Raleigh is the larger 24" wheels which are an older standard. I'll actually put different 24" wheels on that use the current standard when the time comes.
I had to go 20" as she can barely straddle the bar as it is now and the seat leaves her on her toes; she's short. But disc brakes made it easy.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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This is awesome! We have a group in our club for kids called TriforFun and it's fantastic seeing kids having fun and racing their hearts out.

Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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I love it. I really do...but I got to wonder where is the disc break thread derailment crew?
Keeping her in proper running shoes is going to get expensive! I’ve got 2 girls a bit older and I swear it’s like every 3-4 months - new shoes!
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [New3901] [ In reply to ]
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She's going to eventually spend all of your money. Might as well be tri related!
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [New3901] [ In reply to ]
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New3901 wrote:
I love it. I really do...but I got to wonder where is the disc break thread derailment crew?
Keeping her in proper running shoes is going to get expensive! I’ve got 2 girls a bit older and I swear it’s like every 3-4 months - new shoes!


Not lying, bought my daughter the kids Saucony Rides (just like daddy) but wow, it was fun for the first pair, now it's getting absurd, especially since she is only 2 1/2.
Last edited by: djhuff7: Mar 12, 18 9:52
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Best tip I have for her to perform better at kids triathlons is... Crocs.

Most kids races are v short: 25-50 yard pool swim, < 3 mile bike, < 1 mile run. So the whole race is normally over in 15-20 mins. That makes transitions a disproportionally large amount of the overall race time.

Most kids can be seen in T1 struggling to put on a t-shirt, or shorts, or shoes and socks and sometimes trying to tie shoelaces. My girls would run out of the pool, put on their bike helmets, slide into a pair of Crocs, grab their bikes and go! They would be through T1 in under 30 seconds, while some kids would spend 2+ minutes. (They would use a race belt if the rules required them to have their "bib" but many didn't.) Invariably my girls would be out on the bike in 1st place, regardless if they were beaten in the swim. Crocs are easy and safe for kids to run in.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Sunday] [ In reply to ]
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Sunday wrote:
She's going to eventually spend all of your money. Might as well be tri related!

Worth every penny. The 1'st time (or 20'th time) you line up with your son (or daughter) next to you is an awesome feeling.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Is this a 1x setup?

At some point, I know there was a tandem stoker kit available to move the BB up the seat tube. If you can't find one that would fit out of the box, you could have something similar made to clamp the seat tube and mount a crank. Having a little more clearance at the bottom of the pedal stroke might be nice.

I think my kid sister got on to the Felt 24" models at about 8.

There is also the Culprit 20" bike that, while expensive, has to be the fastest thing available for a rider this small.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [chicanery] [ In reply to ]
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chicanery wrote:
Is this a 1x setup?

At some point, I know there was a tandem stoker kit available to move the BB up the seat tube. If you can't find one that would fit out of the box, you could have something similar made to clamp the seat tube and mount a crank. Having a little more clearance at the bottom of the pedal stroke might be nice.

I think my kid sister got on to the Felt 24" models at about 8.

There is also the Culprit 20" bike that, while expensive, has to be the fastest thing available for a rider this small.

It is a 1x10 setup, I love that the bike came that way as it makes it easier for her to learn to shift while providing a wide gear range with smaller jumps. It came 11-32 which might be too wide a range, but I have a spare 11-28 if need be.
I hadn't thought about a kid's stoker setup. Unfortunately if I raised the crank any higher the seat would have to go up and she wouldn't be able to touch the ground.
Last edited by: Fuzzybunnies: Mar 12, 18 17:28
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Kay Serrar] [ In reply to ]
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We'll have to try the Crocs, they are easy on and off.

Sunday and DJHuff7- shoes are already proving expensive but not horrible. The real cost will be when she goes clipless, but I'm not getting her into that for a couple years till she has a lot more control and confidence, that's when we really go broke.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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How soon before we can get her on the PEDs? My daughter is in the 9-10AG and I can tell you they're all juicing by then.

Santa bought her a Liv 24 inch last year. Good compromise between an every day bike and something with gears.

I know my wife is secretly counting the days when my daughter is tall enough for her P2 so she'll be forced to upgrade to a P5.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Looks good, but l am curious, why the retrofit of the big bike with really small wheels? Why not just a smaller bike? Or am l missing something?

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [DarkSpeedWorks] [ In reply to ]
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I called around and other than ordering from the UK which isn't great between currency exchange and shipping I couldn't find a 20" road bike in the US. I could have done a 20" hybrid style but that would have meant finding narrow road bars which isn't easy, I really had no luck there and still needing road levers fit for a kid. This is easy to get on a kid's road bike but not after market. This does result is a nicely, not perfectly but perfect may not be possible, fitting bike that will grow with her by later changing back the wheels and stem.
Weight wise this is also better, the bike weighed in at just under 21lbs stock, nicer wheels and tires knocked it down to 18. When your kid is 51lb the 3lb is equivalent to 1/17 of her weight, not like taking 1lb off a 155lb person's bike. Going the hybrid route would have meant a 23-25lb bike when done as none seemed lighter than 23lb and the fit on the giant and Cannondale we tried wasn't any better. All kid's bikes seem like some compromise. T
his also got her a 10sp that has a similar gear range to the other bikes but with fewer gears to confuse. Most other bikes we found were either 6 or 7 in the back with a single and if they had more than 7 they had a double in the front, this is better for learning. I also kept the budget under 600.00; 400 for the bike, 110.00 for wheels 60.00 for tires which seemed expensive, 15.00 for tubes. Plus some labor on my part but that's free.
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Ah, gotcha. Sounds like it was a good solution for you.

Here in the usa, I picked up a used Diamondback 7-speed hybrid for my 8-year old, with 24" wheels. He is already riding it with the original flat bars, but I do plan on converting it to drop bars, so I found some somewhat narrow bars (36cm) and found some old Sora 7-speed STI levers. Also had to get some different V-brakes so they will work with the STI brake levers. We will see if the project is successful .... and how much it weighs in the end !

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Last edited by: DarkSpeedWorks: Mar 13, 18 12:34
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Re: Update on 7 year old triathlete [Fuzzybunnies] [ In reply to ]
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Ive always felt that it is easier to setup bar end shifters for kids; your typical integrated brake/shifter lever is awfully big for tiny hands.
Also keeps the budget down a bit.

Microshift also offers Short Reach shifters,

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