Can I make this bike work for my daughter?

Question

My tall 8 year old daughter won a size small women's frame Diamondback mountain bike at an event this summer. She currently has a 20in bike that we were going to upgrade to a 24 inch by Fall. She can ride this Diamondback with 26inch wheels but we need to help her get on and off. It looks too big for her and is too big for her. So now we are looking for a bike shop quality used bike for her and not finding anything so i got to thinking that IF we could trade out the Diamondback wheels to 24 inchers and trade out some handlebars that aren't such a far reach for her then *maybe* it would work for her. Any thoughts or advice? I think it'll be another 1-3 years before she can actually ride the Diamondback safely as it is. I hate to have that brand new bike sitting there for that long though she doesn't want to sell it either since it was so cool that she won it.

thanks.

beth

Answer 1

Wow that's a hard one.  I wouldn't let her ride the 26" bike because it is too big and you can not put 24" wheels on it.  You could get her the 24" bike like you were going to do anyway and keep the 26" until she grows into that since she is tall for a 8 year old.  

Answer 2

she's just going to have to wait til she fits it. it is unsafe for her to ride it if it's too big. shelve it or sell it. it's a tough choice, but that's what life is..

Answer 3

If the Diamondback bike has disc brakes, then you could put 24" wheels on there.  With 99% of v-brake 26" wheel bikes, you can't use smaller wheels because there's no way to adjust the brakes that low to hit the new rim, so disc brakes are a must.  Keep in mind, though....it wouldn't be easy, and it might not be all that helpful anyway.  It will only drop the standover height about one inch, and even with a short stem and the saddle all the way forward, the frame will probably still be too long for her.   If it's worth a try to you with the disc brakes, then you'll probably need to have your current disc hubs re-laced to new rims (with new, shorter spokes).  I don't recall seeing any 24" disc wheels on the market, but if they're available then you might be able to buy a set cheaper than you could build one up.   This is all assuming that the bike has discs now....if it has v-brakes, then the frame and fork need to have the built-in mounts for disc rotors if any of this is going to work.

I think the best thing is to hang on to the bike until she's older, or possibly sell it and use the money for a bike that will fit her right now.  I have a friend whose 5 year old son won an awesome new GT bmx bike and he's way too small to ride it.....it's sad when you see that joy in a kid's eyes and the practical problems just won't let it happen.    Maybe if you agree with her how neat it was to win something so expensive and fun, even if it won't work for her now, she'll turn around and agree with you that the best thing to do is get something that will.  I dunno...that's a special thing to win, and kids are funny sometimes.   lol.  

You might even call up local bike shops to see if they'll work out a even trade for her.  They just might.  Little girls have a lot of power, y'know, and bike shop guys are usually pretty cool people.    :o)

Good luck with it....I hope you can get her onto a bike she loves soon!   :o)