I think I encountered the same issues most of you will when you start the "build a better 24" bike" thought process. I found several posts in this forum on builds similar to this one. I do have to say it is a complete pain in the butt.
I had two goals: build a bike that rides better and shed as much weight as possible.
I started with a Craigslist find on a 2005 A1 FS. Good deal and just needed some TLC.
I rebuilt the Capa Fork and was surprised how heavy and useless it was. It weighed in at a heavy 1950 grams. The worse part was it did not really work. My daughter is not heavy enough to compress it at all.
Luckily I have a friend who is a vintage bike collector and he hooked me up with a 2000 Sid SL dual air that was set at 63mm. The hope is the air fork can run the pressure low enough that it can be tuned for her weight. It was even the right color.
I will say if you cannot rebuild a fork yourself, this part can be expensive. Old used forks have hard to find parts and your local shops may or may not be able to get parts. Luckily the SID still has rebuild kits available.
The SID weighed in at a scant 1275 grams. That is pretty damn light.
Now the fun part about running a 26" fork on a 24" wheel. It means making a v-brake adapter or going disc. Going Disc basically means new wheels for all intensive purposes. You could just do the front if you wanted.
I went the disc route, since dropping weight on the wheels was part of the plan. The v-brake route would have been way cheaper in hindsight. Plus discs add weight to the bike. The single front disc added 135grams over the v-brake set up. But the brake post adapter could easily weight that much.
I went light on the hubs. 415 gram Novatec 711/712 hubs. this is about the cheapest lightest hub set you can buy on ebay. and they are pretty nice. Do the express shipping, it is worth it. I will weight the old hubs when I get the wheels back.
The worst part on this whole thing is the wheels. Rims for 24" bikes are stupid heavy. I really don't know why. Alex Ace20 is one of the lighter rims at 390-400 grams, but they don't make them anymore. Velocity Aeroheat is the only other light rim available. Luckily her bike already had Alex Ace20 rims, so I choose to reuse them to save a few $$.
2 weeks later, the wheels are still being built. Apparently the large flange hubs and small rims equals a spoke length shorter than any dt comp spoke is available in. Yippie. The shop is cutting and threading some spokes to make it work.
So here she sits, a sweet Hotrock A1 with a Sid and no wheels.
I had two goals: build a bike that rides better and shed as much weight as possible.
I started with a Craigslist find on a 2005 A1 FS. Good deal and just needed some TLC.
I rebuilt the Capa Fork and was surprised how heavy and useless it was. It weighed in at a heavy 1950 grams. The worse part was it did not really work. My daughter is not heavy enough to compress it at all.
Luckily I have a friend who is a vintage bike collector and he hooked me up with a 2000 Sid SL dual air that was set at 63mm. The hope is the air fork can run the pressure low enough that it can be tuned for her weight. It was even the right color.
I will say if you cannot rebuild a fork yourself, this part can be expensive. Old used forks have hard to find parts and your local shops may or may not be able to get parts. Luckily the SID still has rebuild kits available.
The SID weighed in at a scant 1275 grams. That is pretty damn light.
Now the fun part about running a 26" fork on a 24" wheel. It means making a v-brake adapter or going disc. Going Disc basically means new wheels for all intensive purposes. You could just do the front if you wanted.
I went the disc route, since dropping weight on the wheels was part of the plan. The v-brake route would have been way cheaper in hindsight. Plus discs add weight to the bike. The single front disc added 135grams over the v-brake set up. But the brake post adapter could easily weight that much.
I went light on the hubs. 415 gram Novatec 711/712 hubs. this is about the cheapest lightest hub set you can buy on ebay. and they are pretty nice. Do the express shipping, it is worth it. I will weight the old hubs when I get the wheels back.
The worst part on this whole thing is the wheels. Rims for 24" bikes are stupid heavy. I really don't know why. Alex Ace20 is one of the lighter rims at 390-400 grams, but they don't make them anymore. Velocity Aeroheat is the only other light rim available. Luckily her bike already had Alex Ace20 rims, so I choose to reuse them to save a few $$.
2 weeks later, the wheels are still being built. Apparently the large flange hubs and small rims equals a spoke length shorter than any dt comp spoke is available in. Yippie. The shop is cutting and threading some spokes to make it work.
So here she sits, a sweet Hotrock A1 with a Sid and no wheels.