In the mid 90's while I was in college I got my dad into mountain biking. He absolutely loved it and it was something we would do together when I had free time from school. I gave him my old bike when I built my current bike. He eventually bough his own bike and I gave him my old Vector 2 and put some brake boosters and Kool Stops on his bike to really give him some stopping power. I graduated in the late 90's and by the early 2000's never had much time to ride any more. My bike sat unused in my garage for years. My dad continued to ride until a bad back caused him to give it up entirely. His bike too sat unused in his garage. He tried to give it away but the seat post was corrosion welded to the frame.
Eventually I had a son and now that he's turned 10 he's really gotten into Biking the past few months. He has a rigid 24" Diamondback Hybrid bike he's been riding for the last couple of years I outfitted with LX rapid Fire plus shifting and put a old triple crank on the front to give him lower gearing. He's been dying for a new "real mountain bike" with real suspension. He's about an inch short from really fitting on the smallest sized 27.5" bikes so I told him he needs to just keep on the 24" until he gets big enough we can get him on a 27.5".
We went to spend a week with my parents and my dad told him he could have his bike but he would need to get the seatpost unstuck. 6 hours later we finally got the post out. I had to to some brake work as he was missing a brake pad (It's been 20 years but I don't miss working on Canti brakes). I pulled some old Coda Canti brakes out of my stash of parts (No son you can't have my Paul's Crosstop II's) repacked some hubs and now it's in good riding condition. He seems to fit on it just find, the fork is way too stiff for him so I'm going to see if I can find a lighter weight spring but he's living it so far. The bike that once allowed me to ride with my father now allows me to ride with my son.
His: Raleigh M50 w/ Girvin Vector 2
Mine: Wheeler 5900 w/ Girvin Crosslink Pro Carbon
Eventually I had a son and now that he's turned 10 he's really gotten into Biking the past few months. He has a rigid 24" Diamondback Hybrid bike he's been riding for the last couple of years I outfitted with LX rapid Fire plus shifting and put a old triple crank on the front to give him lower gearing. He's been dying for a new "real mountain bike" with real suspension. He's about an inch short from really fitting on the smallest sized 27.5" bikes so I told him he needs to just keep on the 24" until he gets big enough we can get him on a 27.5".
We went to spend a week with my parents and my dad told him he could have his bike but he would need to get the seatpost unstuck. 6 hours later we finally got the post out. I had to to some brake work as he was missing a brake pad (It's been 20 years but I don't miss working on Canti brakes). I pulled some old Coda Canti brakes out of my stash of parts (No son you can't have my Paul's Crosstop II's) repacked some hubs and now it's in good riding condition. He seems to fit on it just find, the fork is way too stiff for him so I'm going to see if I can find a lighter weight spring but he's living it so far. The bike that once allowed me to ride with my father now allows me to ride with my son.
His: Raleigh M50 w/ Girvin Vector 2
Mine: Wheeler 5900 w/ Girvin Crosslink Pro Carbon