# K2 Zed 20 and Scott Contessa 20 builds



## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

I have twin boys that will turn 7 in November. Both are small for their age and have been riding 16" singlespeeds for the last three years. They have done some trail riding, but end up pushing up the bigger hills. They're begging for gears and I think they're ready for the next step. I like projects and value my money more than my time. 

I purchased a pair of used bikes off of Craigslist. A K2 ZED 20 and a Scott Contessa 20. I know the Contessa is technically a girls bike, but I'm planning to repaint it and replace the saddle to make it more neutral or masculine. Its low standover height will be great for my smaller son. 

The Contessa is literally brand new. I doubt it has been ridden more than 5-10 times judging by the look of it. My plans for it include repainting the frame and replacing the steel handlebar with a lighter alloy bar. Other than that I think I will leave it stock for now. 

The K2 on the other hand has seen a lot of use and will need more maintenance and repair before it's ready. It's also a lot heavier than the Contessa and I might take some measures to lighten it up a little. 

So far I have just disassembled the K2 (see attached photos). I will update this thread as I make more progress. I am also planning to weigh most of the individual components as I disassemble the bikes. I'll list the weights here for future reference. I have already scoured the web looking for weights so I hope that data will help someone else out. 

Looking forward to these builds and to getting my boys out on more trails.


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## ProjectMayhem (Aug 23, 2013)

Looking forward to seeing the photos. My son's 16" bike is a girls bike too but you would never know. I recently picked up a Scott Voltage 20" so we will probably be doing similar builds.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Time for a brief update. I stripped and primed the K2. I have a few runs and spots where I didn't prep enough so I'm going to address those and re-prime. 

I put some parts on the digital scale last night. Here are some reference weights: 

Zed 20 frame with bottom bracket - 1880g
Suntour M2000 fork - 2000g (2053g with headset internals on the steerer... I'm guessing it's about 2,000)
Revo twist shifter - 104g
Kickstand - 269g
Seatpost clamp - 46g
Brake lever - 118g
Tektro brake caliper w/ pads - 172g
Stem with bolts - 206g
Cranks w/ chainring - 963g
Pedals - 317g
Rear derailleur - 357g
Steel 22" handlebar - 383g
Steel seatpost with steel clamp - 431g
Velo saddle - 284g
Front tire, tube, wheel w/ reflector - 1720g
Rear tire, tube, wheel, cassette, reflector - 2280g

Based on those weights I will definitely replace the handlebar and seatpost. I will also probably upgrade the crankset. I need to decide if I want to replace the bottom bracket (go to Sinz cranks and ISIS BB) or keep the square taper and get some Redline Microline cranks. Either way will be an improvement. I'd love to put on a rigid fork, but with twins I can't have one with suspension and the other without. The Scott's fork seems to work well so... 

Any observations or suggestions? I was surprised that the wheelset wasn't heavier. I originally thought I would replace the hubs with some lighter, quality hubs, and convert to a 10-speed cassette, derailleur, and shifter. That's looking harder to justify with those weights. I'll probably wait to see how the twist shifter works for the kids and then upgrade based on performance if they don't like the twist.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

I have struggled with paint decisions. I am planning to paint both bikes even though the Scott's paint is literally flawless. I considered powder coating, but wanted to do it myself and keep it inexpensive. I have decided to paint them with Rustoleum spray paint and then clear coat with Eastwood's 2K clear. I'm hoping that will give them a durable, professional finish. 

Color choices are key lime green for the K2 and oasis blue for the Scott. 

I couldn't resist spraying a little color on the K2 to see how the color looks. Looks like a tennis ball... I like it.


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## mussy01 (May 23, 2007)

Thanks for documenting the details and component weights. I'm about to begin a couple 24" builds for my girls over the winter. Could you provide your insights on the frame painting process? What were your prep steps or maybe a link to a process you followed. Also what causes you to land on the base and clear coat products you chose? 

Thanks for any more info and great start to the builds!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Glad to post the weights. Hope they help.

Here are a few more: 
Avenir 20" slime tube with thorn shield on the outside - 269g
Kenda 20x1.95 tire - ~600g (hard to weigh)

As far as the paint goes. I am figuring it out as I go based on what I've read online. Most would probably recommend powder coating which would be the easiest and most durable. It's a personal challenge that I wanted... so that's why I'm doing it myself.

*Clear Coat*
My online research seemed to indicate that conventional spray can paint and clear coat is pretty weak. I found a number of sources that recommended Eastwood's 2k aerosol clear coat (mostly motorcycle painters looking for gas resistance). That answered the clear coat question.

*Base Coat*
The base coat and primer were harder to figure out and I'm not sure I have the right answer. I am using Rustoleum's 2x primer and their 2x paints. I chose that line based on the colors that I wanted then used that primer since it was in the same product line. The Eastwood clear is supposed to work with any base coat that has sufficiently hardened. Fingers crossed.

*Prep*
So far I have only worked on the K2 which had some chips to the metal frame and a lot of stickers. I peeled off the stickers which came off pretty easily and cleanly. I wish I would have have wiped the frame with a solvent to remove all the residue, but I was hasty and threw on some primer immediately. I didn't scuff the original paint. Maybe should have, but I get to work on these bikes late at night and I'm usually in a hurry.

Once that primer dried I realized I had some runs and some residue under the primer. I have now sanded those spots back to bare metal and re-primed. I'm sure there will still be some trouble spots, but it's going to get tossed and crashed anyway.

I'm planning to paint color on the K2 tonight then do another coat or two in the following days. I'm giving it 24 hours between coats.

Once I'm done with color on the K2 I'll start into the other bike. I want to have both frames colored and then I'll clear coat them at the same time. The Eastwood clear coat has to be sprayed within 24-hours of activation.

Here's a link to the clear coat I am using. 
http://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Aero...870343&sr=8-1&keywords=eastwood+2k+clear+coat

Hope this helps.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

"Avenir 20" slime tube with thorn shield on the outside - 269g
Kenda 20x1.95 tire - ~600g (hard to weigh"

You're adding a lot of weight in the worst area (rotational mass).
Unless you're riding through areas with high puncture risk use lightweight tubes.
If you do have the puncture risk consider lightweight tube and a thin protector skin in the tyre or better still look at ghetto tubless.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Those are the original weights. I haven't decided what direction I'll head. 

The slime tubes ended up handy on the 16" bikes because the kids ride them through thorns all the time. 

Will ghetto tubeless work on these rim-brake rims? Innertube method? I might give that a try.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Yep going tubeless with stans fluid and a tube using the ghetto method should work and will save a lot of weight.
Has no bearing on brakes at all disc or rim, but it may take a bit of fiddling to get everything sealed up first time.
Just done it on a 20" build and will be converting both my 26" bikes in the next week.
If you want a bit of extra protection look at tyres with some built in but as long a you have fluid in the tyres they will seal up and prevent flats. They also have other benefits.

I'll try and post a link I found on it that talks about Goathead thorns


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Here's the link to the info:
Hiking/Biking - Bicycle Flat Prevention in Goathead Thorn Areas

And here's the ghetto method (use tape or a smaller tube):
MTB Techniques - The Mountain Bike Skills and Technique Resource


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

griffter, I have some follow up questions on 20" tubeless. 

Will tubeless work with the standard wire-bead tires that these bikes came with or will they need fold-able beads? Does the tube size matter? 16" or 12"? 

I tried converting one over the weekend by using a 16" tube, but I couldn't get the bead to seat. I've converted using gorilla tape on my other bikes so it's not my first tubeless mounting, but first time using the split tube method.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

I used some tape and then a split 16" tube.
It didn't seal first time so I took some advice and also put fluid around the edge between tyre and tube and then inflated quick and do the shake.
Depending on the rim you may need to pack the inside of the rim up to reduce the available bead size.
Once I got it inflated I had to spin it every day for a few days and also shake but its now held air for over a week so Im assuming it was just settling in


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Great, thanks for the quick reply and all the tubeless info. I'll keep monkeying with it reducing the bead size. 

What tires did you use? Will the wire bead work?


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

According to many others Wire & Kevlar beads work fine.
Im actually using kevlar beads Conti MowJoe's.

This is the technique I used (see step 5 where it shows putting sealant between bead and tube): Ghetto tubeless conversion DIY: tips and tricks | Ridemonkey.com

Took a couple of goes to get solid seals all round using the shake n spin. Wife thought I'd gone nuts but now wants to do hers as well as I make her change her own punctures


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Time for another update.

*K2*
I finished priming the K2 and applied a full coat of the key lime green (looks more like tennis ball yellow). I forgot to upload those pictures. I have to be pretty covert since the kids sometimes use my phone and look at the pictures. Planning to put another coat of color on that frame tonight. Maybe a 3rd coat depending on how things look. Then it will be ready for clear coat.

*Scott*
I disassembled the Scott. This was painful as the bike is literally like new. I weighed parts as I disassembled. There were a few surprises, but mostly similar to the K2. Handlebar was a crazy 519g. Everything else was generally the same or slightly lighter than the K2. Bathroom scale weight for the entire bike was around 24 lbs including the kickstand and bell.

I ran into difficulty pulling the crank from the Scott bike. I have a crank puller tool that has worked flawlessly on the K2 and a couple other bikes I have worked on. In this case I couldn't get the crank arms to budge with the tool and tightened the tool enough that it started to pull out the dust-cap threads in the crank arm. I might need professional help before I completely screw up the crank arms.

*Parts Shopping*
This is the part that I initially thought I would enjoy, but now it's starting to be a bit overwhelming.

The Scott will remain mostly stock. It will get a lighter handlebar (already done), a different saddle, and a paint job.

The K2 will get a handlebar, seatpost, and likely a crankset. Those are the steel components that I'd like to replace with alloy versions. I already purchased used alloy handlebars at $4 a piece from the local bike co-op. Both weighed in at 145g.

I wasn't able to find a good 27.2 seatpost at the co-op so I will likely buy one online. Here's the one I was looking at:

K1BO New GUB GS Ultra Light Weight Aluminium Bike Bicycle Seat Post 27 2mm | eBay

I've narrowed the crankset down to two basic options.

1) Sinz 130 or 135mm (460g) $35, a new ISIS bottom bracket (current BB is square taper) $35, and a 34t Sugino ring $20. So about $90 total

2) Redline Microline 130 or 135mm (430g) $60, use the current square taper BB or upgrade BB for $15-30, and the same 34t Sugino ring for $20. So $75 - 105 depending on the BB.

One thing that scares me is ordering a BB and getting the wrong width. From that standpoint I'd prefer to use a square-taper crankset and fit it with the existing BB. If it needs a wider axle then I can upgrade at that point. Or I might need to involve the LBS so I don't end up with parts I don't want.

I'm welcome to input and suggestions on any of these parts. Both cranksets are on eBay. I have seen the Sinz sold in various places all for about the same price. I'd love to have a 104BCD crankset, but I haven't been able to find any short arm versions in my price range.

Here's a shot of the Scott before dis-assembly.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

Bronco just check this
Quote : "1) Sinz 130 or 135mm (460g) $35, a new ISIS bottom bracket (current BB is square taper)"

As far as Im aware Sinz cranks are square taper so you don't need a new BB as it won't fit. Sinz cranks can also be run as a double if you wanted at a later date.
Only upgrade the BB if its bust or to save weight as the one you have will fit both the cranks you're looking at.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

griffter18 said:


> Bronco just check this
> Quote : "1) Sinz 130 or 135mm (460g) $35, a new ISIS bottom bracket (current BB is square taper)"
> 
> As far as Im aware Sinz cranks are square taper so you don't need a new BB as it won't fit. Sinz cranks can also be run as a double if you wanted at a later date.
> Only upgrade the BB if its bust or to save weight as the one you have will fit both the cranks you're looking at.


Here are the ones I have found:

Sinz Expert Isis Crank Arms 135mm Black New | eBay

Redline Microline Crank Arms | eBay

I have seen used Sinz cranks that are square taper, but the new ones for sell seem to be ISIS.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

I stand corrected looks like they now do both. ISIS ones are nicer looking than square taper but you'll need to add the isis bb like you said which puts the price up a bit.

Theres one other that you may of missed but its slightly longer at 140mm and $45 Origin8.
Origin 8 Black Pro Pulsion 140mm Crank Arm Set 110 BCD 5 Bolt Track BMX Fixed | eBay


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## taletotell (Mar 3, 2009)

I really appreciate this post. My twins just turned 5 and will be riding 16" likely to the next 2 years as well. At the end of that time I hope to build them a couple sweet 20" MTBs (or maybe just one MTB and one little road bike since one already seems to be leaning that way), and this helps me picture a little of what I may go through when the time comes.
Keep up the posts. I want to see the finished products and the initial rides.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

kids road bike are out there with dropped bars but the smallest I've seen is 20" wheels.
Now to figure our how to fit discs and front suspension lol


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## taletotell (Mar 3, 2009)

Yeah, I'll do a trek superfly 20 with road tires for her.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Sinz make their short cranks in both isis and square bottom bracket. We get them from JR bikes - you can usually get a good discount by looking on the net for a coupon.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

taletotell said:


> Yeah, I'll do a trek superfly 20 with road tires for her.


My son has the superfly 20 - its great. For a road bike there is some nice little 20" flat bar options around like this one from Fuji which is ridden by a friends 5 year old:








https://australia.fujibikes.com/images/bike/absolute-20/lowres/2015_FUJI_ABSOLUTE_20_side.jpg


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

silvascape said:


> Sinz make their short cranks in both isis and square bottom bracket. We get them from JR bikes - you can usually get a good discount by looking on the net for a coupon.


Thanks for this suggestion on JR bikes. I found a coupon and will likely order the Sinz square taper from them. Just need to decide what length. I'm leaning toward 135mm.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

No worries bronco5. Crank length is a debateable topic. Some people always say err on the small side while others say kids will adapt. My 5 year old rides 120mm cranks and is 115 cm tall so he is riding a bit over the 10% of height "rule". We use 20% of "floor to top of femur" guideline which gives a 118mm ish length for him (I think he has long legs for his height) but the best guideline I have found is - no hip wobble when out of the saddle. We have found that the sinz cranks are reasonably cheap and have a really good resale value so even is you only get 6 months out of them to the next growth spurt you are likely to be able to sell them for $35 or so.

So my advise - go with whatever size will fit now and change them out when necessary. If they are small for their age or have shorter than average leg length then go 130s. Measure them up and go with whatever suits best, its not a unchangeable item.


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## taletotell (Mar 3, 2009)

silvascape said:


> My son has the superfly 20 - its great. For a road bike there is some nice little 20" flat bar options around like this one from Fuji which is ridden by a friends 5 year old:
> 
> View attachment 936410
> 
> https://australia.fujibikes.com/images/bike/absolute-20/lowres/2015_FUJI_ABSOLUTE_20_side.jpg


Very nice. I wonder if the local fugi dealer has one I could look at.


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## Nyquist (May 12, 2005)

Both Spawn and Islabike (Benin Large) spec 127mm, so I'd opt for something close to that. 135mm would seem to be on the long side for a 20" kids mtb bike.


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

taletotell said:


> Very nice. I wonder if the local fugi dealer has one I could look at.


Its a great little bike and fits 4-7 year olds. By 7 most are tall enough for a 24" road bike option such as:








Seat height for 24" road bike varies a lot though - I know the pinnarello version is about 4" higher than the Fuji. My son is 5 but tall for his age and nearly tall enough for the fuji 24" which is hanging in the garage (great little hand me down/second hand purchase).


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## taletotell (Mar 3, 2009)

My kids are short. I'll have to shop around when the time comes.


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## griffter18 (Jul 3, 2009)

In the UK we're now seeing 20" wheel versions with dropped racing bars!
Not sure Mrs griffter18 would approve of another bike being added to the stable just yet lol


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

For conversion to a road bike, it is possible to run 650c wheels with narrow 26" road tires on a 24" kids MTB frame, the OD of the tires is nearly identical.

http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/24-mtb-650c-road-conversion-910929.html


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Not much time to work on the bikes last night. Put another coat on the K2. I think it's ready for clear coat.

I was able to mount one of the tires tubeless using the split tube method. I put two layers of gorilla tape over the original rim strip to build up the center of the rim. I sprayed the bead with Windex and eventually got the bead to seat. Then I added some of my homemade sealant and remounted the tire. I was really sloppy getting the tire mounted and I think I dumped out most of of the sealant in the process. There was enough to seal the tire though and it held pressure over night. Success. Thanks griffter for your ideas and help.

Here's a picture of the mounted tire and one with the mounted tire on the scale.

In this form this is actually adding weight to the bike. I like the puncture sealing aspects of tubeless so I'll give it a go.

Before weight was 1,402g and the after weight is 1,472g.


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## taletotell (Mar 3, 2009)

You should weigh it after cutting off the leftover tube material.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

I'll weigh the tire after I cut the tube, but I wanted to make sure it was going to stay mounted before I trimmed it back. 

I ordered the Sinz square taper 130mm crankset, MCS 34t ring, and bought a new-take off Cannondale saddle on eBay. Clear coat showed up today, but I still need to base coat the Scott frame before I get to clear coat anything. 

I forgot to post the Scott (Contessa 20) weights so here goes: 

Frame - 1,653
bottom bracket w/ bolts - 350
crank arms + sprocket - 581
Cane Creek headset w/ top cap- 123
Stem - 183
Handlebar - 519 (wow!)
grips - long side 38g, short 28g
brake lever - 84 each
fork - 1723
20x1.75 tire - 540
front wheel - 760
Kenda tube - 107
brake caliper - 158 each
chain - 274
rear derailleur - 352 w/ bolt
pedals - 290 pair
alloy seatpost - 255
Velo saddle - 261
kickstand - 190 w/ bolt
bell - 23
rear wheel with cassette - 1,273
seatpost clamp - 42g


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Time for an update. My day job has been busy lately and the bikes have been neglected. I have about two weeks left to finish them so I think I'll be ok time wise. Working covertly has added a major constraint to the project.

*Paint*
The K2 is done with base coat and is waiting for clear coat. I'll clear both frames at the same time.

I made a mistake or two on the Scott. I was worried that the paint wouldn't adhere to the glossy, factory finish. I decided to scuff the paint with 400 grit sandpaper. I made the mistake of using my powered palm sander and quickly rubbed through the clear coat, but quickly realized that I was going to have a hard time keeping the sanding level. In retrospect I wish I would have just hand sanded to get a good scuff then painted from there. Now I am contemplating stripping all the paint off with a chemical stripper. The hand sander works quickly, but at the same time it quickly clogs the paper and it's hard to work on smaller areas. We have leftover stripper from a previous project so I'll give that a try. If it's efficient I'll just strip the entire frame.

*
Parts and Weights*
This weekend I was able to tubeless mount all four tires using the split tube method. I started with double layers of gorilla tape then did one tire with a single layer and one tire with no gorilla tape. In retrospect I think I would skip the gorilla tape for weight or just do one layer to ease the mounting process. I'll probably leave the double layers until the tires wear out.

That leads me to tires. As tempting as it is to drop rotating mass by putting on lighter tires I just can't justify it. My kids ride their bikes hard. Lots of skidding. They wear through tires quickly. I'll upgrade when the original tires are worn out.

I received my order from J&R Bikes. They called shortly after I ordered and basically informed me that the parts I ordered were not in stock (even though their website indicated they were in stock). So we made some adjustments to the order and I ended up with a silver crankset instead of black and a MCS 34t ring instead of the Sinz 37t brand ring. No regrets as I wanted the smallest ring possible, but didn't notice the MCS on their website. I'm fine with silver.

Here are some weights on my scale:

34t MCS 110mm ring - 35g
Sinz 130mm square taper cranks - 485g 
5 short ring bolts (chromoly) - 19g
Assembled crankset - 538g
Original steel crankset - 963g
Cannondale eBay saddle - 299g

Tires/wheels before trimming split tubes: 
K2 front Kenda 20x1.95 tubeless - 1592g
K2 rear Kenda 20x1.95 tubeless - 2160g
K2 front original - 1720g (thorn strip + slime tube)
K2 rear original - 2220g (thorn strip + slime tube)

Scott front Kenda 20x1.75 tubeless - 1471g
Scott rear Kenda 20x1.75 tubeless - 1992g
Scott front original - 1402g (107g tube)
Scott rear original - 1920g (107g tube)


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

taletotell said:


> You should weigh it after cutting off the leftover tube material.


The excess tube was about 50-60g for each tire when I trimmed them.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Small update. I spent longer than I'd like to admit stripping the Scott frame. I used chemical stripper and still had a heck of a time. Stripper plus wire brushes plus wire wheel on drill plus sandpaper on palm sander plus sanding block and I finally got most of the paint/powder coat off. I used stripper with methanol in it based on what I read online. Worried that the cold temperatures were affecting the stripper I moved to a heated garage, but still had only moderate success. Major pain. In retrospect I wish I would have just scuffed the original paint and primed over the original.

Here's the mostly stripped frame.









Primed the frame and will hopefully spray color tonight. Temperatures have dropped a lot here and I'm hoping that won't negatively impact the process.

I received the seatpost for the K2. I think I lucked out on this one. I bought it for $12 on Amazon (now $26). It was advertised at 299g, but only weight 250g. After I cut down the post it was closer to 200g.

Here's the seatpost: 
Amazon.com : Azonic Pin It Seat Post- All Sizes/Colors : Bike Seat Clamps : Sports & Outdoors

I'm excited to start reassembly. Here's a sneak peak of the K2.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Sprayed the blue bike with the first coat. 








Here you can see both frames now sporting color








Another coat tonight then should be ready for clear coat


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Another update.

Both frames have been clear coated. I tried to get by with a single can of Eastwood's 2k Aero spray clear and came up a little short. The first coat was really light followed by a medium coat and then with a third coat that started medium and ended heavy (with a couple of runs) as the can was near empty. Unfortunately, it was very hard to tell the spots that had not been coated as thickly until the frames were dry and in the sun and the paint was gone. I might buy another can to cover some of the light spots, but it will be after the bikes are built... if at all. The spots that were adequately covered look great, just like a professional finish. I'm interested to see if the clear helps with durability. I think it will.



















I accidentally primed part of the K2's headset so I went ahead and painted it with the contrasting blue. 













I will start assembling the bikes tonight. Hoping to have everything wrapped up by Wednesday night.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Made some progress on the K2 last night. Still have several small issues to work out.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Bikes are done... sorta 

Gave the bikes to the boys on Thanksgiving. They were excited. Luckily they picked the right bikes on their own (the blue one is smaller and goes with the smaller rider). 

I am waiting on a freewheel removal tool to upgrade the Scott to 7-speed (with Megarange) and an Acera 7-speed trigger shifter. The grip shift is pretty tough for their little hands. 

A few observations: 

- I'm not thrilled with the Avid FR5 levers for a kids bike. I should have researched more. The reach is very far even when adjusted all the way down. I'm hoping to put a longer adjustment screw in to bring the levers closer to the handlebar. 

- I settled on 7-speed... for now. I may build a rear wheel in the future if I have trouble with the 7-speed parts, but based on weight alone I couldn't justify the upgrade. And the 34-tooth on the Megarange 7 is the same as the 8 or 9 speed cassettes... so there's no climbing gear advantage unless you go 10-speed. 

I currently have the K2 set up with an Acera 7-sp trigger shifter, 14-28 cassette, and a Tiagra long cage derailleur. It shifts great. I might upgrade to the Megarange down the road, but not sure the derailleur can handle the big gear. 

The Scott bike is currently 6-speed, but I have a Megarange cassette and another Acera shifter that will be going on as soon as I get the freewheel tool I ordered. The derailleur is an older 8-speed XT long cage. 

- Already had one chain drop on the Sinz crank with no chain keeping device. I might need to address that, but I think it happens when they shift gears then back pedal... so training might be the remedy. 

- There will definitely be some learning curve for my 7-year olds and shifting. I think the 1x setup is the best way to approach it. They would probably do better on a 1x1 right now, but I think they'll pick up shifting pretty quickly and then it will be much better than 1x1 for them. 

- This has been a very fun project. I am ready to start shopping for 24" parts. Please let me know if you have any questions about these builds.


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## ProjectMayhem (Aug 23, 2013)

They look great! And the kids look delighted!


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## silvascape (Sep 11, 2014)

Thanks for documenting your build. The end product looks great.


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## bronco5 (Oct 25, 2013)

Upgraded the Scott to 7 speed with an Acera trigger shifter, Megarange 14-34 freewheel cassette, and a 8-speed XT rear derailleur. Shifts are crisp and precise. Much easier for my son to shift than the grip shift. This picture was taken before the megarange cassette was installed.


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