# 24" MTB to 650c Road conversion



## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

I originally bought this used 24" Novara MTB with the intention of rebuilding it into a lighter MTB project for my daughter. It was around 28 pounds as found. Beneath it all was a fair quality aluminum frame but rest of the bike consisted of heavy, junky parts.








I stripped all the junky parts off I got as far as salvaging the suprizingly lightweight rims and rebuilding the wheels, and I built a custom RS Mag21 fork shortened to 24" (http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/novara-pixie-20-project-853041.html#post10412903 ) but then I acquired another nicer frame and fork for the project (http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/trek-mt220-24-mod-build-894279.html ) and the Novara MTB build was permanently sidetracked.








I have an ample supply of used road bike parts and thought I would try re-purposing the Novara as a road bike instead of a MTB. 
I added a set of narrow 650c road bike wheels which are just slightly larger OD than a 24" MTB tire. I used a steel 650c road fork, the shorter fork length helped to adjust the slack MTB headtube angle into steeper geometry more appropriate for a road bike and also lowered the bottom bracket slightly.








The frame was originally setup for V brakes and 406mm ERD (24" MTB) rims. The 650c road rims would not work with the frames V-brake posts (too low) but I was able to drill out the frame bridge above the rear tire in order to accept a road brake sidepull caliper with correct reach for the rims.

Rest of the bike was finished with road bike drivetrain, campy ergo shifters and derailleur, 165mm bontrager road triple crank. While standover height of the frame is fine for my 8-yr daughter, the effective top tube length is a rather long 52cm and she has a hard time safely reaching the shifters/brakes. The bike probably will not get ridden this summer but hopefully after she grows a bit more it will fit better. I might also add some cyclo-cross interrupter brake levers that will give her a closer braking position.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Wow, very creative!


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

Excellent. That's one of the coolest kids road bikes I've seen in a long while. Great info that 650c + road tyres will fit in a 24" mtb frame.


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