# Sub 20lb Commencal Ramones 20" Project



## onetothepowerofn (Jan 24, 2005)

Hello all
Well after much time reviewing many of the tuned 20" bike posts, we have finally finished my sons Commencal Ramones 20". Out of the box, the bike weighed a little over 11kg.









With some serious tuning, we got it down to 9kg! Many of the high end parts are second hand (eg 9 Speed stuff) which are readily available and quite cheap. Of course the build cost significantly more than the cost of the bike, but when I look at how much money I spend on my own bikes, it is all pretty relative. And when you see your kid having fun on the bike, flying up hills and doing stuff that he never did before on a bike, you know that it is all worthwhile.















The build worked out really well and the bike absolutely flies. When comparing him with his buddies on their 20 & 24" klunkers, the commencal just seems to roll and handle extremely well. I don't think it's just due to the weight which we saved which makes the big difference, but also the body position on the bike (stem/handle/seat) which all seems to be in proportion and fit well. I don't know, it just works really well - and every kid in the neighborhood wants to ride it. The fork also works extremely well for his weight - a bouncy fork is also a highlight for a 7 year old kid! The Kenda tires with lightweight BMX tubes also roll extremely well.





















The wheels consists of Velocity road hubs with Velocity Aeroheat MSW 20" rims. As the wheels are pictured below, the weights for the front and rear are 540g and 720g, respectively. The wheelset was built by Matthew Larsen Wheelbuilding (Matthew Larsen Wheelbuilding) and works extremely well. Matt did a great job with the build and is also a great guy to deal with - very flexible and nothing was too difficult - don't hesitate to give him a call for your custom wheel build options!






















We thought about going discs, but decided to stay with V-brakes due to weight savings - the Avids Speed Dials are also a very effective brake especially when considering the total weight of the bike + rider.

The build list is also included. As you can see, some of the most effective weight saving part swaps were for the simple stuff... stem, bars, seatpost and seat - these are also relatively cheap. Anyway, I hope this post helps the other dads out there striving to get their kids bikes down to a respectable weight!! Let me know if you have any questions.
Cheers Anthony


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## Hogdog (Aug 12, 2012)

Brilliant!


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## tubored (Mar 13, 2012)

Really Nice! Where are you guys finding the Odyssey Jr saddles? I went to their site and they look to be discontinued.


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## onetothepowerofn (Jan 24, 2005)

I picked up the Odessey Junior Saddle from chain reaction cycles, but just saw that they don't seem to stock them anymore. Just searched google and got a couple of hits:
BMX EGDE
https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefront/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2316
Power Cycles Bmx
Good luck!


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## mupmanyu (Aug 11, 2015)

Just bought a commencal ramones 20" for my little man. Looks different. Its singlespeed and comes in at 18.6 lbs. I would be interested in reducing further, and this post is exactly what I am looking for. Many thanks for the build list.

I couldn't help but ask - if your little one has outgrown the bike, I would be interested in picking up some of the parts, if you want to part with them....Cheers.


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## gravitykid (Nov 14, 2005)

Sweet looking bike.

Bringing it in at that weight is amazing with the suspension fork. Also glad to hear the fork works as that seems a rare thing on a kids bike.


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## PuddleJumper (Jun 23, 2016)

I am considering this bike for my son. He is 5 turning 6 and is currently on a Spawn Cycle Banshee 16. Was your son happy with this build and if so at what age did he transition to the next size? Did he jump to a 26 or go 24 then 26"? 

Do you still have the bike available for parts and or interested in sale? 

Thanks


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## Szy_szka (Oct 29, 2015)

PuddleJumper said:


> I am considering this bike for my son. He is 5 turning 6 and is currently on a Spawn Cycle Banshee 16. Was your son happy with this build and if so at what age did he transition to the next size? Did he jump to a 26 or go 24 then 26"?
> 
> Do you still have the bike available for parts and or interested in sale?
> 
> Thanks


Looks like the last post by the OP was in 2015 so you may not have much luck asking him directly by resurrecting this 3 year old post.

From personal experience (and I know every kid is different), I would not bother with expensive upgrades to the 20" bike. Ours did not last long (spring 2014 - fall 2015) and we had to move to the 24". I picked the 20" that would have the kid hooked on the sport enough to justify slightly more expensive (budget permitting, of course) build for next model up.


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## backinmysaddle (Jul 27, 2011)

My 2 cents on 20" is that this is the stage where you really want your child to learn the core skills of riding, balance, striding and standing, dropping down increasingly steep slopes, braking/control. I have found that, like we all did, these skills can be learned arguably without suspension. I'd say light weight, proper gear ratios to allow steeper climbs and narrower Q factor on cranks are all more important than some of the bells and whistles (including suspension fork). My 5 year old can fly through whoop dees taller than him, ride logs, climb some steeps, etc. He's begging for suspension (his buddy has a bricklike fork that hardly moves) but I think I am waiting until he gets into the 24" size.


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## beoutside (May 5, 2007)

Great Build, nicely done !


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