I managed to pick up last years giant veer 3 speed 20 inch for a steal at YVC for an upcoming 6th birthday. Thought the same as others with forks - rigid is light and simple. Weight loss program has commenced ....
- 140mm steel cranks > 125mm sinz alloy,
- 38t steel chainring > 35t sinz alloy
- wide no name chain > 10sp sram hollow pin
- giant saddle > specialized kids saddle
- giant grips > esi chunky's (off my bike after tearing one - cut down now for 3speed grip shift)
- giant 1.75 tyres/tubes > tioga powerblocks 1.6/tioga tubes
- alloy seat post cut in half & steel stand removed
So far it's been stripped and bearing preloads adjusted, found a good deal of grease on all bearings and in the nexus hub which was good to see! For nexus 3 speed ratio adjustment I tried shimano for a bigger rear cog but none in country. That made ditching the original cranks an easier choice so I went with sinz square taper 125mm crank arms and a smaller 35t front chainring (down from 38t) which should make it better gearing all round. Two gears now for climbing instead of how giant sets them up with middle gear for flat, then either side for up/down hills. Better off coasting down after spinning out, and having 2 dedicated for climbing gears I'm thinking.
So far over 2.5kg lighter and my crappy old scale puts it close to 7.5kg. Over 1kg reduction in the tyres/tubes alone from the giant wire bead to the tioga folding and light tubes. Should be better for our 10km spins than the little 16" hotrocks that she flies around on now!
Next:
- bbg 36t 110 bash guard to keep chain away from legs
http://www.bbgbashguard.com/Cyclocross.html
- hope seatpost clamp that's somewhere in the bottom of the spares box.
- wellgo m138 mag pedals
- fleabay 25.4 alloy riser bar to replace the giant steel bar.
Should be about 7kg finished, not too bad for a 20" bike. Hmm, 36 spokes also seems overkill, surely 18 will do.....
