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Racing on a 20" Specialized HotRock - upgrades?

by SpiderJ
Mon, Dec 01, 2014 01:57
6

My 9 year old is doing his first duathlon in 2 weeks at the Lea Valley/Olympic VeloPark (after I slogged my way through one last week in the pouring rain/freezing cold). He has a 20" Specialized HotRock, and although he is dying to get a 'proper' road bike, we aren't quite ready to shell out for one yet.

However, I am happy to look at any upgrades that might help try and make his bike slightly less 'heavy mountain bike' and a bit more 'fast(ish) road bike'.

I'm thinking that the easiest thing to do would be swap out the knobbly tires for something like Shwalbe Durano?

Is there anything else that's worth the effort/time/money?

thanks

S

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6 comments

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rnick | 10 years ago
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If you're local to the Stadium take him for a spin before hand - they run pay & pedal sessions. At least he'll know where the ups & downs are on the track. I spent a few hours there with my 10 year old earlier in the year, it's a nice circuit - we had great fun racing against each other in either top gear, bottom gear, one leg pedalling etc around the circuit. In terms of kit, swap the tyres if you can afford to, otherwise just pump up the knobblies, hard.

Enjoy yourselves and remember to have a private joke when you see the 10 year old, in a skin suit, on a custom built aero carbon frame machine.....

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SpiderJ replied to rnick | 10 years ago
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rnick wrote:

If you're local to the Stadium take him for a spin before hand - they run pay & pedal sessions. At least he'll know where the ups & downs are on the track. I spent a few hours there with my 10 year old earlier in the year, it's a nice circuit - we had great fun racing against each other in either top gear, bottom gear, one leg pedalling etc around the circuit.

Was totally planning on doing that this Sunday - but turns out that the whole place is closed to the public for the week due to the UCI Indoor Track World Championships - which is a bit of a bummer. Will see if can take him after school one evening.

rnick wrote:

Enjoy yourselves and remember to have a private joke when you see the 10 year old, in a skin suit, on a custom built aero carbon frame machine.....

24

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Simon E | 10 years ago
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He's only 9 years old. The hardware won't be an issue, just make sure the gears work OK, providing he knows how to use them appropriately - many kids don't and either spin furiously the whole way or grind away in a big gear at 40 rpm.

If it's a tarmac only course then I'd suggest that the Big Apple (50-406 / 20 x 2.0") would be better than skinny Duranos on a bike like this. Their rolling resistance is low and TBH that is not a problem at this level. Unlike PhilBrown, I'd recommend that you don't pump the tyres up too hard. If he's only ridden knobblies before I'd make sure he gets acquainted with the feel of them beforehand.

Any upgrades you buy won't make much difference and there will be less money in the pot for the next bike.

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SpiderJ replied to Simon E | 10 years ago
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Simon E wrote:

If it's a tarmac only course then I'd suggest that the Big Apple (50-406 / 20 x 2.0") would be better than skinny Duranos on a bike like this. Their rolling resistance is low and TBH that is not a problem at this level. .

Thanks for the feedback - I agree, that it will all come to naught if he's in the wrong gear.

I'm still a novice myself when it comes to cycling, but a brief bit of research seems to indicate the balloon tyres, like the Big Apple, are mainly designed for comfort, not speed. If that's the case - then why bother? He's going to cycle hard for 3km around the VeloPark's closed road circuit - what's the benefit of having a nice ride while he does it?

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Simon E replied to SpiderJ | 10 years ago
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SpiderJ wrote:

I'm still a novice myself when it comes to cycling, but a brief bit of research seems to indicate the balloon tyres, like the Big Apple, are mainly designed for comfort, not speed. If that's the case - then why bother? He's going to cycle hard for 3km around the VeloPark's closed road circuit - what's the benefit of having a nice ride while he does it?

It's a 10 minute kids event, it won't make any difference.

Anyway, comfort is not incompatible with speed - wider tyres roll better:
http://www.schwalbetires.com/wider_faster_page
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/tech...

The greater contact area will help with confidence, especially when cornering and in the wet. Also, fitting narrow tyres onto wider MTB-style rims is not a good idea.

The 20 x 1.5" Schwalbe Marathons my kids rode were great, even offroad. The 20 x 1.5" Marathon Racer (a lighter version), is £14 at Spa Cycles. Buy those.
My old MTB with 26 x 1.5" M.Racers or City Jets is no slower than the lightweight Specialized All Condition Pro 26 x 1" slicks I tried, despite the City Jets weighing almost twice as much. The Schwalbes are also comfier and inspire more confidence. I'd never swap back.

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PhillBrown | 10 years ago
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Tyres are a good call, make sure they have enough pressure in them for the surface on the day!

Usually the gearing is very different... Make sure he has enough teeth in the front/back combo to be able to ride at a reasonable pace without spinning his little legs off! I know my MTB has a max 38 to 14 on compared to my road bike that has a max 51 to 12... Makes a huge difference trying to keep a top speed.

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