We all know wheels are one of the quickest, easiest ways to shed weight and improve a bike’s performance. Rotational weight is particularly important, so saving it on a kid’s bike is even more critical to helping the little tykes get up to speed and staying there.
As one of the first brands launched specifically around premium youth mountain bikes, Trailcraft cycles had the challenge of finding good parts to hang on its lightweight alloy and titanium frames. To do so, they worked with Stan’s NoTubes to create a custom 24″ Crest rim, then wrapped it in tubeless ready Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires.
Now, they’ve developed an aftermarket set of wheels with rims from Alex that are available separate from the bike, helping you upgrade any disc brake kid’s bike with a race-worthy set of hoops…
The wheels are laced 28/28 with double butted black J-bend spokes with alloy nipples to Trailcraft’s sealed cartridge bearing hubs. They’re QR only, which makes sense for the wheel size, and only for disc brakes.
The rims are black anodized and come with stainless steel eyelets. Measurements are 26mm external, 21mm internal, and 18mm tall.
“Parents can expect to drop 500-750 grams on the wheelset alone without tires over the stock setup, and another 300-600 grams should they choose the wheelset option which comes with Schwalbe Rocket Ron 24″ Performance folding tires,” says founder Ginger Rosenbauer. “A potential 1000-1500 gram reduction in rotational weight when you are a small rider starting with a stock 26-27 pound bike (or heavier) is huge. This significant drop in overall bike weight makes hills which were once hard become more manageable when you can minimize the rotational weight. Overall reduction of bike weight also translates into an instant confidence boost and better development of key riding skills which will last a lifetime”.
Wheelset weight is 1,500g with tubeless tape preinstalled, which is how they ship. Get them for $389. Or, add a set of Rocket Ron tires to it and have a ready-to-roll set for $479 all in.
