This looks like a fantastic build! As the owner of a 52 Clem (albeit an 'H' version) shared between two adults who are *almost* 6' tall—I'd say the chances of your daughter outgrowing it are pretty slim. Maybe a longer stem every year or two. I'd be kidding if I didn't wish I had found a "forever bike" like the Clem when I was 12.
Next stop: Wheelbuilding? On Monday, November 30, 2020 at 11:11:53 PM UTC-8 Paul in Vermont wrote: > Hello RBW Friends. > > My 12 year old daughter shot up this year, and it was time for a new > bicycle! > > We've homeschooled her since Kindergarten. One of the great advantages is > that the kids drive the curriculum (with our guidance) so when we do stuff, > it's stuff they tend to be REALLY interested in. So when she asked to build > her own bike with me as the tutor I was all in. > > We toyed with the idea of finding and rebuilding a vintage mixte, but > turns out used awesome step-through frames are hard to come by. We > eventually settled on a 53 Clem L like her mother rides. > > Images attached, including notes, drawings of tools, and instant photos of > progress. She's fitted every screw with her own hands, and even sweated > putting on the Big Bens by herself. > > It may not look like it, but lots of the parts are from the parts bin — > they don't look it because she scrubbed everything before we started, even > made an old 10-speed cassette and shifter shine with degreaser. All that's > left is chain, derailleur, rack, and fenders. > > Plus, she'll maintain it herself (and I won't have to! Woo!). > > One of my friends made a side comment about setting up a kid with such a > nice (read: not cheap) bike. I totally disagree. It's my experience that a > good bike with solid components is a killer investment, especially for a > teenager. She'll ride it twice as much as a cheap clunker, and this one > will last all the way to adulthood and beyond. Plus if she ever wants a > different ride, a used Riv sells on this forum for a good percentage of > what it cost us to put together! > > Besides learning actual skills and getting to spend time together working > with our hands, almost the most important lesson is respect for good > things, rather than just buying more cheap junk you replace when it breaks. > That's a life lesson about love that extends far beyond the bicycle! Much > needed in today's world. > > PS: For those of you have kids and who are considering it, homeschooling > rules. > > Costs way less than private school (if you can afford that) and many, many > less hours than public school and zero peer pressure to do dumb stuff. At > 12, she's still a fairy about half the time — when she isn't building > bikes, monkeying around with electronics, taking care of the pigs at a > local farm, or doing math homework, which she actually loves because > there's nobody to tell her not to love it. > > So much for the horrors of puberty! > > Much love. > > Paul > > [image: IMG_1297.jpeg] > [image: IMG_1300.jpeg] > > [image: IMG_1298.jpeg] > > [image: IMG_1299.jpeg] > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d9ca0c72-0f83-4e61-8a3d-f0138a3bd119n%40googlegroups.com.
