This was my wife’s 2006 size small women’s Santa Cruz Juliana.(women’s Superlight for that Gen.) I was in the market for a decent affordable trail bike full sus for my 11-12 yo boy that didn’t weigh 40lbs. Tough
Had dumb- bright idea to attempt refurb/ modernization of this old bike into something adequate for a young ripper. Here’s what I did:
1×11 Conversion using Goldix 145mmarm crankset Pretty well vetted budget Chinese crank arms for youth/adults wishing to try out shorter crankarms.
Up Forked from 80mm to 120mm XFusion air fork(Santa Cruz warrantied up to 100mm) and used Works -1 angleset which together brought the HT Angle from a frightening 70deg down to respectable 67.5 deg.
Cockpit changes including 40mm stem and modern handlebars
Internal Dropper post (not pictured here). Youth KS 70mm dropper
Had to drill one small hole in lower seat post. Cable routed through the old front derailleur pathway.
My wife had a decent Mavic Crossmax tubeless wheelset paired to 2.2 Kendra Nevegal in rear and 2.3 Ardent up front
My wife is 5’2”. Crazy to think this was the appropriate size and geo of that era for her. My 12 y/o is 4’8” and this fits him like a glove. Bike weight is respectable 25.5lbs with heavy flat pedals.
All in all, super fun and rewarding f project I slowly worked on over the last year. Put about $500 into this and got a new riding buddy out of it.
Before i get appropriately reamed for it, we have a robust helmet rule at home. I just asked him to quickly hop on it so dad could snap a photo of him.
by StrangeDeal546