A customer in Canada recently commissioned what’s being called the ultimate kids’ hardtail mountain bike from his local shop, Bike Depot Inc. The buyer owns a number of high-end mountain bikes for himself, and wanted to get something for his son. Not finding any comparable stock bikes, he worked with his local bike shop to put this custom build together. All in, the build totaled more than $4,500 CAD ($3,500 USD) and features many components most adults can’t even justify on their own bikes, starting with electronic shifting.
The highly modified Frog bike features a 1×11 Shimano XT Di2 drivetrain with electronic shifters. Of course the stock bike they started with doesn’t offer accommodations for Di2, so the shop had to custom wire the entire system. Presumably the original crankset was kept since Shimano doesn’t offer an appropriately-sized XT crank.
The 4-piston Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes are clearly overkill for a kids’ bike — after all, most adult riders get more than enough stopping power out of standard 2-piston hydraulic disc brakes. The stock wheelset was swapped out for lightweight, tubeless Stans Crest MK3 wheels built up with Hope hubs. Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires round out the custom build.
All of the upgrade parts are color-coordinated, from the brake hardware down to the hubs.
Your turn: Would you spent $3,500 on a kids’ mountain bike? How does this price compare to comparable, high-end adult mountain bikes?
