Recreational & Family - Road Bike and clothes for kids?

I have a nine year old boy and I want to get him a serious road bike for his birthday this summer. I haven't seen too many cycles that fit this description. Do y'all have any suggestions? Howabout riding shorts for kids?

There are riding shorts and jerseys for kids, longscycle carries them...I picked up some for my son he wanted to look like daddy when he rides with me. A serious road bike for a 9 year old.. I don't see a problem getting him one might be tough finding one that small, but like anything he will outgrow it in a year or two.

Sugoi makes kids cycling clothes.
http://www.sugoi.ca/sectionthumb.asp?p=Junior&a=0&c=2&g=2&s=0

Performance Bike has had them in the past.


This company has kids road bikes on their website. One model with 24" wheels, another with 650. Pretty neat.
http://www.veloargon18.com/eng/velo_d2.htm

Also Cannondale and Trek both have have small women's road bikes. Could be good size for kids, but pricey.

Ive seen them in Decathalon, the French sports department stores.
They have a UK branch and mail order. French kids bikes are a whole lot better than any others. Even my 7yr old niece's bike has alloy cranks and rims.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk

Wow, a serious rode bike for a nine year old. Some collector will take delight with that thirty years from now.

As mentioned above, the problem might be size - but that problem can be overcome with money. Get the frame made special if needed.

If you plan to ride with your son, have you considered a serious rode tandem?

I saw a 16" wheel road bike somewhere. I think Specialized made it, you may want to check out their website.

I'm going through the same thing for my 5 year old son. He races MTB's and I can't for the life of me find a 16" MTB with gears for him. I know they use to make them years ago, however now all I can find are single speeds.

I guess the market for parents willing to spend 2 or 300 hunderd dollars on a bike that will last a couple summers is pretty slim.

I have not seen any 16inch MTB, smallest I've seen is the 24inch lately which has a 10.5 seattube, so depending how tall your son is totaltech it might fit him.

Thanks for the replies so far. Right now he rides a specialized Hot Rock - an MTB with 24" tires. It is well made, with good components and yes was in the $300.00 range. What I can't find is a good road bike for kids at about the same price. I guess I will just try to go with the smallest road frame I can find and put 650 wheels on it.

Louis Garneau made a kid's road bike last year for sale in Canada, but I don't see it on their website for 2003. Freewheel Cycle in Dundas (a local bikeshop) has this one for sale:

Louis Garneau '02 LG-1 Jr Road Racing Bike A serious 650C wheel kid's road-racing bike. Shimano Sora 24 spd drivetrain with STI shifting. Light Aluminum frame (built by Giant). This is a perfect road bike for aspiring K.O.S. triathletes or road riders.Reg $799.99 Sale $699.99Can

Works out to about $500 U.S. Their website is at

www.freewheelcycle.com

You can get high performance 24" road tyres (The Airnimal folder uses them). They may not be exactly the same as 24" MTB, but if you replace the MTB wheels with road ones, the rims will be pretty close to the brake pads.

You also need to use short cranks and low gears. UCI limit the top to a 70" for kids. I imagine that a single chainring would be sufficient, and would keep the "Q factor" narrow.

My kids road in :

http://www.schnaubelt.com/child.htm

They are reasonably priced and well made.

For what it's worth, I went with a mtn. bike until my son mastered chaining gears and proved that he would actually ride on the road. Slicks were easy to find and fairly cheap. I took a small Schwinn frame and upgraded many of the componants. Clipless shoes were the hardest to find. I had to go with womens shoes which worked fine and the smaller sizes could be found on sale at Nashbar, etc.

Good Luck