Recreational & Family - Geared Bike for Small 8yo Who Loves to Ride Far

My son is 8 and on the small side. He is an avid cyclist and can comfortably do 20 miles with me at a good 12mph pace (give or take) on his heavy, old one-speed Schwinn. I really want to get him on something geared and more light weight so he can go even further - he desperately wants to! I'd love to find a kids road bike in my budget but also think it would be best to get him in gears on a familiar mtb style first before moving to a road bike. And there's the budget issue....I'd like to not spend over $200 - $250 new, and will always look for any recommended bikes used first.

Thoughts? Exprience?

Visit a few bike shops. You may be pleasantly surprised. Here are a few that we sell at the shop I work at.
20 inch:
Jamis X20, MSRP: $310 --> http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/youth/09_x20.html
Raleigh Rowdy, MSRP: $200-$400 --> http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/youth/rowdy/

24 inch:
Jamis X24, MSRP: $350 --> http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/youth/09_x24.html
Raleigh Scout XC, MSRP: $200-$400 --> http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/youth/scout-xc/

Craigslist is your best bet for being on a budget. Know what size bike you need, 20" or 24". Most 8 year olds will be on 20" but some are big enough for 24". If you can find a bike without a shock, I'd go for that. To make the bike more efficient for road riding, change the wide knobbies for narrower, higher pressure tires.

http://www.raleighusa.com/wp-content/uploads/post-images/R09_Rowdy_Fire-Red-LRG.jpg

My smallish 9 year old daughter rides an older model steel "Rowdy" and just loves it... I have clocked her at 22 mph and she says she wants more gears.

It's a rugged little bike that I have upgraded with better brakes (Avids and Kool stops) as the stock brakes (pressed steel v brakes) were lacking for my little monster. It looks like the new model has improved brakes which is nice

Her older sister has a 24 inch Raleigh 15 speed and I won't mind doing some upgrades to it as my younger daughter will inherit it next year.

These have been good bikes.

There are indeed lots of choices out there - and some of them will definitely give you sticker shock...

I'm on the other end of your situation now: My kids are all adult-sized teens. However they put me through the same issues as they were growing up. If your son loves riding with you, I'd spend whatever I needed to keep him happily doing it. You'll never regret the time you two spend together - or the relationship that gets built from it.

Today my children are all skilled, responsible riders - and great people who've caused me no lost sleep. I chalk much of that up to the TIME we had together doing things we enjoyed. Some families camp, boat, fish or hunt - others ride.

Don't go overboard, but spend what you need to make riding fun and not frustrating. Neither you or your son will ever regret it.

As soon as my 9 year old can ride one I will be getting her a nice folder for her urban riding as it will be a bike that will grow and travel with her... her sister, who is rather tall, rides a Saffron which is actually a ladies 20 inch wheeled bike with no fold.

I really, really like this bike! So does he. I'm a CL junkie so I always look every. single. day. If nothing shows up though, I think I might end up going with this bike for him.

I am on the board of a bike advocacy org and we have a shop to help support our programs. I can get wholesale on most anything so I suppose I could do that, however, I try not to take advantage too often.

Thanks for all the input! He is excited about getting gears! Ultimately, my dream with him is to tandem when he's older, we'll see. I've done RAGBRAI several times and he's dying to do some of that with me. Now if I could only get my daughter as excited about cycling, we'd be gold. She is nearly 5 and refuses to ride, refuses! We have a shiny pink Trek with a basket and bell and lots of shiny things for her as a carrot and so far, no luck.



http://www.raleighusa.com/wp-content/uploads/post-images/R09_Rowdy_Fire-Red-LRG.jpg

My smallish 9 year old daughter rides an older model steel "Rowdy" and just loves it... I have clocked her at 22 mph and she says she wants more gears.

It's a rugged little bike that I have upgraded with better brakes (Avids and Kool stops) as the stock brakes (pressed steel v brakes) were lacking for my little monster. It looks like the new model has improved brakes which is nice

Her older sister has a 24 inch Raleigh 15 speed and I won't mind doing some upgrades to it as my younger daughter will inherit it next year.

These have been good bikes.

hi there, i have a soon to be 6 year old that loves to ride also. but right now we put him on a cheap wlamart bike to get him to learn on , and now it is time to move up. i am torn though between a geared bike or a single speed though. whatever i get is gonna carry him till he is 9 or so. I am likeing the gear option myself right now.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/kids/2302/32237/ If he can fit the model with 24" wheels it costs another $50 but will last a lot longer. It would roll faster with smoothe tires.

hi there, i have a soon to be 6 year old that loves to ride also. but right now we put him on a cheap wlamart bike to get him to learn on , and now it is time to move up. i am torn though between a geared bike or a single speed though. whatever i get is gonna carry him till he is 9 or so. I am likeing the gear option myself right now.

We've got 6yr olds with single speed and gears (usually 5 - 7 gears). Bear in mind that he may well struggle to understand how to use them/ use them instinctively for a year or two.

Another thing to take into account is that many shifters, particularly grip shifter types, are very hard to use simply because they are very stiff to move.

Of course, if you have a hilly route you can take him on, the learning curve steepens pretty smartly. If the geography round your way is pretty flat, go for single speed and, above all, no suspension. It's almost always inadequate, too heavy and leads to money being saved in component quality unless you spend silly amounts.

By the way, he may rebel, as a 5' tall 9 year old, at riding with his knees round his ears ;)

My seven-year-old son has a single speed 20 inch bike right now, which has been good, and he does pretty long distances (up to 30 miles). He is almost a year away from getting a new bike, but I have already been eyeing one: the 24 inch Trek KDR FX 7.2: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/kids/ages_9_12/kdr72fx/

At about $400 (depending on the LBS), it is outside the OP price range. It's basically a smaller version of the 7.2 FX. Almost all bikes you see for kids, even at the 24 inch size, are mountain bikes with fat knobby tires, and mostly with suspension forks. My son doesn't need that kind of bike at all for the type of riding he does, and I don't think a suspension fork is the best idea for a young rider anyway. There are a couple of true road bikes for kids (with 26 inch wheels) out there, but I think a road bike (w/ drop bars, etc) is not necessary either, since they are even pricier and it's not like he's racing, he does ride on well-maintained dirt trails sometimes, and he's used to flat bars/upright riding anyways.

So really there are limited options in kids sizes for a simple bike with gears made to go pretty far and fast primarily on the roads. The KDS 7.3 FX is the only one I saw in America that makes sense to me, but there may be others. There's a company in the UK called Islabikes that has many more options.

In general, I would say $400 is a lot to spend on a kids bike. Buying used is basically not an option if you want this type of bike because it is so rare. But biking has become my son's favorite activity. He wants to go on significant rides every day. In that is still the case when it comes time for the new bike, the money will be easily justified for me. I made the mistake of buying a too cheap bike for my son once. Since I eventually just bought a better bike in the same size, I obviously didn't save anything.

http://www.raleighusa.com/wp-content/uploads/post-images/R09_Rowdy_Fire-Red-LRG.jpg

+1, my 8 yr old has logged 30 mile days on his.

Random thoughts:

I've seen kids pass through a time when they could master shifting gears but were unreliable with hand brakes.

There's the Electra Townie 7D in 20" wheel (no front suspension).

Probably still too big, but years ago, Schiwnn, Raleigh, Gitane and others built small (24" wheel) kids' road bikes. Rare today, but they do occasionally show up on CL & ebay.

You could add a three- or five-speed hub gear to his present bicycle. Easy to shift, option to stay with a coaster brake, much less expensive than any other suggestion on this thread.

tcs

My son has a Marin Hidden Canyon. It has been a great bike and he is about to turn 8. He is tall for his age. I would not go to 24".

The positive on the Marin is that it is small and light and well-built. The negatives are common for all this range of bikes:
1. Useless fork - All 20" suspension forks I have seen are purely for aesthetics. They are not tuned for 60# kids and they don't move.
2. Grip shifters - The marin is 14speed. The right grip is easy to operate, and the left is nearly impossible for a small kid. I hate grip shifters for kids. Front derailleurs are tricky and the grip shifter does not have enough leverage. I switched it out and put in a trigger. My son was ecstatic.

We also had a Giant 7-speed 20" that I bought used. It was fine but it was really a tank.

I would keep an eye out on CL for a Specialized Hotrock with 6 speeds. Or a Trek (I believe Mountain Lion or ML60). We own one of each for both of my daughters and they are solid bikes. If you find an older one in good shape, it may not have the suspension fork.

The Trek is an MT 60 not ML 60.

Check out Fuji's entry level road bikes for kids. They have a 20x1/1/8, 24" and 650 sized road bikes. Sometimes you can get them on sale at Performance bike retial stores.
http://www.fujibikes.com/Kids/Road.aspx

REI Novara also lists a kids size road bike for those interested in a smaller road bike.

As someone else mentioned it is relatively easy too to convert almost any single speed bike to an IGH bike merely by changing the rear wheel. The SRAM P5 and T3 hubs should be narrow enough to fit many kids frames at about 120mm width. I would go with the P5 for it's wider overall gear range of 250%.

I have bought a specialized 20 hotrock single speed off of craigslist for 1/4 the cost and in good condition. Still have a little bit of a problem he wants to go further, but gets tired out cause he is pedaling like mad. We are going a slow pace for him. I almost want to say a 20inch single speed is pretty much a ride around the house with other kids kinda of bike. I am sure I will be buying one with gears real soon. Been looking at the specialized hotrock 7 speed and he fits on it really well.

Check out Fuji's entry level road bikes for kids. http://www.fujibikes.com/Kids/Road.aspx

Saw a couple of the 20"ers at an LBS over the weekend. Whoa, great little straight bar road bikes!

tcs

We went to look this weekend and we had one salesman say you might want to look at putting him on a 24" bike. To get more years out of the bike. He said our boy was taller than average and he squeeks into the 24" size. Have any of you been told this?

I got a Fuji Ace 20 yesterday and I'm thinking of putting drop bars on them. I've seen a video of the Piedrahita on youtube with drop bars. Does anyone have any idea how I can accomplish this? I guess the challenge is in finding brifters smaller than WSD ones that'll fit little hands.

Our daughter had a 7 speed Specialized that worked great. We bought it used (aye, another craigslist advocate), and sold it when she outgrew it. Because it was a good quality bike the 2-3 years only cost us $20 (if memory serves) plus normal maintenance. Because she learned on geared bikes she has much better tempo and candence than most of her friends. Although she still won't stand up (never had to).

I have been looking for one on craigslist but haven't found one yet. Sunflowerflyer a fellow kansasan I am located in Wichita. Nice to see a local on here.

We just found a used Trek MT60 in a LBS for $75. The rest of the family was outfit with bikes via Craigslist. Got the whole family workable used bikes from reputable makers (Trek, Specialized, Kona) for less than $400 for 4 bikes. Each needed varying degrees of cleanup and mine could use a new seat and grips (in addition to a troublesome front derailleur), but it's a good way to get started if you don't know if everyone is really going to enjoy it. Sounds like you know about the enjoyment part, but a used bike might still be a great deal particularly while your son is growing.

I know saving money is a big deal for our family, but I can still remember every detail of the day that I got a new bike when I was a kid. I would like to have my boy have the same kind of memories. We will just have to see what comes along.

I wouldn't hesitate, at all, on using the possibility to get better prices from dealers. Especially for immediate family.

If I was the dealer, I'd be happy to see more bikes out there with my name on them.

Take advantage of any perks you have coming - it's part of your renumeration..... LOL

Well I believe we have success!! The H is on his way to pick up this bike via CL for $60!

http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/youth/2009-youth/mtn-scout/

It might be slightly big but I imagine by next spring it will be fine. We're going to store it until either xmas or birthday.

My 6 yr old granddaughter has a 24" wheel Giant with grip shifters. Her hands are not strong enough to turn the twist grips, so I had to do the downshifts for her when we were about to go up a hill. Would trigger shifters or old style SIS thumb shifters be easier to operate for children who have still to develop a strong grip?

The effort level of twist shifters seems to be a common problem area for kids. Trigger shifters are far easier in my experience. Thumb shifters can sometimes be stiff. I have two 20" kids bikes. One is Grip-Shift the other Shimano EZ Fire trigger shifters. The trigger are hands down more usable by the kids. The Grip-Shift is bad enough that I just purchased a replacement brake/trigger shifter. The brake levers won't match but I don't care about that because this bike will only be used for another year or two. The 5 year old should easily be able to use the new trigger shifter. I currently do the same as you and have to shift for them when we stop. Typically kids end up in the higher gears because the shifter usually works fairly easily in the direction.

You can buy shifter pods on ebay quite easily. They generally run $32-40 for Shimano Alivio. If you go the pod route, you will likely need to replace the grip(s) because the twist shifters use a cut down grip. I don't know of any 20" bikes that are front and rear geared only rear. If you are in that boat you could try to wait for just a rear to show up on ebay but you might be waiting a while. If you do the ebay route go to the Mountain Bike Parts (http://sporting-goods.shop.ebay.com/Mountain-Bike-Parts-/42316/i.html?_catref=1&_dmpt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&_fln=1&_mdo=Sporting-Goods&_mspp=&_pcats=7294%2C159043%2C382&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282) section, search on "7 speed shifter". You will find plenty of SRAM and Shimano pods to choose from, just skip over the twist stuff. If you know what you want you can clarify it down to SRAM or Shimano. I simplified my searches by focusing on Shimano.

If you know that you won't be able to reuse the grip it is easiest to cut it off, one cut from the shifter to the outside tip. Try not to press too hard so that you minimize cutting the bar itself (aesthetics). To put on a new grip I recommend using hairspray. Soap and oils will remain for a long time, hairspray will evaporate fairly quickly and will provide some tack to keep the grip in place. If you want to reuse the grip, work a thin shim (I have a dental pick wax carving set I use for this) under the grip and spray in some hairspray. Work it back and forth until the whole grip is slipping on the bar. Do what you need to do, clean the bar and grip, reapply hairspray to the bar and inside the grip. It will slip right on. After about a day it should be set. You can even use the technique to salvage the unused grip and sell or keep as a spare part.

I incorporate my 3 boys135938135939 into my cycling... The 17 years old is now more independent and goes ridding with me sometimes (now he prefers girls). Lucas, the 6 year hold is the cyclist of the family after me!

I just bought him 2 bicycles to replace the older one he outgrew... I got him a MTN bike and a road bike. My wife also rides and we have 2 bike trailers for the baby and stuff we might carry on a longer trip.

I know this is an older thread but maybe this will help someone looking in the future. Specialized makes a bike that fits this need very nicely but most bike shops still aren't even aware its out there and you'll never see it in stock. Look up the HotRock 24 Street. The frame is small and kids who can ride a 20" can easliy ride this larger wheeled bike that has 21 speeds and smoother tires than the standard HotRock 24. The only thing I'd change (and some have mentioned this) is to replace the grip shifters with triggers. I have an 8-yr old who's on the smaller side and he loves zipping around on this bike. This past weekend we went on a nice 10-mile ride with some decent hills and he no problems with climbing or with hitting some high speeds in stretches (29mph on one downhill, he felt like Superman). Slightly above the price range mentioned in the opening post at $330msrp.