My oldest daughter is on a 16" wheeled bike that's way too small for her, but where we are overseas anything I buy for her will be pure junk. She loves to ride - her longest ride yet was just about 9k on a bike path, with a few rolling hills. She especially likes to ride with me, and especially likes to sprint for the driveway on the way home.
Anyhow - I'll probably get her a 22 or 24" wheeled kids' bike when I go back to the US this Spring, or maybe pick one up down in Crete at the Base Exchange. But when we get back to the US in 06, I'm thinking she may be ready for a road bike if she still has the interest. She'll be 8.
So, the real question: When's the earliest anyone here has put a kid on a "real" road bike?
I'm thinking that if I get something on the large side of her size with a compact geometry, I should be able to stretch it a few years. Obviously, I don't want to force her into the road racing or touring scene, but she's got the interest now and I'd like to keep it stoked.
Probably something like a used Junior road bike, maybe like the 24" Orbea Junior, or build up a quality kid's MTB-style frame as a hybrid.
alanbikehouston
02-17-05, 05:29 PM
How old is she? How tall is she? How long are her legs? Those are factors that will control which bike fits her the best.
Trek has a series of bikes with 20 inch wheel that include some clever ideas. The "dropped" top bar lets kids with shorter legs ride a 20 inch size bike. The crank length is adjustable so that a kid can ride this bike even if her legs grow a few inches.
My eight year old nephew has a bunch of bikes. His favorite is a BMX bike with 20 inch wheels. The bike appears to have been designed for riders who are about ages 10 to 16. However, by lowering the seat, and pulling the bars back, he fits on the bike quite well. The cranks are way too long, so when a pedal is at 12 o'clock, his knee is up by his chin. However, eight year olds are flexible, and he doesn't mind the stretch on the upstroke.
I like a kid's bike with just one speed. Shifting can be a distraction for kids. And, it is totally bullet proof. It can handle any stunt a kid can think up (and kids can think up so amazing stunts. A zero maintainance bike. And, it will fit him for another six or eight years. By then, he may move on the mountain bikes, or road bikes, but he will get years of fun out of his BMX bike along the way.
Velo Dog
02-17-05, 06:13 PM
Lots of factors to consider in that. I think my daughter was 8 (it was a few years ago; can't remember for sure), and we replaced her old learner/BMX bike with a used Schwinn that had 24-inch wheels. It was clunky and heavy, but it was a "real 10-speed" and she rode it for a year or two. About the time I was thinking of getting her a REAL bike, she lost interest in cycling. She's 19 now, and I don't think she's ridden 10 miles in the last six or seven years, so I'm glad I didn't sink a lot of money into something better.
For a teen or adult, I'd say to see what you can find used, but size will be a problem for your daughter. There just aren't very many decent road bikes out there that will fit a kid her age (I don't know of ANY, but there must be a few). Your idea of building up an MTB frame with decent wheels and tires seems good to me, though. The size range is likely to be greater, and I've done several metric centuries on an old Bridgestone MB-3, stock except for skinny tires. I still ride it to work occasionally, and I'm not THAT much slower than on my road bike.
2manybikes
02-17-05, 08:02 PM
When they get to 14 or 15 they think "CAR" :(
Find a good bike shop that listens to you and will help by letting her sit on different size bikes and even test ride them. You may get some good input from this. You might be surprised by something by that time. She may grow a lot.
A good bike shop will suggest exactly what you said about a little on the large size for her, and compact geometry. If they don't even bring it up I would be very surprised. Unless she is clearly still too small.
Your basic frame thoughts are right on the money. Mtb style bikes will have a lot more size options available, and in stock at a bike shop.
If you start with a fat tire mtb or comfort bike, you have the option of buying thin high pressure tires at a later time for a big boost in performance. If she fits on a 26" wheel bike you have more tire options than the 24".
pilotpat
02-18-05, 12:14 AM
Thanks all for your options. She's pretty tall (95th percentile for her age), as is her 4yo sister. Again, we'll see how her interest is in another year when we get back to the US and real bike shops.
The more I think of it, the more I like the idea of building her bike on a MTB frame. I'm getting a bit more practice on maintenance while I'm here in Greece, by necessity, so I think by next year I'll probably feel pretty confident buying/finding a quality frame/fork and building up one myself.
I guess a large part of this whole thing is dreams of doing organized rides with her on the bike with me. Currently, we ride with the Tandem, 6yo on a half-bike behind, 4yo and 1yo in the Burley behind. But the 4yo is getting a bit too big for that. The whole entourage is longer than most SUVs
Answer: 6yrs on a 20" close geo frame I made myself, you can probably adapt a JNR BMX at that age if you can find a short enough top tube.
By 8yrs mine were starting to move onto 650c frames, the FELT's look great on kids nice steep seat tube 75-76 degrees which they need. Don't go too big in wheel size as this stuffs the geometry no modern builder will put overlap in their design.
I've noticed some of the big name builders who've produced kids bikes have simply shrunk there adult frames which doesn't work and neither does compact geometry.
Often heard they'll grow into it but always asked myself how much I'd enjoy riding fully stretched out, no good for growing backs either.