Flyboy718

My daughter is 8 and I am looking for a more road friendly bike for her if that makes any sense. She has been watching me and wants to go with me but I think she is being held back by the little Mongoose we picked up at Target for her last summer...I think it has 20" wheels and its an MTB. I think she could really do well with a better bike, but I just don't know what to do for an 8 year old?

Sidney Porter

Are you looking for something vintage?

PugRider

Try to find something with a 24 inch wheel. Tons of stuff out there; as far as classic and vintage goes, it gets trickier. A lot of manufacturers often had "junior" road offerings, and a few still do (ex: Fuji). Don't spend a lot of money, they will obviously grow into larger bike sizes quickly. I built up an old Pacific 24-inch mtb for my son when he was 9; it's aluminum, which you don't always get at that size/price point. He loves it. You can always put road-ish tires on whatever you end up with.

Flyboy718

I would most definatly want something vintage if its possible

Sidney Porter

I guess this is vintage. It is a early 90's rigid mtb. It is a bike store Schwinn (better quality than most of their current offerings). think my son was 8 when we got this we converted to a road bike when he was 10. It is 24 inch tires but the frame is only 12 inches. I went with the women's short reach levers and the cross levers. 1x6 friction thumb replaced the grip shift. I paid $20 for the bike and the conversion was another 100. He is 11 now, it will be his last summer with it (will save for his brother).

icepick_trotsky 

I think the Soma Bart and Lisa are crazy cool bikes for kids. Amazon sells the frames for like $200 something. They take 20 inch wheels.

Bart Kid?s Road Frame Set | SOMA Fabrications

Fahrenheit531 

My wife had a Rockhopper with 24" wheels a while back. It was late 80s, early 90s. So that exists...

triathloner

My kids had some older Schwinn caliente's that were kind of heavy but 24" road wheels and they worked out pretty slick. You could just get some slick tires for the mongoose and that will help her keep up better.

MRT2

Pretty cool conversion. 90s or 2000s rigid mountain bike sounds like just the ticket to me, as opposed to C & V, which might, frankly be harder to find and more expensive. When my son was a little younger, maybe 9, we just went with a small adult sized Trek 800 with a solid fork and road tires. We stuck with stock trigger shifters. I paid a bike shop a few bucks for a tuneup and to replace some worn parts, but the total cost was maybe $200. Maybe it was because he was a kid and nobody told him he can't ride long distances on a mountain bike, but he had no trouble keeping up with me or his mother on rides of 25 to 40 miles. The flat bars never bothered him at all.

mstateglfr 

Soma frames are steel and mostly traditional in appearance, though a 20" wheel will probably be shortlived for an 8yo.
Schwinn Caliente(late 80s and early 90s offerings) are all over CL with 24" wheels. You will have to build/buy a wheelset since they come as steel. Heck, replace most everything, really, since its all steel and low quality.
ebay something for typically many hundreds of $.


Most important thing, I think, is make sure it is easy to use. Having an iconic vintage road bike in her size with chainrings that are too big and friction downtube shifters that are tough to operate since she is 8 is only going to frustrate everyone involved and make for an unsafe situation.

If you want her to ride fast and make for an easy ride, a steel rigid 24" wheel MTB from the early 90s is a great place to start. You can adjust the components to what you imagine for the look and fit, just make sure everything plays well together and is easy to use.
...or grab one of the many Trek and Fuji Ace kids road bikes that are constantly on CL and wait until she is older to build that great vintage bike that will fit her better and for longer.

repechage

There is a thread about the ins and outs of junior road bikes in the C&V section.
8 years old is first a capability and size challenge.
The range of 8 year old heights is pretty big.
First, can she grab hand brakes and have good finger strength?
Assuming the levers are reach adjusted.

Then, based on my experience, index shifting or an internal gear hub are the way to go initially.
There are internal multispeed hubs with coaster brakes made still, going to be special order for that.

For my son, I got him a new Fuji 24' road bike, Felt makes a nice one too.
After I got it home I modified the brake levers for smaller reach, and then bought a pair of "cyclocross" inline brake levers.
Learning to pedal and shift as the same time takes some practice, this is why index helps.
Some kids have a hard time reaching away from the bars to shift too.

Yes, in the decades long gone, we adapted to oversized levers and down tube shifters.
Some kids will have the burning desire to overcome those problems.
For many, making the entrance easier will help get you riding together faster.

I got him on toe clips and straps asap. There was resistance but once he figured out that the clips helped his foot be in the right place… acceptance.
He still does not tighten the straps.

Velocivixen

It's fantastic that you're making such a positive impression on her, and that she is encouraged to ride. Whatever you decide, the more you allow her to have say in the bike, how you accessorize, etc. the more she will likely want to ride it.

ncrnelson

As a kid maybe 10 years old or so I rode a small Gary Fisher fully rigid mountain bike with 26" slicks on numerous 50 mile road rides. It was a great mountain bike as well. Any small mountain bike with a sloping toptube should give pretty of adjustment for short legs. Maybe a short stem for easier reach and bar ends for more hand positions.

At 8 years old 26" wheels are probably too big though so you're probably going to have to spend a bunch of money for a nice kids bike or make due with the standard heavy kids bikes in 20" or 24" wheels. Maybe consider the "trail a bike" options for longer rides together.

Flyboy718

Super cool idea...never would have thought of that!

Flyboy718

I will check these out, thanks!

Darth Lefty 

There are zillions of mountain bikes and enough road bikes with 24" wheels. (Actually different rim sizes, but both called 24" in the USA.) There is a "road 26" size as well. None very high end, but all suitable for a 10-14yo, until they can get on a small adult frame. 8, though, seems a little bit little? Depends on the kid, I guess. A coworker recently got his kid a Giant MTB with a 7-speed transmission. It still has 20" wheels and there is a 24" version of the same bike; as well as a 21-speed version and a suspension racing version. Smaller than 24" the selection of drop bar road bikes is pretty odd, pretty old, and imported from Europe. There's a Fuji Ace 20" with skinny tires and a flat bar.

Terry bikes from the 80's have a 24" front wheel and a 27" or 700c rear. Other than the front wheel, they use standard road bike parts. Designed for small women. Seems like a kid could do pretty well on it.
Example https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/4988309704.html


I had bookmarked a brand of kid-teen bikes that were built like modern decent hybrids, but I can't find it now.

I also have been researching child stoker kits for tandems.

My kid is 10 mo old, and so far is an only. I might be overplanning.

icepick_trotsky 

Can't start 'em too young, Darth. 19 months and riding everyday (in the backseat).

Darth Lefty 

Mine has not yet developed enough self-preservation instinct to keep him from trying to leap headfirst out of my arms to investigate things on the floor, so until then he'll remain strapped down in the trailer.

curbtender

This has been up local. Neat set up... Terry Athene Women or Teen Bike

noglider 

Make sure she has good tires. Some tires that come on kids' bikes are immensely heavy, made worse by knobby treads. You may want to avoid 24" wheels, since it's harder to find good tires in that size than in 20". There are some fantastic 20" tires aimed at the BMX racing crowd. Make sure she has aluminum rims, and buy some lightweight tires.

noglider 

Your son is terribly cute!

icepick_trotsky 

Thanks, Tom!

Darth Lefty 

More current Terry bikes... this one still has a mismatched front and rear wheel! I had no idea they still made such a thing. Current 520, not weird old 540.

Terry Tailwind

Save up to 60% off Womens Bikes, Mountain Bikes - MTB - Terry Susan B Brake Women's Mountain Bikes Specific for women

Spaghetti Legs 

My son rode a Redline Conquest 24" cyclocross bike around that age. Pretty nice in that he could ride on gravel and dirt with it but still got to use the drop bars and felt like a road bike. Doesn't fit the vintage criteria so much though. I wouldn't put a lot of effort into sticking with C+v unless you have a bunch more kids waiting in the wings. You'll put a lot of effort and maybe money into getting the bike up and running and before you know it she's outgrown it. My kid used the Redline fr about a year and a half and then I bought an extra small road frame and built it up with parts box Dura Ace 9 speed and Open Pro wheels. That was one sweet bike.

oddjob2

I have a junior Peugeot C46 on ebay, but would sell it direct. And if you're handle is flyboy, does it mean you're with the new American Airlines and get free freight?