Flyboy718

What would be a road worthy vintage bike for her...I am thinking we could do maybe a tour a year together and weekend rides of like 30 miles or so when not. Could $200 get a bike or less? Did they make junior road bikes in the 80's or 90's or earlier?

gaucho777 

A lot of great info in this thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...roadbikes.html

I think you'll be challenged to find a good quality vintage bike for $200, but it's certainly possible. There just aren't that many of them. Plus, if certain parts (short crankset, new wheels, short reach brake levers) are needed, those costs could add up quickly.

My daughter is 6 now and about to outgrow her bike. I'll be in the market for something similar, too.

Flyboy718

What about rigid frame MTB for touring just like adults using?

MRT2

Hmm. Tough thing to find a kid sized vintage road bike. Most 8 year olds back in the 70s rode Stingray style bikes, then moved up to 10 speeds towards the middle or high school years. That is what I did.

My son's first geared bike was the Raleigh Rowdy. Single chainring, 20 inch wheels, and cheap but intuitive gripshift shifter. They still make them for around $250. When he outgrew that, we moved him to a small frame mountain bike with a solid front fork.

repechage

the "ins and outs" of Junior road bikes thread should have much information.
8 year old girls come in lots of scales. Hand strength to use the brakes is I think a prime directional point first.
Having children, it factored in for me.

squirtdad

What does your daughter want? I have learned over the years with my son that just because I like a bike/style/feature doesn't mean he does. If your daughter wants a small road bike, even better for you. If she really wants something else....go for that and then try to slip the road bike in.

There is something magical about getting a kid the bike they want at the time.....in my son's case it was a Haro BMX under the Christmas tree.
We next had great fun converting his grand mother's univega to a fixie, which he really wanted (which he is now giving to friend to help his commute to school)
Then I tried a nice pansonic dx3000.....no interest on his part so I sold it to a neighbor.
We built another fixie.... and he volunteers at a bike charity, so he has a love of bikes, but different taste than i do.

Fahrenheit531 

This is the route I took with my daughter, who turns nine in a couple of weeks. First bike with gears was a Gary Fisher Cosmo configured the same way. She just graduated to her full-size, small-frame mountain bike. Two chainring, seven speed with indexed thumb shifters. I switched out the handlebars to compensate for the fact that the bike is a bit big for her, and she loves it. If the OP wants to see what I did, it's here: My Girl's C&V Upgrade

MRT2

The 20" wheeled bike was good for a couple of years up to about age 9. My son rode his (13") Trek mountain bike from age 9 or 10 to last year when I sold it. He was 12, going on 13 and had a growth spurt where at just under 5'6", the bike was just too small. We would go on rides from 15 to about 35 miles and he did fine on it. All in all, a much better bike than the old Schwinn Varsity I rode through my middle school years.

He mostly likes mountain bikes these days, but he occasionally rides my old Bianchi hybrid for family road rides.

Spaghetti Legs 

I see C/V junior bikes on ebay from time to time but they aren't cheap.

My oldest son's first drop bar bike was Redline Conquest cross bike with 24 in wheels. It's nice for the reason cross bikes are good, i.e. can be ridden on dirt and gravel, but still a satisfaction of some speed on pavement. When he got a little bigger I got an XS Performance Scattante frame and built it with an old Dura Ace 9 group. He outgrew this bike long ago, but we still have it and it's a sweet bike, in fact I just pulled the Flite saddle from it today to put on my Moser.

rhm

At that age my daughter was riding a Huffy pseudo-bmx bike I had trash picked. I ditched the hi rise handlebar, replaced it with a flat one. Rebuilt the rear wheel with a Sturmey Archer three speed hub. We did an overnight tour and a couple 40 mile rides, but mostly she rode around the neighborhood, up to the library etc. After she outgrew it I salvaged the better parts of it and the rest went back out on the curb where it came from.

crank_addict

Eight is a big step in cycling. This is learning time for gears plus they also want to go faster! Perhaps a small frame 1990ish era ATB bike with near slick road tires will do it. Fat tire 26" are just fine and offer a great range of gears, plenty of room for panniers, racks whatever. Add a rear derailleur guard. Trigger index shifters. Although I really like the road drop conversions, do it with caution for a youngster. Most of this would depend on type of brake levers / shifters and how easy they can transition hand positions and reach brake levers. If you can find the right drop bar and controls, this would be the way to go though.

No doubt it all depends on the kid or interest, but when they get to 12 and experience a real road bike offering less effort and higher speeds, its time to graduate.
(I have a granddaughter who keeps asking about a little project I have going. Likely soon to be riding a 70's era small frame Motobecane with the classic goodies.... 700c, downtube shifters, drop bar, top feed levers, 1/2 (no strap) toe clips. And after she's learned about the 'trainer' 700c clinchers, have a set of tubular wheelset ready to roll for the Sat. AM rides. Haha!)

Flyboy718

We bought her this Mongoose Byte from Target serveral months ago and she loves it...it's 7 speed...I don't think this would work as a tour bike? She is 50" tall and has a 24" stand over

mstateglfr 

Unless she is very tall, an 8yo girl will need 24" wheels at largest. And this is also basically the smallest you could find a vintage road bike wheel size.

Those suggesting 26" wheels...yeah I'm just not sure what to say to that. I suppose that could possibly work maybe, but doubt it would truely fit.

$200 won't get you anything on eBay and wouldn't get anything within my region that would be ready to ride.

A Schwinn Caliente came in a small frame with 24" wheels. If you can find a later model, 89-93 I think, you will have at least a vintage style steel frame to start with. It'll be heavy as can be with a hi ten frame and steel everything, but put some time and money in and the bike can be a lot lighter.

I ended up just getting a new Diamondback Clarity 24" bike off closeout on Amazon for my 8yo since I couldn't find what I wanted for a price I could justify. good luck on the search!

sloar 

miyata sport junior ff

mstateglfr 

When you say tour, are you looking for her to carry a rack and panniers?

A Target front suspension mtb may work, but it certainly isn't ideal for what you envision her doing.
Those tires alone would be tougher than necessary for 30 miles of road/trail riding with little legs.

mstateglfr 

I actually contacted that person about the Miyata a month or two ago. They aren't interested in shipping it. Wouldn't entertain it at all.

CliffordK

You can actually find a few 20" road bikes, but I would skip those, and go directly from BMX to 24".

There was an old Panasonic that was on Craigslist locally a while ago. When I was younger... many years ago, we had a little green bike, 5 speed, Dad found some alloy wheels for it. Double butted spokes? Anyway, we built it into a sweet little road bike. But, unfortunately it was given away long ago.

I'm not sure I'd be so concerned about "Classic and Vintage" in a 24" kid's bike. There are a few "modern" 24" bikes such as the Trek KDR1000, and the Fuji Ace 24".

Most seem to be hitting the market at around $300, and up.

Indexed shifting seems to be relatively easy for a kid to learn, and it is simple for them to learn... put in in 7 for easy pedalling 1 for hard pedalling (or is it the other way around?).

Anyway, I'd encourage you to track down a used Fuji Ace 24, or similar for now, then start hunting for the perfect "Classic" in a 650c, 26", or very small 700c (WSD)? Depending on your height, and the mother's height, the kid will probably eventually grow out of their first 700c bike and need another upgrade in their late teens (which could last them a good long time). I still have the bike I bought (with my own money) when I was 16.

crank_addict

Topic brings up an interesting point. Where are these older 'junior' road bikes? Collectors snapped them up or just trashed like many others? I would think paying up for a 24" might not be so bad. After your kid outgrows it, probably could easily re-sell.

Last year while at a LBS, noticed a cute 650c or 24" Fuji road bike. Not sure if it was a demo or used but recall it was something near $700. Think that was nutz? They also had a Bianchi tig ally frame scaled down junior sale priced for $1200 or so.

nfmisso

If you are up to the project, and your daughter is interested, I would get a pre- 1993 Trek 930/950/970/990 with a very small frame - they are lugged double butted cro-mo. I'd get a cro-mo road fork for it, build up a set of ETRTO 571 (650c) rims, dual pivot caliper brakes, drop bars, bar cons with aero levers or brifters - both with cross levers, road FD. That would result in a light, strong and fast bike.

I did a flat bar version for a friend last year, after scoring a small framed 950 for $30- ... with a stuck seat post. End up using a ½ inch well lubricated threaded rod to pull it out - theoretically cable of exerting over 10,000 lbs of force.

CliffordK

I don't know...

Kids BMX bikes seem to eventually head to the great bike grave in the sky pretty quickly. Some head to Goodwill and other thrift stores. While I'm often hunting for parts and might snag partial bikes (at low prices), I wonder if the more incomplete of the kids bikes just get thrown directly into the scrap metal bin (if not just into the trash).

Kids would even be hard on the nicer "road bikes". Some may survive with only a few hundred miles total, and then get resold or passed on. But what about those that may have a few thousand miles, and lots of wear and tear?

I think my old 24" bike was 100% working when it was given away, but undoubtedly the paint had seen better days. Pass it to a few families, and undobutedly things like derailleurs break and other parts wear. A bent rim can be the end of a good bike.

As far as adult sized bikes... some people just hang onto them until they are long past being obsolete. At least I still have my bike from eons ago. My brother has his (and now has my father's bike). Mom still has her bike, but hasn't ridden it in years.

Flyboy718

Oh my this is perfect and he dont want to ship!

RobbieTunes

I can facilitate if you can make a deal.
I'll bet it can easily be upgraded to modern kit, too.

When she wins the Tour, you can give me a mention.

FUJI junior bike. - $30 (Angier Nc)

In good condition. Tires size 24" test. If interested

FUJI junior bike.

rhm

I agree. My daughter was riding 2 wheel bikes without training wheels a month after she turned 4. By the time she turned 8 she had outgrown 12" wheels and 16" wheels, and was happy on 20" wheels. She was as skillful a rider as you could ask for. She could ride a bike with 24" wheels, but the handlebar was up higher than the seat, weight distribution was awful and the bike didn't handle well. She stayed on the 20" three speed. Now she's 15 and rides that 24" wheel MTB. She can ride a 26" wheel bike; that's what most of her friends do. But the 24" wheels fit her better and she has much better control (and speed).

I understand the desire to get a "big person bike" for a little person, but it's not the way to go. She will be much happier on a bike that fits, that she can actually control. Granted, I don't know how big Flyboy's daughter is. But just by the fact that he started this thread I'm assuming she is little, and the big bike options don't work for her.

Flyboy718

PM sent Robbie

Flyboy718

She is 50" tall and has a 24" stand over