tiiger

My kid rides his BMX all over, but I'd love to have him go on rides with me and be able to keep up a little...

Anyone built up a smaller SS/FG? Would you go with 650mm wheels? (Seems like 700s would look goofy on a small frame... thinking 49cm or thereabouts... or 47?)

Looking for recommendations more on size than brand, but if you know of certain brands that have good small-frame stuff, that's great.

Ideas, pics, examples... bring it on.

thanks.

Jaytron

Our resident short people are TejanoTrackie and MizzKaz.

I think at 5ft, you'd be fine with 700c, but you want to get him measured out well, if you want a bike that fits: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

nuhtowel

I would get something that fits a little on the big side right now, that way you won't have to buy another bike in a year when he outgrows it.

maybe even something with a *gasp* sloping top tube would work out well.

justfitme

Well...my wife is 5'2" and 47 frame on SS and 49 on road bike works fine.
Of course I would calculate him anyway but I do not think you have top get into child's sizes.

P.S. for my 8 y.o. daughter (she is ~4') I built a hybrid based on 13" MTB frame with 26" wheels accepting 1.25 slicks. But I do not think you need to go that path.

AEO

since he's still likely to grow, get him something slightly on the larger side, which would probably be the smallest 700c frame available from whatever cheap maker.

either that or buy an expensive small frame bike that uses 26" or 650c that you can sell once he's outgrown it.

tiiger

I see that the Kilo TT comes in a 47cm frame as a complete. I might just go that route. Probably cheaper than trying to source parts and build one up. Although I like the "project" aspect of this.

Thanks for the competitivecyclist.com link... I'll measure him up and make sure that size will work.

tiiger

we looked at a 49cm on 700c wheels, and he just seemed too stretched out.

I see that both Fuji and SE make an SS/FG with a 43cm frame and 650c wheelset. (same parent company?)

So, an LBS near me has the SE Draft (and Draft Lite), but not the Fuji Classic. I'll see how the Draft fits him, but any opinion on SE vs Fuji?

EDIT... now I see that the SE is Hi-Tensile Steel vs CroMoly on the Fuji

Jaytron

I don't like Hi-Ten

ddeadserious

Fuji owns/runs SE, so yes, same parent company.

Hi-ten is weaker, less stiff, and doesn't ride nearly as nice as chromoly. It's a notable difference to me(with a relative lack of experience), but honestly may not be a big deal for a 10 year old.

Kol.klink

Go with a 49/50cm 700c Frame and be done with it, order that smaller Kilo, If you go with anything smaller than that it will be too small half way through the season, i say this having fit kids on bikes for the past 4 seasons i've seen parents go through this all the time, Often the kid ends up riding the 650c bike a lot longer than they should because they out grow in a few months, and having just dropped 600$+ on a 650c the parents are reluctant to drop the coin on another bike half way through the season/next year, in the long run the few months of slightly over sized bike will be well worth it.

misskaz

I have the 43 cm 650c Fuji and I love it, but I'm a 36 year old (5'1", long torso, short legs) woman that is long done growing, not a 10yr old boy.

tiiger

I hear ya there, but if my 10-year-old gets a couple of years out of it, and if my 7-year old gets a couple of years out of it down the road, we'll be in good shape. Sell it or hand it down to someone else. (Plus, the investment isn't too big...)

hamfoh

wabi still has a few tiny lightnings around I think

Hendricks97

Just bought my 10 year old a 47cm Draft Lite and he loves it so far. The seat is almost slammed right now, so he should have some time on it before he outgrows it. Hes about 5'2"

tiiger

https://www.wabicycles.com/lightning_bike_spec_650.html

$900! Yikes!

misskaz

Yeah, I agree. The only other thing that might be an issue is that it's a very twitchy ride. Even friends who also ride tiny fixed gears that have taken it for a spin have commented on it. Took me some getting used to, although a fearless 10yr old who rides BMX might have no problem with it. I also didn't love the kinda track-ish drops that came with it - even after flipping the stem, it was pretty uncomfortable. Some cheap risers or bullhorns on it, though, and you'd be good to go. My LBS threw a freewheel on it and installed front and rear brakes. (Don't use the freewheel or rear brake anymore, but it was nice to have at first.)

I really want a Wabi but they are too expensive for your situation IMO.

Your other challenge may be finding an LBS that keeps the tiny size in stock... I only found one shop in Chicago that did. All the others were willing to order it for me, but that was on condition of me buying it even if it didn't fit. Which sucks.

tiiger

a local shop has the 43/650 SE Draft with risers, so I'm going to see how that fits him.

He liked the feel of the drops on the 49/700 roadie we tried at one shop, but I didn't like how stretched out he was.

Hendricks97

checked when I got home and I was wrong. My 10 year old has the 49, not the 47 and hes about 5'2"

TheRealFaux

Your children are so tall. I was 5'2" in high school and that was only a few years ago.

fuji86

The hi ten ss/fg's are fine for kids that will outgrow them. Kids tend to leave bikes laying around and putting a lot of money into a bike that a neighbor a few blocks away may steal or whatever makes no sense just the same.

Hendricks97

The doctors said both of my sons will end up over 6'6". Im 6'4"

hamfoh

doctors told me I'd be 6'4 I was really bummed about stopping at 6' when I thought the NBA was still a career option

tiiger

Point guard! Mugsy Bogues was only 5'3"!

In relevant news, I have a line on a Fuji for a good price... so we'll see if it pans out.

tiiger

well, I scored a like-new Fuji 43cm/650c fixed-gear on ebay for $285. Should have it in a few days.

OK, question, and I'll tag it on here (tried search but got a "Oops! An error occurred: unknown local index 'ForumDelta' in search request" error. Nice.)

Anyway... for a newbie kid, what would you suggest in the way of foot retention? I don't want to get him clipless shoes/pedals at this point (wait to gauge interest, and growth spurts, etc...), but want something easy and non-initimidating... The bike comes with cheapie plastic pedals, but I have a set of aluminum ones I can add some clips to. I could try some "mini" clips, I suppose, but I've never used them myself.



Or would you just get him going on regular clips/straps?

hamfoh

I got some rubber all city toe cages for my gf to get used to. she ended up really liking them. for $10-$12 maybe start there. then once he gets used to getting into cages, he can add straps, since they aren't crucial for ss.