Val23708

... a ~12 yr old junior with a 650 powertap wheel in my race... most likely not just borrowing it from daddy. he got dropped on the 2nd or 3rd lap

OCshark

If he sticks with it, by 18 he'll be a national champ! Wish I started so early.

merckx89

Hell, down here at the bigger junior races there are at least 2 sets of Bora ultra's, a few zipps, Princes and god knows what else. They've got nicer bikes than me. And all of this they're going to outgrow in 6 months. (I'm really just jealous that I didn't start that early, or have parents with that kind of money)

DrWJODonnell

Glad to see that he is starting to train correctly early. Though I assume your thread was one of incredulity that money like that would be spent on a "kid." In my opinion, there is probably no better way a junior racer could spend his money providing his bike fits.

ElJamoquio

I'm with WJO. Even if it isn't a hand-me-down from a tri bike or something, it's still, what, about $100 to re-lace it when he needs to, in a few years?

Powertaps hold their value tremendously well, used-to-used. Frames...?

waterrockets 

That's really cool. Now he can go back and see what efforts pushed him over the edge and popped him off the back. Good identification of limiters there.

The kid certainly has more gear than most his age would, but there's nothing wrong with that. The PT really is useful.

timmhaan

most likely the kid and his interested parent will analyze the data together, put together a training plan, and watch the numbers change as he improves. could be a real bonding experience and i'm sure the kid will learn a ton in the process. if so, it's definitely worth the money.

HolyInstantRice

That's assuming he sticks with it. At 12 I was a shifty kid; I prefered to take things and just have fun with them. A Powertap at that age I guess could work both ways.

urbanknight

I started riding distance at age 11 and racing at age 13. By 16 I realized that I didn't have the right genes. Now it's just for fun... not that it wasn't fun back then, but it was serious.

Val23708

eh well to me its just a little discomforting that a parent would push their interest onto their child like that. its kinda like those soccer dads. I didn't stick around to see if the kid was devistated or if he was having the time of his life. i can't imagine the training some of those juniors do... and the alienation from their peers as racing is mostly a solo effort until maybe collegiate mens b's cycling and few parents in my area can finance a junior racer..

ericcox

It's interesting. In some cases, it is certainly the parents driving the interest, in others it is most definitely the kid. I have seen exs. of both. One of my colleagues has a child who is an excellent soccer player, and really pressed to go to the camps, select teams, and so forth. The parents were pretty much just supportive of their child's desires. The child has decided not to play varsity any more to focus on school work; child's decision, not parents.

I have also seen parents who were the driving force. We really don't know in this case which it is.

I know when, as a young teen and was in the gym after practice 5 days a week, it was my parents who were trying to get me to back off, not my parents driving me. Unfortunately, I seem to have used all my drive on football back in the day, and can't muster the same discipline to train anymore.

carpediemracing 

I'm all for it if the kid is dying to ride the bike. I pestered my mom endlessly to play the violin and then played it for 12 years, was good at it, etc. Yeah I had a violin that's worth more than a very nice bike (20 years ago, and I still have it now, and it's probably worth two or three of my bikes) but I also played it. If that kid was dying to race the bike then the parents did a great thing in getting him something he can use.

I dissuaded a young junior's dad from entering him in my race. Told him to wait two years to enter him (he'd be 13 I think). Well, it's two years later and I actually ran into them at a group ride, and I can tell you that the kid is just dying to ride fast. I think racing next year would be a great thing for him.

In contrast...

In Road Bike Action "Why you ride" section there's a very unhappy looking girl whose dad writes in and says that she's the reason he rides. And then he boasts about how she's the youngest one to complete such and such miles and lists both the riding and elapsed time. Her smile is so forced it should be clear that she's not happy at all (he's written in twice and both times she has the same forced smile - if that's the best smile she can muster I'd hate to see the pictures that the dad felt were not good enough for RBA). Such things really bug me. Since I don't know anything about the girl or her dad I can't say anything more but some parents live through their kids and that's not good.

If that's how this PT Junior was then I think someone should go up to the parents and slap some sense into them. But if that PT Junior was laughing and smiling after his race (or determined to train more or something based on his performance) then more power to him and his family.

cdr

Snap

When you guys figure out the exact right amount to support or push a kid who is into sports you should write in in the parents manual they give out at the hospital.

Parents drop a lot of coin on kids sports. Camps, coaches, travel and equipment all add up quickly. Believe me on this.

gsteinb

I fail to see how possession of a powertap is an indication that he's starting to train correctly early. It's just as easy to misuse or ignore power numbers as it is heartrate numbers or perceived effort. Without knowing that there is someone who has age appropriate training advice for the kid I'd say there just as much of a chance he's being done more harm than good.