road bikes for kids
 

I am looking for a road bike for my 8 y/o son. The only real road bike for kids that I am aware of is the Felt F24. It's got 24" wheels with a 40 cm frame. Looks to be a really good bike for a kid. Goes for about $590. Does anyone know of another manufacturer of kids/youth road bikes? I have done searches on the net with no luck. I don't have a problem with the Felt F24, just wondering if other options exist. Any help will be appreciated.

2005 Trek KDR 1000

http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2005/...mx/kdr1000.jsp

I'm in the same boat - 9 year old. The Trek or the Felt are the best ones I have found.

I wonder if thats the right bike for a kid. they are bound to jump off curves and otehr such things. the bike may not hold up well. Plus they don't seem to need to shift gears either (G)

I've occasionally seen Colnago youth bikes. IIRC, they had 24" wheels. A week or two ago there was a Pinarello youth bike on ebay. I'm an ebay junkie. Maybe the only ones I've seen were on ebay. I don't remember.

So, yeah they are out there.

Bike paths my friend. Curbs are for BMX bikes, and he can have one of those too, but I want him to have something he can ride w/ me on occasion.

I somewhat agree about the gears, considering that I ride a single speed road bike, who really "needs" more than one anyway? 16 is probably overkill for a kid, but 20 is overkill for most anyone anyway except racers. I would hope he has the chance to develop road bike handling skills including learning to shift and spin pedals in different gears.

Check out Felt's F24. From the site: "The F24 provides the same level of performance and attention to detail found on Felt’s full-size road bikes, but uses a 40cm version of our 7005 double-butted aluminum frame and 24” wheels for an ultra-compact machine. Intended for riders between 6-10 years old, with the F24, kids can get started in road cycling at a much earlier age."

http://www.feltracing.com/2005_bikes/2005_f24.html


edit: oppps, guess I should read the whole post instead of the title....so you already know about the Felt....still a good choice....

I "made" one for my then 7-year-old daughter.

Started with a 10-15 year old MTB with 13" frame and 20" wheels. I bought the bike second hand in a LBS and had them replace the knobbies with slicks.

I didn't like the freewheel (approx. 12-25 6-speed), but I had a 12-32 7-speed that used to be on my commuter until I scrapped that wheel. I simply set the 6-speed shifter to shift through gears 14 to 32..
Then my daughter started to bug me about a bar with road bars. So back to that LBS to get a set of old handlebas (back when 38-cm was the norm), non-aero brake levers. The only real expensive item was bar-end shifters which I had to buy. So I bought 9-speed shifters for my bike and gave her my old 8-speed shifters.

So while it is not as light and racy as an adult road or touring bike, it still has the configuration of a road bike, as well as decent slick tires for minimal friction.

Love my felt. :)

Love my trek... going to get my sister the KDR 1000 for christmas.

Thanks for all the help everyone. So far I think the Felt would be best for him because the frame is a little smaller than the Trek and others - Colnago and Pinarello.

Let's see some pics of your kid when he gets on his new bike.

Cannondale has a road bike for kids. I'm not sure of the size, they had one at 360 Cyclworks and it solded in two days.

I love the look and specs of the Felt and the Trek but I find it hard to justify the cost given my 10 year old son will outgrow it fairly quickly. I am looking for ideas of converting a used MTB or hard tail frame into a pseudo roadie - bars, shifters and tires seem to be the main thing. Any ideas welcome.

55/Rad

I saw a tiny bike on Ebay for about 150 with drops and small wheels for kids, I want to say it was 26 inches to the seat, I don't know why he measured that way. Sorry I don't have a link.

UniVega made some 24" road bikes back in the boom days & I found a mixte style with SunTour VGt derailleurs & a 14/28 freewheel for my grandaughter. It worked out well until she hit her teen years & informed us it wasn't in style anymore. She wants a mountain bike now (just because all her friends have one).

I think mtb bikes are best for kids because they grow out of them and why plop down 6 big ones on a road bike that might only last two seasons. Get them into road bikes when they are teenagers like me and the bike will last into adulthood.

If your interested I have a KDR 1000 with 43 frame and 650 wheelset.

This bike is sold.

TWo more,

Avanti Prima, and Merida 20/24 Kids road bikes, these are available in australia and should be in the US

I'd put slicks on their mountain bike. Kids are going to grow several inches per year, and on top of that, they (or at least most) have so many other activities that it's going to be hard to justify the expense for the miles that they will really put on the bike. I'll buy my kids road bikes when they stop growing.

Rode the Tour de Cure last weekend, and saw an 8 year old kid on a Felt. He had a full kit, including glasses and clipless pedals, and he finished the 50 miler in about 2.5-3 hours. He says that he wants to do the century next year. Yeah, if I had a kid, I'd spend the money.

I was also looking for a road bike for my 9 year old. I finally found a used one which was handcrafted by someone. I learned there is a Trek with 24 inches tires. During my search I found the Redline Conquest 24 which is a cyclocross bike and is between $500-$700. For beginners it is a good combination of characteristics. Should take a look at it.

IMO, I think I would start with a BMX. Those are just fun! as a former kid myself (ha) I loved my BMX bike, which then eventually made me love riding bike in general and then turned out to be a round bike by age of 12.

I bought my kid the Felt F24. It will be his Christmas present this year. He already has this mountain bike. As I said earlier, he's 8 years old. We've been riding MTB's together for a while now and he keeps wanting to ride on the road (and so do I). Since he doesn't have a Mom (still looking for one of those) this is my ticket to getting more road saddle time- not trying to be selfish- but if he wants to ride the roads, than lets ride. If he gets really into it (like his Dad) then when he outgrows the Felt I'll get him a bigger road bike. That Trek KDR 1000 looks sweet, but the frame is just a tad too big for him now, it could be his next bike. Only got one kid, just me and him, Hell I'll spend the money, why not?
I'm looking at a new Litespeed or Felt for myself. :D

Is it difficult to find road bikes in department stores these days? When my daughter gets to be that age, I know that's the route I'm going to pursue. Maybe when she gets into high school she can pick something out from the LBS, but until I know whether a) she'll enjoy cycling and b) whether she'll take care of her equipment (see "curb jumping" above), then I think we'll stick to the stores that end in "-mart".

Jeez, I'm sounding a lot like my Dad...

I have never seen any "real road bikes" for kids or adults in a department store . His mountain bike is for "curb jumping" and riding around the neighborhood. The road bike will be for riding with Dad, at least until he gets a little older. By then he'll probably have a bigger road bike and will be somewhat more responsible. We care for our bikes together, e.g. wash them and clean the chains, inflate tires to the proper pressure, etc. This way he is learning how to care for his equipment. The LBS takes care of any other potential problems or necessary adjustments to the bike for free for a full year. After that I will do it. As he outgrows his bikes I sell them, enough people recognize quality, and I have recently gotten around 60 % of MSRP for his used bikes, not the best price, but they do sell and some other kid gets a really good bike.