TheRef

I have a 12 year old who is growing like weeds. He is about 5' 5" - 5' 6" (1.65m) and has grown over 5 inches in the last year or so.

He has a cheap Fuji steel mountain bike (17" frame) that's heavy as a tank and we go for rides around our little downtown to the library, starbucks and such or longer rides on MUPs and some light trails. Our longer ride together was just shy of 30 miles with several above 20 miles. We usually average about 10 to 12 mph and I've put more road worthy tires which have improved our speed on paved surfaces.

He wants to do some longer rides and maybe even try a century with me this year. I have no doubt that he is capable as he is a good athlete (soccer). The only thing holding him back is a decent road bike.

I've been reluctant to buy him a road bike because of his rapid growth and I think that he would outgrown whatever I buy him now before the end of this year. A friend suggested that I buy him a bigger frame and try to fit him the best as I can until he grows into the frame. Replacing parts such as stems and raising the seat.

For reference I have a Fuji Gran fondo size 55cm (LBS guy says it compares to most manufacturers size 56cm) and he can stand over it with some clearance over his jewels. If I lower the seat he can pedal with some ease but he is very stretched out while reaching the bars which are above the seat level.

LBS tells me that right now he would be best served by a size 50 or 52 depending on the model. I was thinking of buying at least a size 54 so he can have use of it for longer. Should I go this route? If so what should I replace other than a shorter stem?

I've been looking on craigslist for something his size but no luck so far.

mcmoose

There's a father and son who sometimes ride with our group. I think the son just turned 15... he's gone through three bikes in 18 months due to growth.

I think you're best bet is to find a good, used 54 cm road bike. It can "grow" with him for a bit by raising the seat and getting a longer stem.

If you end up having to buy a larger bike (and he's still under 17), you should put the shorter stem back on the used bike, and save the longer stem for the newer bike... you'll probably need to size that one up some as well.

With luck, two used bikes will get you through his growth years, and he can buy his "grown up" bike when he's 18 or 19.

Good luck!

GravelMN

Just make sure he has decent standover clearance if you are going with a larger than currently recommended frame. There really isn't a good way to avoid having to replace bikes as a young person grows. Each frame size only works well through a certain height range. You can make some adjustments with stems, setback seatposts, etc. but probably the best route is to keep trading in used bikes as he grows. My daughter is now a young adult, but she went through four different size bikes between the ages of 10 and 18.

RoadGuy

If he can stand over a 54cm with some clearance already, it would be a mistake to buy a 50cm or 52cm. Okay, maybe a 52cm if you can find a decent used one for dirt cheap, knowing that you will probably replace it pretty quickly.

It you not make any sense to buy him expensive new road bikes while he's growing and he may only ride them a year or two at most. Look for a decent 90s or better aluminum bike to get him started. You don't know if he will even keep riding, when in a couple of years he's going to get the itch to drive, and he may leave cycling for a while.

My oldest son turned 30 years old last year, and he surprised me be asking if I still had his old mountain bike, and if I had a road bike he could try riding. He had not ridden a bike since he was 15 years old. I still had his last mountain bike (adult sized, I stored all my kids last bikes in the garage hoping they would want them back some day). I suggested that he ride the mountain bike for a couple of months to get used to riding again, and if he still wanted to try a road bike (he has never ridden a road bike), then we could see about getting him a road bike.

He took his mountain bike to his house, and in less than two months, it got stolen when one of his room mates borrowed it to ride to work, because his car was not running. I went trolling Craigslist and found a 88 52cm Trek 1000 with Shimano 105 on it, 90 minutes away for $30 (I think I could have fit him on a 54cm, but the 52cm seems to fit him fine with a longer handlebar stem). From the looks of it, the bike was left outside in the sun for years (the Dupont Imron Trek painted it with still looks great) before I rescued it. The tires, tubes, and seat had rotted to shreds. The wheels were surprisingly true, I greased the wheel bearings, bottom bracket, pedals, and headset. Then replaced the tires, tubes, rimstrips, brake cables and housings, and the seat. I updated to dual pivot brake calipers, replaced one brake lever, and changed the handlebar stem and handlebars to fit the bike to him.

I don't think I have $125 in it yet, and I could not buy a similar used bike in same condition for less than $300-$400. If he rides the bike hard this year, we can see about finding him a newer bike with a more modern drivetrain (it has a 6-speed freewheel and downtube shifters), if we don't upgrade the 88 further. But it would be so easy to upgrade it. I checked, it will take a 130mm rear wheel, and I have spare freehub wheels and new Shimano FD2300 front and rear derailleurs (from eBay, they cost me $5 each), so I could upgrade him to a 7, 8, 9, 10 cassette pretty easily.

54cm framed bikes are hard to find as they are probably the most popular size. 56cm and 58cm bikes are usually what I find for sale. 50cm and 52cm bikes are a little easier to find, and in less demand, so the prices that you can get them for are actually a little lower. When dealing with Craigslist and eBay Sellers, don't expect them to be advertising the size of the bikes for sale accurately/correctly. I swear most bikes I go to look at are a different size than advertised, and even when I talk to Sellers before I drive over to look, and have them measure the bike frame, they get it wrong.

You should be able to find decent used bikes to go look at for less than $150 (I bought or traded for eight 1990s and 2000s Trek road and mountain bikes last year, and didn't pay more than $100 for any of them except a 2300 composite bike). Make sure that they are new enough to at least have 700C wheels. That sure ensure that the bike is new enough for you to be able to find replacement parts easily from local sources (and not have the bike down while you hunt for some part no-longer made by a defunct company on the Internet). If you are willing to spend $275-300, you should be able to find a 2000s Trek or Specialized road bike (for example, there are several 2002-2007 Trek road bikes selling for $300 or less in the SoCal area right now.

If you buy right, when you go to sell you won't lose any money.

CliffordK

Personally I wouldn't worry about lots of clearance. "Tight" is just fine. Once one is riding, then one isn't standing on the top tube.

You don't necessarily want the seat slammed down on the Top Tube, but even that is acceptable for young kids.

So, if he can stand over a 56 without being uncomfortable, then get it. Or, snag a bike with a sloping top tube.

Make sure you have a little extra upward seat post adjustment.

I agree, go ahead and snag a good used bike. Kids can be hard on bikes, or get them stolen.

I'm partial to the older "classics", but it doesn't hurt to also target a cheaper bike from around year 2000. Probably aluminum frame.

Any plans of racing?

Oh, also, consider getting a bike that you can work on together. Perhaps build a set of new wheels from scratch. A few other "upgrades" to get him used to doing some bike maintenance.

MRT2

I have been through the same thing with my son, who is 13 and now pushing 5'8" and still growing. Two years ago, he was, maybe 5'. this time last year, he was maybe 5'3". He outgrew his 13" Trek 800 at the end of the summer of 2013. So, where will he wind up height wise? Based on my height (5'8", but used to be 5'9"), and the height of my wife's male relatives, he could be as tall as 6'2" or he could top out at 5'10" or 5'11". So, hard to say what size bike he would end up with. My estimate would be a 56 cm or 58 cm, or a M/L or even L. but right now he rides between a 53 and a 54 cm, or a M sized frame in some brands. I passed on a nice 52 Bianchi Volpe at a bike swap last month. My son was able to ride it, but I couldn't see paying money for a bike that was already on the small side for a growing boy, though it was a nice deal.

So my solution is to stick with what we have for another year. He has been riding my 90s era Bianchi hybrid, 18" frame, and should that get a little small, I might swap out for a longer stem as a stop gap. It isn't optimal, but he is more into mountain biking anyhow, and the hybrid is good enough for rides of up to 40 or 50 miles of road/bike trail riding, which he does maybe 3 or 4 times during the spring/summer season.

So, to sum up, I would recommend going with something used at the top of your boy's size range. If you can't find a road bike, maybe even consider a used hybrid with a solid fork. Those bikes can be found fairly cheap and might work as a stop gap until your boy's height stabilizes. In addition to being suitable for 30 or 40 mile rides or even longer, they are more versatile around town bikes than are true road bikes. And if your boy grows out of it, hopefully you can sell it for about what you paid for it and buy the next size up next year.

caloso

I would buy a 54cm complete bike with decent components, say 105 level. Make sure it takes a standard seatpost, standard BB, no weird cabling. Adjust seat post and stem length as necessary until he is way too big. Then buy a bigger frame and transfer the components over.

rpenmanparker 

Yeah, I would think that two bikes should cover it over the growing period. One to start out too large and end up too small, and a second to be bought when he is nearing final height. Keep all the different size stems you buy over the whole time period until you know what the final stem requirement will be.

dalava

That's a sound advice, and what I did with my daughter's road bike. I would calculate the largest size frame he would fit right now, and go one size up.

Obviously no one will know how tall a 12-yr boy at 5'5 today will be in a few years, but you can somewhat future proof yourself with a bigger frame (54cm sounds reasonable) with sloping top tube so he can standover it without problem. With different size stems and setback seatposts (FSA makes one with as much as 35mm setback), I think you should be good for a couple of years (assuming he doesn't hit a huge growth spurt).

TrojanHorse

My son just turned 12 this weekend and he's also a club soccer player and he's 5'1" and frankly, I expect the same issues with him starting shortly. He currently has a 44cm Fuji. One of the plans I came up with was to buy an inexpensive Nashbar aluminum frame and a 105 groupset and just swap frames as he grows. The frames are pretty inexpensive. I got his Fuji used, so I may just go that route again too.

He's ridden 35 miles with me at times and we're planning on doing a 50 mile ride for Tour of Palm Springs next month.

We have Cardo BK-1 duo intercoms so we can chat while riding (and I can keep tabs on him). if he'd ride as hard as he talks I bet we could cover some serious ground! As it is, average speed is in the 11-12 mph range, peaking at 13 or so when we're on a trail with no interruptions.

CliffordK

Perhaps one should ask how tall the parents are.

If all other family members are short, then he may be already getting to about as tall as he will be (unless you have a tall mailman).

On the other hand, if the parents are 6'6, then there is some room for growth.

kingston 

This is really a great idea. I wish I had thought of it sooner. I have four kids aged 11-15 and am constantly buying and selling used bikes or handing bikes down to keep them all on bikes that fit.

pdedes

i think a 54cm compact geo. frame will give you the largest options in terms of sizing flexibility. swapping stems and using an extra long seat post will get him to 5-11