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Getting kids into riding on the road

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  • April 27, 2011 at 9:46 am #13351
    g1deonian

    Hi all – my son is 12 and up until now we have concentrated his cycling on MTB at which he is pretty good. I now want to get him out on the road rides or even sportives with me and I am having problems finding decent bikes for kids. Any ideas?

    Dan

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Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • May 4, 2011 at 2:49 pm #642991
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    Super Domestique

    If you do look at the TDF try
    If you do look at the TDF try a bit of bartering instore as last year an extra 10 percent off was easily achieved, sometimes more.

    May 4, 2011 at 2:37 pm #642989
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    g1deonian

    Thanks for all the good
    Thanks for all the good advice. I am going to keep an eye out for a second hand Islabike on eBay. Alternatively I may give the Carrera TDF a whizz. Halfrauds are selling them for a mere £350 at the moment which is a veritable bargain.

    April 29, 2011 at 8:01 pm #642987
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    Old Cranky

    Islabikes are good because
    Islabikes are good because they have shorter cranks and appropriate gearing for children.

    April 29, 2011 at 8:19 am #642985
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    Super Domestique

    Yes, as above my son is
    Yes, as above my son is nearly 12 and on a Carrera TDF which has about a 48.5 frame iirc. I did swap for a shorter stem, 110mm replaced by 80mm, but he was fine reach wise. When he first got the bike I felt the seatpost needed dropping a fraction more but the water little bosses on the downtube hindered that so I raided my spares box and found one 50mm shorter. It did the job, although that was late last summer and wouldn’t be an issue now. Also as he was used to flattie pedals I started him the half clips which helped him too.

    April 28, 2011 at 4:09 pm #642983
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    NickInBath

    g1deonian: you didn’t say how
    g1deonian: you didn’t say how tall the lad is?

    My son is 11 and, although a little taller than most of his classmates, fits on a 52cm Trek and he’d previously ridden his Mum’s 50cm Trek. ie try your boy straddling a 48 or 50cm bike and you may be surprised, especially if you fit the shortest possible stem.

    We have fitted a 7.5cm Bontrager stem and he’s perfect for now although we expect to have to fit a longer stem once he shoots up.

    By the way, agree with all of the above on Islabikes. If he really is too small for an ‘adult’ bike then Isla’s are brilliant if you can find one. Trouble is he’ll start growing like crazy the second you buy one. Always a dilemma.

    April 28, 2011 at 10:33 am #642981
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    Simon E

    dave_atkinson wrote:in my

    dave_atkinson wrote:
    in my experience the decent youths road bikes usually to belong to the kids of cycling club members – or at least keen cyclists – and they often get passed down within a club or to friends, which might explain why you don’t see so many advertised

    I’d say the same, though it applies more to decent road bikes than MTB-style kids’ bikes.

    Islabikes are probably the best children’s bikes you can buy. They do appear on ebay regularly but since demand outstrips supply they won’t be especially cheap. Having said that, you get what you pay for, and if you buy new resale value will be healthy.

    April 27, 2011 at 10:43 am #642979
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    dave atkinson

    g1deonian wrote:Thanks for

    g1deonian wrote:
    Thanks for your help Dave. I would have thought that there would a healthy supply of used small framed bikes given that kids will grow out of these bikes in no time.. alas no such luck in the classifieds or ebay.

    in my experience the decent youths road bikes usually to belong to the kids of cycling club members – or at least keen cyclists – and they often get passed down within a club or to friends, which might explain why you don’t see so many advertised

    April 27, 2011 at 10:41 am #642977
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    g1deonian

    Thanks for your help Dave. I
    Thanks for your help Dave. I would have thought that there would a healthy supply of used small framed bikes given that kids will grow out of these bikes in no time.. alas no such luck in the classifieds or ebay.

    April 27, 2011 at 10:26 am #642975
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    dave atkinson

    the islabikes luath
    the islabikes luath (http://www.islabikes.com/bike_pages/luath700.html) is certainly worth a look. So is the Kinesis KR210 (http://road.cc/content/review/16219-kinesis-kr210-youths-road-frame-fork). scott and giant have made good kids’ road bikes in the past but i don’t think they have much in the current line-ups

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