roadbike for 11 year old

bobhitch

Hello all,
My son is keen on having a road bike for his eleventh birthday .Ideaaly he would like sti shiftng etc. any advice on specific bikes or website links greatly appreciated.


cheers bob

bartimaeus

You haven't specified a budget, but if you can stretch to it the Iskabikes range are excellent, and they seem to have a reasonable second hand value. You'd probably be looking at a Luath 700 Small, but look at the sizing guide as it is spot on. My kids have the more general purpose Beinn bikes - which they love as they are lightweight and easy to ride (see this). My nephew is a keen cyclist and he has a Luath - it's another lovely piece of kit, and he rates it very highly.

Hopefully you'll get some other recommendations at different price points... there are a fair few bikes to choose from I think. Check the weights, though... I invested in a set ofluggage scaleswhich helps as most manufacturers don't quote them. To give you some idea, Alec's previous bike weighed over 29lbs (more than my Anthem), while his Beinn 24 weighs just under 23lbs. A Luath 700 is 22.6lbs.

Mike Healey

Bartimaeus wrote:

You haven't specified a budget, but if you can stretch to it the Iskabikes range are excellent, and they seem to have a reasonable second hand value. You'd probably be looking at a Luath 700 Small, but look at the sizing guide as it is spot on. My kids have the more general purpose Beinn bikes - which they love as they are lightweight and easy to ride (see this). My nephew is a keen cyclist and he has a Luath - it's another lovely piece of kit, and he rates it very highly.

Hopefully you'll get some other recommendations at different price points... there are a fair few bikes to choose from I think. Check the weights, though... I invested in a set ofluggage scaleswhich helps as most manufacturers don't quote them. To give you some idea, Alec's previous bike weighed over 29lbs (more than my Anthem), while his Beinn 24 weighs just under 23lbs. A Luath 700 is 22.6lbs.

+10

DazCr

Bartimaeus is bang on the money.

Beauty of Islabikes is they are designed for the age range a given model is catering for with components well chosen and in some cases scaled down (ie brake levers, etc)

bobhitch

Thanks all , the islabikes products look perfect , will get the 11+ bike at £449 and review it for anyone who is interested at a later date

all show no go

If you haven't purchased a bike yet, take a gander at this....

http://www.dawescycles.com/p-232-espoir-3000-26.aspx

andrewc3142

Seems like you've already decided, but plus one for the Luath 700. My eldest had one for his 9th birthday (is now 10 1/2). Absolutely loves it. I had Marathons fitted, but also have a second set of wheels with Gatorskins.

As above, their sizing is spot on.

zebra67

I would buy the Dawes Espoir if I were buying today, my 10yo is in love with it. Much lighter than the Luath which we got as a X-bike (but woudln't bother doing that again).

prawny

The Moda Junior bikes are nifty looking too. Bit big for my 2 year old yet though.

Teach

Mike Healey wrote:

Bartimaeus wrote:

You haven't specified a budget, but if you can stretch to it the Iskabikes range are excellent, and they seem to have a reasonable second hand value. You'd probably be looking at a Luath 700 Small, but look at the sizing guide as it is spot on. My kids have the more general purpose Beinn bikes - which they love as they are lightweight and easy to ride (see this). My nephew is a keen cyclist and he has a Luath - it's another lovely piece of kit, and he rates it very highly.

Hopefully you'll get some other recommendations at different price points... there are a fair few bikes to choose from I think. Check the weights, though... I invested in a set ofluggage scaleswhich helps as most manufacturers don't quote them. To give you some idea, Alec's previous bike weighed over 29lbs (more than my Anthem), while his Beinn 24 weighs just under 23lbs. A Luath 700 is 22.6lbs.

+10

+1 Isla bikes have a great reputation. Isla bikes also open the possibilities of doing grass track etc. The front tyres can easily be changed. Pop into your LBS they may have a bike available. I believe Dawes do one.
Look for a Go-cycling club nearby. They are usually full of helpful people who want to encourage children into cycling. There may be a second hand bike for sale, or they may have bikes for you to try to ensure your child a) enjoys riding a road bike and b) gives you an idea of what your looking for/ or like.

Roadracer123

I had a carrera valour at that age, absolutely perfect (if you can see past the brand)...
also great price for the spec...

bartimaeus

Some of the Carrera bikes are supposed to be very good - and very good value. If you look on the MTB forum you'll see plenty of recommendations for the Fury, the Kraken and Vulcan as entry level adult bikes (with the Fury a top recommendation).

jeremyrundle

Gosh, as a single Father I never allowed my sons to go near the road under fourteen.

However at 12 they had Dawes

ride_whenever

depends how big he is, you might be able to get him onto a very very small adult frame.

zebra67

We went to a kids' road racing coaching event last week and got to indulge in a bit of racing bike porn.

The children age 10-12 yrs old had beautiful bikes, including a small Raleigh, a Ribble, a Carrera, a small Trek & a small Giant, several were fitted with 26" wheels. Gave me some more brands to be aware of.

baudman

zebra67 wrote:

We went to a kids' road racing coaching event last week and got to indulge in a bit of racing bike porn.
.

"I hope she won" - BSNYC
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2010/09 ... -quiz.html

Initialised

My 8 year old got a 18" frame, 26" wheel MTB for his birthday. He's big for his age but always best to get them something that will last and they can grow into.

DazCr

Initialised wrote:

My 8 year old got a 18" frame, 26" wheel MTB for his birthday. He's big for his age but always best to get them something that will last and they can grow into.

Big for his age? he must be about 5'10" on those measurements!!!

Love it!!