Youth road bike

tallmat

Posting this here I've found nothing in Childs Bike section, and in any case not sure it's relevant to that audience.

My 11 year old son is already super-keen on cycling, he presently rides a hybrid which he's outgrown, it's heavy, and it's time to move on.

He wants a "proper road bike" as he puts it, hence me asking the learned members herein..!

There seems to be little choice out there for a frame size 44-46cm

Does anyone have experience, or can offer ideas?

The Specialized Allez looks nice but pricey at £600 for a bike he'll probably outgrow in 18-24 months.

Many thanks

Anonymous

Kind of think your choices are Cheap but rubbish/heavy, second hand, too big for him or wait until he is bigger.
Personally I would go for something like the Allez as it will give him the best start to road biking and have a decent resale value.

What about Decathlon?

redscouse

I had a similar conundrum before christmas...what to get thats affordable for a 12 yr old, the isla bikes are expensive and ebay prices near enough match brand new. If you can afford it buy one of those because when he outgrows it then youll get most of your money back on ebay. I bought a 650 wheel Btwin triban 3 offa fella on gumtree for £150...they are well regarded bikes although the gear changing has taken some getting used to for my son. I got my LBS to add bar brakes until he feels able enough to brake from the hoods and drops. The buike was slightly too big but he has grown since then and fits him better now.

Anonymous

Personally i would avoid supplementary brakes and triple chainrings.
Start as you mean to go on ;-)
Get a light bike with decent gearing, good brakes and small hand friendly levers.

redscouse

Carbonator wrote:

Personally i would avoid supplementary brakes and triple chainrings.
Start as you mean to go on ;-)
Get a light bike with decent gearing, good brakes and small hand friendly levers.

I would agree with this however cost/VFM won out this time and bar brakes keeps him safe. could not afford a £400 bike for a 12 yrr old

Anonymous

You can only do what you can do.
Not sure I would agree supplementary levers are a safety feature though.
You have less control on the tops because your hands are very close together making steering twitchy, they generally do not work that great, and it takes away the necessity to learn how to use the real levers properly.

Small hand friendly levers are the safest IMO.
Supplementary levers sound a good idea, but in reality I'm not so sure they are.

redscouse

Carbonator wrote:

You can only do what you can do.
Not sure I would agree supplementary levers are a safety feature though.
You have less control on the tops because your hands are very close together making steering twitchy, they generally do not work that great, and it takes away the necessity to learn how to use the real levers properly.

Small hand friendly levers are the safest IMO.
Supplementary levers sound a good idea, but in reality I'm not so sure they are.

They are if he wants to ride on the top all the time..his mother insisted ..but yes I know what you mean

simon_masterson

If you're any good at putting bikes together, there are some good older (in particular) MTB frames out there that could make a great small road bike with some 650cs.

This kind of thing:

fatsmoker

I got my lad a Halfords carrera tdf. No, it's not the lightest, but it looks the part and at £250 or so, depending on which sale you catch it's cheap. When my lad gets an inch or so inches taller he can have mine and I'll have a valid reason in the wife's eyes to upgrade my own

SnotRockets

I got my 11 yr old a Moda Major at xmas.650c wheels,microshift shifters good for smaller hands.Reasonably light for the money too...hes well happy with it

passout

Kona Jake does a 650 model I think - put some slicks on that perhaps? Islabikes is probably your best bet but costs.

Dawes do some cheaper youth bikes - got one for my 10 yr old from Winstanleys for less than 200 ('Giro' I think). Obviously not as nice as more expensive stuff but decent value nonetheless.

arlowood

I'd check out Paul Milnes Ebay shop for some inspiration.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Paul-Milnes-Cy ... 34.c0.m322

They have one or two offerings in 44" sizes including a Genesis Col du Glandon at £399 which looks the part and would be a good starting point for a "proper" road bike.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161417575574? ... EBIDX%3AIT

I would echo the comments above about steering clear of the supplementary levers if you can. With patience and appropriate supervision I'm sure you could get him to use the normal STI brakes safely and effectively.

Alternative option could be to buy a frame and build it up but that would probably cost more than the Genesis referred to above

DeVlaeminck

I would definitely get 700c wheels unless he's very small for his age - look at your local cyclocross league and all the kids of that age will be on 700c, same for any other sort of racing.

I would get a cyclocross bike unless you are certain he wont use it for tracks and trails - at that age he probably will be. The supplementary brake levers on the tops are a good idea too - my kids had bikes with and without at that age (twins) and they preferred with - it doesn't stop them using the normal levers too I mean some pros have them on for Paris Roubaix so we can forgive an 11 year old using them can't we ?

Look for something second hand - they aren't all massively expensive and kids don't put huge miles in the only wear and tear is likely to be adults who jet wash their kids cross bikes and trash the bearings - I'm probably going to sell my sons Islabike soon and will be asking about £200 which is close to what I bought it or (my son only did one season of cross on it though) and whoever buys it will probably recoup that when they sell it on in turn.

At that age my son was on an Isla 700 and my daughter a small Specialised Tricross I built up with campag bits I had lying about in the garage and a 160mm chainset I bought (square taper thing but does the job).

Dorset_Boy

A normal height 12 yo should be fine on 700c wheels. No need at that age for supplementary levels either unless he has no coordination and no balance (if which case he wouldn't be riding a bike anyway! )

My very soon to be 11 yo is a normal height for his age and has just moved onto an Allez with Claris gearing, loaned to him by the club which has 700c wheels.

He has previously been riding a Triban 3, 45 cm frame with 650c wheels. Cost new in April 2014 was £250.
The only issue he had with it was changing from the small chainring to the big chainring as he had to push the level across and hold it until the change was made which he struggled with.

no such issues with the claris shifters and had no problem going up our very local hill this week:
https://app.strava.com/segments/1367819?filter=overall

If you are on a tight budget (ie under £400) then the choice is very limited for a new bike, and then it's finding a second hand that's local which is a bigger issue in some areas than others I guess.

Dorset_Boy

Also forgot to say that you will want / need the larger chainring to only be a 46t - at U12 racing the biggest gear allowed is 46 x 15 (IIRC), and this rule is there to stop kids from ripping their knees to pieces.

imposter2.0

Dorset Boy wrote:

Also forgot to say that you will want / need the larger chainring to only be a 46t - at U12 racing the biggest gear allowed is 46 x 15 (IIRC), and this rule is there to stop kids from ripping their knees to pieces.

U12 gear roll-out is 6.05m which translates into a range of different gears, depending on wheel size. The restrictions are less about the knees (which if you think about it, a gear restriction would make no difference) and more about giving riders on different wheel sizes the same overall gearing.

Anonymous

passout wrote:

Kona Jake does a 650 model I think - put some slicks on that perhaps? Islabikes is probably your best bet but costs.

Dawes do some cheaper youth bikes - got one for my 10 yr old from Winstanleys for less than 200 ('Giro' I think). Obviously not as nice as more expensive stuff but decent value nonetheless.

Not sure why you say Isla Bikes are your best bet?
Have you ever had one, or just going on what you have heard about them?
There are much better bikes out there.

I would be careful with Dawes. Some have adult levers with single pivot callipers. Not a great combination for kids IMO.
Some have odd size wheels/tyres too.

imposter2.0

For a 700c bike, Islabikes are nothing like the 'best bet' - there are far more suitable bikes out there. For 24" or 26" bikes, they are well worth looking at though.

ovi

https://www.frogbikes.com/lightweight-kids-bikes/road-bikes/frog-road-70.aspx another option here

passout

Carbonator wrote:

passout wrote:

Kona Jake does a 650 model I think - put some slicks on that perhaps? Islabikes is probably your best bet but costs.

Dawes do some cheaper youth bikes - got one for my 10 yr old from Winstanleys for less than 200 ('Giro' I think). Obviously not as nice as more expensive stuff but decent value nonetheless.

Not sure why you say Isla Bikes are your best bet?
Have you ever had one, or just going on what you have heard about them?
There are much better bikes out there.

I would be careful with Dawes. Some have adult levers with single pivot callipers. Not a great combination for kids IMO.
Some have odd size wheels/tyres too.

Take your point about Dawes - suited my 10 yr old very well but the levers (on a smaller sized bike) were for adults unsuitable for my 7 yr old. Would certainly need to try it out first. You can pick them up heavily discounted though, in which case can be good value if on a low budget.

Re Islas bikes - know someone who has one & they seem good to me. Components seem well chosen in terms of size / suitability for kids. Also reasonable weights. Hold their value very well too. Would have gone done that route but the cost put me off.

Also the Moda option http://www.moda-bikes.com/bikes-2/junior/

DeVlaeminck

Imposter wrote:

For a 700c bike, Islabikes are nothing like the 'best bet' - there are far more suitable bikes out there. For 24" or 26" bikes, they are well worth looking at though.

I don't know about far more suitable - yes there are plenty of alternatives but I would say a 700c Islabike is still a very suitable bike for an 11 or 12 year old.

Re. the Kona Jake 24 - we had an old one (before they discontinued and then bought it back) and in some ways it was better than the Isla but it was over geared, a mate bought one of the more recent models and wasn't impressed for the money either - in any case the OPs kid is too old for one but if anyone is looking I'd take the Isla 26 over the Kona.

imposter2.0

Maybe 'suitable' in terms of the dictionary definition, but not desirable. You don't see too many Islabikes lining up at U12 level, rightly or wrongly.

Anonymous

The high resale has less to do with quality/suitability and more to do with snob value and owners/instant experts going on and on and on about them.

I think they are good and applaud their ethos and the fact they got off their arse and did something about kids bikes, but there is much better out there.

The high resale argument sounds similar to whats often said when an adult buys a Specialized.
Personally I would take a hit and have a better bike if that was my option.

ovi

Carbonator wrote:

The high resale has less to do with quality/suitability and more to do with snob value and owners/instant experts going on and on and on about them.

I think they are good and applaud their ethos and the fact they got off their ars* and did something about kids bikes, but there is much better out there.

The high resale argument sounds similar to whats often said when an adult buys a Specialized.
Personally I would take a hit and have a better bike if that was my option.

what bikes are better then as I struggled to find one?

Spudboy

Got my 11 year old (admitted tall for his age) a 2014 Giant Defy 3 at a great discount for £399. There are often good deals on the Defy range especially in the prior year models. We bought it with 'growing room' and just fitted a shorter stem for the time being. The geometry is nice and stable and IMHO makes a great first road bike.

cyclist0_7

I have a Decathlon 7.1Sport which I bought from Decathlon in Limoges for my grandson who very quickly lost interest in cycling when he acquired a guitar. Aluminium semi sloping with a steel fork, it has 650c qr alloy wheels and measures 42.5 cm centre to top of seat tube. I took off much of the low end components so it now has Sora sti h'bar controls, 105 derailleurs f&r, new Mavic 8 cassette, new Ultegra 165mm crankset, dual pivot brakes and is in very good condition. If it is of interest then let me know and I can send you pictures or you can arrange to view.

mamba80

the thing with the isla bike is that my daughter used it for cyclo x and changed the wheels/cassette for youth cct racing, it comes with a 46 34 crankset and 165 cranks, perfect for a young rider, easy to sell on too, we lost about £100 after 3 years use.
it may not be the best at any one discipline but as an all rounder, its hard to beat but maybe in the last few years there is more competition?

gimpl

Spudboy wrote:

Got my 11 year old (admitted tall for his age) a 2014 Giant Defy 3 at a great discount for £399. There are often good deals on the Defy range especially in the prior year models. We bought it with 'growing room' and just fitted a shorter stem for the time being. The geometry is nice and stable and IMHO makes a great first road bike.

Did much the same thing for my 10 year old. XS Defy 4 second hand off Ebay for about £200. He still has it nearly two years later and loves it. Probably won't need to change it for at least another year and expect to sell it on for nearly the same money.