Road Bike Advice

Georgie06

Hi, Hope someone can give us some advice. Our 9 year old son is really keen on the idea of getting a road bike with drop handle bars. We, as a family, however, tend to ride mainly off road where possible. In 2016 we want to spend five days in the summer riding the Hadrian's Wall Cycle way, which is a mixture of road and off road riding. We plan to buy our son a new bike for christmas and I thought i'd found the perfect solution in the Frog Road bike as it comes with cyclocross tyres - aka best of both worlds. However, I've just been talking to a man in a bike shop and he says my son will struggle with his arms and will be uncomfortable with the drop handles on our cycling holiday. Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be the case?
We've never bought our boys new bikes before so this is a big deal for us. I think the frog hybrid is probably better for him and for our wallets (and is also a better fit in terms of size), but i can just picture how exited he would be on christmas morning if he got a road bike!!!

Any advice???

brianbee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19736135#p19736135]Georgie06[/url] wrote:

Hi, Hope someone can give us some advice. Our 9 year old son is really keen on the idea of getting a road bike with drop handle bars. We, as a family, however, tend to ride mainly off road where possible. In 2016 we want to spend five days in the summer riding the Hadrian's Wall Cycle way, which is a mixture of road and off road riding. We plan to buy our son a new bike for christmas and I thought i'd found the perfect solution in the Frog Road bike as it comes with cyclocross tyres - aka best of both worlds. However, I've just been talking to a man in a bike shop and he says my son will struggle with his arms and will be uncomfortable with the drop handles on our cycling holiday. Can anyone tell me if this is likely to be the case?
We've never bought our boys new bikes before so this is a big deal for us. I think the frog hybrid is probably better for him and for our wallets (and is also a better fit in terms of size), but i can just picture how exited he would be on christmas morning if he got a road bike!!!

Any advice???

The bloke in the shop may have a point or he may just be trying to get a sale himself ?

Drops are better for more purposeful riding, not really suited to a gentle cruse along and can be hard work off road, but he is young and bendy and may love it

BUT, its not a decision you need to make now, buy him what he wants, if he doesn't get on with the drop handle bars, put some straights on it for the holiday,

Underscore

My oldest got a drop bar bike for his 9th birthday (Islabikes Luath 26 - and they do a 24 inch version for still smaller people - though, unlike the Frog, it only comes with road tyres) and he's got on with them really well.

He mainly uses it for cyclocross training and racing (and a bit of grasstrack training when he can't get on a fixed wheel) but he has done a bit of road riding and I've had no complaints at all. I guess every child is different - though also supremely adaptable - but I see no reason why they would struggle particularly provided they have (or can acquire) the bike control required...

_

Georgie06

Thanks everyone he is a very sporty little boy so i can imagine he would be ok, and i know he'd love to get into racing and going to the local club so it would be good for that too. You've all cheered me up immensely!

janearnold

Hi Georgie06, we're in te same position as you, looking to get our son a road bike for his birthday/christmas.

Having sat him on a few we've decided to go for Islabikes as the reach/brakes seem easier for him - the decathlon bike that fitted him seemed cause him problems reaching the bralkes. Also he finds the gears on his hybrid difficult to fathom, the Islabikes seem to be a simpler set up.

So decision made, I now need to sell a kidney in order to afford the blummin thing!