14YO first road bike
Whitehorse
Posts: 3
Hi,
First post, so here goes! My 14 Year old son wants a new road bike, he's got the bug after a friend of mine gave him his old Muesing Tri bike (which was too big!).
He wants to ride it to school each day (5 miles) and has sold all of his BMX etc to pay for the new one! He's 160cm/5'3"+ and growing (5cm/2" in the last 3 months). I suspect he'll grow out of it quite quickly.
So what to buy? He fancies a Cube and a Bianchi, I'm matching his money so we have £759-800 to spend. He says he'd like to race next year too.
I did think of a Ribble Audax/Winter, but happy to hear what others have to say.
Thanks in advance.
First post, so here goes! My 14 Year old son wants a new road bike, he's got the bug after a friend of mine gave him his old Muesing Tri bike (which was too big!).
He wants to ride it to school each day (5 miles) and has sold all of his BMX etc to pay for the new one! He's 160cm/5'3"+ and growing (5cm/2" in the last 3 months). I suspect he'll grow out of it quite quickly.
So what to buy? He fancies a Cube and a Bianchi, I'm matching his money so we have £759-800 to spend. He says he'd like to race next year too.
I did think of a Ribble Audax/Winter, but happy to hear what others have to say.
Thanks in advance.
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Comments
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Given he is growing I wouldnt spend the lot on a bike, look at the Triban 3 from Decathlon or possibly the Zelos or TDF from Halfords and then flog it and upgrade next Spring.Life isnt like a box of chocolates, its like a bag of pic n mix.0
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Ribble Audax is a very good value bike. The frame geometry is a bit old fashioned with it's horizontal top tube etc - feels a bit "longer", less snappy when ridden compared with modern bikes with sloping top tubes and shorter wheelbases, but has very good spec/components for the money, certainly the major brands like Specialize and Trek etc can't touch it on spec....Do not write below this line. Office use only.0
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Why not get a good second hand one ... ?
If he wants to race then find a local cycle club and have a chat - they will (probably) be happy to help and encourage him - and be able to advise you on the correct bike with appropriate gears - juniors have restricted gearing....0 -
If the local club has a decent young section, then not only will they be able to advise, but they will probably have kids that have bikes that are too small and want to sell. Much better to go second hand at this age, especially if they want to race as they may well end up on the floor once or twice....0
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I am thinking of a second hand one, however I'm not sure what to go for. I need a robust bike and in my mind would be prepared to sacrifice speed /weight for durability, esp wheels etc! The roads in Surrey are not very smooth...0
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ribble is a good call, even compared with what U could get 2nd hand. Take the guards off- easy good enough to race on. Try to get 52 39 rings to help with restricted gearsjc0
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Not much point having a 52/53 at the front as u16 are restricted to 88" ie: 52x16 / 50x15 / 46x14
Probably better to have a 50 on the front with a 14-25 on the back, but taking the 14 off. This would give the best spread of gears and get closest to the maximum.
.... 52 .. 50 .. 46
14 ....... ....... 86.3
15 ....... 87.6 80.6
16 85.4 82.1 75.6
17 80.4 77.3 71.1
18 75.9 73.0 67.2
19 71.9 69.2 63.6
21 65.1 62.6 57.6
23 59.4 57.1 52.6
25 54.7 52.6 48.40 -
Whitehorse wrote:Hi,
First post, so here goes! My 14 Year old son wants a new road bike, he's got the bug after a friend of mine gave him his old Muesing Tri bike (which was too big!).
He wants to ride it to school each day (5 miles) and has sold all of his BMX etc to pay for the new one! He's 160cm/5'3"+ and growing (5cm/2" in the last 3 months). I suspect he'll grow out of it quite quickly.
So what to buy? He fancies a Cube and a Bianchi, I'm matching his money so we have £759-800 to spend. He says he'd like to race next year too.
I did think of a Ribble Audax/Winter, but happy to hear what others have to say.
Thanks in advance.
If you get him the ribble audax, the frame alone is only £100 to replace when he out grows it and you can transfer all the gear across and sell the original frame"It never gets easier, you just go faster"0 -
I got the Ribble Audax for my sons 14th Birthday and he is loving it. I got the 56cm frame as he had recently shot up and is 5' 9" or probably a bit more now. Having ridden the bike myself (just a bit too small really) I can confirm it's pretty good for the money and I would have no hesitation in getting one for myself.
Secondhand gets you the best value if you have time to select carefully and wait for the right one to come along. However the thrill of a brand new shiny machine for your birthday with an input into the exact spec. certainly takes some beating, and might be part of the reason he has really taken to the cycling now.
This weekend we will be giving it some thrashing over Holme Moss, Snake Pass and the Strines on a 55 mile route he has picked out. The only change he made was to put an 11-30 cassette on the back in place of the original 11-25 as with the 50-39 compact front it was a bit much on some climbs. He doesn't race so the biggest gear is only puched downhill to try and keep up with me
He struggles as I have a (big) weight advantage.
If you are happy to pay the money and perhaps go up a bit on frame size to allow growing room (the saddle can stay low for the first few months anyway). You will get a damn fine back that should last well.0 -
Most common gear to get within the u16 6.91m (or is it 6.93m) is 52 16.
this gives the best chance of bagging a spare wheel if your son races.
16 up cassettes are available.
53 front ring is over geared. I can never find a combination that works with a 50 and gets close to the 6.91m limitjc0
