Frame size advice for my son please.

[simmi]

My 13 year old son wants to come road cycling with me.
I want to buy him a half decent bike probably second hand from ebay or alike.
The issue I have is choosing the frame size.
He is already just over six feet tall, still growing and is all leg, 34" inside leg.
Now obviously I have no way of knowing how tall he will end up but I want to buy the bike that will have the most chance of fitting him for a while.
I'm about an inch shorter than him and fit a 56cm frame just fine so was thinking either a 58cm or a 60cm.
With the length of his legs I am sure he would be alright on a 60cm but not sure he would have the correct reach for the handlebars.
I know I can change the stem length if I have to.
I guess what I am asking is it better to get the frame that fits now and then raise the saddle and increase stem length as he grows, or is it better to get the bigger frame now and lower the saddle and buy a shorter stem if needed.
He has always been the tallest in his year, rugby team, you name it he is always the tallest so at a guess would think he will end up 6ft 4ish, but who can tell.

 

[sidevalve]

FWIW I think you would be right to get one that fits him now. He may or may not get much taller, he may stay at this height. If you get one that's too large for him now and he doesn't grow it will never fit, at least if it's the right size now it will fit now [and maybe even in years to come]. Some people prefer slightly small frames with the seat and stem adjusted to suit them but very few prefer a frame that is too large.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

my husband is 6'0" and prefers a 60cm frame. perhaps getting the 60cm is the better option because you can shorten the stem now and it will give more room to increase the height of the seat at a later date if needed and you can lengthen the stem as needed.
If you were closer I would say come round a try a 60cm triban 3 out for size, but I suspect there are closer people available. If you get a too small a frame you could run into problems with the seat post length which would through the height of the bars out in proportion making them too low... Are you able to take him to a LBS to sit on and look at the situation? just thinking out loud.

 

[ColinJ]

My nephew shot up about 4 inches in a year and I thought he'd end up 3 or 4 inches taller than me, but his growth spurt finished as soon as it started and he now seems to be fully grown at 6 feet tall. You can't really predict what is going to happen, so the son in question might carry on growing or he might not.

At 6 feet tall with long legs, I think a 60 cm frame would be a good match for the legs but unless he has matching long arms, a 56 -58 cm frame might be better for his upper body!

I think a 60 cm frame with a short stem (7-9 cm?) might be a good compromise. That would leave a lot of room for adjustment with longer stems if he does carry on growing.

As always though, best option would be to get someone who knows what they are doing to do a proper bike fit and make sure to discuss what to do if the young man continues growing.

 

[Cycleops]

Yes, I would go with SatNavSaysStraighton. I also have a 34" inseam. I am comfotable on a 60cm frame or 64cm, but bearing in mind he will grow the larger one is the size to go for. I also slightly prefer the larger one.

 

[simmi]

Thanks for the answers folks, bit of a mixed bag so I think perhaps either a 58cm or 60 will be OK just see what comes up at the right price.
I think he will grow some more as he hasn't shot up just been steadily growing from the moment he was born and even then I think he was 5cm longer than our other 2 were.

 

[Kins]

Buy him a 58cm and then stop feeding him, will stop growing through malnutrition!

I am a gnats testicle off 6 foot, have both a 56cm and a 58cm road bike and prefer the 56cm for comfort mainly because the stem length makes the bars feel just right. I think a 58cm will be fine even if you have to stick a shorter stem on and if he grows he will only grow into it. Saying all that I only have a 81cm inside leg which isn't as long as his. Be interested whether his arms were as long as well.

 

[simmi]

Buy him a 58cm and then stop feeding him, will stop growing through malnutrition!

I am a gnats testicle off 6 foot, have both a 56cm and a 58cm road bike and prefer the 56cm for comfort mainly because the stem length makes the bars feel just right. I think a 58cm will be fine even if you have to stick a shorter stem on and if he grows he will only grow into it. Saying all that I only have a 81cm inside leg which isn't as long as his. Be interested whether his arms were as long as well.

Cheers mate not sure he's got long fingers so guess he might have long arms.

I love your typo, are you a Giraffe?

 

[Lee_M]

im 6'3" with a 33 inside leg, and a 58 is too small for me

cant you take him to decathlon and get him sitting on some?

i wouldn't do that to an LBS but i wouldnt have qualms about that there, since they always seem to have people riding round the shop

 

[simmi]

I can put the saddle up on my 56cm so he can ride it OK but wouldn't think it's right, obviously with the saddle a good inch higher for him the bars are then an inch lower than they are for me.
The way you can adjust bikes to such a great extent with saddle height and stem length/height would mean I could get him to ride anything from a 54cm to a 62cm but really what I'm after is am I better with a 58cm which is right now which I might have to scale up or a 60cm that I might have to scale down but that could be right in the near future?

 

[Kins]

Cheers mate not sure he's got long fingers so guess he might have long arms.

I love your typo, are you a Giraffe?

What typo? I put centimetres not inches! 81 cm = 32 inches or there abouts!

 

[simmi]

What typo? I put centimetres not inches! 81 cm = 32 inches or there abouts!

Sorry mate my mistake so you're not a Giraffe after all then.
Will teach me to speed read!

 

[Lee_M]

I can put the saddle up on my 56cm so he can ride it OK but wouldn't think it's right, obviously with the saddle a good inch higher for him the bars are then an inch lower than they are for me.
The way you can adjust bikes to such a great extent with saddle height and stem length/height would mean I could get him to ride anything from a 54cm to a 62cm but really what I'm after is am I better with a 58cm which is right now which I might have to scale up or a 60cm that I might have to scale down but that could be right in the near future?

Well I mght be biased, but as long as he can fit on a larger frame I'd do that - you can always drop the seat down, fit a short stem and/or flip the stem upside down, but there's only so far you can raise a seat post or raise the height of the bars - its not like he's going to shrink but he might grow.

I still say get him to Decathlon and see what he's like on a big 60/62 frame, otherwise we're all just guessing

 

[Pale Rider]

As he wants to come riding with you, whatever the size, be sure to buy him something heavy and slow.