Kids bike choice.

[Hicky]

Ok, I'm getting him a new bike for xmas as the one he has now is in poor condition and weighs more than him.

He is currently riding a cheap steel(if it isnt steel I'd be surprised full sus mountain bike with twist grip which he tends to struggle with.
He's had a go of my wifes spesh Myka and likes that and can manage the gears.

But (there's always a but) I was glancing at the Islabike website and he spotted the Luath, he like the idea of drops and now wants to give them a go.
Most of our riding is paths and canal towpaths.

I'm thinking a trip down to Islabike to checkout the products and test to see if drops are for him or a 13inch frame MTB(the myka isnt too girly).

He's not far of 8 and is 130cm tall.

 

[primalgeek]

I'm in a similar quandary to you... My son has grown weary of his BMX (waaay too heavy for him) and wants a bike "with gears, so I can be faster than my dad" (wouldn't be difficult ). He also wants to go out for day cycles with me and would like to try out a drop bar bike vs a flat bar. He has ruled out front suspension as that'd slow him down too much (the competitive wee... ).

He has previously had a geared bike before (MTX if I remember correctly) but has now grown out of this so I'm confident he wont have any difficulty with gears.

Unfortunately we are way too far away from islabikes to go there (although their Beinn & Luath bikes seem ideal) and I'm really struggling to find an LBS that have drop bar kids bikes to test in or around the Edinburgh area. P.S. My son is nearly 8, but is 144cm (tall for his age).

[sorry if this is thread hijack!]

Edit Reason: typo

 

[lukesdad]

Islabikes do a D-I-Y measuring service.

I believe.

 

[primalgeek]

Islabikes do a D-I-Y measuring service.

I believe.

Yes they do a DIY measuring service but I'm looking for my son to try out a drop bar bike before buying one as he has never had one before (I think that is the OP's problem as well)

 

[summerdays]

Ok, I'm getting him a new bike for xmas as the one he has now is in poor condition and weighs more than him.

He is currently riding a cheap steel(if it isnt steel I'd be surprised full sus mountain bike with twist grip which he tends to struggle with.
He's had a go of my wifes spesh Myka and likes that and can manage the gears.

But (there's always a but) I was glancing at the Islabike website and he spotted the Luath, he like the idea of drops and now wants to give them a go.
Most of our riding is paths and canal towpaths.

I'm thinking a trip down to Islabike to checkout the products and test to see if drops are for him or a 13inch frame MTB(the myka isnt too girly).

He's not far of 8 and is 130cm tall.

I definitely recommend going - they were great ... my son was a short 8 yo and he just fitted onto the Beinn 24 (but according to their measurements he was just too short), and the other boy we went with tried the Luath 24 (he was a shortish 9 yo) and he was fine on it. If its too far to go could you find some bike club locally and hope that there might be someone there that might have the right bike and let your son ride it (or even be growing out of it if you were lucky).

 

[Crackle]

They sometimes go to cycle events which is were I saw the full range, give them a ring see if they're attending any near and soon.

 

[Dilbert]

My lad is 135cm and has a Luath 24 on loan from the local bike club.  It is lovely and fits him very well.  The have extra brake levers on the tops of the bars which are handy while they are getting used to the drops.  They use them for cyclo cross and we take it round the bridle path around the local golf course which is quite rough in places.  His has got treaded tyres on at the moment.  The drops and levers are kiddy sized and he has taken to them no problem.

 

[Hicky]

Dilbert, how much seatpost is exposed for your lad and does he have and standover height issues?


Primalgeek, your pretty much asking the same as me so wo worries

I think I'll give them a call to see if they're around Manchester before xmas, thanks people!

 

[Dilbert]

Probably about 10cm. He has to slide off the saddle to put his feet down as I do on my road bike but he clears the top tube OK (inside leg is 61cm).

 

[Hicky]

Thanks Dilbert.

Anyone interested I've just had an email, no shows/exibitions before xmas so it looks like a trip to the shop.

 

[Telemark]

Might be worth contacting local-ish cycle clubs and asking? There are quite a few CC members who are also members of road cycling clubs, maybe they can advise?

gavintc, HLaB, Jane Smart, Eldudino spring to mind for central Scotland ... (east-biased, I know, but I don't know so many of the westies )
I will drop them a message, let's see what happens

T

 

[gavintc]

OK, this is a long shot, but I know that Edinburgh RC has a youth section. The web link thing is:

http://www.edinburghrc.co.uk/about/juniors

It focuses on mountain bikes. I presume that is because most kids of this age are typically into mountain bikes. My suggestion is to e-mail the chap organising the youth section - Phil Darby. He is a good guy, and you could talk through options with him. Having been a member of ERC, I have found them very supportive of developing cyclists. Phil will provide some good advice on what to do and how to develop - perhaps the track is an option?

 

[primalgeek]

Might be worth contacting local-ish cycle clubs and asking? There are quite a few CC members who are also members of road cycling clubs, maybe they can advise?

gavintc, HLaB, Jane Smart, Eldudino spring to mind for central Scotland ... (east-biased, I know, but I don't know so many of the westies )
I will drop them a message, let's see what happens

T

Thanks Telemark

OK, this is a long shot, but I know that Edinburgh RC has a youth section. The web link thing is:

http://www.edinburgh...k/about/juniors

It focuses on mountain bikes. I presume that is because most kids of this age are typically into mountain bikes. My suggestion is to e-mail the chap organising the youth section - Phil Darby. He is a good guy, and you could talk through options with him. Having been a member of ERC, I have found them very supportive of developing cyclists. Phil will provide some good advice on what to do and how to develop - perhaps the track is an option?

Thanks for the link, I'll drop Phil an email