Hybrid bike for a 14 yr old?

[272BHP]

14 seems to be a tricky age where they transition from kids bikes to adult ones.

My son is 5ft tall so shorter than average and has had Isla bikes since the age of 2. He currently rides a Beinn 24 which he likes but he has gained about 4 inches in the last 6 months and when he got back to school all of a sudden it looked ridiculously small.

Not many 26" on the market so I am thinking of a 27 in a XS size? He is at an age where is becoming brand aware so he does not want a Isla Bike anymore.

any suggestions?

[mike9009]

I've not got any specific recommendations, but my 11 year old daughter is riding a 700c wheeled hybrid (small frame) and copes fine on it.

I have always bought second hand bikes for the kids, as they seem to grow out of them so quickly - hence no recommendations. The steel framed, heavy, robust bikes should get their fitness levels up in preparation for a decent bike when they reach 16 years old.

[lufbramatt]

Have a look on the cyclocross buy/sell groups on Facebook, plenty of junior size cx bikes come up for sale with 24”/26”/650b size wheels as kids grow out of them. Have seen some decent bargains come up for sale as they tend to have a decent spec on if the kid has been racing. If drop bars not suitable it’s easy enough to convert to flat.

[gazza285]

lufbramatt said:

Have a look on the cyclocross buy/sell groups on Facebook, plenty of junior size cx bikes come up for sale with 24”/26”/650b size wheels as kids grow out of them. Have seen some decent bargains come up for sale as they tend to have a decent spec on if the kid has been racing. If drop bars not suitable it’s easy enough to convert to flat.

I would expect someone of five feet tall to be on a 700c cyclocross bike, frame sizes go down to 37cm.

[Mars]

I built both of my children bikes based upon PlanetX's London Road frame and forks but not at normal retail price. I wait until they discount them near to the end of their current stock/run. I picked up three frames over the years for an average of £150 each.

Then I just bought decent components off eBay - mostly NOS so again, good value. They both have 700c bikes with very light alloy frames, carbon forks, and a really nice set of components including hydraulic brakes. I stuck with 1x chainsets so they could have narrow wide chainrings which means no chains falling off, and a very wide range cassette.

My daughter was significantly under 5 feet when she first rode hers which is based on the S sized frame, and even though she's now about 5'2" that size is perfect for her. I doubt she'll actually ever need a larger one.

My 5'8" son has a size M frame. We also have another M for a 5'5" rider. All three use flat bars with various height headset stacks, and all three use Schwalbe Land Cruiser 40mm tyres with Panaracer Flataway stuck to the inside of the tyres. These bikes are almost maintenance-free.

Edited by Mars on Monday 5th April 00:16

[lllnorrislll]

Finding bikes for someone 5ft is always a problem. Most adult bikes start at 5ft 3in on the size guides.

Recently looked for my 14 year old daughter, who had outgrown a 13in framed / 26in wheeled 'youth' Dawes rigid mountain bike. But, found that although women's versions of bikes tended to be smaller (Woman's Vulcan Halfords, Btwin 540 Decathlon) they were all out of stock.

In the end managed to get a second hand Whyte 802 compact, which fits her perfectly.

[lufbramatt]

gazza285 said:

lufbramatt said:

Have a look on the cyclocross buy/sell groups on Facebook, plenty of junior size cx bikes come up for sale with 24”/26”/650b size wheels as kids grow out of them. Have seen some decent bargains come up for sale as they tend to have a decent spec on if the kid has been racing. If drop bars not suitable it’s easy enough to convert to flat.

I would expect someone of five feet tall to be on a 700c cyclocross bike, frame sizes go down to 37cm.

Those really small framed 700c bikes do look odd though and have crazy toe overlap due to the short reach making the wheelbase so small. I remember Emma Pooley doing a couple of videos about getting a bike custom made to fit her and she ended up on 650c wheels and she thought it was a bit of a revelation- looked up her height and she's 5'2".

The demise of 26" wheels has really left a bit of a gap in the market, my wife is 5'4" and rides a extra small framed 26" hardtail with a longish seatpost (women tend to have longer legs/shorter bodies) and she gets on really well with that. Some companies have started to make some nice junior sized hardtails but as you say, stock is non existent and they are no cheaper than adult bikes.

Edited by lufbramatt on Monday 5th April 11:00