"Long_Voyager94" (yourenotavalidusername)
06/04/2020 at 07:55 • Filed to: bikelopnik
0
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"Long_Voyager94" (yourenotavalidusername)
06/04/2020 at 07:55 • Filed to: bikelopnik | 0
| 47 |
For my 11 yo daughter.
We sold her Trek Precaliber as she was not able to keep when riding due to it’s poor gearing, so now we’re looking for something she’ll be able to keep up on while still being able to ride it for at least a few years.
Giant supposedly makes this
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
But I can’t find a supplier anywhere.
Trek doesn’t seem to make anything that will suit her.
Specialized lists XXS sizes for some of their bikes, but again, can’t find any anywhere.
Looking to spend $500 or less.
Any help right now would be greatly appreciated.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:02 |
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walmart?
kanadanmajava1
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:06 |
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This doesn’t help if the bike has been sold already but y ou should be able to change the gearing.
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Long_Voyager94
> pip bip - choose Corrour
06/04/2020 at 08:06 |
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Won’t be making that mistake again.....
After having Trek and Specialized, you couldn’t pay me to get another Walmart bike.
Grindintosecond
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:13 |
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H ow tall is she? And how tall is she likely to get. My 11yr old daughter is right at 5 ft. Likely to be 5-7. Her 24" Raleigh is like that bike, but she’s borderline outgrowing it. In another year she will be able to ride a 26"er....or a full size bike.
I hate that part of kids. Fast growing makes any bike purchase a bi- annual thing.
farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:18 |
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Want my old hard rock?
It needs a new fork....but hey I’ll let you have it for postage....
anyhoo..,.ghost makes pretty decent stuff at a budget https://www.ghost-bikes.com/en/bikes/hardtail/bike/kato-29-al-u
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Long_Voyager94
> Grindintosecond
06/04/2020 at 08:21 |
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She’s about 4'10" right now. I would guess 5'5" is all she’ll grow to be.
She can ride my other daughter’s XS Specialized Sirrus, but she’s stretching just a bit too much to do it.
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Long_Voyager94
> farscythe - makin da cawfee!
06/04/2020 at 08:22 |
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How much would postage be?
I may actually be interested.
facw
> Grindintosecond
06/04/2020 at 08:23 |
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Yeah, 11 is probably too young to get a small 26" bike, but by 13ish she’ll probably be wanting a “real” bike.
Sovande
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:27 |
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Look at Fuji too. Cheaper than Trek and Specialized but with similar components. They make an intro bike called the Absolute.
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farscythe - makin da cawfee!
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:29 |
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lol tbh.... ive never mailed a bike before
quick half arsed google puts it at around 300....the post office may have a different opinion tho...
it also needs new brakes
SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:31 |
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Two options.
First is her Dad who seems to treat Chrysler products as some sort of Lego. Bikes are easy to figure out by comparison. Pick something and make it work.... honestly, gearing is way to work out.
The other option...is Polygon.
functionoverfashion
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:31 |
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I thought I replied but.. kinja? Check these out:
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:31 |
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i figure if she’s 11, she will out grow it after a few years
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Long_Voyager94
> pip bip - choose Corrour
06/04/2020 at 08:33 |
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I get it, but there’s no way she’ll keep pace on one.
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:34 |
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fair enough
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Long_Voyager94
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
06/04/2020 at 08:35 |
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How are Polygon bikes?
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Long_Voyager94
> functionoverfashion
06/04/2020 at 08:36 |
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Are they decent bikes?
shop-teacher
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:38 |
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Ome of the local bike shops around here has Giant kids bikes. It’s a bit of a trip for you, but in striking distance. They don’t have much of a website, so you’ll have to call them.
https://www.stemplesbikeshop.com/youth-bicycles
Nom De Plume
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:39 |
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I sure could try to find something and in the worst case send it through bikeflights.com
Which should be taken to mean I have no idea on sizing from dad so I’m just throwing out examples to sort through.
Road:
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/bik/d/saint-paul-schwinn-24-road-bike/7125991153.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/bik/d/minneapolis-vintage-classic-georgena/7127856660.html
MTB:
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/bik/d/rei-novaro-tutti-24/7134247992.html
Ssfancyfresh
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:40 |
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Yes. Very high quality. But there’s a wait list for some (most? ) sizes.
XJDano
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:41 |
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I’m kind of in the same boat with my 9 year old girl and 7 year old boy.
Even with the 2 year difference they are same height weight almost.
We have cheap bikes now but will need to spend a few hundred each for something with some gears.
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functionoverfashion
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:41 |
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I don’t have personal experience, but I understand them to be of very high quality - a friend with close ties to the industry knows the founder of the company, I expect them to be very good.
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Long_Voyager94
> shop-teacher
06/04/2020 at 08:42 |
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That isn’t too far honestly. I’m not having any luck locally, so we may have to start searching further.
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Ssfancyfresh
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:42 |
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But more than you were looking at but I’ve made this recommendation to neighbors with growing kids
https://www.konaworld.com/lanai.cfm
Not sure if there is a Kona rep near you, but they are offered through some online retailers as well
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Long_Voyager94
> Nom De Plume
06/04/2020 at 08:43 |
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She’s roughly 4'10", will grow to be about 5'5" or so.
Basically an XXS fullsize frame bike.
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Nom De Plume
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:49 |
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At the very least read that Hotrock ad for a lesson in how to make a $34 0 bike the kid can ride for at least a few years out of $1500+ and more work than should be necessary.
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SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:50 |
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Well made frames of Indonesian origin. They use that pricing power to leverage a very good specification for the coin. The Lad has been riding a 24" Relic for a bit and yes it's not a great spec since I've replaced the wheels and the bouncy fork is useless but it was a 100 bucks cheaper than the equivalent Trek, Specialized or Giant...
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Sovande
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:54 |
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Another quick thought... My son is about 4'10" and has an XS frame hybrid bike. He can ride it fine, but spends way more time riding his bmx bike because it’s simpler for him . We go on 8-10 mile rides and he can keep up pretty well. I just keep my speed down to 10-12 mph and he seems fine. Maybe that’s a boy thing though. Plus it good to wear them out, like puppies.
I’d sell you his hybrid cheap if you were closer! Also, keep in mind that it’s going to be real tough to get a bike right now. I just saw a headline that referred to bikes as the new toilet paper.
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facw
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 08:55 |
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Bikesdirect has this one in stock in 24":
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/kids-road-bikes/liberty-express-kids-road-bikes.htm
Probably better than your standard big box store bike (Shimano Tourney stuff as on the Giant you posted), but I think those stem shifters are a super weird choice, and not what I’d put on a kids bike.
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Nom De Plume
> Sovande
06/04/2020 at 09:06 |
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Per your last comment, partial credit. US a dults stripping the stores of consumables (tubes/accessories) and overbuying something that will sit unused is very much a thing. Totally different in Europe where the 1970's conversion to vehicular traffic is being widely stripped back as roads wear out and aren’t repaved as roads.
Parents trying to pass on a used kids bike is a very stable source of bikes for other parents. If not a place to recoup a few bucks in these uncertain times.
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Nom De Plume
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 09:13 |
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Worry about logistics and supply later. Do one of these look like an option. Liv is Giant’s female specific brand.
https://www.liv-cycling.com/us/bikes/kids-bikes/7-12-years—24-inch-
Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 09:21 |
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Where do you live again, I keep forgetting. Want to drive to Michigan?
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 09:54 |
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You might be able to find something from bikesdirect.com or performancebike.com. We bought a MTB from the latter for our son and it was a big step up from a walmart bike and worked fine for a few years until he outgrew it. I don’t hesitate to send you to those sites because I’m confident that you can assemble a boxed bike. Just look for something with Shimano or SRAM components.
A quick thought about speed - when you’re looking at bikes, take a look at the gearing. The Giant Escape you were looking at has 152mm cranks, a 36 tooth chain ring, and the highest gear in back is a 14. With 24" wheels, the best a rider could do is 14.7 mph when the pedals are being cranked at 80 rpm. If the seat is set too low, pedaling that fast will be difficult and extremely tiring. I used to ride a lot, but my natural pedaling cadence has always been in the 80-110 range. Now that I’m getting back on the bike, my “resting” cadence is between 60-70 rpm, 80-90 is pushing hard, and I haven’t broken 100 rpm in months. That’s with the bike set up properly for me.
Small bikes with small wheels just can’t be geared high enough to make a lot of speed with the power a kid can produce, especially if the seat is too low. It took a lot of convincing with my own kids to get them to raise the seat to a proper pedaling height. Even then, 8-12 mph was about the best they could do until they got bigger.
If all you’re riding is paved paths, switching to a slick tire will make a big difference. A MTB style frame will be fine if you swap the tires for slicks. When I was commuting by bike , my favorite rides were both mountain bikes with slicks.
Sheldon Brown’s gear calculator
might help you with your search. Here’s what I put in to get the numbers above:
And here are the results:
The gear spacing was a bit of a guess since I didn’t look up the specific cassette. Just note the two ends. Top gear (35x14) gives 14.7 mph at 80 rpm; and low gear (36x34) is a whopping 6 mph at the same crank rpm!
Good luck in your search.
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Long_Voyager94
> Nom De Plume
06/04/2020 at 10:03 |
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That Enchant 24 Lite looks like something that might work.
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Long_Voyager94
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
06/04/2020 at 10:04 |
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I guess if replacing the fork and wheels would likely be required it’d probably end up cheaper just going with a Trek/Specialized/Giant?
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Long_Voyager94
> TheRealBicycleBuck
06/04/2020 at 10:13 |
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We got them both riding at “proper height” now, so that’s thankfully not an issue.
I figured there wasn’t much way to overcome the disadvantage of 24" wheels, tha
t’s why we started looking at XXS adult bikes. We’ve figured before and we average around 15.5-16 mph depending on our route.
Strangely enough, she does far better keeping pace on my old single speed Mongoose trick bike, but that seems to have very long gearing.
She has plenty of strength/power to do the job, she just needs a bike capable of doing the job.
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SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 10:30 |
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Nope. The other mobs supply the same shit fork and machine made wheels at this price point are all much the muchness. If you go with a rigid fork then that solves that and the wheels can be sorted by a methodical detension and retension...
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Sovande
> Nom De Plume
06/04/2020 at 10:32 |
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I don't actually need you to grade my comments.
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 10:33 |
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A 26" or 700c wheel will make a big difference in the gearing, but at a small frame size, there are compromises in geometry that make the bike handle strangely. That’s one of the reasons there are women’s-specific frames for both road and mountain bikes . I’m not talking about “women’s” step-through frames. Women’ s -specific frames are designed with female proportions in mind. Those are typically a lot more expensive because they don’t have the same sales volume as more standard “women’s” step-through frames.
Those step-through frames may have the exact same geometry as a men’s frame in the same size, the only real difference being the lack of a top bar.
You might be able to improve the gear ratio on a bike that fits well but is geared too low. Some of the low-end cassettes (rear gears) are riveted together, but the rivets can be drilled out and the gears swapped. Replace a 14 for a 12 or even 11 and that would get her an 2-3 mph if she can push it.
Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 11:03 |
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You might find something used on pinkbike. I feel you tho. This is a hard size to find in a decent bike that is not a fortune. I ended up buying my daughter the cheapest 26" wheel Trek bike that they made at the time and I think it was about $400 out the door. Amazingly enough all these years later that bike is still being used. Probably on it’s third owner. I sold it for $250!
Also try bikes direct: http://www.bikesdirect.com/ They are cheap for a reason but for what your child needs I think it would be fine.
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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 11:13 |
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Found a thing: maybe a bit high on the price...
https://www.rei.com/product/121700/co-op-cycles-cty-11-step-through-bike
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Long_Voyager94
> SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
06/04/2020 at 12:01 |
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Definitely want rigid fork as it’s seems the suspension fork saps some power out and I don’t feel it’s needed for road/paved path riding.
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Long_Voyager94
> facw
06/04/2020 at 12:15 |
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How long do they usually take to ship out?
Their site is very weird on layout, but this in a 13" may be a very viable option http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/3htw_womens_xiii.htm
But it says ship sept 1-20?!?
Everything else on the site that may work seems to be sold out.
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facw
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 12:28 |
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From what I’ve seen (I’ve never ordered from them, but know people who have), things usually ship quickly. If they are saying something won’t ship until September though, I wouldn’t count on that shipping any time soon. The whole bike world seems to have gotten a bit weird thanks to quarantine demand...
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Nom De Plume
> Sovande
06/04/2020 at 12:54 |
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LOL, I wasn’t attempting to grade your comment. The divide is such that it’s worth pointing out.
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Nom De Plume
> Long_Voyager94
06/04/2020 at 13:03 |
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Whatever she gets I’m sure she’ll appreciate the amount of work you’re putting into finding it.
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Grindintosecond
> Long_Voyager94
06/06/2020 at 00:12 |
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I have trouble picking bikes cause Emma Pooley is five-nothing and former world womems time trial champion and great climber. On a full size bike too. So what to buy a 5-1 daughter who may or may not grow into or past the frame size you buy in a full sizer....cause she's that size....but...but....