Originally Posted by
jonstifler
Age of the kid?
Also male or female? Relatively tall or short? Maybe height?
Also a location might help.
I got my nephew a Fuji Ace 24 and Fuji Ace 650. They are one of the lower cost kid's road bikes. I almost think he would have fit on the 650 at age 8, and we could have skipped the 24. He is now 11, I think, and should be just about ready for a really short 700c bike (vintage, horizontal TT). I found a reasonably good deal on an older Trek, probably Reynolds 531, but it will need a complete tune-up.
For small vintage 27" or 700c bikes, keep an eye open on Craigslist or even local thrift stores. Probably only Craigslist or E-Bay (or stores) for the 24" or 650c bikes. I don't see a lot of the 24"/650c bikes showing up on Craigslist, but I assume more show up in larger cities. Other people have found some really nice vintage 24" or 650c bikes.
My niece won't ride what she considers to be a "Boys Bike". However, she has been riding Mom's mixte in the summers since about age 10. Anyway, a vintage mixte with your choice of bars is something that a girl might grow with for several years.