Proper bike for a tall 9 yr old
10-01-18, 08:12 PM
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Proper bike for a tall 9 yr old
hello - recently my mother purchased a new bike for my daughter and my daughter says she loves it but I am a little concerned it is a bit too large but wanted other opinions.
My daughter is a tall 9 yr old - was 57 inches (4 ft 9 inches) a couple of months ago so is about that or perhaps 58 (4 ft 10 inches) at this point.
I did not go with them to the store but they say they tried kids bikes that were too small so they ended up w a women’s bike. The seat tube is 15” and the wheels are 27.5 inches. The seat is almost as low as it can go and the balls of her feet do reach the bottom when she is on the seat. So the height of the seat seems manageable. The bike store also cut the handle bar so it is shorter and easier for her to use. She seems to ride it ok so far although has had a few small falls when she was turning quickly. She loves how the bike looks and loves that she is in an adult bike. I don’t want to make her give it up if it is safe but I am worried that this is just too big a bike for someone her age and size. The wheels are also on the thinner side (although not the thinnest I have seen, they are thinner than the wheels on a standard kids bike.).
Not sure how to determine whether the wheels and frame of this bike are too large as to be safely manageable for her.
Any advice appreciate & any suggestions on bikes for tall kids that are inbetween a standard large kids bike & full women’s bike would be appreciated!
thanks,
Goldie
My daughter is a tall 9 yr old - was 57 inches (4 ft 9 inches) a couple of months ago so is about that or perhaps 58 (4 ft 10 inches) at this point.
I did not go with them to the store but they say they tried kids bikes that were too small so they ended up w a women’s bike. The seat tube is 15” and the wheels are 27.5 inches. The seat is almost as low as it can go and the balls of her feet do reach the bottom when she is on the seat. So the height of the seat seems manageable. The bike store also cut the handle bar so it is shorter and easier for her to use. She seems to ride it ok so far although has had a few small falls when she was turning quickly. She loves how the bike looks and loves that she is in an adult bike. I don’t want to make her give it up if it is safe but I am worried that this is just too big a bike for someone her age and size. The wheels are also on the thinner side (although not the thinnest I have seen, they are thinner than the wheels on a standard kids bike.).
Not sure how to determine whether the wheels and frame of this bike are too large as to be safely manageable for her.
Any advice appreciate & any suggestions on bikes for tall kids that are inbetween a standard large kids bike & full women’s bike would be appreciated!
thanks,
Goldie
Last edited by gweixel; 10-01-18 at 10:07 PM.
10-01-18, 08:38 PM
#2
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what make & model exactly?
From your numbers it "could" be fine... not unknown for 15" frames to be fitted full grown Asian ladies (petite 4'10" to 5'0")... I'd have preferred a smaller 24-26" wheel but these days it's the fashion/rage for (unnecessarily!!) bigger wheels; hopefully the frame design would've accommodated that to suit (eg crank bracket lower than wheel axles)
Nothing wrong with skinnier tyres - fat tyres make more drag & more mass makes it even harder to get going.
Your girl needs time to get used to new ride; perhaps a gentle suggestion to SLOW DOWN for corners
& maybe need to lean the bigger bike more than her old one. (Sorry have seen kids who think steering is simply turning the bars & it'll just happen ... regardless of current speed, surface conditions, bike's balance etc etc. 
physics gets painful)
imho if your shop has gone to trouble of shortening bars, they'll (usually!) know their stuff on fitting bod to bike. Not many would bother bringing out the tube cutter (let alone know how to use it) these days, too much work vs selling you a different bike.
as for seatpost... take a close look, see where the knuckle is. Sometimes it's possible to flip the knuckle upside down and it goes higher into the recess of the saddle - you'd gain 1-2cm extra lowering.
From your numbers it "could" be fine... not unknown for 15" frames to be fitted full grown Asian ladies (petite 4'10" to 5'0")... I'd have preferred a smaller 24-26" wheel but these days it's the fashion/rage for (unnecessarily!!) bigger wheels; hopefully the frame design would've accommodated that to suit (eg crank bracket lower than wheel axles)
Nothing wrong with skinnier tyres - fat tyres make more drag & more mass makes it even harder to get going.
Your girl needs time to get used to new ride; perhaps a gentle suggestion to SLOW DOWN for corners
& maybe need to lean the bigger bike more than her old one. (Sorry have seen kids who think steering is simply turning the bars & it'll just happen ... regardless of current speed, surface conditions, bike's balance etc etc. physics gets painful)imho if your shop has gone to trouble of shortening bars, they'll (usually!) know their stuff on fitting bod to bike. Not many would bother bringing out the tube cutter (let alone know how to use it) these days, too much work vs selling you a different bike.
as for seatpost... take a close look, see where the knuckle is. Sometimes it's possible to flip the knuckle upside down and it goes higher into the recess of the saddle - you'd gain 1-2cm extra lowering.
10-01-18, 09:26 PM
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I started at 7 on my older brother's 26" bike (wheel size, not frame size). That would have been in 1952. I couldn't begin to reach the pedals from the seat, so I rode everywhere standing. My dad eventually wired wood blocks to both sides of the pedals so they were square in section and I could reach them with my tiptoes then. Of course I couldn't dismount, so I'd find some grass to fall over onto. I had to mount by putting one foot on a step on someone's front porch.
Anyway, your bike shop and daughter are doing great! Good for everyone involved. It's actually not necessary to reach the ground while sitting on a bike saddle. Most people can't, but that's probably safer for a kid to start with. Most people put one pedal down, then rise out of the saddle as they come to a stop and put the other foot on the ground with their butt in front of the saddle.
Anyway, if she can ride it, it's fine. She'll grow into it so quickly. You know it was women who started the cycling craze in this country around the turn of the century. The first decent roads were built for bicycles, not autos. Freedom is a wonderful thing.
All that said, there are real bikes with 24" wheels:
This is a very nice machine: https://www.wheelworld.com/product/g...4-264209-1.htm
Trek makes several 24" wheel bikes with flat bars: https://www.trekbicyclesuperstore.co...1029/?rb_br=42
Plus many more: https://rascalrides.com/best-24-road-bikes-kids/
or search google for "24 inch wheel road bike" to see more variety, even on Amazon.
Anyway, your bike shop and daughter are doing great! Good for everyone involved. It's actually not necessary to reach the ground while sitting on a bike saddle. Most people can't, but that's probably safer for a kid to start with. Most people put one pedal down, then rise out of the saddle as they come to a stop and put the other foot on the ground with their butt in front of the saddle.
Anyway, if she can ride it, it's fine. She'll grow into it so quickly. You know it was women who started the cycling craze in this country around the turn of the century. The first decent roads were built for bicycles, not autos. Freedom is a wonderful thing.
All that said, there are real bikes with 24" wheels:
This is a very nice machine: https://www.wheelworld.com/product/g...4-264209-1.htm
Trek makes several 24" wheel bikes with flat bars: https://www.trekbicyclesuperstore.co...1029/?rb_br=42
Plus many more: https://rascalrides.com/best-24-road-bikes-kids/
or search google for "24 inch wheel road bike" to see more variety, even on Amazon.
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10-01-18, 09:59 PM
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It’s a Trek FX1 women’s bike (2018 I think). In size small.
Thx for your message. Yes, the wheels seem very large for someone her size. Hopefully you are right trusting the shop!
what make & model exactly?
From your numbers it "could" be fine... not unknown for 15" frames to be fitted full grown Asian ladies (petite 4'10" to 5'0")... I'd have preferred a smaller 24-26" wheel but these days it's the fashion/rage for (unnecessarily!!) bigger wheels; hopefully the frame design would've accommodated that to suit (eg crank bracket lower than wheel axles)
Nothing wrong with skinnier tyres - fat tyres make more drag & more mass makes it even harder to get going.
Your girl needs time to get used to new ride; perhaps a gentle suggestion to SLOW DOWN for corners & maybe need to lean the bigger bike more than her old one. (Sorry have seen kids who think steering is simply turning the bars & it'll just happen ... regardless of current speed, surface conditions, bike's balance etc etc. physics gets painful)
imho if your shop has gone to trouble of shortening bars, they'll (usually!) know their stuff on fitting bod to bike. Not many would bother bringing out the tube cutter (let alone know how to use it) these days, too much work vs selling you a different bike.
as for seatpost... take a close look, see where the knuckle is. Sometimes it's possible to flip the knuckle upside down and it goes higher into the recess of the saddle - you'd gain 1-2cm extra lowering.
From your numbers it "could" be fine... not unknown for 15" frames to be fitted full grown Asian ladies (petite 4'10" to 5'0")... I'd have preferred a smaller 24-26" wheel but these days it's the fashion/rage for (unnecessarily!!) bigger wheels; hopefully the frame design would've accommodated that to suit (eg crank bracket lower than wheel axles)
Nothing wrong with skinnier tyres - fat tyres make more drag & more mass makes it even harder to get going.
Your girl needs time to get used to new ride; perhaps a gentle suggestion to SLOW DOWN for corners
& maybe need to lean the bigger bike more than her old one. (Sorry have seen kids who think steering is simply turning the bars & it'll just happen ... regardless of current speed, surface conditions, bike's balance etc etc. physics gets painful)imho if your shop has gone to trouble of shortening bars, they'll (usually!) know their stuff on fitting bod to bike. Not many would bother bringing out the tube cutter (let alone know how to use it) these days, too much work vs selling you a different bike.
as for seatpost... take a close look, see where the knuckle is. Sometimes it's possible to flip the knuckle upside down and it goes higher into the recess of the saddle - you'd gain 1-2cm extra lowering.
10-03-18, 05:44 PM
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Googled pic of Trek FX1... yep that's a "hybrid" style 
like bike "SUV" - tries to do everything but none really well 
haha jk
its a Trek, they work. They've got nice corporate boutiques they sell from, right?
Hybrids have bigger wheels so the frame compensates by sloping the chain stay (tube between rear wheel & pedal axle); add that to the top tube sloping the other way - yeah it really screws up my antique mentality that both those tubes gotta be horizontal!! (Right now wrenching on some Giant hybrid, same silhouette... eyes going crosseyed... it's supposedly fitted for a smaller lady but heck this frame is longer & bulkier than anything I've ever owned)
Downunder in recent decade the BYKs are popular. BYK likes giant (& odd uncommon sized) huge wheels/tyres on kids sized frames, I swear the 2 wheels are nearly touching each other in the middle
like bike "SUV" - tries to do everything but none really well haha jk its a Trek, they work. They've got nice corporate boutiques they sell from, right?
Hybrids have bigger wheels so the frame compensates by sloping the chain stay (tube between rear wheel & pedal axle); add that to the top tube sloping the other way - yeah it really screws up my antique mentality that both those tubes gotta be horizontal!! (Right now wrenching on some Giant hybrid, same silhouette... eyes going crosseyed... it's supposedly fitted for a smaller lady but heck this frame is longer & bulkier than anything I've ever owned)
Downunder in recent decade the BYKs are popular. BYK likes giant (& odd uncommon sized) huge wheels/tyres on kids sized frames, I swear the 2 wheels are nearly touching each other in the middle
10-03-18, 06:09 PM
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Some of the new larger bikes are HEAVY, but unfortunately, so are many kid's bikes. So, that may be one issue, but probably not too bad.
However, if she likes the bike, just keep it.
A little different, but my niece has been riding Mom's bike for several years now, whenever she visits. She's now taller than Mom, and still growing like a weed. I slammed the seat down as low as it would go a few years ago, and now it is headed to as high as it will go shortly.
Kids grow fast, and if your daughter is already tall, she will be much taller soon.
How tall is the mother and father?
However, if she likes the bike, just keep it.
A little different, but my niece has been riding Mom's bike for several years now, whenever she visits. She's now taller than Mom, and still growing like a weed. I slammed the seat down as low as it would go a few years ago, and now it is headed to as high as it will go shortly.
Kids grow fast, and if your daughter is already tall, she will be much taller soon.
How tall is the mother and father?
10-03-18, 06:26 PM
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haha I'm getting into the same no-mans-land too... I'm side swerving this era by reviving some antique Raleigh Twentys 
got the folders, bog-standard factory spec they're a lot more adjustable than any other bike I know out there... any bod 5' to 6' seems to accomodate
Trek FX1 not too bad, our Downunder Trek specs it as 12.5kg. Plus it don't have a suspension fork yay!! (=Unnecessary weight) triple butted tubes fwiw
Grandma should be congratulated on good taste & good bike sense!!
could've ended up with a cheap BSO
got the folders, bog-standard factory spec they're a lot more adjustable than any other bike I know out there... any bod 5' to 6' seems to accomodate Trek FX1 not too bad, our Downunder Trek specs it as 12.5kg. Plus it don't have a suspension fork yay!! (=Unnecessary weight) triple butted tubes fwiw
Grandma should be congratulated on good taste & good bike sense!!
could've ended up with a cheap BSO
10-08-18, 10:38 PM
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I bought my niece a Bike Friday and it fit her when she was 7 years old and still fits her in college! They have a new model now that actually has an adjustable frame. While the price might seem steep, it's USA made in Oregon and the only bike she'll ever need. My niece has had her BF over 13 years, so the cost is actually great over time. AND it fits in her dorm room and flew off to college with her in a suitcase! No reason not to plan ahead, plus they do custom colors which is lots of fun for kids. https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-b...rist-new-35730
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