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Looking to find a couple of kids road bikes without going broke. I have been looking for some old trek kdr1000 24" bikes. I'm not sure what else is out there that would be similar. I was trying to stay under 300.00 each with shipping in the used department. My girls are 8 and 10.

bonz50

its just my .02, but, I looked into this for my oldest a number of years ago. looking back, I'm glad I didn't get one for him when he was about 11-12. He would have literally ridden it for about 1 season max before he had outgrown it. I let him ride an older mtb until his height stabilized a bit and gave him my old road bike for his 8th grade graduation. most of the 24" bikes have crap components, tough to find replacement parts, weird tire sizes, etc and they're gonna outgrow them in a couple seasons at most.

personally, I'd wait a little longer and get a used women's bike in the 45-47 range and progress them up the size chart as they grow.

joejack951

I bought a 24" wheel Orbea off Ebay about two years for <$200 which I built up for a quite short adult female relative. There was no model indicated on it and I never bothered to try and find more info on it. What surprised me the most was just how well that wheel size works for shorter adults versus trying to force 700c wheels into the frame.

If your kids are 8-10, they should get at least a few good years on the bikes after which you can resell them for what you paid if you buy used. Seems very much worth the effort to me.

Set up a search on Ebay and local Craiglist for youth road bikes and see what pops up. Or post a wanted ad in various forums. Something should turn up eventually.

Chris_P_Baccon

OP, I agree with JoeJack951. I recently built up a vintage Eurospeciale 24" bike for my GF, and the difference in her riding was amazing. She can actually handle the bike now instead of the bike handling her on the road. I scooped up mine for about $700, but it was a bit fancy for what you're after. The point is, keep searching and they will show up on eBay/craigslist. I think if you can get 2 seasons out of it before they outgrow them, the resale value should be more than fair for the miles they put on them. Redline makes a smaller bike if you can find some kind of REI discount. Good luck-

joejack951

I just searched on ebay using 'youth road bike' and 'kids road bike' and found quite a few options under $300. I'm watching one of them myself :-)

355Mono

My son rode his Trek 1000 SL 43cm, with full 700 wheels, for a few seasons. We're short guys, and he just moved up to a carbon Fuji with 105's. I've listed his bike locally at $400, but it has good components, and allowed him to ride with my group rides. His bike works for kids from 4ft 8, to 5ft 2, approx. Buy the best gear you can afford. I'll probably reduce the price if we don't get any offers. The 700 wheels really helped him keep up, I believe. But, he was 12 when he got the bike. A good bike will only encourage the young ones to stay with the sport.

Hisamatsu

My GF is short, so kids size fit her better. We got a Diamondback Haanjo Trail 24" for $340 from performancebike