Robert11

Hello,

Will be purchasing a new bike for a 9 year old boy.
Have totally lost track of the biking area over the years, and am really not very knowledgeable anymore.

So, may i please ask:

a. Are there still Boys and Girls specific type/styles bikes ? Differences ?

b. Is there (also) a "Universal" style available for both ?
If so, differences between this, and the specific boys and girls style ?

Asking, as i don't want him to get the wrong style, and have his peers ridicule him.

c. What's the most popular handle bar style for a 9 year old ? Straight, or...?

Bike will be used 95 % of the time on paved streets and roads.
Minimal "off-roading".

Any other suggestions, things to avoid, etc. ?

BTW: for these youngster bikes, are the tires generally tubeless, or come with an inner tube ? What's "better" ?

Much thanks, appreciate the thoughts and help,
B.

biker128pedal

Yes there are boys and girls and universal bikes. I was looking last fall for my granddaughter. She is 9 months now, so planning ahead.

As for style that depends. What do his friends ride? Will he ride with you and what do you ride?

I got my son a mountain bike when he was little. It had gears and he road with me. His friends road 4 wheelers. Funny he kept up with them. Did not get by but a narrow bike through the trees was easier. I was up for a motorcycle but he approached mom wrong.
Choices I think of:
BMX
Mountain bike
Road bike. There are small wheel version and can be expensive.

Oh bikes are hard to find now. Anything less than $1k for adults. One bike shop I partake indicate they did have kids bikes.

VegasTriker

There is a fair amount of discussion on buying bikes for kids here: https://www.bikeforums.net/recreational-family/.

It is too bad that so many kid's bikes are so over-built in case the rider abuses them. They often look spiffy but would be better used for lifting weights than for riding. Try to get one that does not have entry level suspension. Most parents figure the child will soon outgrow the bike and are unwilling to spend much on them. I had to lift the BMX bike while doing a repair for my neighbor's kid and was dismayed at how heavy it was compared to an adult bike twice the size.

AnthonyG

When it comes to a fashionable "style" of bikes then the first choice is BMX as far as most boys are concerned. The thing about BMX bikes though is that they are really just designed for stunts and/or racing and aren't really any good for general cycling but that's the "fashionable" choice for most boys. Then there are MTN style bikes for boys that are better for general riding around on. Giant and Specialised are actually making some quite decent kids bikes these days that are worth checking out.

BNSF

Does he have any older siblings he can inherit a bike from? That's the way my parents would have done it.... I probably can't fault them, since at that age they outgrow stuff quick.

It is possible to take "hand-me-downs" too far though. When I was that age, we lived across the street from a family with eight kids, all of them older than my brother and I. We got ALL their hand-me-downs. Bikes, clothes, toys, etc. Most of it was ancient! I was still dressing like Lumpy Rutherford until I reached high school, and I'm pretty sure my bike had once been his. Everything was a couple generations out of style.

55murray

Get a very basic 20 inch coaster brake cruiser, in fact just get a used one, or like BNSF says a hand me down. If he takes to biking upgrade to a 24 inch geared bike in 2-3 years. Very few 9 year olds will mess with shifters.

Ironfish653

For a typical 9-year old, it’ll be a 20” bike; at least that what my 9-y/o and her friends ride.

Boys’ bikes are usually either BMX or MTB style. BMX means single speed and high bars; MTBs get straight bars, hand brakes and 6-7 speeds on the back.

20” Beach cruisers are out there as well, but it seems like the girls’ frames are more common.
As far as boys-v-girls bikes, BMX bikes aren’t really different, other than the paint job, but girls’ MTB and Cruisers usually have the ‘ladies’ style stepped top-tube.

Kids bikes are are often heavier than they look, with generally lower cost components and frames designed for durability. There are actual racing BMX bikes that are lighter and higher spec, but they cost race-bike money.

There was a thread about specc-ing an ‘ideal’ kids’ bike, and the result was a totally boring, totally ‘sensible’ hybrid sort of thing.
Kids want a fun bike they’ll want to ride. Color and graphics are more important to a 9-year-old than component specs.

Mine, however, decided that the right bike was actually going to be 2 bikes. N=N+1!