Features

“How about a campaign to bring back the kids’ starter bike of yore – or a contemporary version?”

Michael Clague, Momentum #33, Letters

Momentum reader Michael Clague has reason for concern. The inevitable Google search for youth bicycles delivers few modern interpretations of the simple, straightforward versions children used to ride. As with many adult models, the formerly utilitarian kid’s bike has become an off-road plaything, plagued by unnecessary features and overbuilt construction.

It’s not just a sentimental journey to look down memory lane and find favour with the classic designs. Nor is it a feat of great prescience to suggest it’s time to revive the kind of bicycle that a child can use as daily transportation. Some builders are recognizing this trend. Better bikes await the discerning young rider. Some things to consider:

It is about the bike

The best bike is almost always the lightest, most durable model in your price range. Unless it won’t get ridden because it’s the wrong style, colour, or brand.

“I know that some kids make better choices after hearing about a variety of bike types and their benefits … and some just want that new or cool thing that their friends have,” says Paul Bogaert of The Bike Doctor in Vancouver. “Just don’t get the cheapest one of that type available. That is the biggest mistake. Hopefully the family can negotiate a good decision and avoid an unnecessarily heavy or otherwise inappropriate bike – which may slow down their kids and make a family ride much slower and harder than need be.”

Sizing them up

Kids’ bikes come in five main sizes: 12, 16, 18, 20, and 24. Because, for some reason, all bike-sizing methods are confusing and different… the numbers in this instance refer to wheel size (in inches) rather than frame size. Typically, inseam length should be your guide to bike sizing rather than the child’s age, as kids all grow at different rates. Here’s a rough guide:

Age Child's Inseam Bike Size

2-4 yrs 14-17 inches 12 inches

4-6 yrs 16-20 inches 14 inches

5-8 yrs 18-22 inches 16 inches

6-9 yrs 20-24 inches 18 inches

7-10 yrs 22-25 inches 20 inches

9+ yrs 24-28 inches 24 inches

Giving kids the gears

The next factor to consider: brakes and gears. First-time riders at any age are probably going to be better off with a single-speed, coaster-brake-style bicycle so that they can concentrate on balancing, pedalling, and being aware of potential hazards. Fiddling with gears or hand brakes too big for small hands will turn the joy of cycling into a frustrating exercise in failure. This could sour the child’s experience. That said, for older children, the additional range and speed gears provide may make the investment worth while.

Kids’ bikes – the next generation

“Kids should also enjoy riding a bicycle that is configured and built like a quality adult bicycle,” says Sean Virnig, the founder of Rawland Cycles in Northfield, Minnesota. Virnig is planning to unveil a new 24” children’s model at the 2008 Interbike show, based upon the “Olaf,” a hand-built single-speed 650B-sized adult bike.