Fitting bicycle for daughter ????

[RickM]

I'm planning to purchase a bike for my soon-to-be 11 yo daughter. Her last bike was well made and appeared to be "sized" properly but for some reason she didn't appear to be comfortable. The relationship between her and the bike seemed to quite akward.

So, I'd like to educated myself a bit before shopping for the next example. What I'm seeing on the net is to make sure the balls of the feet touch ground when standing or sitting and hands are on the handle bar.

Is that it? Is there more to "fitting" a bike or is that the best we can do?

TIA for any advice.

[John Rogers]

I would recommend going to a pro shop where they can fit her on the type of bike she wants to get. The old method of straddle the top tube is not real accurate and depending how her body is sized can leave her very uncomfortable. When she is sitting with both feet on the pedals and one pedal at the bottom her foot should point down slightly, her knee should be bent about 15 degrees or so and she should be able to feel comfortable reaching the bars. Make sure the fitting is done with a female seat as bikes used to always come with a male seat and the female one a bit wider and has better padding. When I raced competively in the 70s and 80s fitting someone to a bike was something that was time consuming but worth it.

[nostatic]

There is a lot to fitting a bike, but unfortunately for an 11 year old it is tough as they are growing quickly. When I used to fit kids I would go a little bigger so they would not outgrow the bike in a year. A general rule of thumb is tippy toes on the ground when they're on the seat. But that really doesn't have anything to do with how the bike really fits - what you're concerned about is the saddle to pedal distance, and reach to the bars.

Road or mtn bike?

[RickM]

Thanks for the helpful feedback.
I have no problem going to a shop but want to know what I'm doing beforehand.

We're leaning towards a mountain bike but do some road riding as well. FWIW, we're not hardcore riders but do enjoy it two or three times a week.

[pwd72s]

You might ask the kid what she wants? Bike fashion is pretty important at that age...wanting to fit in with peers.

[Tim Hancock]

This links will give you some basic fitting information. It seems as though there are different schools of thought in regards to best fitting advice, but this link will surely give you a good idea what to look at.

http://www.rei.com/learn/Cycling/rei/learn/cycle/clfitf

[RickM]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

You might ask the kid what she wants? Bike fashion is pretty important at that age...wanting to fit in with peers.

She can get what style she wants. However, it needs to fit right and needs to be properly equipped. She also doesn't strive to fit in with the crowd but would rather be happy that the choice is right for her. Besides not many kids in our neighborhood.

[pwd72s]

Good for you...involving your daughter. When I was a kid, I lusted for a Schwinn Corvette. What I got was:

[RickM]

Nice Huffy...wonder what it's worth nowadays.

Tim: Thanks for the link. The coffee table book idea is a bit confusing but good info nonetheless.

So far John Rodgers is the only one that has mentioned leg extension and angle.

I'll put together a set of guidelines with all info offered. I understand this isn't an exact science but some tried and true rules are good to be aware of.

[nostatic]

Basic rule of thumb is you don't want to lock out your knee when you pedal, nor do you want your hips to rock (seat too high). You also don't want too much bend in your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke (seat too low). Most people end up with their seat too low as they think that they should have their feet flat on the ground while seated. That will result in too much bend in the knee (and likely knee problems down the road).

This is another perspective on bike fit:

http://www.rivbike.com/article/bike_fit/fit_sizing_position

[John Rogers]

Sizing and seat selection is more important than color even! I can remember a year or so before the 1984 LA olympics, the university of Pennsylvania spent thousands on a lot of bike testing so our cyclist would win some gold metals and not get stomped by the europeans (Italians mainly) and after all their testing found that all the rules for bike sizing the pros (Italians) had been using all along were right on! As a matter of fact I was cleaning the garage the other night and dusted off the set of magnesium rims with Campy SR hubs I got from Davis Phinney of the old 7-11 cycle team in 1984 after the road race. Being president of the LaJolla cycling club (long defunct) did have some advantages!

[azasadny]

We took my son to a local bike shop last year to get his fist full-size bike. I was inpressed with the time and attention the store owner and tech paid to my son and how much work goes into sizing and adjusting the bike. Dan got a Schwinn and he loves it. My daughter is 12 and will be getting a new bike this summer and we'll take her to the same shop...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

it warms my heart to see that kids still ride bikes.

[RickM]

So I meet with a client last night and at the end of the night I give a lift to a friend of a friend cause he had too much to drink. Out of the blue he asks if I'm interested in buying a couple bikes. ???? I ask what he has. He opens the garage and says "make an offer". He has three Specialized Allezs, one womans and two guys' bikes. I asked for a ballpark and he says between $300 and $500 each.

These things were light as all hell. Good stuff?

[gchappel]

Fit is, imho, one of the most important issues on purchasing a bike.
Ask around and find a good shop. You will spend a little- but not a lot more for the bike, but it will fit properly. Let her pick out the type, style and color.
Good protection equipment is a must.
Biking is a great hobby, I hope she can enjoy it long term.
Gary

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by RickM

So I meet with a client last night and at the end of the night I give a lift to a friend of a friend cause he had too much to drink. Out of the blue he asks if I'm interested in buying a couple bikes. ???? I ask what he has. He opens the garage and says "make an offer". He has three Specialized Allezs, one womans and two guys' bikes. I asked for a ballpark and he says between $300 and $500 each.

These things were light as all hell. Good stuff?

Go to this Specialized web site and click on 2007 models then click on archives, then click on the year of the bike, then click on Allez, then look at the different models of Allez's available. A high end Allez will come with expensive components (eg Dura Ace) while the base model with come with cheap components. The price varies considerably depending on which components it comes with. The prices you listed could be either a steal or average depending on what year and version of Specialized Allez your friend has.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBikes.jsp?my=2005

My uncle recently offered to sell me an '06 Allez for $750 that would have been a fairly good deal (can't remember which version of the Allez it was off the top of my head...upper end, but not the best.... but I had determined it would have been a pretty good deal).

[RickM]

Good info...thanks.

I noticed one of the bikes has a Shimano deraluer(sp).

I'll look into the specifics more closely.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by RickM

Good info...thanks.

I noticed one of the bikes has a Shimano deraluer(sp).

I'll look into the specifics more closely.

Rick, many here have much more experience in cycling, but I recently have been "studying up" on it. Shimano makes many different levels of components, the three most desirable component groups offered by them starting with the "best/most expensive" is Dura Ace, Ultegra, then 105. All three are considered darned good. Those three groups are all considered as serious components by most cyclists.