Bike for new rider - very tall 10yo

[Jaytaz]

Hi,

I'm new to the forums and was hoping to get some advice.

My almost 10yo has only just learnt to ride a bike. I was hoping to get a new bike for her birthday in a months time but the local bike shop is closed for browsing. She is very big for her age (153cm, 48kg).

She has just learnt to ride on a 2nd hand Byk 540 but there is some damage (missing spoke warping the wheel) and I don't have the skills to fix it. The bike also seems a bit small for her so I'm reluctant to get it fixed if it would be better to spend the money on something more suitable.

I'm not sure how long she needs the smaller sized bike to feel confident in her riding abilities. If more than a month, maybe the new bike can be for Christmas and I can get this one repaired. At the moment on the Byk 540 the seat is adjusted so she can touch the ground flat footed (for confidence). There is about 3-4cm of seat tube left, which leaves her knee still fairly bent.

Given that she is very new to riding i am unsure of what she needs in a bike (re gears, brakes etc).  Eg should I consider the Byk 620 with 3x-internal gears for simplicity sake (although she hates the coaster brake and doesn't use it) or the MTB model? Or should I consider something like a x-small adult bike? I don't know much about bikes myself.

She would be riding on bike paths mostly, and some dirt/gravel roads. I don't see anything too extreme in the immediate future

All advice welcome, thanks
 

[Andy01]

According to some of the sizing charts your daughter should be looking at a 26" wheel bike, so I think I would be looking at possibly a XS women's bike. For the $620 for the 3 speed Byk, I think I would be looking at something more "mainstream". You could probably get a pretty decent women's hybrid or MTB with decent (as in more than 3) gears and disc brakes for not a lot more.

This was last year's model (and still waiting for the 2022 stock), but something like;

https://www.liv-cycling.com/au/rove-4 - Liv is the "women's" Giant $699

or;

https://www.liv-cycling.com/au/bliss-2022 - $529

[MattyK]

Agreed on getting a XS adult's bike. I have a similar flat bar roadie (Marin Fairfax SC3) that I picked up 2nd hand but basically unused for my eldest (now 12) who is a similar height. Probably only negatives would be the very wide bars and the lacklustre brake power.

gears might not be used, but they'll learn and be useful in future

[Jaytaz]

Thank you for your replies. I will have a look at the XS adult bikes. I appreciate your time

[bychosis]

If she doesn’t like the coaster brake there’s no point getting one.

The BYK 540 equates to 24” wheels in other brands., so the next logical step is an XS or S adult sized bike as other have pointed out. My kids have moved to a a small adult bike with 26” wheels at age 11. 26” wheels was cheap second hand. Depending on their growth spurt they moved to a larger bike after year 7.

Depending on your budget and riding type preferences a mountain bike may also be available with 27.5 or 29” wheels. 29” seem to be a bit oversized for a small frame so most manufacturers seem to stick with 27.5.

[Mububban]

If she's 153cm, she's just part the middle of the ByK 620 size guide of "HEIGHT: 142.5 - 170 CMS".

The 3 internal gears would be great for a less confident rider. But the 7 or 9 speed models are also easy to deal with as there's only one front chainring, so no confusion about swapping front gears. Just the right hand shifter to go faster or slower. And no coaster brake, but that's assuming she's confident with hand brakes only.

This model is 2kg lighter than the MTB style models, but the thinner tyres may be a bit squirmy on gravel/dirt - depends what percentage of riding this will be realistically:
https://www.bykbikes.com.au/collections ... 4343083044


Check with any XS bike that she can put the seat down low enough to feel confident.

Depending on the size of her hands, you can also get the bike shop to adjust the brake levers inwards a bit so they're easier to reach, I've had to do this with all my kids bikes.