What do parents look for in a first performance bike for their children? Unfortunately, it really doesn’t matter. The pickings are so sparse, especially for children in the elementary-school age range, that most parents are simply stuck with whatever the local bike shop has in stock. It’s usually absurdly heavy—especially considering the size and weight of the rider—and stocked with bottom-level components.
For many children, that’s fine. They, and their parents, are happy with something that looks vaguely like what the adults are riding, has a few gears, and won’t wither under a steady diet of abuse and neglect.
But for those children that can utilize and appreciate a measure of true performance—and for those parents that want to nurture those desires—there should be something more. It’s time to bring carbon to the kids, performance to the pipsqueaks, agility to the anklebiters. There’s no reason that a budding 9-year-old cyclocross racer should be lugging a bike half his or her bodyweight up a muddy incline, or be rumbling along the asphalt on 2-inch knobby tires. There’s no reason a lightly-used child’s bike should end up in the trash or recycled for scrap metal.
Advances in carbon-fiber technology have enabled a boom in boutique bicycle manufacturing. Efficient design and a focus on a specific goal allow us to craft a bike that is everything a performance-oriented 6- to 12-year-old cyclist needs, and nothing more. Little Roadie bikes will be light, responsive and reliable. They won’t be over burdened with excess features or components. They will inspire young riders to get out on the road, trail and cyclocross course, push the pedals and start dreaming; whether it’s of professional glory or the simple freedom that comes from a sweet set of a wheels, some snap in the legs, and a desire to see what lies around the next corner.