Buying a bike for a child is a big enough step in its own right! Having to then look into buying a kids bike for a Triathlon can potentially be even more daunting if you’re a parent, especially one that isn’t really into triathlon let alone cycling. This blog post will help you with that purchasing choice…
When you start looking into buying a bike for your child there are many things you need to consider.
What surface will they be riding on? Will they be using it after the triathlon? What distances will they be covering? Will they need gears? Are they keen enough to have a scaled down road bike or cyclocross bike – we’ll come back to this later?
Let’s start by not over complicating things. You want your child to enjoy triathlon & cycling in general so you need something that’s versatile and most importantly fits them. If your child is just starting out in triathlon then we would recommend a mountain bike as most junior triathlons are ridden on an off road surface. A mountain bike has a wider tyre which makes it easier for your child to control when riding on this kind of surface, it’s also safer.
Kids’ Mountain Bikes
MTB’s come in different sizes but let’s stop for a moment & think, if you want your child to enjoy cycling beyond their first Triathlon you need to buy a bike that fits them now. Not in 6 or 10 months’ time. There is a small window of opportunity in which we as adults have to pass this passion onto our children and buying them a good quality, light bike that fits them is the best way to pass this love onto them.
Spend as much as you can afford. Here at The Little Bike Company The Frog 60* MTB retails at £270 and it’s a robust, lightweight aluminium framed bike with quality components. Make sure the bike fits your child properly as enjoyment is key; if your child enjoyed their first triathlon then they’re more likely to continue to use the bike after and hopefully start training now for their next one. Before you know it they’ll be hooked and wanting their own drop handle-bar road or cyclocross bike.
Childrens’ Road and Cyclocross Bikes
Once your child is hooked then you can look at buying a child’s road or cyclocross bike. A road bike has skinnier tyres which whilst they’re great on tarmac don’t really offer the traction needed in an off-road environment that junior triathlons tend to be held on. SO we would recommend a kids’ cyclocross bike from the Moda range as the tyres are thicker so better able to deal with the rougher surface but the bikes still have the advantage of being lightweight therefore making it easier for your child to pedal.
A good quality cyclocross or road bike for children come at a higher price tag but remember when you come to resell they should hold 60-75% of their original value. This is because they are made with quality components – the same that you would find on a full sized adult bike.
Top tips…
1. If this is your child’s first triathlon then let them use a Mountain Bike as fatter tyres = greater stability & control
2. Check the tyres are inflated to the correct PSI
Take a look at all of our junior triathlon products available – tri bikes and tri clothing
