Best Bike For A Teenager
- Thread starter adietsch
- Start date
The key thing is going to be how well the bike fits. That's true regardless of the rider's age, but there's probably still a lot of room to grow at 13. But don't fall into the common trap of buying a larger bike that "they'll grow into". Too large a bike can be both dangerous (if there's not enough standover clearance or the brakes are too far away to reach comfortably) and unpleasant to ride which can really discourage a newer rider.
For decades we worried about inseam length when sizing bikes, most bikes are still sold based on their seat tube lengths for that reason. But with the wide variety of seat post lengths, stems with steep rises, tall stack height steering tube setups, compact slope tube frame designs and such the seat tube sizing really isn't that important these days as long as you can safely stand over the top tube with both feet on the ground and a bit of clearance. The key thing is making sure the top tube length and overall reach (which includes stem length) is appropriate for the rider.
From that standpoint I like to size bikes so the rider can comfortably ride with their hands on the brake hoods with a slight and comfortable bend in the elbows. If they can do that and the required stem is no shorter than ~70 cm nor longer than ~ 115 cm then the frame is probably a good fit and there's still some room to adjust the fit with changes in flexibility. But for a 13 year old I'd think about using that same approach but with the stem no longer than say 100mm so there's a bit of room to grow into the frame but the overall fit still works.
Anyway, I don't have any favorite brands and really think most big brand bikes at a given price point are very similar in terms of quality and components. But bikes are designed for different ride characteristics so it always pays to test ride a few and see what feels right. You don't need something totally trick and high end to start racing or even to win races, so focus on fit over features like space age frame materials or high end components.
Probably not the simple "go buy this bike" answer you were looking for, but the best I could come up with.
Good luck,
-Dave
For decades we worried about inseam length when sizing bikes, most bikes are still sold based on their seat tube lengths for that reason. But with the wide variety of seat post lengths, stems with steep rises, tall stack height steering tube setups, compact slope tube frame designs and such the seat tube sizing really isn't that important these days as long as you can safely stand over the top tube with both feet on the ground and a bit of clearance. The key thing is making sure the top tube length and overall reach (which includes stem length) is appropriate for the rider.
From that standpoint I like to size bikes so the rider can comfortably ride with their hands on the brake hoods with a slight and comfortable bend in the elbows. If they can do that and the required stem is no shorter than ~70 cm nor longer than ~ 115 cm then the frame is probably a good fit and there's still some room to adjust the fit with changes in flexibility. But for a 13 year old I'd think about using that same approach but with the stem no longer than say 100mm so there's a bit of room to grow into the frame but the overall fit still works.
Anyway, I don't have any favorite brands and really think most big brand bikes at a given price point are very similar in terms of quality and components. But bikes are designed for different ride characteristics so it always pays to test ride a few and see what feels right. You don't need something totally trick and high end to start racing or even to win races, so focus on fit over features like space age frame materials or high end components.
Probably not the simple "go buy this bike" answer you were looking for, but the best I could come up with.
Good luck,
-Dave
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