Rich's Tongfamily (Richtong.net add-on)

Tong Family Blog: Christmas is coming, time to. It’s been three years since Alex and Calvin got their K2 Zed road bikes. They have loved them ,but they are getting bigger, so nows the time to find out what’s next. They need bikes that are really right for someone who is about 5″ tall and with a standover height in the 26″ range.
24″ road bike makes the most sense, but almost everyone is onto mountain bikes for kids. There are quite a few mountain bikes reviewed at “MTBR Review”:http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/kids/index_byrating.shtml
Some choices include for road bikes that are in the 18 pound range:
* “H.H. Racing”:http://hhracinggroup.com Kid Road Bikes. They are still around. Have a 3.5 pound steel frame. You build up from there, so maybe some of my old components can go into it. The main thing is that you can build up a great bike but it will cost more since you are using grown up parts.
* “Ibex Vantage JayVee”:http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/VTG-JV-Details.html road bike that /uses 650c wheels (26″). They say that this works for folks under 5″ tall (60 inches). They aren’t super expensive and their parts are pretty good. Shimano Tiagra instead of the really low end Sora and it comes with a carbon fiber fork and standard 650cc wheels (26″), so you can use them for other things rather than the pretty non standard 24″. All and all a great choice, but it sells for about $640 on the Internet, so certainly not cheap. Only one review on “roadbikereview.com”:http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/latest-bikes/kids-bike/ibex-bicycles/PRD_303632_5678crx.aspx but the guy liked it and so does “Ethan”:http://www.fraziercycling.com/partner_bio_ethan_tolbert.htm
* “Redline Conquest 24″:http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adultbikes/conquest-24.html. Streets for $600. This one is a cross bike, so good for both. Uses Sora parts, so not as nice as the Ibex. Like the Ibex, it has a 26″ standover so will fit most kids at about 5” in height.
Here are some mountain bikes to look at:
* “Ibex”:http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Kids/product_123933.shtml. This is a real mountain bike. Comes in 20″ wheels and also 24″. The 24″ K440 is only about 25 pounds so not bad for a hard tail.
* “Specialized”:http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Kids/product_123797.shtml. The standard mountain bike from a big manufacturer, it is cheap at $250 or so street, but of mediocre components.
* “Trek”:http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Kids-BMX/Kids/Ages_9-12/Index.php. They have a line of kids road bikes. The “KDR”:http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Kids-BMX/Kids/Ages_9-12/KDR_1000/index.php seems the right road bike model.