Road Bike for 12-yr old

My daughter has been wanting a road bike for awhile. She is only 4'8" and is about 75 pounds. We have looked at the 2005 Trek kids road bike but it fits her about right now so it wouldn't last too long. I think that a 43"-45" women's bike would be a better fit and would allow for some growing room. A very important factor for her is the weight of the bike. For her size, anything over 20 pounds is a real grind. I am hoping to pick up something in the $500 and under range. Haven't had much luck on E-bay with bikes this small. Any recommendations?

You can also try: Pawn shops, police auctions, and online ad like craigslist.com or even your local club ads.

Doesn't www.roadbikereview.com have a trading post-type forum?

Whatever you get, make sure the levers and bars are suitable for her hand size and shoulder width. I also recommend short cranks for those little legs and feet. I'm 5'3" and have 165cm on both road and mtb, and really notice the difference.

It's so cool to see these *little* kids in full kit sportin' around, racing and all!!!

Thing to keep in mind (I have a 12 year old doing this now)-
GROWTH SPURT!!!
She's grown 3" this past year...

Also, I was 4'8", 66lbs at the beginning of 6th grade. At the end of 8th grade I was 5'8". :eek:
Ma could have shot me for all the clothes I went through! We did get my bike (a Flandria) from a garage sale for $60. That's very hit or miss. It was a little too big at first but I very quickly grew into it.

Best of luck finding a decent bike for cheap!

The Redline Conquest Jr and Felt F24 might be worth your consideration. The degree of growth spurt varies a lot, but you might want to contact your pediatrician. There are some standard formulas for predicting adult height based on height at around 2 years, they may be able to give you an estimate. Most girls have their growth spurt just before menarche. I was all through growing at 12. Of course you should also consider the height of both your family and her father's.

That 2 thing didn't work for me at all. I was told I was going to be 4'8" at full height-imagine how I felt when I was 12 and 4'8"!!! :eek:
I don't know if this alarmed newfsmith or not?
My 5' tall sister was supposed to be 5'6".
Anyway, I decided to grow another foot, making me the tallest chick (and nearly the tallest overall) in our family.
I recently read something about children tending to be between the mom and dad's height. I don't know how reliable that is, either.

I agree though, growth spurts are individual. Just puttin' the idea in your head knowing it happens to the best of us. :)

My 13 year old son rides a Bianchi Viggorelli (? sp.) with Ultegra/FSA. We got a GREAT deal on the frame from e-bay and he mowed lawns, shoveled walks,
walked dogs, raked leaves and got good grades for the rest of the money...
(hubby and I bought the frame). He is about five feet six inches and growing so we did go one size up on the frame, and now wished we had gone two sizes up, (he is very long and lean). The thing that is killing me right now is the shoes for his pedals...he jumps about two sizes every 3-5 months in shoes and is now up to a mans 12. :eek: I have kept a coupla of his old pairs for me and now my husband can wear the same shoes as well...but man
it is getting harder to keep up with this kids food consumption and his shoe needs!!

karen