Converting road bike for my son...

[Running Mommy]

Hey All-
I have a specialized allez dolce circa 2003.
Spencer (running son) has been wanting to ride her for awhile, and I think it's time to convert it for him. As it stands I only use her as a trainer bike, so I might as well.
He is 4'11" at his last check up (March), I'm 5' 1". He seems to be fine with the stand over part, but I'm a bit concerned with the reach. I think a shorter stem will help, though the one on it right now is pretty stubby.
He currently rides an adult xs specialized mtb. It's one of the lower end (hard rock) models, but he does fine on it. He rides all the technical stuff with dad.

I guess the main question I have is pedal selection. I have speedplays (lollipops) on her right now. I was going to change them out to just platforms until he gets a bit older, but he wants to keep the speedplays... He's only 10 years old. Do you think he's ready for "real" pedals yet? And the thought of having to buy multiple pairs of road shoes as he outgrows them!
Or should I just bite the bullet and let him go for the real deal??
So whaddya think?? Am I being too much of a "mom"??
Also, is there anything else I need to consider in converting this bike for him?
Thanks!
Denise

[roguedog]

HEy RM. Very cool. I bet he's totally excited to get the "adult" bike )

Now.. I don't have kids but I remember being a kid. It's like it was yesterday. huh.. it WAS yesterday

Anyway, my opinion... Give him the speedplays. I was skiing, biking (on platforms), playing all sorts of sports. GUess my point is. I think at his age he's probably more coordinated than we are now!

If you think about pedals aren't much diff than ski bindings and kids begin skiing when they're much younger than 10.

My 2 cents

[Eden]

I was checking out photos of some of the peewee racers around here and it looks like most of them do use clipless - so it won't hurt kids. They don't let kids use equipment that is bad for their bodies to race with. One thing they do is limit the gearing of the bikes, so you might look into "junior gearing" on the USA cycling web site and set up your old bike so that it doesn't exceed the gear inches they list. This is to protect kids knees - I guess while the cartilage and bones are still growing you can mess up your knees by pushing too hard, so they make the kids spin (this limit stays on until 18! we have a couple of 16 yo's who do complain...). You may just want/need to lock out the big ring (making a big assumption the the Dolce is a triple, but seems like a few years ago most wsd bikes came this way).
As far as clipless shoes go. I'm thinking at 10 he still has pretty small feet. I wear a really small shoe, I'm a 37 in Sidi's. If you have any big stores around you - maybe even some small stores - sometimes you can find really good deals on small shoes. I got my first pair of road shoes for $12. They were Performance brand. I think I paid about the same for my Shimano mt. bike shoes on sale at REI. Even my Sidi's were on sale for $30.... so it may be more than possible to get a little pair of shoes for him, and even replace them as his feet grow without breaking the bank too badly.

[DebW]

While your son would probably do fine with clipless, it would be a big expense replacing shoes every year as he grows. Why not put on toe clips and straps to get a similar benefit without the shoe expense. Moving from toe clips to clipless in the future is an easy transition.

[Running Mommy]

And thanks Eden for the gearing tips. I hadn't thought about that at all.

As for his shoe size... I wear a size TEN and he wears my shoes... sigh...
I think the kid is gonna be tall! - Unlike mom of course!!