Peleton of teen road cyclists with expensive road bikes blew in for coffee

[shootingstar]

After work-cycling, dearie and I stopped near a cafe.

Suddenly over 10 teen boy- cyclists...all lanky,sprouting height, but slim about 15 yrs. up...blew in on their EXPENSIVE road bikes. They all wore racing looking kits, clipless, etc.

And several boys were riding Cervelo road bikes. Not cheapos. And they didn't..bother to lock up their bikes except for 1 (yes, I KNOW no one looks up such bikes) outside the cafe.

They piled into the coffeeshop at a table beside ours.

It is REALLY rare in our city/area to see large groups of older teen boys, kitted out in racing like cycling tights, jerseys, arm warmers and riding expensive road/racing bikes. We're more accustomed to teen boys on mountain bikes, x-bikes, etc.

I left saying to dearie (who has 2 adult children) now, can you imagine being a parent knowing that your child left a $5,000 bike outside, unlocked. The boys didn't seem old enough to have a part-time job...unless they mowed the lawn or did babysitting.

But what do I know. I don't hang out with teens daily to get a good feel of age, etc. But it was great to see them..hooked on cycling and doing something healthy.

[Owlie]

Heh, I've seen kids who don't look more than 14 (so, still some growing to do) on bikes more expensive than mine.

DBF was a Boy Scout, and did the cycling merit badge--except that one of his troop leaders was one of our sort, so they got really into it, and many of them ended up with expensive stuff. Not super-high-end or anything, but enough. DBF's wheels cost more than my laptop! They often stopped at fast-food restaurants, convenience stores, or fancier places to top up water bottles (being in AZ). They at least had the sense to leave a couple people outside watching the bikes while everyone else topped up all of the bottles/Camelbaks.

I'll admit that I don't own a lock (I need to change that!), and have often stepped into McDonald's or another place to grab water or food. But--I always leave the bike in sight of the windows, and I keep glancing at it. Or I ask someone if they wouldn't mind keeping an eye on it. (And one place I've stopped at is pretty much a hive of cyclist activity, so few people lock their bikes--there's always someone watching!)

[zoom-zoom]

People probably think it crazy that our 11 year old has an >$500 bike that he will fit for only a couple of years...but there are people who buy their kids horses and ATVs. DS's little Redline CX bike costs a lot less than those things and costs nearly nothing to maintain and use (unlike horses and ATVs).

When he's a teenager I don't think we'd drop $5k on a bike, but maybe $2k, assuming that when he outgrows it we'd be able to sell it easily enough.

$5k really seems like a small price to pay to give a kid something to do that is healthy (assuming a family can afford the investment). If they're training for competition they don't have time to get mixed-up in a lot of negative things...plus those things would undermine their training efforts.

[shootingstar]

I'd rather give a kid a nice bike than a car.

Good point.

[Kiwi Stoker]

When I was at high school in New Zealand we had school cycling teams. They would train after school for Saturday races. I guess in this day and age passing your "old" carbon bike down to your teen or even coughing up for an expensive new one must becoming the norm.

Gee I would hate to see what the private school cycling teams would look like today as well. Probably have school owned race wheels for the team to use...

[Reesha]

I feel the same way about my students and their iPhones!!

If I was a momma, I'd get my growing kiddo a surly or something that really holds its value so we can resell it when they outgrow it. I would totally spend some good $$$ on a kids bike. Especially if I thought they were really into it. Quality pays itself back, in my opinion. I hate seeing kids on cheap bikes that break. My students always tell me about their terrible crummy bikes that don't shift well or have issues. My cycling team kids always regret buying the lowest end road bike possible when their derailleur snaps off mid-climb.

Haha, I can just imagine a bunch of 15 year old/8th grade age boys in a bike $$$ pissing contest though. It's just how that age can be.

[Crankin]

Well, my son was just like the ones you saw. He started with an $800.00 aluminum Fuji (and a mountain bike he paid for with Bar Mitzvah money) and then we bought him a steel Serottta. Not sure how much that cost, but now, 11 years later, other DS is riding it, as it would be too small for its original owner now. Right before he graduated HS, we bought him a 5K bike for his 18th birthday, although it was not carbon. At the time, he envisioned racing in college. After he quit school and enlisted in the Marines, it sat at home for 4 years, until he took it to San Diego with him and then sold it after a year.
I don't regret any of the money we spent. It kept him focused and out of trouble in high school and set him up to be an awesome endurance athlete who runs a 5 minute or so mile and still rides recreationally.

[malkin]

It is the same with ski equipment at the resorts.

[pll]

That's much better than the same band of teenage boys at a mall or gaming in front of a computer. Did they had coffee? They might be too young for that at 15...

[sarahkonamojo]

Hmmm. Well. cool that the boys are into road riding. But not caring for expensive equipment is not so great. I would be concerned that there was an attitude of entitlement in the handling of their possessions. And what about the poor boy who can't hang with the group because his bike only cost $2k and doesn't have arm warmers?
I'd be more impressed with a gang of boys and girls on all sorts of bike sharing the love of two wheeled freedom. And it sounds like those type of riders exist in your area.
But still fun to see and notice a new group of riders.

[pll]

Let's not be judgmental about people (and their parents) we have not even seen. They could be part of some team, get their bikes with a discount. The bikes might not even be theirs.

[maillotpois]

Let's not be judgmental about people (and their parents) we have not even seen. They could be part of some team, get their bikes with a discount. The bikes might not even be theirs.

Yes. Thanks.

There's a kid at my gym who has a carbon Time bike with cosmic Carbone wheels. Thing's probably worth 10-15k. He rides for a local junior team, and I am sure he gets a discount. He's a good kid. I am just happy when I see kids enjoying bikes.

Em has a pretty cheap bike, but she enjoys riding it. At least they're all out there instead of in front of video games (your other post which I completely agreed with also)

[Irulan]

Let's not be judgmental about people (and their parents) we have not even seen. They could be part of some team, get their bikes with a discount. The bikes might not even be theirs.

Um, yeah. Glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I mean seriously... they are on bikes, what more do you want of them?
I don't understand the underlying negativity to some of the comments. Is it a case of the haves and have nots? A few thread ago kids on bikes were being applauded for riding to school, and now there's snark about team kit for a high school team? This is a biking site isn't it?

I think it's awesome. So what if they are on expensive bikes. What's wrong with that? You don't know if they are on a team from a private school or what. If a parent bought if for them, that's good too... better on a bike than out smoking pot or glued to a video screen somewhere.

As for leaving the bikes unlocked, I can assure you, in their minds it was fine. Teen boys brains aren't fully wired to make reasonable decisions until they hit their twenties.

As a hard core skier, I have the same thing to say about kids on nice gear: so what. You don't know if they worked hard for it, got it for a birthday or holiday gift; bought it on sale, hand me down from someone who wasn't using it, work at a shop and got a deal on it... why the comments about nice gear? In our case we ski every weekend that we can, our boys were excellent skiers and on the ski patrol and damn straight they need good gear.

I'm glad to see mostly support for outfitting kids who are interested in something with decent gear. It can make a difference in whether they stick with a sport or not. I know it's tough in that not every family can afford good gear for their kids. Some of us can, and if not, if we are serious, we can find ways to make it work.

I.

[Blueberry]

How many adults on fast-ish road rides all lock their bikes when they stop for lunch or coffee? Even on brevets?

[Reesha]

You don't know if they are on a team from a private school or what.

I coach a cycling team for a pricey private school and I *wish* the kids all got sweet bikes like that. Although if the lacrosse parents were our team parents, that might be the case. One parent will donate a tournament trip complete with flights to the entire boys varsity lacrosse team

My guess is it's a development team of some kind. The kids I see on the nicest bikes around here are usually with a development program and get great deals on really nice bikes from their sponsors.