Bikes for teens and small adults

In the past 15 years there have been huge advances in children’s cycling with more and more brands popping up and giving children a great start in their cycling life.

With this, we’ve seen huge leaps in the development of rider skill, and children are now used to riding well specified lightweight bikes all through their primary school years.

We’ve started to notice a trend of brands making great bikes for kids up to about the age of 12 and after that it has been the expectation of the bicycle industry that children will then be roughly big enough for adult sized bikes and all will be well.

Unfortunately this just isn’t the case.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t options, once kids are sufficiently big enough to fit on adult sizes they have all the options that adults do.

The difference is when it comes to looking at the lower end of the price scale.

Searching for a more general purpose bike that can be used for getting to school, meeting with friends etc. can be extremely difficult, especially factoring in considerations that come into play with a bike for a teenager.

Things such as being less appealing to would-be thieves, having minimal, low-maintenance componentry, potentially being single-speed, tough or no paint, all things that can go towards being a hassle-free, more utilitarian ride experience.

Small adults need bikes too!

As well as teenagers being limited on choice when it comes to simple, uncomplicated bikes, there’s also a whole host of smaller adults who find it hard to find a bicycle that fits them well.

In recent years with the availability of quality children’s bikes being on the up, a lot of smaller adults have been looking to the children’s specialist brands to be the potential answer to their problems.

With many people finding that all the elements that kids had been deprived of for so many years were actually the same elements people of shorter stature had also been missing out on.

Most notably, lightweight, high-quality bikes that are sized proportionately and have a considered specification of components to suit the height of the rider.

It’s a question of choice

Now don’t get us wrong, there are bikes available out there that attempt to bridge this gap, but they aren't currently as common as parents and older children / teens are wanting.

Or adult brands who have a smaller adult range aren't designing them and marketing them as being suitable for teens.

It can be the case that a child who has been on a brand through their younger years wants something a bit more "mature" when they reach secondary school.

Here at Cycle Sprog we feel that this is a very under-served area of the market and we’re throwing down the gauntlet to the bike industry to come up with quality, lightweight bicycles that meet teenagers/smaller riders needs.

We've highlighted below a few bikes from reputable kids bike brands that are suitable for teenagers and smaller adults.

Have you come across a brand that is doing all it can for teenager/smaller riders? Let us know in the comments!

A selection of bikes for teenagers and small adults

The above is a selection of the largest available bikes from some of the brands we know and love here at Cycle Sprog.  But we're all about kids bikes, and know there must be other options out there (which we're keen to find out about as our own Cycle Sprog's reach the teenage years).

We'd love to hear your other recommendations for teenagers and smaller riders, so we can expand our recommendations. Let us know in the comments!

Reader recommendations for bikes for teenagers and small adults

Thank you to everyone who has left messages on social media for us since we published this article.  Here's a selection of the comments we've received:

"Squish 26, 15 inch frame is a good fit for my 5ft 4 daughter 11yr old.   My now 15 year old daughter has been riding a small adult ridgeback bike since she was a petite 11yr old"  Anna  (See also secondhand Adult Ridgeback bikes)

My 12 year old recently got a Ridgeback MX2 26. I’m 5’2 and could ride it. It’s also a lot lighter than my specialized hybrid." Coral

"The Vitus Nucleus is a good bet - I did >6,000km on mine.    Also, as a “simple/robust bike for riding to school/messing about with friends” don’t discount a BMX. They are not great for riding big distances, but are cheap, robust and cool. "  Lewis

Other articles you might be interested in:

• Best mountain bikes for teenagers
• Best bike helmets for teenagers
• The best place to buy a kids bike
• How to easily measure your child for a new bike
• Is my kids bike the right size for them?
• The cheapest kids bikes
• Why you shouldn't buy a REALLY cheap new kids bike
• Before you buy a bike for your teenager answer these questions