Kids and bicycles go together about as well as anything. Childhood is when many future racers fall in love with bikes, but yet most kids are left with BMX or mountain bike style bikes these days. There are few road bikes – even of the old “10-speed” variety for the tween set.
But Culprit saw a need and introduced a line of road bikes in sizes meant for children. Josh Colp, the founder of Culprit, was asked why there weren’t actual race-worthy bike for kids so he set out to build some. The result is the Junior One and 650 Junior Two, which are made of double butted 7005-series alloy with smoothed out welds. The bikes almost look like carbon fiber – but we figure the kids need to prove they can take care of their bikes before moving up to the big leagues.
As these are still priced around $1,550 for the Junior One and $1,625 for the Junior Two the line isn’t for every kid, especially for those who are still growing. But then again does anyone – except the pros – really need that fancy road bike. And since most riders like to upgrade their bikes every couple of years, why not include the kids.