Kids cycling gear

Adults have a huge range of clothing, gloves and protection that they can purchase that range from cheap to expensive.  Kids, however have little in the way of choice.  Lewis is 9 and is on the thin side of build so to the available garments are pretty limited.  There are a few manufacturers that cater for the budding MTBers.  Lewis has a range of clothes that suit him from winter to summer and I’m just going to list them down below with his sizes just to give you an idea of what fits.

Helmet – originally lewis had a standard kids helmet but when he started to follow me off road I wasn’t keen on him not being fully protected.  Lewis’s head measures 52cm which fits nicely in the XS small for the 661 comp shifted.  Full face helmets are actually one of the better catered for range for kids with 661, kali and fly racing all doing youth sizes (there are probably others too if you search).  Fly racing youth helmets go down to 47cm and importantly they are light for FF helmets.  Lewis finds for the most part the helmet is comfy but can get a bit hot so I encourage him to remove it when ever we stop.  He has face planted once already wearing it so I’m glad I bought it for him.

Gloves – These are one of the more difficult items to find as kids hands vary so much.  I went through quite a few pairs before finding a pair that fit.  The XS Savage Flite BMX Mountain Bike Full Finger Gloves were purchased from amazon and do Lewis for most of the year but they don’t offer much in the way of protection from wind chill.  Lewis’s hands measure 16cm round the palm and knuckle to the tip of his middle finger is 8.5 cm

Tops – Lewis has two royal racing youth tops purchased from chain reaction cycles.  He has both the long ( slice) and short (AM jersey)  sleeved jersey in size small.  Lewis has a 24 inch chest.

Bottoms – Lewis has both long and short bottoms for cycling.  For colder times the Altura cruiser tights have been really comfy and warm for him while for warmer times he has altura spark baggys and a pair of cube teamline shorts in size small.  Lewis has a waist of 25 inches.

Baselayer – There are a few makers that provide base layers for kids, but price wise its hard to beat the sondico range from sports direct.  This is a good quality product that works and well recommended.

Winter jacket – There are again a few of these jackets around.  I was able to get a second hand but perfect condition Altura night vison off ebay.

Body Armour – along with Gloves, knee and elbow pads can be difficult to get for kids.  There are cheap armour you can buy but it tends not to fit very well or rub when cycling.  There are youth body armour which is suitable for DH and older kids but very little that fits kids of Lewis’s size.  I spotted some Leatt knee pads for kids on CRC’s website last week but they are not cheap but they are specifically designed for kids and they appear to be smaller versions of the adult 3DF pads.  They also do a youth size for the bigger teenagers.  I bought the pads expecting them to not fit like the rest of the pads I have tried but to my surprise they fit pretty well.  They have a velcro top strap and an elastic gripper for the bottom.  Measuring from the middle of the knee the pads sit 9cm above and 12cm below.  Lewis’s legs measure 32.5cm around the top of the pad and 26 cm at the bottom.  They appear not to rub and are not too hot when cycling although like all pads a bit of sweat can make them itchy and they tend not to be comfy when you are not cycling but they fit.

Here is a couple of pics of lewis in his gear.