So my older son (10 yo / 5’ tall) has outgrown his 20" bike, and needs a new one. As best I can tell, he’s kind of in between 24 and 26" bikes- there are models in each wheel size that will fit a person his height.
The real question I have is how much should I spend? We just go biking around the neighborhood (him, younger son and myself), and don’t do any real off-roading or anything. Their current bikes are just cheapo BMX bikes from discount stores, and they do just fine on them.
I’m inclined to buy him a discount store mountain bike under the theory that I’ve got 2, maybe 3 years until one or both of two things happens- he outgrows the bike, or he gets into middle school and decides that bike riding with his dad and younger brother is uncool. That’s why I’m not too willing to spend much money on this particular bike. I’m figuring if he sticks with the bike riding, I might be willing to get him a ‘real’ bike store bike at some point- sort of a final bike before he has to buy his own from then on out.
But everything else I read says not to buy a Huffy, Schwinn, Mongoose, Ozone, Hyper, etc… discount store bike, and to spend about 2x as much and get a Specialized, Trek, Cannondale, etc… because they’re better all around. My own bike is a mid-lower range Trek, and I’ve owned other Treks and a GT, and ridden my buddy’s Klein, so I’m not at all unfamiliar with “real” bikes. I figure if either kid takes up serious mountain biking, then I’d look at real bikes for them.
It just seems like total overkill for a bike that’s going to be used to ride around the neighborhood and on paved paths for the most part, and likely only for maybe a grand total of 5 years between both sons.
If that’s all that the bike will be used for, a bargain bike might hold up for 5 or 6 years. ANY off-roading tho is likely to crush a bargain bike quickly. There are videos on YouTube of people who have tried to off-road with bargain bikes; very few of them survive even one short trail run.
Yeah a couple of thoughts - if your kid is going to be just riding around the neighborhood he wont know the difference between a cheapie dept store bike and something nicer. And yes, kids will outgrow bikes and in 2-3 years you will be trying to unload that more expensive model on craigslist, vs just donating the cheapie bike. OTOH, a good quality bike will last more than a few years, and your younger kid could use the nicer model when he grows into it, so you will get more mileage out of your investment. My 2 cents.
One thing about a nicer bike is that it will be nicer to ride on. It will be lighter, easier to pedal and shift, have more gears, and so on. It’s not just that it’s tougher and longer lasting. The actual experience of riding will be more enjoyable. It’s similar for things like cars, tools, electronics, etc. The cheap stuff will get the job done, but the more expensive stuff is more enjoyable to use. As that relates to bikes, a better bike might mean he goes riding more often and continues bike riding as he gets older because the experience of riding itself is more enjoyable. Even if he never goes off a paved road, there is value in a better bike.
My experience with your basic big box store mountain bike (Huffy, as I recall) when I needed cheap transportation in college in between cars was that that it required nearly constant adjustment. It was regularly throwing the chain, getting brake pads misaligned, handlebars coming loose, spokes coming loose and misaligning the wheel, and finally one of the axle hubs seizing up. It was so bad I eventually gave up and returned it, and went back to walking everywhere. Just the frustration level alone is enough to upgrade.
The o.p can probably find a better quality used bike that is a few years old for cheap in the son’s intermediate size because other kids outgrow them, too. And he mentions having younger sons so potentially the bike could be handed down as the older son outgrows it, and each son upgrading to a nicer, larger bike as they reach adult proportions. I’d argue against the “cheap-o bikes” beyond single speed ratcheting chain ring bikes because all of the added braking and shifting components are just poor quality that will cause you maintenance headaches, and by the time you swap them for better components you could have just stepped up to a bike with a better frame anyway.
Don’t get the box store bike, it won’t last, especially thru two kids. There’s a reason they’re ‘cheap’ & not ‘inexpensive’. If money is a concern, get a used better quality bike.
A cheap-ass bike decreases the likelihood of developing a lifelong love of cycling.
Further, a cheap-ass bike is put together by a big-box employee who may know absolutely nothing about bikes, just exacerbating what Stranger said.
A reasonable quality bike, well assembled (right torque specs, right lubricants, right adjustments, good warranty and customer service should anything need tweaking) is a better riding experience and ownership experience.
And probably retains a better chunk of resale for the eventual …
Actually bikes, especially those that have some riding wear on them, depreciate about as fast as cars or motorcycles, so I wouldn’t expect to recoup the cost in resale. But a cheap ‘big box’ bike will be worth essentially nothing as soon as you roll it out of the store and you’ll be stuck throwing it away when cheap components wear out, whereas a decent quality bike is at least worth maintaining and you can probably get your maintenance costs and then some back out of it in a few years if you decide to sell it. Just on the basis of not creating more landfill trash it makes sense to buy a better quality bike or shop around for a decent quality used bike.
If you already know the size you’re looking for I’d look heavily through Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Tons of excellent bikes there that people practically give away since someone outgrew, they’re moving and don’t want to haul it with them, they upgraded, etc.
We found my son a Trek 820 mountain bike for $125 on there.
I personally wouldn’t spend money on a new nice bike until they stopped growing. Maybe around high school graduation time.
My kids started biking at 3, and after trying cheapie bikes initially, we quickly switched to getting them better bikes. Cheap bikes can be extremely heavy, which makes a bigger difference to kids than to adults. Also, getting them used to hand brakes and gears early can help them to enjoy bike riding more.
And the point about maintenance, durability and adjustments is also spot on. Their first crappy bikes were trash when they were done with them. Their second and third bikes will last through many more kids, and are worth maintaining and repairing if something breaks. Both kids, at 8, now have 3-speed grip shift bikes, to start getting the hang of gears. One of them is almost ready for a 24" wheel bike.
Their next bikes will likely be this model:
Lightweight bike with good components, simplified a little from a full-featured adult bike.
Agree with the suggestions to seek a used brand-name bike that someone else outgrew. Note that bicycle manufacturing has been heavily impacted by the pandemic and getting a new quality brand name bike could take a while, but used bikes are available now.
I worked for a while (pre-Christmas), for the biggest bike distributor in the UK delivering from the warehouse to their shops. The bikes were still in their boxes, packed tight into the trailer and had to be carried/dragged to the back for the staff to take off.
I soon learned that the price of the bike was inversely proportional to the weight of the box. Small. cheap (£20/£30) kids bikes weighed twice as much as the top of the range, full-sized (£1000+) bikes.
We spend about $250 on a 24in bike, he got about 1 year out of it before his growth spirt took him out of it and now he’s hopping on an older 26 bike I had from many years back.
Also, on another level, he is just not responsible enough to care for a higher end bike yet and I feel kids need rough and tumble type bikes not precision machines type bikes. He doesn’t yet get he concept that though a bike can do certain things it doesn’t mean it should.
Around here, nice bikes parked anywhere but at home almost certainly get stolen, or if heavily locked into an immovable object, the valuable parts taken off. Guys in vans with bolt cutters need a couple of seconds to do the deed. That is reason alone that I will never buy an expensive / new bike, for myself or my kids.
I think as long as you will be spreading the cost over two children, spending on a lighter-weight bike with higher-quality materials (particularly if it’s a bike with gears, which a 24"+ should be) is worth it.
My sons both much preferred riding on bikes that were easier to ride and lighter weight, which we started at 20" (REI and Trek brands, fwiw). But they routinely do longer trail rides with the family and more than just tooling around the neighborhood. They also ride their bikes to school every day.
If theft is an issue then you definitely need to consider that. While they don’t get swiped as often as adult bikes, kids bikes are targeted since kids are not as good at locking them up correctly. We are fortunate that hasn’t been an issue yet.
Looking for a used higher-quality bike is a good idea, but good luck these days…
He wants a new bike, but is not pleased that we suggested it as an Xmas present, as he feels like it’s going to detract from getting other presents. I overheard him talking to our younger son telling him how lucky he is to get hand-me-downs, because they don’t detract from getting other presents.
So who knows? Even a cheap bike is still in the price range that might be for an Xmas gift.
My main worry is what @kanicbird experienced- he’ll be in a 24" bike for a short period, and some combination of becoming a middle schooler and thus too cool, and growing out of it will happen. My inclination is that if he keeps on with it in spite of that, we get him one last good 26" or 29" bike, and that’s it.
And the worry about maintaining is another concern; right now, he views his current bike as a tool, not as a finely tuned machine that needs maintenance. Which is fair, because he’s got a BMX-style bike right now that requires very little maintenance other than keeping the tires inflated properly.
It will still be more expensive than the Wallyworld clap-trap, but it won’t be a bike that you buy and ride straight to the landfill, frustrated the entire way as the gear train skips.
Yep, this is what I was going to say. That’s what we did for our two kids when they were in-between bike sizes. Decent quality at a decent price: the best of both worlds. Just make sure everything works properly; it will probably need some degree of tuning up- - adjusting the brakes, making sure the gears change smoothly, etc. Lots of YouTube videos about how to go about it if you’re halfway handy.