# Cheapo or expensive bike - 10 year old? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** bicycling-cycling\ **Created:** [November 2, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697 "2021-11-02T20:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/21 "2021-11-04T20:20:29Z")
What is your $ situation? Will it really make a difference to your financial situation whether you spend $120 or $350 on the bike? We have been happy to be the “bike grandparents” for our granddaughter, tho she is younger than yours. Our preference is to buy decent bikes. Both of us had times that we had cheap and poorly sized bikes when we were young. We can afford to do better for our grandkids, so we do. I think her current one is a Trek - and she is definitely due for a new one. Might be worth taking him in for a fitting. As you note, he might be between sizes. Depending on the geometry and adjustability, it is possible he can get a 26" that he will grow into - as opposed to the 24" which he will outgrow quickly. If his preferences are taken into consideration in terms of colors, style, etc, he will be less likely to feel it is uncool. If you get him a cheap bike that he doesn’t like, he may never want that next, cool bike you plan on buying. Heck, if you spend $350, and it gets used for 5 years between the 2 kids, tats a whopping $5 a month. I tend to think encouraging bike riding is one of the neatest things you can do for a kid. In most neighborhoods, it is a great way to teach the kid to be self sufficient and responsible. For both my wife and me - and 1 of our kids - our bikes meant freedom and independence. I still bike a lot, and my grander is quite a biker with me and her dad. Don’t pursue a false economy. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/22 "2021-11-04T20:32:01Z")
Yeah I really think a cheapo one is fine for a 10 year old. Second hand would be a good option too. Except post-Covid the second hand bike market has gone bonkers, and prices are not much less than new bikes (if you buy from a second-hand bike store, craigslist and such still have some deals but that’s a lot more hassle) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/23 "2021-11-05T02:22:51Z")
I’m looking at a used [Diamondback Cobra](https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/product/803771/diamondback-cobra-24-mountain-bike-boys). It seems to be on the lower end of the “nice” bikes. Assuming it fits him (going to meet the seller on Tuesday) it’s only $100. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/24 "2021-11-05T02:34:17Z")
My mom bought me a $90 Murray 10-speed when I was nine (in 1993). I don’t remember the size but it was beginning to be too small for me when I was around 13. It was also becoming less reliable. It finally failed spectacularly when the rear derailleur somehow went into the spokes of the rear wheel. Several spokes were broken and the derailleur was twisted. About four years of service. I can attest to nicer bikes being nicer to ride. The last bike I bought a couple years was a pretty decent Trek and it was such a smoother ride than the cheap bike I had before that. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/25 "2021-11-05T13:02:17Z")
Probably a good option. Diamondback makes fine bikes, Only remaining issue - many kids’ bikes get used pretty hard. I’m not an expert as to how much of that wear would show up on a casual inspection. Then, if you feel the need to add in a tune-up at a shop, how close does the price get to new? Just a thought. Not sure how much your time is worth, and I hope this one works out. But if it doesn’t, how many trips to check out used bikes will it take to add to how much $? Congrats on being a good grandpa. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/26 "2021-11-05T14:17:35Z")
I’m a fairly accomplished shade-tree bike mechanic, actually. I put together one of my old bikes entirely from parts, except for the headset, which I had the bike shop do, because I didn’t have the press, and didn’t anticipate needing one. I can handle whatever inspection/tuning up needs to be done- certainly adjusting derailleurs and brakes is within my skill and tool sets. The good news is that the person also lives in N. Dallas- in a weird quirk of fate, I’ve proposed meeting in the parking lot of the bike shop (nearby coffee shop actually) that I bought my bike from, because it’s more or less central to us. So it’s like 15 minutes away, which isn’t bad at all. After that, there’s a Trek MT220 for $250 that I saw on Craigslist that is my 2nd choice; it’s a bit more than I’d prefer to spend, but I kind of figure that if the option is $170 for a cheapo, or $250 for a good one, that’s a no-brainer. (of course, $100 for a good one is even better!) Next step after this is to finish up the rebuild on the used 20" Specialized Hotrock that I have in the garage… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/27 "2021-11-13T19:27:09Z")
See if you have a local bike refurb shop. We have one that takes donations and buys up those that need TLC, and sells them at discount with full service. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697/28 "2021-11-15T01:18:40Z")
Ended up getting the Diamondback Cobra; it’s in great shape. The only issue is that the right-side grip shifter is unusually tight; I need to take a look and see if it’s something funny with the derailleur, or something funny with the cable/housing, or something else entirely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheapo-or-expensive-bike-10-year-old/953697.md?page=1)