Random Musings > Kidstuff

Help! What should we buy?

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CrinklyLion:
Right... eldest_offspring's bike was booked in for a service today.  Shop rang and basically said it's fubared to the point of being unsafe and not economically viable to fix - serves us right for letting grandad help pick it 2 years ago (stoooopid choice of bike, but water under the bridge now).  So the 'bike as joint present from everyone under the sun' that he was going to get next year has just moved forwards by 12 months - he'll be 8 in a few weeks time, guess what he's getting! 

His dad is horrified by the fact that I'm considering spending 2-3 hundred squid, maybe a bit more, on a kid's bike but I've told him that it's tough, we aren't buying another one that will bust within 2 years.  (My logic is partly that this will prepare the way for MY new bike, sometime next year assuming that somewhat decrepid and elderly freebie from halfords doesn't actually fall apart or cease all forward motion before then:-)

So, what would be a good choice?  He uses his bike most days and cycles anything from the mile to and from school up to an 8-10 mile round trip on the weekend - and it's been increasing lately.  Bikes stored at home under cover and secure (i.e. in the living room) and they have weather-proof and secure bike storage at school, so I'm reasonably happy to invest a bit.  I know naff all about properly maintaining a bike, beyond putting a bit of air in the tyres and occasionally cleaning and oiling the chain but am planning to actually do something about this.  Will probably buy from one of the local bike shops - although not the one that grandad likes, which sold us the previous pile of junk.

The whole stunt riding thing is incredibly appealing to him, but we've discussed and agreed not getting a BMX as he's starting to cover a bit of distance and would like to go further - I've told him we'll consider a second hand extra bike at some point for flinging himself about on if he shows me that he can look after his 'main' bike properly.  He wants something zippy, and something light - having struggled to turn his old one over to clean the chain!  I've said yes to gears (he loves the fact that he has gears SO MUCH!) but he knows that that we're not going down the el cheapo dual suspension path again, however cool it may look.  So far, he likes the look of a Ridgeback MX24, a Scott Voltage Jnr 24, a Gazelle Shark (but that's really pushing the budget at around the £400 mark), or a Trek MT 220.  Oh, and we had a look at the islabikes site and he likes those too.  Basically, as long as it isn't pink I think he can be persuaded to like it :-) 

We're probably going to spend a fair bit of tomorrow wandering around bike shops and asking for recommendations, but I thought I'd see if there were any suggestions of what to try, and what to avoid like the plague, on here.

Thanks in advance!

rogerzilla:
Islabikes, I'd say.

I took an odd approach for Miss Z.  To avoid derailleur gears, which I don't think are suitable for a 6 year old or, in fact, any non-enthusiast, I bought a fairly basic steel singlespeed girl's bike with horizontal dropouts and 110mm rear spacing.  It's reasonably light, with no joke suspension.  Then I bought a spare front wheel (£17!), took it to bits and built the rim onto a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed.

I'll have to fit it soon, because news from my sister-in-law's house is that Emma can actually ride a bike  :thumbsup:

Zoidburg:
I would look at the range of kiddy steeds by Giant.

Don't touch anything low end by Scott as they are complete dogs eggs, the BB will be made of cheese.

Butterfly:
Definitely Islabikes. They are the best children's bikes around by quite a lot, and you get nearly their full value when it comes to selling them :). You can also have their name on the top tube - how cool is that?! 8)

CrinklyLion:
Thanks for quick replies!  So... Haven't yet found a local shop with kiddy Giants, going by their websites, but will see what we turn up tomorrow.  Local bike shop 5 minutes walk from out front door, which we quite like and find very handy plus they aren't too scary for a noob in there, stock mostly Trek kids bikes (what's the general opinion of the Treks btw?).  The guy, who was pleasantly honest about the cost-effectiveness of various levels of fixing our old bikes, also said nice things about islabikes, although they don't currently stock them.  He also made the point about resale value. 

(Small person commented tonight that he was getting part of his present early because he was getting to go round all these shops tomorrow to help choose.  I think he's quite excited :-)

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