I bought one (Luath 700) about 15 years ago for my eldest, who was 10 at the time. He did his first 100 miles and 200k on it, did some time trialling and just used it to ride to school. When he outgrew it, it got handed down to my youngest who, being of more compact stature, still uses it as a daily rider. It's seen him through university, and postgrad, and now he's working it's still his only transport. It's been worth every penny we paid.
But that may be part of the problem for availability on the second hand market of larger sizes, a typical kids bike would have been replaced several times by now. If my youngest hadn't claimed it it would have been a perfect fit for MrsH.
I'm thankful to them for making some great machines that will have given many people good memories. And hopefully they've got out whilst it was still fun and rewarding for them.
