Kids Bikes

[GGG]

So I am starting going bike shopping for my 5 year old and need an 16 inch or so bike. Twentys are too big. Just wonder if there is value in going up from the Walmart special.

So far I can see there are three tiers

Spawn bikes are your high end bikes. Nice aluminum frames light weight. Around 16lbs for the 16" I have a friend with one and they are awesome. They are feather light compared to anything else on the market. However I am not willing to spend $400 on a kids bike for a year or two. Maybe for the 20" one.

The next level seems to be your Specialized, Trek, Ghost, main brands. They come in around the $200 mark. They have steel frames, are a reasonable weight 10kgish. I am willing to spend this much if you get value for it compared to the Walmart bikes. This is where I get stuck. From looking at the bikes I can't really tell the difference between the Walmart special and the Treks. Do they use better components or are you paying an extra $100 just because it is a trek.

One that intrigues me is the Naknumura sport check bike. Sportchek recently has seemed to have good component low cost bikes (Janis) in comparison to the name brands. I am wondering if the Nakumura brand is along these lines or if it is just a Walmart competitor.

So my options right now that I am considering are

Spawn Banshee $400 (too expensive)
http://spawncycles.com/shop/spawn-cycles-banshee/

Trek mystic 16 $229 (or equivalent name brand bike) http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes...town/mystic_16

Naknumura Dream 16 $99
http://www.sportchek.ca/product/inde...uctId=23153796

Or just by a Walmart special for like $80.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[JonDuke]

My son had a Nakumura balance/running bike and used it for 2 full seasons, putting in an obscene amount of use. The bike was a work horse and we had no issues. Sportchek was really good too with how they went through he pre purchase inspection. I'd never heard of the brand before but we bought one for my daughter too and would purchase another again in a heartbeat.

Alternatively, I would suggest Canadian Tire. They have a decent selection and are reasonably priced.

Also...do people really drop $400 on a 5 year olds bike?

[pylon]

A $99 Walmart Bike, will likely get ridden very little, ride like crap, will be worthless after a year or two, and will likely be broken half the time. If you buy your kid a top end bike, with good components, with some simple maintenance, it will be worth half of what you paid still in a couple years, and your kids will love riding it, if for no other reason to ride around and show it off a bit. My old man always ended up buying me really nice stuff he couldn't really afford, simply because I destroyed cheap bikes with how hard I rid them. In 1983 he bought me a $600 Diamond Back Pacer 500 (the Ferrari of BMX bikes back then) and I rode that thing for 5 years, and I maintained it like a master mechanic, because I knew how special it was. I saved all summer to buy my First Kuwahara Mountain bike in 1989, and it still hangs in my parents garage, and is completely rideable, as I always kept it well tuned and maintained. In fact my dad still uses it a few times a year.

Almost all the guys I know, that are huge into cycling in their middle age, typically had really nice stuff as kids. We always talk about our old top end BMX's and First Specialized or GT Mountain Bikes like they were awesome old Hot Rods. In fact, even as a car guy, I am sooner to hand someone the keys to my BMW, than let ANYONE, so much as touch my totally personalized and personally hand built Devinci I painstakingly put together over 2 seasons with exactly selected components.

A good bike is truly an investment in your kids future if they latch on to it young. Worst case scenario, you buy them a nice Jr. Trek, Giant or Specialized, they hardly use it, and you can get 60-70% of your money back on Kijiji. I do know, some shops offer youth trade up programs too, that will soften the blow.

Just my 2 cents.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by pylon

A $99 Walmart Bike, will likely get ridden very little, ride like crap, will be worthless after a year or two, and will likely be broken half the time. If you buy your kid a top end bike, with good components, with some simple maintenance, it will be worth half of what you paid still in a couple years, and your kids will love riding it, if for no other reason to ride around and show it off a bit. My old man always ended up buying me really nice stuff he couldn't really afford, simply because I destroyed cheap bikes with how hard I rid them. In 1983 he bought me a $600 Diamond Back Pacer 500 (the Ferrari of BMX bikes back then) and I rode that thing for 5 years, and I maintained it like a master mechanic, because I knew how special it was. I saved all summer to buy my First Kuwahara Mountain bike in 1989, and it still hangs in my parents garage, and is completely rideable, as I always kept it well tuned and maintained. In fact my dad still uses it a few times a year.

Almost all the guys I know, that are huge into cycling in their middle age, typically had really nice stuff as kids. We always talk about our old top end BMX's and First Specialized or GT Mountain Bikes like they were awesome old Hot Rods. In fact, even as a car guy, I am sooner to hand someone the keys to my BMW, than let ANYONE, so much as touch my totally personalized and personally hand built Devinci I painstakingly put together over 2 seasons with exactly selected components.

A good bike is truly an investment in your kids future if they latch on to it young. Worst case scenario, you buy them a nice Jr. Trek, Giant or Specialized, they hardly use it, and you can get 60-70% of your money back on Kijiji. I do know, some shops offer youth trade up programs too, that will soften the blow.

Just my 2 cents.

I definately agree with you for the bike after this one. At the 20" level there is a huge difference in components. Is this also the case for a 16" bike?

[Dion]

Pylon is right in his assessment. You get what you pay for and you're better off buying your kid a top quality bike. Chances are good that you will get fair value when you try to sell it. Case in point, my first bike was a Diamondback mountain bike. After a year I developed back problems and was forced to sell it. Ended up getting most of what I paid for it.

[pylon]

Yeah, I see that, I am use to 17", 19.5" etc.....denoting MTB frame sizes, kids bikes look like a different animal altogether in that sub 20" range but I found 2.

http://www.ridleys.com/bikes/trek/trek-jet-16-0

But, but.... look at this one, 16" with front suspension, and pull brakes! That would be a good trainer for moving up to a real MTB. And Norco builds solid bikes.

http://www.norco.com/bikes/youth/16-...pion/scorpion/

[pylon]

I would also add, if you buy a bike especially from Ridley's who is a Trek Dealer, if you have any issues, they will take care of you. It is hard to tell on these little tiny bikes if one is better than the other, but I know Trek wouldn't release a rickety piece of junk. Some of those dept store bikes have plastic cranks on them, and are spot welded. You won't find that at an LBS.

[psicodude]

The kid is 5 and will probably ride the bike 15 times all year. Spending hundreds of dollars at this point would be a waste. My advice would be to get one from Costco for $100 - $130 that will work perfectly for 2 years. At that time, he/she will be big enough to get a 20" bike. Then it makes sense for you spend some money on a decent bike.

[calgarywinning]

I bought my kid nice bikes and they were always able to find a good home for another nice kid for half the price. It was more about passing the idea on and getting someone else enthused about riding a decent bike that didn't bust.

Also, cheap bikes are throw away items, I don't prescribe to that theory in life. Instead of an infill somewhere, it's on a sidewalk.

[Table 5]

You should buy one of the nicer bikes....used, at half the price.

[firebug]

I may have something for you (if you are in Calgary of course)...

We went through this issue two years ago for my 7-yr-old. Outgrew his 16" bmx (Norco Mity Macho) but we couldn't find a 'compact' 20" bike in town for less than $500.

I ended up importing a 18" DK Intervol for him from the US. Key features that you don't find on the dept store bikes: full cro-moly frame and fork, 3-piece crankset, compact drivetrain

Here's what the bike looks like:


And here's the manufacturers description.


I'd need to do the math, but we would sell his for less than $200 as he's outgrown it now.

EDIT:
Just realized you are looking for a girl's bike...

I've not been impressed by the Nakamura's at Sport Chek. For my 5-yr-old girl, we went with the GT Laguna from Sport Chek instead. For not much more money than the Nak, it seems to be a much better bike (while still being a bit less than the Treks and Norco's up at the $200 level).

Plus I have a 2-yr-old girl that will be inheriting it, so I wanted to have something that would hold up for a while.

[firebug]

Originally Posted by pylon

Yeah, I see that, I am use to 17", 19.5" etc.....denoting MTB frame sizes, kids bikes look like a different animal altogether in that sub 20" range but I found 2.

http://www.ridleys.com/bikes/trek/trek-jet-16-0

But, but.... look at this one, 16" with front suspension, and pull brakes! That would be a good trainer for moving up to a real MTB. And Norco builds solid bikes.

http://www.norco.com/bikes/youth/16-...pion/scorpion/

I've got to disagree a bit with Pylon...

When you are buying a kids bike, buy the simplest, purest bike you can find as they will be lighter and much easier for the kid to ride. Things like 'suspension', gears, pull brakes on steel rims, and other gimmicks at these sizes have no performance advantage and only add weight and throw off the balance and handling for these little guys and gals.

Once you are into the 24"-and-up sizes, having gears and maybe suspension can be worthwhile.

Otherwise, Norco can make a decent bike. Trek also has some quality machines for riders who need 20" or less wheels.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Firebug is right. The biggest thing for a kid that age is the weight of the bike. If the bike is so heavy they will never ride it because it's that much harder for them to do so.

Don't spend $400 on a kid's bike since they'll outgrow it rather quickly but you should determine the price range you are comfortable paying and then look at a few places and try and find one of the lightest models in that range.

[Sliver]

I went with the Sport Chek bikes for both my kids' first bikes and they were great and great value. Sold them on Kijiji when they were done for a few bucks under what I paid for them. Last year they moved up to 20" frames and I dropped some good money on those. At the 20" size (six/seven years old), a lighter bike starts to matter a lot more. Plus, you'll be doing real rides around Fish Creek or wherever you go instead of just messing around on <1km rides where you won't see any of the benefits of a better bike.

So yeah, your logic sounds fine coming from a guy who did it that way a couple years ahead of you. My family has had four Sport Chek bikes and we probably ride more than your average family. Not one single issue or problem with the bikes. Just air in the tires and oil on the chain.

[Coys1882]

All good points but I'd spend the money because I love LBS. Sport chek is fine without your purchase.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by psicodude

The kid is 5 and will probably ride the bike 15 times all year. Spending hundreds of dollars at this point would be a waste. My advice would be to get one from Costco for $100 - $130 that will work perfectly for 2 years. At that time, he/she will be big enough to get a 20" bike. Then it makes sense for you spend some money on a decent bike.

I completely agree. I wouldn't waste money on components and things like shocks and hand brakes. The beginning child will make no use of these things. My son is just six and he has dual suspension because it looked like a great idea. It's a non-issue because he's never going to need suspension riding on sidewalks and bike paths.

When he's older, sure, but just learning it's a waste of money. You can buy a perfectly good kids bike at Canadian Tire and they can learn to ride just fine. Like psicodude says above. They will ride it like 15-20 times at that age and outgrow it.

[GGG]

Thanks for all the advice.

I do think we will use it more than 10 or 15 times as we already have got the bikes from last year 4 times this year. I have also looked used and there is not much out there or everything that is goes fast. I agree that suspension and other weight adders are useless.

Looking at Pylon's recomendations I noticed Norco has what appears to be a pretty good kids bike.

http://www.norco.com/bikes/youth/16-...16/sparkle-16/

Aluminum frame so lighter weight than the other kids bikes and no bells and whistles also keeping costs down. Around the $200 mark, and purple (colour being a surprisingly important criteria) Just have to find one in calgary.

I will also chech out thise Lagunas as they seem to be a balance being above walmart quality yet cheaper than the others.

[bossy22]

First bike. Go simple. Is the bike going to be handed down to a sibling? Spend money. If not go cheap. Is it for a boy? Spend money. My boys trashed their costco bikes within a month. Jumps aren't good for department store bikes. All the bikes I've purchased for my boys when they were little were from Bow. They're still going strong and have been handed down to friends. They're older now and have downhill bikes, and we go to moose mountain and ride which is a lot of fun. My 3 yr old has a run bike that he's outgrown because he's the size of a 5 year old. Now I'm bike shopping again. Poor me. I'm thinking the Banshee might be good. I'd just pull the crank to make it a run bike until his balance is better and he can learn how to pedal.

[Ironhorse]

What Pylon said. Wal-Mart bikes use crap components. We spent around 300 for my older kids first bike (got it at Bow Cycle) and he loved it. With maintenance and tuneups, his younger brother is now putting even more miles on it. They both learned how to shift properly at an early age, and love going out on their bikes.

[Ironhorse]

BTW, all my kids' bikes have been Norco's thus far. Seems to be good value for a kid.