Expensive Kid Bikes

Nope.  Secondhand works just as great, and is less costly.

200 bucks for a bike for a 4 year old?? I would never. Ever.

Serviceable. They can be repaired more easily if you break a shifter, brake lever, etc. Most all big-box store bikes are trash when this happens.

The shop I worked at had a great deal: You get 50% of your original purchase price back when you bought another bike within 2 years, until it was an adult sized bike. I sold TONS of kids bikes. We either sold the used ones or donated them, depending on condition, etc.

I have been looking for a used kid bike, but pretty much all of them are the cheap Huffy type. I haven't been able to find a higher end kid bike.

In the 16" range, I don't think there's any value in a high-end bike.    It's a steel frame with 2 wheels a seat and a coaster brake. MAYBE a hand brake that a kid that size will barely be able to operate.   On any given saturday you should be able to find one for $10-20 at a yard sale (although it's winter now... maybe in the spring.)

I doubt most kids even go through a set of tires before they outgrow a 16" bike.  

    My daughter rides an OLD Trek Mystic.   I bought it for $25 from a buddy at work.  I just saved a NEXT girl's bike (20", I think) from the dumpster.  She'll get this when she outgrows the Trek.   Yes, the fit/finish is better on the Trek.   Functionally, and especially for a 4 year old, the bikes are identical.

Once you get up to the bigger bikes, with more features, I can see where there may be some value in a higher-end bike.    In the smaller size I just don't see it.  

For us it's not worth it until they are on a bigger bike.  We did cheap bikes/hand-me-downs until the kids are 10+ years old then they get the bike of their choosing.  Though #3 is interested in tri's so she might get a nicer bike when she turns 9.

Considering that the extra money is going to buy you durability and serviceability more so than anything else, I don’t think it’s worth it for a 4-year old. He’s going to ride the bike for a max of a couple of years before he outgrows it. And even if you’re in a warm climate and a neighborhood that’s conducive to a lot of riding, he’s still not going to be riding it enough to start wearing out the drivetrain and groupset.

I’d say to buy something sturdy but inexpensive, and save the extra money for when he’s older and can get an adult bike.

We've bought decent new bikes (Trek Jet) for the kids, but only because we knew it would get passed down from one to the other so both would get use out of it. We figure each son will get 2-3 years out of each bike, or 4 - 6 total per bike.

Looked at that way, I won't moan too much about the nominal investment. They've been trouble-free bikes and they're still in great shape.

my daughter (11) and sone (8) both have pretty decent bikes we paid around the $200 range for.  my son rides his a lot so definately worth it!  and it was easy to justify when I spend $200 on mine each year just putting on a new chain and tires.

I put together a nice road bike for the ex-step-daughter (wasn't ex- at the time, 11 years old) -- 650 wheels, Tiagra derailleurs, 105 brifters... She almost never rode it. And I imagine she still hasn't ridden it. Problem was (and most likely still is) that there was no respect for the equipment. A bike is a bike, and they're all going to be ridden like a BMX bike. Of course it isn't long at that age until a bike isn't cool any more...

Plus they're going to hate you anyhow once they become teenagers

Granted, I paid employee pricing on my daughter's 12" wheeled specialized hot rock, but I still would have dropped the cash even if I had to pay :shudder: retail. It's an aluminum frame and has actual bearings instead of plastic bushings in the wheels, headset and bottom bracket. Some of the cheap walmart bikes have so much drag in the wheels that the bikes stop rolling as soon as the kid stops pedaling. At least they don't need a brake because the one on there isn't functioning anyway. Notice the lack of sarcasm on that last part.

Assuming we have another girl, the bikes will get passed down then returned to my daughter when she has a kid. I'm a bike guy. I still own my first bike and want to restore it for my kids once they are big enough to ride 20" wheels.

ETA: Oh yeah. She learned how to skid this summer (at 3.5 years old, I'm soo proud) so we will get through one set of tires. Had she learned a summer earlier we would have been through 2 sets before she out grew it. The next bike will see multiple sets of tires I'm sure.

Edited by graceful_dave 2010-10-29 12:10 PM

Also, assembly. I know that the big-box toy sore 'R Us place paid $5 per bike to assemble them when the spring inventory arrived. They recruited a guy from the rival LBS who brought his friends over and they slapped them together over beers. Handlebars backwards, strip the threads; whatever. Get them assembled and collect your $5 for the bikes in your pile.

Your LBS will assemble a kids bike and go through it as carefully as they do an adult one. Shawn insisted that every bike out the door be checked over by him; every bike from the Trek Jet to the Roubaix pro got his adjustment and work over.

I bought a Trek 16" for my son and it isn't worth it.  When I get him a bigger one it will be a Walmart bike

I bought a Trek 16" for my son and it isn't worth it.  When I get him a bigger one it will be a Walmart bike

I bought a Trek 16" for my son and it isn't worth it.  When I get him a bigger one it will be a Walmart bike

I bought a Trek 16" for my son and it isn't worth it.  When I get him a bigger one it will be a Walmart bike

I would not buy an expensive 16" bike, but I did buy a nice 20" that will go through all 3 kids.

My oldest son got his 2nd bike (16" Mongoose) out of a neighbor's trash can (literally). Their son outgrew it, and they don't sell stuff, they just throw it out. I replaced tires/tubes/grips, and it's his "new" bike. It got him through the transition from training wheels. Once he ditched the training wheels his reward was a shiny $200 Redline 20"er. Now he's on a nice Giant 24" MTB I got used for $35. The Redline now belongs to kid #2, and it will be fine for kid #3 too.

If my kids ride like me, they will break stuff. I try to get them stuff that's hard to break, but with parts that I can easily replace if broken.

My son started on a cheapo 16" that he rode for about three years (he really was too big for it the last year.)  For his 7th birthday we dropped about $200 for a good mid-level 20" bike that will probably last him another 3 or 4 years. He was doing 15+ mile rides on his little bike so we figured paying a little more for some quality would be worth it.

In our market, used wasn't a practical option. The few options that would appear on Craigslist were junk when they were new and had been beaten to death already. We don't have anyone available for a hand-me down, so that wasn't an option either. So I bit the bullet and bought new.

So far, it has paid off. In addition to riding all summer he raced in two triathlons on this new bike.