Good child (small adult) bicycle

[Jeanne]

My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle
(Performance). Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she
best fits. She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24"
bicycle - her knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the
seat down. The LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on
a Raleigh M20 Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She
definitely sat better on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't
stretched out with her hands on the handlebars.

Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.

What bicycles do your children ride?

In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires
(at most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We
want a good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price
(arbitrarily, let's say under $400).

Thanks
Jeanne

 

[Jeff]

"Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle (Performance).
> Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she best fits.
> She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24" bicycle - her
> knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the seat down. The LBS
> guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on a Raleigh M20 Men's
> bike but he also had the Women's frame. She definitely sat better on this
> bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't stretched out with her hands on
> the handlebars.
>
> Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
> frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
> child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.

Aluminum should be just fine, as long as it light enough for her. Don't
worry about strength. If aluminum is strong enough for the airplane she
rides in, it will be plenty strong enough for a bicycle.

Target? You might be able to find a bike for her for less than $200.

or go to www.raleighusa.com. You can see everything Raleigh offers in the
US.

> What bicycles do your children ride?
>
> In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires (at
> most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We want a
> good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price (arbitrarily,
> let's say under $400).

$400 for an 8-year-old's bike? That seems like a lot of money.

I bet you can get a bike that will fit her just as well and which she will
probably enjoy just as well at the local Target or sporting goods chain for
probably around $200 or less. Our local ****'s Sporting Goods seems to have
a good line of bikes from different makers. Their prices are usually 30% or
more off retail, too.

Jeff

> Thanks
> Jeanne

 

[Sue]

You are more fussy about a child's bike than I was. We just went to Toys R
Us and whichever one they liked and fit was the ones we got. I think the
most I have spent for a bike yet is $100, but most of them were in the
$70-80 range. Now that my soon-to-be 14-year-old needs a new bike, I am sure
it will be a little bit more pricer because she needs a bigger bike, but
again, we will go to TRU or Target and find one that fits and one that she
likes.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle
> (Performance). Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she
> best fits. She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24"
> bicycle - her knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the
> seat down. The LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on
> a Raleigh M20 Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She
> definitely sat better on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't
> stretched out with her hands on the handlebars.
>
> Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
> frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
> child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.
>
> What bicycles do your children ride?
>
> In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires
> (at most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We
> want a good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price
> (arbitrarily, let's say under $400).
>
> Thanks
> Jeanne

 

[Jeff]

"Sue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You are more fussy about a child's bike than I was. We just went to Toys R
> Us and whichever one they liked and fit was the ones we got. I think the
> most I have spent for a bike yet is $100, but most of them were in the
> $70-80 range. Now that my soon-to-be 14-year-old needs a new bike, I am
> sure
> it will be a little bit more pricer because she needs a bigger bike, but
> again, we will go to TRU or Target and find one that fits and one that she
> likes.

I would like to add that over the last few years, the prices of bikes seem
to have gone down, not up. You can also get a better deal, either from your
local bike shop or a box store, at the end of the season. So if you can wait
two or three months, you might be able to save a bundle. (Of course, if
everyone goes to the box store for bikes, the bike dealer will go out of
business. But if he charges twice as much as the box store, do you really
need him?)

You might also be able to get a demo bike at the end of the season for even
a better deal.

Jeff

> --
> Sue (mom to three girls)
>
> "Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle
>> (Performance). Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she
>> best fits. She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24"
>> bicycle - her knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the
>> seat down. The LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on
>> a Raleigh M20 Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She
>> definitely sat better on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't
>> stretched out with her hands on the handlebars.
>>
>> Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
>> frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
>> child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.
>>
>> What bicycles do your children ride?
>>
>> In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires
>> (at most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We
>> want a good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price
>> (arbitrarily, let's say under $400).
>>
>> Thanks
>> Jeanne
>
>

 

[Sojourner]

> You might also be able to get a demo bike at the end of the season for even
> a better deal.

Except, of course, that the kid will have nothing to ride until just in
time for the winter snows to start blowing.

LOL!

Sojourner

 

[Jeanne]

Sue wrote:
> You are more fussy about a child's bike than I was. We just went to Toys R
> Us and whichever one they liked and fit was the ones we got. I think the
> most I have spent for a bike yet is $100, but most of them were in the
> $70-80 range. Now that my soon-to-be 14-year-old needs a new bike, I am sure
> it will be a little bit more pricer because she needs a bigger bike, but
> again, we will go to TRU or Target and find one that fits and one that she
> likes.

We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy. DH used to race and worked for
a while at Performance (the main headquarters). Between just DH and me,
we have 6 bicycles (2 road and 1 mountain, each). We also have a Burley
trailer, trail-a-bike and two children's bicycles. As such, we would
never go to Target or TRU for a bicycle. (Sorry if that sounds snippy)

I was just wondering about aluminum because most people I know who ride
on aluminum bikes are men who are, uh, large and/or overweight.
Something about dampening the ride. DD is rather on the light side in
terms of weight.

 

[Jeanne]

Jeff wrote:
> "Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle (Performance).
>>Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she best fits.
>>She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24" bicycle - her
>>knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the seat down. The LBS
>>guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on a Raleigh M20 Men's
>>bike but he also had the Women's frame. She definitely sat better on this
>>bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't stretched out with her hands on
>>the handlebars.
>>
>>Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
>>frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
>>child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.
>
>
> Aluminum should be just fine, as long as it light enough for her. Don't
> worry about strength. If aluminum is strong enough for the airplane she
> rides in, it will be plenty strong enough for a bicycle.
>

I wasn't worried about strength. I was wondering if DD is too
lightweight for an aluminum frame. The only people I knew with aluminum
tend to be large men.

> Target? You might be able to find a bike for her for less than $200.
>
> or go to www.raleighusa.com. You can see everything Raleigh offers in the
> US.
>
>

I was wondering about other brands with comparable models - not just
Raleighs.

>>What bicycles do your children ride?
>>
>>In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires (at
>>most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We want a
>>good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price (arbitrarily,
>>let's say under $400).
>
>
> $400 for an 8-year-old's bike? That seems like a lot of money.
>

Like I said, arbitrary. I would rather pay less than $300 but I'm not
sure what that gets us. It's been a while since we've bought bicycles.

 

[Buck]

Jeanne wrote:
> We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy. DH used to race and worked for
> a while at Performance (the main headquarters). Between just DH and me,
> we have 6 bicycles (2 road and 1 mountain, each). We also have a Burley
> trailer, trail-a-bike and two children's bicycles. As such, we would
> never go to Target or TRU for a bicycle. (Sorry if that sounds snippy)

Glad to see you actually value a bike as something more than a *toy*.
Most people don't realize how much you get when you buy a bicycle from
a specialty shop. Besides professional assembly and maintenance, the
materials are much better. A department store bicycle left outside is
going to rust because of the cheap materials. A specialty shop bicycle
will likely not rust because the materials are better.

I have seen quality bicycles passed down through siblings and even down
through generations. My favorite bicycle is over 25 years old. The
Huffy I owned as a child didn't survive my childhood.

>
> I was just wondering about aluminum because most people I know who ride
> on aluminum bikes are men who are, uh, large and/or overweight.
> Something about dampening the ride. DD is rather on the light side in
> terms of weight.

The frame material is irrelevant in terms of stiffness and strength.
Stiffness is more a function of tire size and inflation than frame
material. Aluminum bikes tend to have larger tubes because the tube
strength is a function of cross-sectional area. If you make the tube
out of aluminum instead of chromoly steel, the cross-section has to be
bigger to get the same strength for a given weight. The down side is
that the tube walls are thinner and are easier to dent. This would be
my biggest concern with an aluminum child's bicycle.

Kids are pretty rough on bicycles (well, at least I was). You really
need to think about how she will be riding before deciding. Different
bikes for different purposes! If she will never go off road a good
compromise is a mountain bike with a set of slick tires. A lot of
people around rec.bicycles.misc use that configuration for commuting.

I have an M50 that was my commuter for a while. I quit riding it
because it is a bit too small for me. I was really happy with it in all
other respects. It just didn't fit. I'm sure your daughter would be
happy with a raleigh.

-Buck

 

[Veloise]

Jeanne wrote:
> We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy. ... As such, we would
> never go to Target or TRU for a bicycle. ...

Huzzah!

You're in your local club, no? Perhaps on a decent bike, DD will make
riding friends, or you'll meet other families with growing kids. When
she outgrows this one, there's a pass-along market. (Try listing your
trailer or TAB in a classified ad, see how many of them you wish you
owned to re-sell.)

Raleigh's a good make. (They were better 30 years ago when they were
still made in England, but they are still good.) On a well-fitting bike
your DD can attempt to keep up, and enjoy the ride much more.

See if the LBS will throw in eternal maintenance or a pink
computer/water bottle set.

HTH

--Karen D.
pedal pusher to teenage nieces

 

[Sue]

"Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy.

Ah okay. We are not bicyclists so I didn't care what brand of bike they
used. They grow so fast that I couldn't see spending a lot of money on a
bike they would ride for a couple of years. I have been very lucky in the
bikes I have bought from Target or TRU have been passed down to the siblings
and then sold to other kids and they have lasted just fine, so IMO they were
not cheaply made bikes.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

 

[Jeff]

"Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jeff wrote:
>> "Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>>>My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle (Performance).
>>>Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she best fits.
>>>She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24" bicycle - her
>>>knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the seat down. The
>>>LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on a Raleigh M20
>>>Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She definitely sat better
>>>on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't stretched out with her
>>>hands on the handlebars.
>>>
>>>Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
>>>frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
>>>child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.
>>
>>
>> Aluminum should be just fine, as long as it light enough for her. Don't
>> worry about strength. If aluminum is strong enough for the airplane she
>> rides in, it will be plenty strong enough for a bicycle.
>>
>
> I wasn't worried about strength. I was wondering if DD is too lightweight
> for an aluminum frame. The only people I knew with aluminum tend to be
> large men.

I don't know how a bicycle can be too lightweight. I don't think there will
be a weight problem.

>> Target? You might be able to find a bike for her for less than $200.
>>
>> or go to www.raleighusa.com. You can see everything Raleigh offers in the
>> US.
>>
>>
>
> I was wondering about other brands with comparable models - not just
> Raleighs.

Go to the website of a nearby sporting goods store or box store (Target,
Toys r Us) and see what bycicles they have. Then just go to a sporting goods
store. Once you have an idea of what they offer, then go to the store. You
won't really know until your daughter sees the bike and sees what works for
her. Even with a relatively heavy bike, your daughter will still weigh two
or three times the bike, at least.

>>>What bicycles do your children ride?
>>>
>>>In a nutshell, we're looking for straight handlebars, reasonable tires
>>>(at most 2" - narrower is good). No BMX, no cruiser, no road bikes. We
>>>want a good frame, reasonable weight and of course, decent price
>>>(arbitrarily, let's say under $400).
>>
>>
>> $400 for an 8-year-old's bike? That seems like a lot of money.
>>
>
> Like I said, arbitrary. I would rather pay less than $300 but I'm not
> sure what that gets us. It's been a while since we've bought bicycles.

For men, for around $200, you can get a decent bike with good brakes, gears
and suspension (the spring and shock absorbers front and back). I paid
around $250 years ago for a similar bike without the suspension. So prices
have really fallen and the components are better these days.

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

"Sojourner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>> You might also be able to get a demo bike at the end of the season for
>> even
>> a better deal.
>
> Except, of course, that the kid will have nothing to ride until just in
> time for the winter snows to start blowing.

Depends on where she lives. If she lives in Florida, the bike riding season
begins in the fall, unless the bike has air-conditioning.

In NJ, where I am, you can still ride bikes until mid-November or later.

Jeff

> LOL!
>
> Sojourner
>

 

[Jeff]

"Buck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jeanne wrote:
>> We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy. DH used to race and worked for
>> a while at Performance (the main headquarters). Between just DH and me,
>> we have 6 bicycles (2 road and 1 mountain, each). We also have a Burley
>> trailer, trail-a-bike and two children's bicycles. As such, we would
>> never go to Target or TRU for a bicycle. (Sorry if that sounds snippy)
>
> Glad to see you actually value a bike as something more than a *toy*.
> Most people don't realize how much you get when you buy a bicycle from
> a specialty shop. Besides professional assembly and maintenance, the
> materials are much better. A department store bicycle left outside is
> going to rust because of the cheap materials. A specialty shop bicycle
> will likely not rust because the materials are better.

I would be surprised to learn that the materials for the same model of bike
are different materials for a specialty shop bike and a department store
bike. I have a department store bike, and it doesn't rust. It is made of an
alloy (or maybe alluminum). Of course, a bike bought at a box store may be
made of cheaper materials than at a specialty store, but it will be a
different model.

For most of the readers of the misc.kid news group, a department store bike
will be as good as a specialty shop bike. For readers of the
rec.bicycles.misc, I would think that a specialty shop bicycle would be
worth the extra money.

I don't think of a bicycle as a toy either. But, that doesn't mean that I
would benefit from a specialty shop bike over a department store bike,
either.

Jeff


> I have seen quality bicycles passed down through siblings and even down
> through generations. My favorite bicycle is over 25 years old. The
> Huffy I owned as a child didn't survive my childhood.
>
>>
>> I was just wondering about aluminum because most people I know who ride
>> on aluminum bikes are men who are, uh, large and/or overweight.
>> Something about dampening the ride. DD is rather on the light side in
>> terms of weight.
>
> The frame material is irrelevant in terms of stiffness and strength.
> Stiffness is more a function of tire size and inflation than frame
> material. Aluminum bikes tend to have larger tubes because the tube
> strength is a function of cross-sectional area. If you make the tube
> out of aluminum instead of chromoly steel, the cross-section has to be
> bigger to get the same strength for a given weight. The down side is
> that the tube walls are thinner and are easier to dent. This would be
> my biggest concern with an aluminum child's bicycle.
>
> Kids are pretty rough on bicycles (well, at least I was). You really
> need to think about how she will be riding before deciding. Different
> bikes for different purposes! If she will never go off road a good
> compromise is a mountain bike with a set of slick tires. A lot of
> people around rec.bicycles.misc use that configuration for commuting.
>
> I have an M50 that was my commuter for a while. I quit riding it
> because it is a bit too small for me. I was really happy with it in all
> other respects. It just didn't fit. I'm sure your daughter would be
> happy with a raleigh.
>
> -Buck
>

 

[JennP.]

Veloise wrote:

> Raleigh's a good make. (They were better 30 years ago when they were
> still made in England, but they are still good.) On a well-fitting bike
> your DD can attempt to keep up, and enjoy the ride much more.

My very first bike was a Raleigh oh, about 30 years ago. We bought our
ds a Raleigh for his first real bike also.

JennP.

 

[[email protected]]

Sue wrote:
> "Jeanne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > We're avid bicyclists so we *are* fussy.
>
> Ah okay. We are not bicyclists so I didn't care what brand of bike they
> used. They grow so fast that I couldn't see spending a lot of money on a
> bike they would ride for a couple of years. I have been very lucky in the
> bikes I have bought from Target or TRU have been passed down to the siblings
> and then sold to other kids and they have lasted just fine, so IMO they were
> not cheaply made bikes.

Ah but how many hours of use or miles did those bikes get?

I expect to do somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 miles a year on
my bike. A box store bike isn't going to be able to take the kind of
abuse I consider normal wear and tear.

Your average bike store bike probably gets under 10,000 miles of
lifetime usage while your average box store bike might get 5000 miles,
maybe.

A friend of mine in the US just got a new bike for her 9 year old and I
got to inspect it before we went on a ride around the park. Her on her
teenage son's mountain bike (low end clearance sale from bike store),
me and my boyfriend on his 70s Schwinn tandem, and the kid (new bike
bought by dad at unknown location without consulting mom or bringing
her or kid to the store).

The derailleur was adjusted so poorly that the chain fell into the
spokes when shifting down and off the cassette when shifting up. The
suspension was stiff enough that I got more use out of flexed legs than
I did from in built gimcrackery. And there is no way that this 9 year
old will be doing anything even half as rough as the tests I put it to
in the parking lot.

Most of my experience with expensive bikes comes from my local bike
club in China and I know two people with mountain bikes that have that
hinge-y thing on the frame near the bottom bracket that the girl's bike
has. A $7000 bike and a $9000 bike. So, even if mom did put out
nearly $200 for this bike I really doubt that many of the suspension
features will ever do anything helpful for this kid's ride.

If, in fact, they aren't actively harmful by being heavy, sucking up
energy that could go towards speed and forward motion by having
unnecessary flex, and prone to breakage in the event of real use.

-M

 

[L.]

Jeanne wrote:
> My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle
> (Performance). Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she
> best fits. She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24"
> bicycle - her knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the
> seat down. The LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on
> a Raleigh M20 Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She
> definitely sat better on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't
> stretched out with her hands on the handlebars.
>
> Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
> frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
> child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.

I would get her the women's version or she may rack her pelvic bone
like I did as a kid - NOT fun! I can only recommend Trek and Nishiki
bikes as I am a bike snob. I have a Trek Millenia urban street bike
and love it. It has fatter tires like an off-road bike but it's
designed for riding on paved surfaces so the tires are smooth and it
has extra suspension in the seat and handlebars. They don't make this
model any more, but they make similar ones. IIRC I paid aroun $370
back in '97 for it.

-L.


-L.

 

[L.]

Jeff wrote:
> I would like to add that over the last few years, the prices of bikes seem
> to have gone down, not up. You can also get a better deal, either from your
> local bike shop or a box store, at the end of the season. So if you can wait
> two or three months, you might be able to save a bundle. (Of course, if
> everyone goes to the box store for bikes, the bike dealer will go out of
> business. But if he charges twice as much as the box store, do you really
> need him?)

There is a huge difference between the biikes carried by Target and
Toys-R-Us and bikes made by bicycle specialty companies that are sold
in bike shops. The difference in ride and performance is astounding,
and maintenence on the more expensive bikes is easier and needed less
frequently. It's the difference between buying a Ford Focus and a
Toyota Land Cruiser. Sometimes with the cheap bikes they simply can't
be fixed if something goes wrong because spare parts for them aren't
marketed. Personally I want my kid riding a safe bike that is well put
together by a professional - not something thrown together by some
pimply faced teenager at Target. Half the time the parts don't even
fit together properly because the design is so bad.

>
> You might also be able to get a demo bike at the end of the season for even
> a better deal.

Bike shops also sell used trade-ins for reasonable prices. Bike snobs
like me trade in bikes that are practially brand-new and have plenty of
road time left in them - and the shops do maintenance and replace any
parts that need to be replaced before putting them on the floor. You
can get a $700 or $800 bike for $250 or less.

-L.

 

[Jeanne]

L. wrote:
> Jeanne wrote:
>
>>My 8 year old daughter has vastly outgrown her 20" bicycle
>>(Performance). Yesterday we went to the LBS to see what size bicycle she
>>best fits. She's very leggy, she even doesn't fit onto a child's 24"
>>bicycle - her knees come close to the handlebars and that's with the
>>seat down. The LBS guy recommended a 12"-13" adult frame. He put her on
>>a Raleigh M20 Men's bike but he also had the Women's frame. She
>>definitely sat better on this bike. Her legs fit perfectly, she wasn't
>>stretched out with her hands on the handlebars.
>>
>>Any opinions on this bike? The one thing that struck me was the aluminum
>>frame (it's been a while since I've bought a bike) - is that okay for a
>>child? Alternatives? The LBS only sell Raleighs.
>
>
> I would get her the women's version or she may rack her pelvic bone
> like I did as a kid - NOT funI can only recommend Trek and Nishiki
> bikes as I am a bike snob.

Thanks. That's what I was looking for - other possibilities. DH and I
both have old Trek mountain bikes and they have served us well. I think
you're right about the women's frame. I never had one but DD is a LOT
leggier than I am.

 

[enigma]

"L." <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I would get her the women's version or she may rack her
> pelvic bone like I did as a kid - NOT fun!

how did you do that?
conversely, i'll now only ride men's bicycles because i
slipped off the seat of my bicycle when i was 12 & removed all
the skin from my knee to my toes. *all* my skin. and i still
had another mile to go to get home...
since i never wear a skirt/dress (and have never worn shorts
since the incident), i don't care if there is a bar. i think
it helps strengthen the frame anyway.

one big advantage of a bike shop vs a big box store bicycle,
besides properly fitting the person & better quality, is being
able to get the bike geared for the exact type of usage. i
have a 5 speed street bike (fat tires, fenders), which i
wanted to use for riding to work (when i worked outside the
farm). my parents bought me one from a bike shop with the
'standard' gearing. i took it in, explained the types of hills
& dirt roads my route covered & they regeared the bike. it was
such a pleasure riding a properly geared bike... i've since
moved & should get it regeared for this area...
lee

--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson

 

[Jeanne]

L. wrote:
> Jeff wrote:
>
>>I would like to add that over the last few years, the prices of bikes seem
>>to have gone down, not up. You can also get a better deal, either from your
>>local bike shop or a box store, at the end of the season. So if you can wait
>>two or three months, you might be able to save a bundle. (Of course, if
>>everyone goes to the box store for bikes, the bike dealer will go out of
>>business. But if he charges twice as much as the box store, do you really
>>need him?)
>
>
> There is a huge difference between the biikes carried by Target and
> Toys-R-Us and bikes made by bicycle specialty companies that are sold
> in bike shops. The difference in ride and performance is astounding,
> and maintenence on the more expensive bikes is easier and needed less
> frequently. It's the difference between buying a Ford Focus and a
> Toyota Land Cruiser. Sometimes with the cheap bikes they simply can't
> be fixed if something goes wrong because spare parts for them aren't
> marketed.

That's true and we've discovered that you also can't substitute better
parts for the old parts on the bikes. At least with bike shop bikes, I
can buy a bike with a good frame and gradually upgrade the parts if I want.

> Personally I want my kid riding a safe bike that is well put
> together by a professional - not something thrown together by some
> pimply faced teenager at Target. Half the time the parts don't even
> fit together properly because the design is so bad.
>

The only way DH and I would buy from Target is 1) they have regular
bikes - e.g., ones found in bike shops and 2) the bicycle is
*unassembled* and still in the box. DH can put together and tune up a
bicycle better than Target.

>
> Bike shops also sell used trade-ins for reasonable prices. Bike snobs
> like me trade in bikes that are practially brand-new and have plenty of
> road time left in them - and the shops do maintenance and replace any
> parts that need to be replaced before putting them on the floor. You
> can get a $700 or $800 bike for $250 or less.
>

Yep. I guess this means going to College Park and looking at their used
bikes. The main problem is that most of the used bikes are large
(college-student sized). There are lots of 17.5, 19 and 21 mountain
bikes out there. Not so many 12-13 inch ones.