Good bicycles for kids - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

12-30-2004, 05:36 PM

I've scanned through and not seen much about this - when I was a kid in
the 1960s, my father bought me a very nice English-made 3/4 sized
bicycle. I rode it for years, then my sister and two godchildren rode
it - and it still wasn't worn out.

However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
- of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
for a few miles on.

12-30-2004, 09:24 PM

:
: However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
: appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
: - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
: what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
: non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
: get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
: heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
: bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
: for a few miles on.

Where are you located?

Pat in TX
:
:

12-30-2004, 09:24 PM

:
: However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
: appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
: - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
: what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
: non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
: get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
: heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
: bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
: for a few miles on.

Where are you located?

Pat in TX
:
:

12-30-2004, 09:24 PM

:
: However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
: appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
: - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
: what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
: non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
: get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
: heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
: bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
: for a few miles on.

Where are you located?

Pat in TX
:
:

12-30-2004, 09:24 PM

:
: However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
: appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
: - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
: what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
: non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
: get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
: heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
: bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
: for a few miles on.

Where are you located?

Pat in TX
:
:

12-31-2004, 06:29 AM

I'm in Atlanta, my folks are in SC and the kids live in the DC area. My
father will happily order from just about anywhere in the CONUS if he
can find appropriate bikes for the kids.

Pat wrote:
> :
> : However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
> : appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
> : - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
> : what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
> : non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
> : get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
> : heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
> : bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
> : for a few miles on.
>
> Where are you located?
>
> Pat in TX
> :
> :
>
>

12-31-2004, 06:29 AM

I'm in Atlanta, my folks are in SC and the kids live in the DC area. My
father will happily order from just about anywhere in the CONUS if he
can find appropriate bikes for the kids.

Pat wrote:
> :
> : However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
> : appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
> : - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
> : what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
> : non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
> : get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
> : heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
> : bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
> : for a few miles on.
>
> Where are you located?
>
> Pat in TX
> :
> :
>
>

12-31-2004, 06:29 AM

I'm in Atlanta, my folks are in SC and the kids live in the DC area. My
father will happily order from just about anywhere in the CONUS if he
can find appropriate bikes for the kids.

Pat wrote:
> :
> : However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
> : appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
> : - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
> : what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
> : non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
> : get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
> : heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
> : bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
> : for a few miles on.
>
> Where are you located?
>
> Pat in TX
> :
> :
>
>

12-31-2004, 06:29 AM

I'm in Atlanta, my folks are in SC and the kids live in the DC area. My
father will happily order from just about anywhere in the CONUS if he
can find appropriate bikes for the kids.

Pat wrote:
> :
> : However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
> : appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
> : - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
> : what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
> : non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
> : get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
> : heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
> : bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
> : for a few miles on.
>
> Where are you located?
>
> Pat in TX
> :
> :
>
>

12-31-2004, 07:14 AM

You need to be conscious of the fact that kids have a need to conform when
it comes to something as personal as a bicycle. Yes, the quality of what's
out there may not seem up to par with what you or I had as a kid, but in the
end, if you get the kid a great quality bicycle that all the other kids
laugh at, you're going to lose anyway.

When my kids were pre-teenagers, the movie ET came out and started the BMX
craze. Up until then, one was riding my old Schwinn Orange Crate and the
other, my old Schwinn Lemon Peeler. For a while, they were the absolute
coolest kids on the block. The day after they saw the movie, neither would
ride those old heaps anymore. Eventually, they each saved enough money to
plunk down most of the $400 for their new Supergoose 20" bikes that, in my
opinion, were made like garbage. But at least the kids rode again. I went
through very similar situations with electronic gadgets, sports, equipment,
etc. with them over the next several years. Today, they're smarter and more
practical about their purchases, but at the time, they needed to fit in.

More recently, I ran a bicycle recycling project in my community and
supervised about 40 kid volunteers per year. I taught them all about what
makes a quality bike and showed them the difference over and over.
Fortunately, the kids in this neighborhood come from families that can well
afford the best bikes out there. In the end, though, these kids all ran
after the X-Games bikes or those death trap full-suspension mountain bikes
from K-Mart. I felt like I had been preaching to a wall. But the truth is,
when you're a teenager, it's not about doing the right thing -- it's about
doing the cool thing, in spite of knowing better.

Your niece and nephew will fast outgrow anything you buy them at this age.
I say go to a bike shop (not a department store) and let them pick out what
appeals to them, as long as it's within your budget. If it's a decent shop,
they won't let you buy something dangerous.

"vwpalmer" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].net> wrote in message
news:m22Bd.1194234$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].worldnet.att.net...
> I've scanned through and not seen much about this - when I was a kid in
> the 1960s, my father bought me a very nice English-made 3/4 sized
> bicycle. I rode it for years, then my sister and two godchildren rode
> it - and it still wasn't worn out.
>
> However, I now have a 8-y-o niece and an a 6-y-o nephew and we are all
> appalled at the dismal quality and configuration - as well as the weight
> - of the commonly available kid's bikes. Does anyone make anything like
> what I had as a child? I think it was called a touring frame with
> non-dropped handlebars and it had a 3 speed gear ... we'd dearly like to
> get the kids bicycles they can enjoy riding instead of the trashy
> heavyweights that seem to be standard stock these days. Not a mountain
> bike, not a bike for stunts, etc. just the kind of bike a kid can ride
> for a few miles on.
>
>