What to buy

[Q_here]

Hi there

 

A friend of mine has a 9year old son that needs to get a bike. He is 1.4m tall.

 

He is not sure what to buy, the firstthing he mentioned was that being kids the bike will be there just to ride around in the neighbourhood and to school(closely) and might be dropped on the grass without much regard and so on...

 

we had a chat and the following questions came up

 

- Do you buy a bigger bike sothat he grows into it or do you buy a bike that he would use now and upgradelater?

 

- What is available to buy thatwould not cost you an arm and a leg but is fairly durable?

 

They looked at a bike at game(yes that was my reaction as well) but bear in mind that he is not a cyclist and so he asked me(not that i am one really) anyway!!!

 

So what is out there?

your comments would be much appreciated

Edited March 25, 2011 by Qhere

[Eugene]

I bought my daughter an Avalanche MTB for R1 400. It is a 20inch, but also comes in a 24inch which would suit your friend's son better.

 

These bikes at Game literally fall apart within a few weeks. The gears never work properly and they rust like crazy. the brakes barely work and they scream everytime you apply them.

 

The Avalanche I bought for my daughter costs about R600 more and is much better quality. he will save much more than R600 in repair bills.

 

My friend bought one of those Game bikes. He replaced the cassette, had both wheels trued twice, replaced the pedals and the rear derailure within 400km of road riding. he had the bike in at least 3 times to set the gears. Sanity finally prevailed and he bought himself a decent Schwinn

[Arkadion]

I bought my 13 year old step-son a medium frame Merida, something that will last him at least the next 5 years (Hopefully 10!). He just drops the seat down a bit.

 

If I compare that to how his 9 year old brother rides it's completely different! Whilst I would consider something cheaper, I definately would not get a Makro special, rather look for a decent 2nd hand bike on the hub