Views on mtn bike choice for 12 year old

[Cubist]

All good points. Do you know an online dealer with Merida prices, I'm struggling to find one and a whole new range to get my head round. Carrera and Decathlon of course, mentioned so often on here and I'd not thought to look there.

Edit: smallest size in the Carrera range seems to be 16", which is too big.

Had a look on here, and found the Sub 40 D bang on budget but only in 18, 20 inch.

Sub 20, not bad for the money, but V-braked. , and in smaller sizes: http://www.factorydirectbikes.com/bikes/merida_matts-20-v_2010/

 

[Cubist]

Here we are , smaller sizes in stock, Mech discs. bang on budget;

http://www.discovercycling.com/bikes/bikes-mtb/merida-matts-40-md.html

and if your 12 yr old doesn't like that colourway, make him take up ballet!

 

[Crackle]

Thanks for that Cubist. Found a Merida dealer quite close to me as well, so they'll be getting a visit. They do look interesting bikes.

 

[Cubist]

Cubette has one, a SUb 60D that I got at a steal 'cos it was "last year's model." Very nicely made, with quality components. Forks at this price point are usually the biggest "budget sacrifices", but the RST 100mm offerings have lockout etc. and are certainly "serviceable"

There's a police team nearby that have a fleet of Meridas, and they're all bombproof as far as I can see.

 

[Crackle]

Well thanks to everyone for their input. Just to finish off, after sitting mulling for 9 months, we finally got out and got him on some bikes and ended up settling on this one

http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/product/10041/55701/217976

It both fits him and suits what he likes to do on the bike with the added benefit of being a bike he'll keep even in adulthood as it's a jump bike. We've already been out for several trips to Delamere to the skills area and it's a real hit.

It's lighter than my bike too!

 

[I like Skol]

Well thanks to everyone for their input. after sitting mulling for 9 months, we ended up settling on this one

http://www.scott-spo...41/55701/217976

It both fits him and suits what he likes to do on the bike with the added benefit of being a bike he'll keep even in adulthood as it's a jump bike. We've already been out for several trips to Delamere to the skills area and it's a real hit.

I know this is an old thread but just have to say it looks like a nice bike but definitely targeted at the Yoof of today. How did you resist the temptation to steer him towards a more traditional MTB?

£500 for a kids bike?? Will it be looked after??

Money well spent IMO. Give them a cheap, look-a-likee toy bike that works badly and breaks when given any abuse and they will not want to ride much or care for it at all. Give them something special and they may realise it and get some enthusiasm for it. I have 2 boys and the 1st bike was a Ridgeback MX14, complete with Ali frame, V-brakes and stabilisers. I think it was £120 while most parents splash around £50 on that 1st bike but 5 years later it is still going great with son number 2 and will be sold or passed on when the time comes. The older son is now on a GT Stomper 20" which was £160 (reduced from around £190 as previous years model) Again, this is a top notch bike, really is a scaled down MTB rather than a dressed up kids toy bike. I feel a little sorry for son number 2 as he is destined to ride 2nd hand bikes for a long time but at least they will be good quality bikes in excellent condition.

Will they be looked after? Of course they will, by me! As a cycle enthusiast dad its my job and will be a pleasure to do so.

I always suggest GT avalanches for anyone looking for a good MTB that don't cost the earth. I've ridden GT and they are solid, fun to ride, take some stick, and really good value.

I can also recommend the GT marque. I have a 1994 GT Zaskar MTB, a 2010 GT Traffic 1.0 Hybrid and The GT Stomper 20" for the kids and have been pleased by them all.

 

[Crackle]

I know this is an old thread but just have to say it looks like a nice bike but definitely targeted at the Yoof of today. How did you resist the temptation to steer him towards a more traditional MTB?

Hah! You don't know how prescient you are there. I think I held off making the decision because in the back of my mind I think I realized I was trying to pick a bike I wanted or I wanted him to have. Then recently we went to Delamere and as we watched some other kids and the bikes they had and what they were doing, it pretty much became clear he wanted to do the same thing. So we went to a bike shop, found a youngish guy who did the same kinda stuff himself and let him recommend a bike which was up to it. I checked only that it fitted him and it fitted him much better than a same size XC bike and that the spec was good, negotiated a good price and the deal was done. It would not have been a bike I chose myself because the nuances of what made it a street/yoof/jump bike were lost on me until the assistant explained them all. Trendiness aside though, it will do everything, he and we need it to do and do it well.

Money well spent IMO. Give them a cheap, look-a-likee toy bike that works badly and breaks when given any abuse and they will not want to ride much or care for it at all. Give them something special and they may realise it and get some enthusiasm for it. I have 2 boys and the 1st bike was a Ridgeback MX14, complete with Ali frame, V-brakes and stabilisers. I think it was £120 while most parents splash around £50 on that 1st bike but 5 years later it is still going great with son number 2 and will be sold or passed on when the time comes. The older son is now on a GT Stomper 20" which was £160 (reduced from around £190 as previous years model) Again, this is a top notch bike, really is a scaled down MTB rather than a dressed up kids toy bike. I feel a little sorry for son number 2 as he is destined to ride 2nd hand bikes for a long time but at least they will be good quality bikes in excellent condition.

Will they be looked after? Of course they will, by me! As a cycle enthusiast dad its my job and will be a pleasure to do so.

And you are absolutely right. Regular trips to Delamere and hopefully beyond have now been requested and for the first time ever he cleaned his chain and re-lubed it and listened attentively to how to check and adjust his gears, then did it himself, found a clunk coming from the fact his rear caliper was not tight (good shop setup!) and fixed it and adjusted his seat angle. He then used his new found knowledge to help his friend fix his bike up.

 

[I like Skol]

And you are absolutely right. Regular trips to Delamere and hopefully beyond have now been requested and for the first time ever he cleaned his chain and re-lubed it and listened attentively to how to check and adjust his gears, then did it himself, found a clunk coming from the fact his rear caliper was not tight (good shop setup!) and fixed it and adjusted his seat angle. He then used his new found knowledge to help his friend fix his bike up.

It's working already, great result.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I was merely pointing out that kids do hash bikes and tend to leave them lying around however my two oldest are now at the age where I would like to get buy them something of higher quality if only to get them out with me down to the forest trails

Saw that Scot voltage in a bike shop at weekend looked nice and is what my middle son is looking for. Oldest son came down with me to Glentress on his handed down Raleigh full susser

. Managed the full red route and the trip down spooky wood in one piece but feel a better quality bike is on order, plans are on going as to how we do that. Not cheap and not made of money so may have to look at second hand.

 

[Bicycle]

I have bought nice, new bikes for children in the past and will do so again, but 12 is a tricky age. He may not be riding it for long.

My youngest is now 12 and makes do with hand-me-downs, so my data may be invalid.

However, I have almost always got better results from eBay than 'new-from-a-dealer'.

I don't see the unlikelihood of maintenance as the issue; a kid who leaves a new bike out in the rain will leave a used one out too - and the damage is the same.

Most of what's on a bicycle wears out anyway - and a bike is new only until it leaves the shop.

You could get a very good, very light hardtail from eBay for the money you're looking at spending.

Then you can sell it the same way when he grows....

MTBs can be a risky buy used, but in truth few people ride them as hard as they say they do...

Have a little search and see what you see in small-framed MTBs. But treat it just like any other auction and decide a max price before you start. To do otherwise can be expensive.

 

[Crackle]

I was merely pointing out that kids do hash bikes and tend to leave them lying around however my two oldest are now at the age where I would like to get buy them something of higher quality if only to get them out with me down to the forest trails

Saw that Scot voltage in a bike shop at weekend looked nice and is what my middle son is looking for. Oldest son came down with me to Glentress on his handed down Raleigh full susser

. Managed the full red route and the trip down spooky wood in one piece but feel a better quality bike is on order, plans are on going as to how we do that. Not cheap and not made of money so may have to look at second hand.

My eldest who got the Scott is 13 now and I think by chance I bought him this at the right age. It's only been 3 months since he's had it but in that time he's taken a pride in this bike. He's learned to oil the chain and adjust his gears. It never gets left out and he always comments on how good it is when we go out on it.

It also suits him perfectly. At this age, he's not interested in longer routes. He likes to go somewhere and then mess about repeating tricks and jumps, in fact the bike rarely has two wheels on the ground. It's either being jumped, wheelied, endoed (that could be the wrong term, I mean spun around on it's front wheel) or hopped.

As far as I'm concerned it's a result and therefore money well spent. It was expensive and I appreciate it's hard to justify that much on a kids bike. I could have got a cheaper none disc version but the disc brakes make a huge difference to him and what he can do on the bike and I'm glad I swllowed hard and stumped up. Part of the finance came from selling some stuff on Ebay that he no longer wanted, so he part financed it and as I said earlier in the the thread because of the geometry and use, he can potentially keep this into adulthood and it's good enough to last that long and be worth upgrading.

There was an unplanned expense in that I also had to buy a new Thule bike rack. As it was new I didn't just want to lash it to another bike as I had been doing with his old bike so it had to have it's own roof carrier: Ah well.