Decent bike for a 5 year old?

[Volvohead]

Looking for a decent quality bike for a boy about to turn 5. He obviously won't have it very long at that age, but it will be his first training wheel/two wheeler. This kid is very large (almost 4 ft tall), very strong and hard on his stuff. So some quality is desired.

I am trying to avoid the Chinese big box store bikes. But they seem almost impossible to avoid in children's models. I would be delighted if I could find a US made bike, but that also seems impossible. The Huffys I see appear worse made than they were thirty years ago. I can't even find any Murrays around. I understand Schwinn is now foreign owned and built, but that their little Gremlin model is ok quality.

Budget is up to $150.

Any thoughts?

 

[moribundman]

If he's tall enough for it, look into the Gary Fisher Cosmo (20" wheels) and get a set of training wheels (if you must -- nothing sadder than kid tooling around with training wheels for a year). Two pedal positions on the cranks mean the kid can keep riding the bike for a few years. That's basically a scaled down MTB with real adult bike features.

If it's gotta be a bike that comes with training wheels, I dunno. Check the 12 and 16 inchers on the Gary Fisher and Trek websites.

http://www.fisherbikes.com/archive/bike_detail.asp?series=kids&year=2006&bike=Cosmo
http://www.fisherbikes.com/archive/index.asp?

 

[moribundman]

Oh, I just found out Kuwahara is back. They got an awesome small bike (20" wheels). The Laserlite Mini is very likely built like a tank. It's also a single speed, which makes it less fragile. It even looks good.

http://www.kuwaharabmx.com/laserlite_mini.html

 

[Volvohead]

He's big, but not big enough for a 20 yet. The Fisher 16 looks like a good choice. I doubt the little bruiser will be able to break it in under two years, which is about as long as it might ever fit him.

I'll swing by the local bike shop this evening to see what they carry.

 

[moribundman]

Yeah, I was afraid that bike was still a little too big. Maybe in two years, eh?

The local bike shop is always the best place to inform yourself and to shop, unless you already know exactly what you want.

 

[Steve S]

One that has a helmet involved. This is where a made in China bike shines ,a 5 year old doesn't need a fancy or nice bike.

 

[moribundman]

A helmet doesn't help when you shatter your chin or jaw on a broken stem, or when a cheap brake handle with sharp edges slices your wrist to the bone, or when a broken frame spears your testicles. There's nothing wrong with a simple or not fancy bike as long as it's well-made. Good luck finding one.

 

[Volvohead]

Well, for $109 on sale, I ordered a shop assembled Schwinn Gremlin. It looked like more than enough bike for a 5 YO.

The bike shop staff claims they only offer "Schwinn Select" quality bikes built to higher standards with better parts than the giant chain stores get. I saw one industry blurb saying something about that as an effort recover the independent shop business.

But EVERY bike in the place, except one or two at the very high end, were ALL MADE IN CHINA.

As a long-distance biker from when the Schwinn Paramount was "in", I found it all somewhat depressing.

What DO we make here in the States, anyway?

 

[Bill Kapaun]

"
But EVERY bike in the place, except one or two at the very high end, were ALL MADE IN CHINA"
Well there's China and Taiwan. There's a lot of good bikes out of Taiwan.

 

[moribundman]

Yes, Taiwan does put out quality stuff. Mainland China on the other hand, well, I wouldn't take my chances. Some of the better names (for example Marzocchi, which is a really good Italian brand) produce in Taiwan. Even the US company SRAM (they bought German Fichtel-Sachs and also Rock Shox and Avid) makes quality gear in Taiwan besides in their new factory in Germany.

 

[Steve S]

Mori, a 5 year old won't ride hard enough for parts to break.

 

[moribundman]

You don't have to ride some bikes in an effort to break them. Some are broken as they come. Some are so sloppily assembled that parts fall off. Many are designed so poorly that you can slice off a finger at sharp component. Show me a cheap bike and I will show you inadequate brakes.

 

[moribundman]

By the way, as a five year old I could break anything that I could get my fingers on.

 

[Steve S]

Guess it has been a long time since I had 5 year olds.

 

[moribundman]

I think it has to do with the difference between low and high quality, which is more extreme today than it was just ten years ago. There are now additional levels of low quality.

 

[Shannow]

Quote:

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There are now additional levels of low quality.

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sort of like sub-basements

 

[NYEngineer]

Giant makes a kid's bike called the Taffy. I think it's aluminum. Real good bike.