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Bicyclists Chime in on Place to buy....


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Looking to upgrade my 12yr old son to a full size non-kids bike. Mountain bike type / style. Nothing specific needed other than durable for a kid who will be doing the typical suburban roads and curbs, etc. May lay it down as he is just a kid.

 

He's currently riding my wife's Specialized 24spd and doing great as his last 21 spd is now a bit too small. I'd give him hers but it's like an $800 bike and I really don't trust him to not just leave it in the front yard of a buddies house, etc.

 

I may just hit up Target, etc. and major stores but would invest a little more if someone here knows a person or works at a reputable place.

 

Insight appreciated.

 

Budget could be as high as $500-600 if it's the right bike but would like to spend less.

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You've got Performance, Trek store and Bikesource right on sawmill. Hit them up and get a decent brand if your budget is that high. You'll get a lighter better quality frame and decent components. Only thing I'd worry about is he's going to outgrow the frame size quick
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You've got Performance, Trek store and Bikesource right on sawmill. Hit them up and get a decent brand if your budget is that high. You'll get a lighter better quality frame and decent components. Only thing I'd worry about is he's going to outgrow the frame size quick

 

Thanks Mitch. Yep, we live in Brookside area so I'll definitely hit those places up. We bought ours and other items at the one near Bethel/Sawmill.

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Northland cycles on n. High in clintonville.

 

+1 Came here to post this

 

Westerville bike shop in uptown is alsoa great bike store, but I'm not sure on their kid's selection.

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I have always worked with Dan Neagley at Breakaway Cycling in Delaware. He never charges me list price, always is friendly easy to work with, I like the low key small town cycling shop much more so. They deal Trek Bike and a few other brands, lots of youth bikes in stock because of the demographic around Delaware now.

 

I believe with a referral from me you can minimally get and additional 10% off.

 

Biking is great!

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Northland cycles on n. High in clintonville.

 

Love this place too, but they are a small store so keep that in mind with their relatively limited amount of stock. They might have 30 bikes where performance has 300?

 

You've got Performance, Trek store and Bikesource right on sawmill. Hit them up and get a decent brand if your budget is that high. You'll get a lighter better quality frame and decent components. Only thing I'd worry about is he's going to outgrow the frame size quick

 

People at Performance have always been very nice and knowledgeable enough, and my standards in the knowledge area for my hobbies are relatively high. People at Bikesource are a bunch of potatoes. I'm pretty sure I've been in there and had 'sales' people that don't even ride bikes. I won't go there or suggest anyone I know to go there. I have almost no experience with the Trek store.

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Bought my last bike at Retagit, prior to that I picked up a nice hybrid on CL. Personally I wouldn't buy a kid a new bike unless I couldn't find anything suitable used.

 

http://www.retagit.com/Catalog.aspx?categoryid=142200

 

As you say, they don't take care of them, they outgrow them, they beat the shit out of them... easy to watch them do that to a used $250 bike than something you dropped $500 on.

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What about nashbar? I've not used them yet but have been looking at some of their lines. They do the 30 to 40% off thing a couple times a year, from what i've seen they seem to be pretty good for the price point.

 

-D

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I will add for anyone else looking at bikes DO NOT get some cheap Chinese-built Huffy or Schwinn. We've gone through my wife's bike and one of my daughter's bikes that (thankfully) were both gifts and they are utter garbage.

 

You get what you pay for. With kids, I'd try to get a better quality bike used. Still will be more expensive than a $99 Huffy at Wal*Mart, but they can use it and you will still be able to sell it later on.

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I will add for anyone else looking at bikes DO NOT get some cheap Chinese-built Huffy or Schwinn. We've gone through my wife's bike and one of my daughter's bikes that (thankfully) were both gifts and they are utter garbage.

 

You get what you pay for. With kids, I'd try to get a better quality bike used. Still will be more expensive than a $99 Huffy at Wal*Mart, but they can use it and you will still be able to sell it later on.

 

Even a lot of nice bike frames are built in China and/or Taiwan.

 

My recommendation goes to Dave Baer at Baer Wheels in Clintonville. Great guy.

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I will add for anyone else looking at bikes DO NOT get some cheap Chinese-built Huffy or Schwinn. We've gone through my wife's bike and one of my daughter's bikes that (thankfully) were both gifts and they are utter garbage.

 

You get what you pay for. With kids, I'd try to get a better quality bike used. Still will be more expensive than a $99 Huffy at Wal*Mart, but they can use it and you will still be able to sell it later on.

 

^^ there can be value had. My son's current 21spd was $110 from Toys R Us and it's served him well for two years. Mind you he was 10 when he got it and laid it down and hit things, etc as kids will do. For $20 we bought the anytime upgrade/fix warranty, etc. that even covered being run over by a car. True story in print.

 

However, ffwd to now and you're right. Time to get him one that is nicer, has great components won't have fucked up gears and handle bars that require dad to tighten every 4 weeks and a chain that actually stays on 100% of the time. :)

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I would hit Craigslist and then take the bike to one of these listed shops and get a tune up.

 

meh.....thought of that, but my boy wants to pick out his own new bike and feel the experience. You know that feeling right :p

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I acknowledge that many of the solid pieces are made overseas...it's the mechanical bits and rotating assemblies that are cheap: wheels that bend over a storm drain, derailleurs that break, stripped brake cable...

 

If it's light-duty street riding than shouldn't be a problem.

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It's for a 12 year old kid to ride to his friends house. Buy him another $150 bike. It's crazy to me to hear people referring you to bike shops that the low end shit will still set you back $500. He's gonna leave it out, crash it, lose it, all the other shit kids do. Just get a cheap one and call it a day.
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Roll has knowledgeable people but only sells Giant and prices are not cheap.

 

Performance Bike probably has the best prices around but sales people are sometimes in short supply. Most of them are knowledgeable though once you corner one.

 

If you know your stuff though, get on Craigslist. Wait around long enough and you'll get a steal.

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Hit up performance. I worked there last summer and there are good people there. I Bought a mid-level Diamondback Axis for myself and have been very happy.

 

^^ we did and ironically bought the same bike for my son. Hydraulic brakes weren't a requirement as he's not killing it on trails.......yet.......but the price wasn't bad and the bike is pretty cool. I went Medium in frame given he is only 12. Should suit him for the next few years.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. Worked out well.

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Thanks again to everyone that provided input. Cheesy cell pics of my son who just helped me mount his kickstand and lock. For a mid priced bike I really like it. Not light but certainly not heavy. Noticeably faster with the larger wheels, especially once you get rolling.

 

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/crms3er/20150421_193351%20copy%20web_zps4ln59raw.jpg

 

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/crms3er/20150421_193422%20copy%20web_zpsdjtipf2q.jpg

 

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj84/crms3er/20150421_193430%20copy%20web_zps4tnmoiph.jpg

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