Monday, January 6, 2014

What size mountain bike should I buy for my 11yo son? And how much might I have to pay for it?

best kids bike mtb on Genesis Core 1.0 - BikeRadar
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Yul


He's reasonably tall. I thought I might try to get a good 2nd-hand one on eBay. Any thoughts on that?


Answer
The best way is to get measured up at a bike shop, alternatively you can take a measurement yourself:

http://www.bicycledoctor.co.uk/faq_framesize.html

The measurements don't have to be exact but there should be "crotch clearance" when he stands over the frame of the bike. When you have bought a bicycle spend some time setting up the seat and handlebars to the best position, it makes the difference between a comfortable bike and an uncomfortable bike.

Ebay is not the best place to buy bicycles unless you can see the bike up-close before you commit to buy; I wouldn't say it's a bad way to buy a bike, because there are some bargains on Ebay, but the cheapest and best bikes are more often sold through the free-ads and classifieds - you can also try MTB forums.

Be warned real MTB's are NOT cheap! You'll see a lot of mountain bikes sold brand new for under $100 that look very pretty but fall apart a week later - avoid them like the plague. Real mountain bikes start in the four-figure price range.

Look for secondhand hard-tail MTB's (front suspension but no rear suspension), kids grow fast so there are lots of them for sale going cheap.
Prices vary a lot but you could buy a good one anywhere between $50 and $500 - I swear some people throw bikes away for want of a new inner-tube so keep your eyes open!

Can I use a cannondale v500 as a road bike?




linux love


i have a cannondale v500 bike. it is a mountain bike (it has mountain wheels and tires on it) i would like use it as a road bike. that means putting road wheels and tires on it? can that be done?


Answer
While you can't put road wheels on it, you can do what many other have done. Putting a set of narrow 26" high pressure slick road tires. That is a simple and economical way to give your bike a big boost in speed for the road.

Your bike will never be as efficient as a road bike but a couple guys in my club do this and can stay in the pack on rides. If you will still ride off road it's best to get a nice light set of MTB wheels so you can switch out wheels quickly. I do this for tooling around town, riding with the kids etc. even though I have a road bike too.




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