What is the best, affordable mountain bike for kids who have outgrown their little tyke bikes?

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coll49

We are looking for bicycles for 10-and 12-year-olds and want reasonable quality without paying a fortune

Answer
"best"
"affordable"
"reasonable"
"fortune"

The odds of everyone here agreeing on the parameters for those vague terms are quite slim. Probably none.

Very few bikes for pre-teens cost a fortune. Except for a couple special edition jobs and one Italian road bike, I can't think of any. If $300/bike is a fortune, then I can't help you. If $300-500/bike is affordable, you'll have some choices at your local bike shop. Trek and Specialized are just two of the numerous manufacturers of high quality bikes that offer products for riders of every age.

Trek's MT240 lists for $549
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/kids/ages_9_12/mt240/

Trek's MT220 lists for $349
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/kids/ages_9_12/mt220/

Specialized has various Hotrock 24 models from $330 to $420
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCExperience.jsp?eid=164

Other good makes to consider include Jamis and KHS among others. All of these better quality bikes come with good components, factory warranty, and service provided by an authorized dealer. Avoid department store bikes and you should be just fine.

What were those heavy steel-framed kids bicycles called that they had in schools back in the early 80s?

dutchboy80

Not BMX-- they were made completely of solid metal (even the seats) and were very "clunky". A lot of kindergartens had them for the kids to use at recess.

Answer
Hm. There was no such thing as a commercially produced mountain bike until about 1985, so I'm going to assume that is not what you mean.

The predecessor of a mountain bike was called a "clunker" which were made out of older balloon-tired bikes. Then there was the "lightweight" which included a variety of different bikes including the Schwinn Varsity, many different 24" and 26" wheeled bikes with single speed, 3 speed, 5 speed and 10 speed... some even had 12 speed!

Of course, there was the 20" bike which included BMX bikes and those called by a variety of names including "high rise", "spyder" and "Sting Ray" models.

All of the bikes of this era and prior were heavy compared to today, but in my opinion much more care was taken to machine and assemble them which makes some of those 30 and 40 pound bikes MUCH friendlier and more efficient than many 20 pounders today.

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Do you ride your bicycle with your toddler?

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The Jolly

Do you use a child seat or trailer? What brand/style? Any complaints/praises?

I have been researching and reading reviews and have no clue what would be ideal for us.

Answer
We have a Chariot and its the best thing ever! Its a trailer that converts to a jogger (you can also buy skiing and hiking attachments). They are lightweight, convert in a snap, fold down flat to fit in your car (wheels come off too), and are top quality from materials to design to engineering.

We use it for biking and outdoorsy things like going to the beach, the zoo, or for a trek in the woods.

They are very pricey, but they hold up extremely well, and they hold their value so you can sell it after using it for 5+ years and still get at least 1/2 your money back, probably more. Used ones are VERY hard to find around here. I couldn't find used so I splurged and got new and I am not disappointed.

A good safe tricycle for a 2 year old?

Consider t

I've been searching for a tricycle for my almost 2 year old daughter. There are so many conflicting reviews, though! Have you bought a trike that worked well for your toddler? What do you recommend?

Answer
Instead of a trike, I bought my little one a bicycle, it had training wheels, and it was a little smaller than an average trike. My thinking, why bother with the trike ? She can learn how to ride on this tiny little bike, when she's comfortable, we'll take off the training wheels, and she can ride it as a regular bike. When she grows bigger, we can get a bigger bike. You wouldn't believe, how quickly she caught on, even faster than some of the neighbor kids that had trikes !! Of course, I waited until I was sure she could handle it, before I took the extra wheels off. In fact, I waited until she "told me" she was ready for it !!

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