[Sorgie]

Just thought I would pass this along. My 10 year old has been wanting to get his first mountain bike so I have been looking and all the "good" bikes seem to be at least $550 even used on ebay. I didn't really want to spend that much because... I don't know, he's 10 and I am the only one that would really understand the difference between a good bike and a cheap bike (aka wife says "You spent how much on a kids bike?!?").

I came across the GT last week and the spec is really good compared to most of the bikes double the price plus being on sale it was kind of a no brainer. It's actually a really nice bike, better than my first mountain bike and even if the fork is meh it is the same one that is on pretty much all kids bikes and at least as good as the Quadra 21 on my first real mountain bike, so you know, perspective. It is around 26 lbs right out of the box, so pretty manageable too.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/gt-boys-stomper-ace-24-mountain-bike-18gtxy24mstmprcxxbjm/18gtxy24mstmprcxxbjm

 

[TreeSaw]

Sweet! Syd has been rocking an XS Salsa Mukluk (and now that she's 5' tall she has my Orbea D'ella). Alex has a Trek to step up to. All kids bikes seem super heavy and over built (until I find myself riding it around the yard).

 

[jonKranked]

my son seems to be on the verge of outgrowing his balance bike. might need to step up to a 16" balance bike.

 

[slyfink]

funny you should post that bike. I'm the official bike buyer for all the kids in my extended family now.

Last year I found that bike in 24" wheels on sale at Sportchek (I'm in Canuckistan). I found the spec hard to beat for an 11 year old. I especially appreciate the 1x. I hate (friggin absolutely hate) that companies spec multiple chain rings on kids bikes. It's clearly not necessary, adds an element of complexity and weight to the system, and kids have absolutely no clue how to shift properly. It's clearly a ploy to market to clueless parents. gah.

Anyways, this bike served my nephew well all last summer and fall. It's still in great shape. His big brother needed a new bike this year, so I just picked up the same bike with 26" wheels. It's a solid value, and I think with a little TLC, it can be passed down to following siblings.

Another thing I liked about it is that it uses specs of higher quality bikes. So as things wear out or break, they can be replaced with good quality parts as oppsed to the cheap crap that comes on most department store bikes. (parts I have a large bin full of)

 

[Sorgie]

Completely agree on the multiple chain rings. I can't believe how many kids bikes have those. This really is a solid bike. He loves it and all the neighborhood kids (and parents) think it is soooo cooool. I think the biggest thing for me is that he has always enjoyed riding bikes, but this is the first one where he puts down electronics and goes out for a ride without it being suggested and he wants to go ride trails with me which as a dad is an awesome feeling. As far as my wife and kids not being as in to bikes as I am, I secretly bought this on my lunch break and drove home with it on my roof rack. It sat there for an hour with them walking by it thinking it was my MegaTrail before I finally pointed it out.

 

[Sandwich]

my son seems to be on the verge of outgrowing his balance bike. might need to step up to a 16" balance bike.

we went for the stampede sprinter in 14". Not sure how big your kid is, but I'm glad we went 14 instead of 16. The 16 might be better for her to grow into, but the 14 offered better transition to pedaling without the increase in size. My daughter was riding without training wheels at 4. We took the pedals off for a few months (winter hit) then in spring put them back on, and off she went. It was awesome.

 

[jonKranked]

we went for the stampede sprinter in 14". Not sure how big your kid is, but I'm glad we went 14 instead of 16. The 16 might be better for her to grow into, but the 14 offered better transition to pedaling without the increase in size. My daughter was riding without training wheels at 4. We took the pedals off for a few months (winter hit) then in spring put them back on, and off she went. It was awesome.

My son is huge. He's only 3 but he's about 42" tall. He's definitely not ready for a pedal bike yet. My hope is to be able to avoid training wheels.

 

[kazlx]

I bought my oldest a Spawn. It's a dope little bike and they have a bunch of different sizes.