Mountain bike advice for our lad

[a4gom]

My 13 year old has decided he "needs" a new mountain bike for xmas. He's been to the local shop with his ma and come back with a piece of paper which says Marin Sky Trail 17" £365

goodness me I said to the wife, he's got £250 of BMX he hardly ever rides, a mountain bike (cheapo hand me down) which he rides more but hardly ever rides now he wants us to spend £365 on something else to clog up my garage!

Anyway I got the look so what I need to know from the fountain of knowledge, is this the most appropriate bike for him for £365.

Whilst I can't see it getting much more than street / canal bank work at the moment he is of that age where he's probably going to start venturing out with his mates so it might get mucky eventually. That said we are certainly not talking world championship downhill!

I had a look and tbh it doesn't look all that special!

I'm out of it though, my 1989 Specialized Rockhopper still works for me although I could see the apparel of some front shocks.

There are no disk brakes on this model? I've been well impressed with the bikes I've ridden with disk brakes on so why not?

Any hints, comments, pointers in the right direction gratefully received.

[SteveD]

gom my advice would be buy secondhand ,we do for our son ,you can get a decent bike thats had shed loads of decent parts added  on it .we have just bought a mountain bike for willem that would of cost over £1800 in additional parts alone  ,we paid £205 and it has top spec mavic wheels ,hope hubs ,xtr groupset etc so will be bullet proof , most mass produced bikes these days are made in just two factorys according a pushbike shop owner i know and dont last long if used hard

[a4gom]

Cheers Steve, I'm looking on ebay as we speak, if anyone has anything or sees anything please give me a nod. £205 sounds a lot better buty I don't really know what the decent stuff is.

[SteveD]

this is a bargain ,was listed last week at 180 no bids on it and has been relisted ,im tempted myself ,there are better bikes on there but depends if your lads going to look after it or how abused its going to be

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm....18d6a18

[XTR2Turbo]

gom my advice would be buy secondhand ,we do for our son ,you can get a decent bike thats had shed loads of decent parts added  on it .we have just bought a mountain bike for willem that would of cost over £1800 in additional parts alone  ,we paid £205 and it has top spec mavic wheels ,hope hubs ,xtr groupset etc so will be bullet proof , most mass produced bikes these days are made in just two factorys according a pushbike shop owner i know and dont last long if used hard

+ 1000

At that age he will quickly out grow it or get bored.

If you want new most of the online retailers such as Chain reaction, Ribble, Parker, Lakeside etc have big xmas discounts.

Also I would try to find your local club and encorage him to go along on a Sunday.

[Mid life crisis]

My sons opinion ----------

Specialized Rockhopper would suit him down to the ground. Strong,reliable bike with a good spec to price ratio.

Resale on a rockhopper is also solid, as a quality brand will always be worth something upon resale, unlike the usual halfords 'entry level mountain bike'

I started mountain biking 3 years ago and slowly progressed from my Specialized Hardrock to a top spec Kinesis Maxlight.

[RITCHIEA2005]

Hi Gom I would have to agree with Steve 2nd hand is the way to buy bikes you will save a fortune.  To give you some sort of idea i have one of my bikes on ebay at the minute that cost me over £5500 less than 18 months ago, I will be lucky to see £2500 for it this time of year.  The link Steve has posted for that Dave Hinde bike looks a bargin but as Steve says theres are plenty on ebay.  If you find one you like the look of post the item number up im sure some one on here will be able to give you any advise you need.

[Onliest Smeg David]

Definitely go with second hand for that sort of money, you'll be able to get a much higher spec bike but make sure you give the frame a thorough inspection.

Also - Is he a tall 13 year old coz a 17" frame seams big!

[peterg]

QUOTE

Also - Is he a tall 13 year old coz a 17" frame seams big!

To give you an idea, I'm 5ft 7in and have a Marin Larkspur 17" and I wouldn't want anything bigger than that, my Specialized Hardrock disc is a 15" frame which gives me much better clearance should I accidentally go off piste and crush me jewels      

[tkm_dave]

Don't be tempted by full suspension 'bargains'. Much more potential for reliability issues later on and the component spec won't be as good as on a bike that only has front suspension.

[a4gom]

Cheers for the advice guys, scanning the ads, gumtree, ebay etc..

I think the 17" frame was probably just a bit big, the chap told them he would need to chop a bit off the seat stem but the wife was there so she probably convinced him he needed something which would last him over the next 10 years or so as he grows. You know the crack buying school jumpers with sleeves which scrape on the ground as they'll grow into it!

[bobsy]

It does depend a little on where it's going to get left, don't think a Specialized with Mavic rims, Hope brakes and Shimano Deore for instance is going to stay in the school cycle rack for long.

The way this stuff is looked after by kids can be a little heartbreaking too, the £500 We the people BMX I bought our eldest was unrecognisable within 6mts. It'd cost more or less that much again in repairs and upgrades, that said he is pretty good on it.

If I were buying new, that to me would be Claud Butler money, Specialised wouldn't have great spec at that price, but it would have the name and the resale advantage, it's also a bit low for a GT.

I,ve had a pretty high spec idrive for the past few years, and I love it, I especially like the idrive system when riding full suspension.

I keep thinking about buying a 29er. A friend of mine has a bike shop and is dealer for GT, Claud Butler, and a few lesser names, but doesn't stock them.

[Dibby]

It's not so much the looking after part that makes them look tatty, it's riding the bikes 'properly'.

Bought my BigHit downhiller off ebay and it turned up looking brand new, only ridden twice along a cycle track. Now it looks like a 10 year old downhill bike. If you don't come off it you're not trying hard enough. Years of summer trips to the Alps and Whistler, coming a cropper in the Welsh hills takes its toll. Still functional and mechanically sound but the scratches and dings make it look ratty.

[John Loudon - Sponsorship Liaison]

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[Fat Albert]

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