Child's bike advice

[Garnerssoap]

12 yr old daughter had almost grown out of her mid size mountain bike. Donated it to a family who foster for brownie points.It was an alright one from on yer bike.
Wandered into Halfords and they seem to have great deals on full size ones with half decent kit - personally I wouldn't go near one for me - I'm fat and give them some hammer up gisburn forest.
Am I being tight (false economy arguments etc) or would a Halfords one be ok for her - she'll probs do the easy route at giz foz 4 times a year max , rest of the time it's campsite trails and about 10 yds beyond our lane because the missus thinks there's a saville behind every tree

[Darthlaw]

Boardmans seem to be alright. The rest are usually pish.

Have you looked at Leisure Lakes bikes in Bury or Chain Reaction cycles on the web?

[Sidney1st]

I got my bike from Halfords earlier this year and do a minimum of 7miles a day Monday to Friday on it, never had an issue.

I'd get Halfords ones for my boys if their mum hadn't already gone and spent a shed load somewhere else.

[aggi]

The Boardman bikes have a decent reputation at Halfords. If it's an adult size bike you're looking at then there's loads of stuff out there (and lots of very good deals for last year's stuff which is barely different to this year's).

The main consideration is probably weight, having to slog around on something that weighs a ton takes a lot of the fun out of it. Your daughter isn't going to be as strong as an adult so it's a lot easier to pedal around something lighter. Unless she's going to be doing a fair bit off-road I'd skip suspension, again it's just extra weight sapping your energy.

[Steve1956]

[quote="Garnerssoap"]12 yr old daughter had almost grown out of her mid size mountain bike. Donated it to a family who foster for brownie points.It was an alright one from on yer bike.
Wandered into Halfords and they seem to have great deals on full size ones with half decent kit - personally I wouldn't go near one for me - I'm fat and give them some hammer up gisburn forest.
Am I being tight (false economy arguments etc) or would a Halfords one be ok for her - she'll probs do the easy route at giz foz 4 times a year max , rest of the time it's campsite trails and about 10 yds beyond our lane because the missus thinks there's a saville behind every tree[/quote
A saville behind every tree... .....funny thing is there is a Saville behind ALMOST every tree

[Quickenthetempo]

All my biker friends say always buy 2nd hand bikes upto what you want to spend. Get far more for your money. As Aggi says kids bikes are often heavy to stop breaking easy but it's the most important thing if they struggle riding it.

[happyclaret17]

i have been looking for a decent womans hybrid for my girlfriend...lots of bikes on gumtree...worth a look...I got a halfords bike and it was poor....spokes on back wheel fell out almost straight away and it was an uncomfortable bike.

[Lancasterclaret]

If you wanted a racer, then Isla bikes are the way to go. Amazingly light and really well made.

[Jamesy]

Halfords bikes regularly get a slating, however their Carrera brand is ok. Decent frames and components on most of them above the entry level ones.
Alternatively do as another poster suggests and spend the amount you would have spent on new Halfords bike on a good second hand premium brand bike i.e. Trek/Giant/Specialised.

[bobinho]

Halfords brands of boardman, carrera, and voodoo are actually quite good, and often win awards in the mountain bike press.

Depends on its use really. The more and harder use it's going to get, the more you should be spending.

[PaintYorkClaretnBlue]

The title "Child's bike advice" made me think of the Phoenix Nights sketch of a meeting when someone swears or is rude and Potter says "Ey, there's a child's bike outside!"

No help with the op but it made me smile!!

[Garnerssoap]

Many thanks for the replies. This board really is most helpful.
2nd hand is out as she's my youngest and has never had a new one yet. The reason I'm a bit sceptical is that when I decided to have a crack at biking again - 15ish years ago. I bought a mountain bike for £30 from the back of a Sunday paper mag. Bits literally started pinging off of it when my 17stome frame went up that steep hill out of sabden.
Dushanbe felt sorry for me and gave me an old kona which is still going strong to this day ( commuter bike - as in it gets abandoned at the station for weeks on end) albeit with most of the bits replaced.
Basically what I'm asking is has anyone ever really hammered a carrera ( I don't think they do the boardman range as mountain bikes although I've heard they're quite good for the money) and are the fixings standard when you need to replace derailleurs , disc brakes, cranks etc - cos that Sunday observer one wasn't

[gandhisflipflop]

Ask Brian Potter

[aggi]

The Boardman do do MTBs but they're in the expensive end of the scale.

The Carreras are average. They use standard parts, albeit from the lower end of the scale. Something like this is what you'd get at the cheaper end of the scale http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... ybrid-bike" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For a similar price you can get this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-division-2-2016/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It's 3kg lighter, has better gears and probably better wheels (at least not generic own brand). It's not a full mountain bike but would easily cope with a bit of off-road stuff.

If you want something a bit more off-road you can get this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-addition-3-2016/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; with a suspension fork. It's still a couple of kilos lighter (I've no idea how they made that Carerra so heavy with an alu frame and no suspension forks) with a better spec.

If you want serious off-roading then something like this http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/fuji ... prod159988" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It's the same weight as the Carrera but has proper suspension forks (these add a fair bit of weight) and hydraulic disc brakes

You'd probably be looking at the extra small or 13" with these ones.

[Taffy on the wing]

Ozzie bike shop in Nelson is GREAT!!
SHOP LOCAL while you still can!

[Jakubclaret]

Ozzie bike shop in Nelson is GREAT!!
SHOP LOCAL while you still can!

Ozzie ok I've had a few bikes from him.

[IrkthePurists]

Another vote for buy local.

Go and talk to the shop about your exact needs. Agree a price to trade it in in 2 years time or whenever your child grows out of it. Agree a free service plan. If you cycle regularly you can't put a price on the value of a good local bike shop for all kinds of reasons.

There are plenty of savings to be made by buying clothing, accessories and stuff on line down the road if you need to, but I'll always go local first.

[happyclaret17]

Trevor at Ozzies is a good bloke...can be a bit funny with people at times but thats just his way....keep on his right side he does good repairs and is MILES cheaper than most bike shops...I was in thee the other day....best thing to do is try and become a regular with your bits n bobs...keeping good little local shops like his open can only be good...utc....ps he has new and 2nd hand stuff...personally i wouldnt touch a cheap new bike...all the branded ones listed above will last for ages and still have a re sale value....of course if you want to go new and you dont want to buy of the internet a trip to Evans cycles might be worthwhile.