Boys Bike

[Martin Sinclair]

My 11 year old son is after a new mountain bike and he's seen an Apollo Outrider in Halfords for £149

It's full suspension and has disc brakes (which are the features that attract him I suspect), but it does seem to get some very mixed reviews - and it is Halfords (I've heard all the comments)

Any views, or other suggestions? (we're really not looking to spend any more than this amount)

 

[xpc316e]

I work on children's bikes as part of my job, so I do know what I am talking about. My advice would be to leave anything with an Apollo name well alone. They are heavy, poorly made rubbish. The components are made from a metal which is softer than cheese, so they are dreadful to adjust. With full suspension, your lad will need legs of steel to get it moving. If he does any stunts and jumps on it, it'll be junk quicker than you can say 'knife'.

Spend the extra money and buy Carrera if you want to purchase at Halfords, or do as I did and buy a two year old Giant for £100 on eBay. It has one or two scratches, but has hardly been ridden. It has a light aluminium frame, decent quality finishing kit and is streets ahead of any Apollo. My son thinks it is great.

 

[HovR]

I've learnt from first hand experience the following:

• Cheap suspension is heavy, ineffective, and energy sapping.
• Cheap disc brakes are hard to adjust correctly and always seem to rub when they're not supposed to.
• Cheap rear suspension bushings wear out quickly. Say hello to lateral play in the whole frame!

Your son would get far more enjoyment from a rigid mountain bike with v-brakes, and the bike/components would be of a far higher quality at that price level. Trying to convince him of that may be hard though!

 

[defy-one]

I have just sold 2 x Giants Rock mtb's via ebay. Great bikes and way ahead of Halfrauds own brand tat.

 

[Martin Sinclair]

Thanks for all the comments - which just confirmed my suspicions! I will look elsewhere ....

 

[fossyant]

11 - should be big enough for a full size bike, although a small frame. I'd recommend the Carrera Vengeance, but they are about £330.

 

[Martin Sinclair]

Yes we reckoned on a 14" frame, but that Carrera is way beyond our budget I'm afraid!

 

[MrJamie]

When my (9 year old) nephew upgraded his £130 Apollo for a £30 2nd hand Giant MTB off ebay, it made such a difference. Rather than struggling with a 5 mile ride every few weeks in the summer, he quickly got happy at upto 20 miles. You do need to be able to do basic maintainence, gear/brake adjustments etc if youre buying 2nd hand but the same could be said about Halfords

 

[I like Skol]

I agree with the suggestions that second hand is the way to go. I'm lucky enough to never have had second hand bikes since I was a teenager but in reality any bike is second hand once it has been ridden and they all need maintanence and repairs almost from the start.
My oldest son has been the lucky one who gets the new bikes and this means son #2 has spent all his cycling career on hand me downs but this has never bothered him as they are good bikes and to be honest, any repairs we do are all part of the fun of bike ownership and they both help out and learn when it is repair time. As an example, in recent months both boys bikes have had new sealed bottom brackets fitted, new chains and the youngest son's bike needed a freewheel as the original chain had been left far too long and there wasn't a hope in hell the new chain was going to run ok on such a worn drivetrain.
This just goes to show, even bikes bought new by yourself still need repairs. The knack to buying secondhand is being able to spot the lemons where everything is about to become due for repair/replacement at the same time as this can quickly negate the savings made from buying secondhand. Having said that, there are plenty of good condition used bikes out there and if you pick the right one you will get a lot more bike for a lot less money.

By the way, full suss Apollo with disc brakes for £149 . At that age, rigid or just front suspension and cheap reliable V-brakes are the way to go (finding a junior MTB without suspension forks is not easy!).

 

[fossyant]

I recently picked up a secondhand Ridgeback MX24 (24" wheels) as an additional bike for my son (school bike) which just needed a new chain, freewheel and brake pads - £50 for the bike and £30 for parts !

 

[I like Skol]

I recently picked up a secondhand Ridgeback MX24 (24" wheels) as an additional bike for my son (school bike) which just needed a new chain, freewheel and brake pads - £50 for the bike and £30 for parts !

That's the bike my oldest lad has got £240 new and it has had a chain and bottom bracket and brake pads in under 12 months.

 

[Martin Sinclair]

Thanks. Made contact with my LBS and they're going to sort me out with something decent for the money!

 

[sidevalve]

Thanks. Made contact with my LBS and they're going to sort me out with something decent for the money!

Just remember [and HovR is right here] they are not sorting you out with anything with anything they are sorting him out. If you can talk him round to your ideas then great but if he [not you] doesn't like the bike then he'll simply not use it / resent it, it's not your bike. He seems to getting very close to the age when kids start to rebel a bit so get him on your side and make 100% sure it's a mutual choice and not your choice of "the best bike for him".

 

[Martin Sinclair]

He's a pretty laid back 11 year old but point taken.

 

[Peteaud]

Any of the big brands will be fine.

Check ebay for Trek, & Giant (to name 2) you will be amazed what is on offer for good money.

Dont go for a full susser, you will be better of with a good quality hardtail.