I agree...my son put bikes togethre for Walmart after 10 hours training...
BUt for most of us, we can afford 98 dollar bike at Walmart but not the 300 dollar at a bike store...
Especially since our boys tend to wreck the bikes fairly quickly
I agree...my son put bikes togethre for Walmart after 10 hours training...
Ask your son if he ever put brakes together. Until the late 90s, the brakes were pre-assembled, as are most parts. Assemblers at retail outlets generally put the handle bars, wheels, and other odds and ends together. They don't usually true the wheels, which are trued by machines at the factory. That doesn't mean they are actually trued, though. Machines tend to make mistakes, too.
I've seen serious injuries from bicycle defects such as bad forks, weak frames, and faulty brakes. When you buy something, you expect it to be fit to be used for what it is advertised for, whether it's a $90 bike or a $900 bike.
Yeah, I understand the cost of a decent bike is expensive.
Bikes (beyond a first bike) are more than toys, though. People drop $300 on an Xbox and $50 a game but shudder at spending $500 for a bike. A mountain bike that stands up to hard use on trails is going to be more like $750 to a grand. Even then the frame is generally going to have a lifespan of 3 years. Stress and fatigue from normal use makes maintaining safe equipment more expensive than even an avid biker is willing to spend.
A helmet, riding education, trail ettiquette, and responsibility are also musts.
I didn't have any of those until I was an adult.
Biking just isn't inherently safe, especially when it is done cheaply. Kids and parents should probably both be more aware of that and work to improve safety with a commitment from both sides.
This 'here is your new bike - wheeeee! CRASH!' story just highlights that.
Good for your son though. I love working on bikes, almost did it one summer myself for employment. I feel bad for the builder caught in the middle of this one.
That's the beauty of quality. The better the bike, more likely it will survive a crash. Get a kid something like a Specialized P3 or a Fisher Mullet and you have a bike that will survive the wrecks your kids don't.