Originally Posted by
Brocephus
Actually, Joeybike's post make considerable sense. The reality is that bikes have gotten absurdly expensive, fragile, and complicated, and times have changed. When i was a kid in the late 60-early 70's, the basic bike from Sears or Western auto that nearly everyone rode, weighed about as much as a refrigerator, but they ran and ran and ran and ran, and became hand-me-downs. We didn't know anything about servicing hubs and headsets, replacing chains, etc. We built bigger and bigger ramps to jump, pounding the shinola out of those things, and I never saw a frame crack, and handlebar snap or a wheel shatter. Our bicycle multi-tool was called a Crescent wrench !
We pulled the tires off the rims with a big flat-head screwdriver, and patched the tubes ourselves.
Now, a new bike under $500 is right at the edge of being junk., you need multiple Allen wrenches and tiny screwdrivers to adjust anything, and God help you if you over-torque something a little
It's as if you haven't heard of bmx bikes. They are tanks that are literally flung off ramps and land all sorts of ways while still riding fine once picked up.
You can get a competent one for kids at less than $500, they arent fragile, and you can torque til the wrench leaves a mark on your palm.
If a kid is into a specific style of riding, then sure a bike will be expensive for them- same as for adults. A road bike or a mountain bike will be on the higher side of things.
But $250-400 buys a really nice kids bike for commuting and recreational riding. They don't need to be babied, wrenches still work since many come with nutted wheels, and no torque wrench is needed.