Melvang

I could use some suggestions for bikes with 650 tires in the ball park $500 range, nothing over $550 though please. This will be for my son. He is currently 12 and about 5' tall. The biggest reason for the price is because he will likely outgrow it before much wears out. And then his sister should be able to grow into it about the same time he is growing out of it. Right now, I would prefer flat bars instead of drops. But smaller tires would be preferred. There really isn't any rough off road trails to warrant that wide of tires. So far he does like a couple hill climbs.

Ironfish653

Why 650? Why not 26" ? 650B is still not all that common outside the 'gravel' sector, and 650c (skinny) road tires are more or less obsolete.

I'd look for an 800-series TREK MTB, in a 15" frame (S) They're all over the place, decently built, decently spec'd out, and relatively inexpensive. (For your budget, you could probably find bikes for both of your kids,and have some left over) Flat bars, 3x7/8, they're 'recreational MTBs' so they're really just 'standard' bikes; the 1990-2000 version of the classic 'Ten-speed' Yeah, most of them came with knobbies, but there's a whole range of smooth-tread 26" urban/touring tires to pick from.

fietsbob

Now calling a mountain bike 27 1/2" gets you a 650B wheeled bike .. which will be flat bar..


@ chosen price? Good luck .. Mid price bike supply from Pac Rim Factories are challenged by the pandemic virus..

mstateglfr 

https://www.amazon.com/Hiland-Gravel...600&th=1&psc=1
drops. unknown quality. will have to assemble and work thru low-end parts thrown together.


Look for...
- Woom 6
- Frog 69
- Frog 73
- Frog 78
- Trek Wahoo 26


26" tires are great. 650b is going to be on higher costing bikes than your budget, for the most part.
A quality rigid 26" tire MTB frame from 25 years ago could be an excellent option too. Trek 930, 950, and 970 models came in 13" size and many other brands had 14" frames back then. A quality frame(what I mentioned) with some updated components(quality slick tire, 1x crank, and new shifters) will make for a lightweight(compared to new bikes in the $400-500 range) bike that is very well made, and almost for sure less than your budget. It takes looking around though.
These have been used for years and years as transition size bikes between smaller kids bikes and adult bikes. I know of 3 kids on my block with rigid MTBs from the early 90s that are used as all around bikes. One of my wife's bikes is a 95 Trek 930 for this same thing, and I have owned half a dozen of em in the last few years.

Ironfish653

Melvang I dont know where you are in Iowa, but this one came up on a quick spin of the CL wheel. https://iowacity.craigslist.org/bik/...195958523.html
It's the right size frame, looks to be in good shape and it $40. I'd be all over that.
Actually, I got my 12-year old a very similar Y2K-ish Raleigh M50 for $50 off our local CL last year.

ofajen

I’d echo the suggestion to look at older 26er MTBs. I’ve had a HardRock with a 17” frame for about four years, and that one has now been handed down to our youngest who is 12.

Meanwhile, one of my two bikes is a 22” frame RockHopper from 1988. It rolls great with smooth, fast rolling tires and I use drop bars on it. It really spoils me on our crushed stone trails... I can ride at around 20 mph (in less traveled areas) and barely notice I’m on a rock trail surface.

Otto

icemilkcoffee 

https://us.woombikes.com/products/6

my kids have been riding the Woom 5, and it’s a well built bike. Woom specializes in high quality kids bikes- their bikes are much lighter than the shrunken adult bikes you find else where, with shorter crank lengths and shorter Q factor whereas other makers just slop an adult crankset in there.

rebel1916

That bike will get a 12 year old picked on. Kids are animals, and even without knowing anything about bikes, they will know that stem/bar is terrible. Hook the kid up with an 820 or something.

c_m_shooter

You are overthinking this. Like others have said, just get a cheap 26 inch wheeled mountain bike. Keep it simple, so he can get his own tubes/cables, etc at Walmart when he tears it up.

Ironfish653

That IS an 820. Wouldn’t take much to lower the stem and put the bar-ends back where they’re supposed to go. And provided it’s solid, starting with a $40 bike leaves a lot of room in the build budget for making aesthetic upgrades.

mstateglfr 

veganbikes

If you are looking to pass down the bike, get something of quality. If you are looking for a bike for a couple months then keep a low budget. A quality bike will last longer and be easier to ride and won't be a deterrent to riding. Don't just buy a bike to buy a bike get something that they will enjoy riding and get a lot of use out of.

The older 26" MTB is not a terrible idea assuming you have someone with you who really knows what they are doing and can inspect the bike and make good suggestions (so probably not the guy who commutes and beyond that doesn't know bikes) Maybe see if any local shops will help you do the transaction or have them look at it.

Charliekeet

I just got my 5-footer a Fuji Absolute 24” flat-bar road bike. Nice little bike. He loves it, but then he likes to go fast. I think a small 26” would have been good, just to have thicker tires, but it was hard to find something <$500 of quality (or used in good condition). I may look for some slightly wider (maybe 24”x1.5) tires, but the lighter weight versus a small “mountain bike” is working out to be a good trade off so far, at least for this year.