Originally Posted by masiman
I agree with RRZ. You don't get alot more for your money with the name brands. The 2 or 3 times price difference in kids bikes is not the quality difference you see in adult bikes.
I assembled some $50 bikes as gifts for some kids in the neighborhood whose families could not afford bikes. They LOOKED just like a Trek. However, the headset bearings and wheel bearings were of very poor quality. The hand brakes were awful...don't buy a discount store bike unless it has coaster brakes.
In contrast, I've bought my nephew three or four Trek bikes over the years. He likes to do crazy stuff to his bikes and really beats the heck out of them. Yet, after a year or two or riding, his Treks ride just like new. They get passed on to younger kids who will ride them a year or two...I'm guessing that these Treks are just like a 1955 Schwinn: my nephew's grandkids may be riding them someday.
A $200 bike built to provide twenty years of hard service for eight or ten different kids is "cheaper" than a $50 bike that is marginally unsafe on day one, and that is often unrideable in six months.