Q: a good value hard tail mountain or Jump for 14 year old

[jives11]

Hi,
My Son is 14 and has outgrown his old bike. We live near woodland and
he rides around the nearby countryside. His friends have Jump-style
bikes (Specialized and Saracen). While he's only 14 he's as tall as me
so I assume he needs an adult bike. I'm wondering what I should look
for, these bikes seem to be circa £300 and up.

In a previous post it was suggested that a hard tail mountain bike may
be a more flexible alternative as Jumps are heavy and less efficient
to ride. My son likes cycling but is not out that much, so I'm a bit
reluctant to go for the expensive models. Any advice would be much
appreciated

many thanks

Jonathan

 

[Paul - xxx]

jives11 <[email protected]> typed:
> Hi,
> My Son is 14 and has outgrown his old bike. We live near woodland and
> he rides around the nearby countryside. His friends have Jump-style
> bikes (Specialized and Saracen). While he's only 14 he's as tall as me
> so I assume he needs an adult bike. I'm wondering what I should look
> for, these bikes seem to be circa £300 and up.
>
> In a previous post it was suggested that a hard tail mountain bike may
> be a more flexible alternative as Jumps are heavy and less efficient
> to ride. My son likes cycling but is not out that much, so I'm a bit
> reluctant to go for the expensive models. Any advice would be much
> appreciated

Thing is with 'jump' bikes they're all suitably strengthened around mostly
the headstock and bottom bracket area. They don't need fancy componentry
(good brakes are absolutely necessary though) but robustness needs to be
built in, so while they seem fairly bare of 'stuff' they are still pretty
expensive. However, £300 is about a starting level for a basic jump bike,
you can pay _much_ more ...

Saracen are reasonably good and do some for £250 ish, so that may be the
best way to go. Quick google shows Evans do some at that price point
http://www.evanscycles.com/dept.jsp?dept_id=4092 I'd go for the Instinct
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=71087 for a reasonable starter
bike. The Flea bikes are Trials and not really what you're after.

Although he's tall, he would still want a small looking frame for a jump
bike .. don't make a mistake and try him on a larger (cheaper usually)
frame, he (and possibly you) will regret it.

--
Paul - ***
ebay stuff 140110192728