Bike under $500

[Anonymous]

I guess this is an unpopular opinion but I bought a guardian bike for my kid and he LOVES it. Very easy to ride. But he bikes to school and we take bike rides on weekends so I wanted him to be comfortable.


Agreed these kinds of bikes have good resale value, and you can also find them secondhand (bc kids are outgrowing them before destroying the bike)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is an unpopular opinion but I bought a guardian bike for my kid and he LOVES it. Very easy to ride. But he bikes to school and we take bike rides on weekends so I wanted him to be comfortable.


Agreed these kinds of bikes have good resale value, and you can also find them secondhand (bc kids are outgrowing them before destroying the bike)

If you would have gotten them a regular bike from Target they would have loved it just as much. A bike is a bike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess this is an unpopular opinion but I bought a guardian bike for my kid and he LOVES it. Very easy to ride. But he bikes to school and we take bike rides on weekends so I wanted him to be comfortable.


Agreed these kinds of bikes have good resale value, and you can also find them secondhand (bc kids are outgrowing them before destroying the bike)

If you would have gotten them a regular bike from Target they would have loved it just as much. A bike is a bike.

I remember when I moved from a steel bike to an alloy frame when I was 14 and it was transformational. And I lived in the flatlands.

[Anonymous]

My kids have entry model cannondale/trek bikes (all used, under $300 and then handed down) but DH and the kids are big mountain bikers. Even my 5 year old has easily put in 200 miles in the past year. If your dc is just tooling around and is able to ride a bike already, I agree you don't need a fancy bike, but the resale on top brands is really good, and if you buy used, you can really get a good deal once you factor in selling it. We found bikes by going to the used bike stores, stalking FB marketplace, craigslist (!), etc. The market for buyers is better than it was during Covid, when everyone wanted to buy bikes. You just need to look around.

[Anonymous]

You can buy a nicer bike used if you don't want to deal with FB marketplace or wait for stuff to come available on neighborhood listservs – if you're in Virginia, try Phoenix Bikes. They're a used bikeshop with no pressure to buy more than you need. I wish I found them when my kids were younger.

There are a lot of nice bikes in between Woom and WalMart. We bought a ByK after doing some research and sold it when it was outgrown.

[Anonymous]

Someone on this site must sell or have stock in Trek and other overpriced bikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just get one at Walmart or one someone is giving away. They grow out of them quickly.

Don’t get a Walmart bike if you love your child. Those bikes are heavy, poorly made, and poorly assembled. They are accidents waiting to happen.

Kids do outgrow bikes quickly so it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money. Instead, buy high quality used bikes from bike shops or FB marketplace. Leave your name with the bike shops that you’re looking for a used kids bike and they’ll call you if someone needs to trade in a kid’s bike. You can also get good deals on new bikes in the Fall.

Good reliable brands include Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, Giant, and REI Co-op brands. Look for an aluminum or alloy frame, it will be lighter. Avoid the gimmicky options like front and rear suspensions or lots of gearing. Your kid is not shifting gears until they get older. These things are non-functional and add weight.

What? If a kids bike is too heavy for a kid, then there is something medically wrong with the kid and probably shouldn't be on a bike, due to brittle bones and whatnot.

I'm picturing "Mr. Glass" as a kid.

I'm not that PP, but we have a heavy Walmart bike and it is such a pain for me to lift when we take the bike in the car somewhere. Can I do it, yes. But it's a pain and awkward to have to maneuver around the garage and car. In my defense, I'm 100 lbs and have a hernia.

Have your child lift that bike then. I could carry my BMX bike as an 8 year old girl or throw it in the back of pop pop's truck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on this site must sell or have stock in Trek and other overpriced bikes.

Or they ride bikes more than just in a suburban neighborhood and on paved bike paths. Our more expensive, but purchased mainly used, bikes are ridden on dirt surface bike parks/jumps, dirt and crushed gravel paths, to and from school and around the neighborhood. No heavy duty mountain biking at all. The bikes last through multiple kids whereas when we’ve gone cheap, they don’t last more than a year.

[Anonymous]

i thought they were still $100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guardian has an odd braking system - it's a single lever that stops both front and back wheels. It stops fast. It's unfortunate you can't try one out in a store because it's not for everyone. In any case, I would want my kid to learn how to operate normal brakes. FWIW, I've seen many Guardian bikes on Buy Nothing. Maybe start there. We got a great Specialized bike for under $500 when it was on sale at Maverick in Leesburg.

Odd take on this - Guardian bikes are great bikes to learn on, the single brake is a lot safer and avoids kids flipping if they just hit one brake. I wouldn't keep a kid on a Guardian for their whole life, but my children literally taught themselves how to ride on these bikes. They're fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Guardian a good bike for 22”-24” size bikes? DS already has his first 2 wheeler that he is growing out of. Are there other good companies to look at for a bike that’s not too heavy?

My girls LOVE their Guardian bikes, they are lightweight, easy to adjust, and from the parent perspective, the customer service is fantastic. That said if your kid already has a bike that he's comfortable with, why not just size up?