# MTB ideas for a 12 yr old



## alexplantman (May 1, 2006)

I am wanting to get my 12 yr old an bike to go riding with me and was almost sure to get something like a $500 Trek Wahoo, but even that is too much $, when he's going to outgrow it... "even though I can sell it 2 yrs down the road"..

What are you guys getting your kids to go mtb'ing? Or what do you guys think for a starter bike? Doesn't have to have disc at this point, just a front shock... I thought of Bikesdirect, as an option...


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## J3SSEB (Jun 1, 2009)

Bikesdirect, Craigslist, even a department store bike to get him started. Once he's more into it and you're sure that he'll stick with it then you can invest in something better.


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## memi (Nov 14, 2011)

How tall is he?


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## alexplantman (May 1, 2006)

memi said:


> how tall is he?


5' - 5'2"


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## GOTA (Apr 21, 2011)

You're looking at $450 to $550 or you can always go used. It's not always easy to find a small frame used but they are out there.

I was able to find a Trek 3700 with a 13" frame for my 9 year old for $95. It's not exciting but it can take a beating and I don't have to worry about it being dangerous like a department store bike.


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## Pakpal73 (Aug 17, 2011)

I bought my son ( Hes 13 ) a Cannondale Trail 6, not top of the line but not cheap either.

My reasoning was that if I get him a dept store bike his experience isn't going to be as good and he would be less likely to stick with our rides. 

In my area ( Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ) the CL ads are few and far between and the bikes that do get posted people are asking to much for what they were trying to sell. So used wasn't an option.

Better Bike = Better experience imo


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## Snfoilhat (May 3, 2010)

+1. On the other end of the spectrum, there are CL geographic areas that are flush w/ bikes. When my wife decided she wanted a bike, we pretty quickly found her a good deal for < $200 ('05 Spez hardrock, full deore, BB5s, from the dad of a young kid who never really got into riding). I had to replace one broken spoke. A minor wheel issue can really reduce the asking price of a used bike. Good luck.


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## memi (Nov 14, 2011)

Get used bike. I have three boys from 8, 13, and 18. 13 grow fast. If u buy new, he only enjoy it for one year. My 13 has 24" mtb.


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## Rockin (Apr 29, 2004)

I went the bikesdirect.com route and bought the best component spec I could justify. Then when he outgrew the frame I bought a frame off of eBay, swapped stuff over, and sold the old frame. That is about the height that I started doing this - his first one was an x-small Gravity 29er.


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## EscapeVelo (May 1, 2012)

There are 20" and 24" tire size bikes as well.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

Look through the Family riding with kids thread. Ton of ideas and custom builds etc...


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

A used dj bike wouldn't be bad.. usually the resale on those things is bad which gives you a killer deal, but they have bomb proof components for the younger kids that like to hop them off curbs. Singlespeed would keep it simple. Thinking about getting one for myself and just hanging onto it for when I have kids down the road.


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## CSC (May 23, 2011)

Don't go too cheap, though. Kids are tough on their stuff (I was), and crummy components will fail pretty quickly. Get a used Hardrock (something simmilar), or maybe even a Hotrock, and see how much you are willing to spend on components. 
I'd also go the route of buying new frames and swaping the parts over. Biggest thing is quality,though. A lot of people try to get their kids involved by buying them a crapy bike, and the kids end up hating the activity because the bike sucks. Good luck!


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## joeinchi (Jun 19, 2010)

I'd skip the suspension. Those 24's weigh over 30 lbs without a front shock.

You might want to ask friends with older kids. That's where I got the Trek 220, below. I was over at a pal's for a Super Bowl party and asked about it. "Take it!" was his reply. It belonged to his daughter who is now off to college.

I have another friend with 4 kids between 7-13, so I cleaned it up, tuned the gears/brakes and passed it on. I see these in CL often at under $100


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## TTK8 (Jul 27, 2007)

Here is what I think. I have 2 younger kids on mountain bikes. Put your 12yr old on a 26 inch wheel bike if at all possible. It is much easier to sell a small frame 26 inch bike later. Also I agree with PakPay73 DO NOT buy a dept. store bike. Would you want to lug a heavy bike around on trials. Not to mention the lame components. I bought my 11 yr old daughter a Schwinn Rocket 88 with full suspension and XTR groupo used on Craigslist for $175. Schwinn used to make real bikes and I found this gem for her. I recently purchased a Raleigh Talus 3.0 for my 9 yr. old brand new for $320. There are several entry level bikes in this $$ amount but I liked the fit for him. So my advice is to look and see if you can find a used bike and do your research but there are brand new options that will not break the bank. another bike brand new is the the Diamondback Response, At 12 yrs old I don't think he should ride anything that doesn't have 26 inch wheels.


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## Old Grunt (Jun 14, 2012)

I just bought a Trek 3700 Alpha for my 13 yo son from a police auction (propertyroom), spent a little on tune up and replacement parts and its about 95% to being new. Its a 20" frame and should get him through college. Check out the auction site....its where college police liquidate stolen stuff recovered on college campuses.....there are a lot of well to do college kids missing bikes!


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## cconrocks (Aug 1, 2011)

Last year I got my boys diamondback hard tails from a local sporting goods store. Every ride I was fixing or replacing something. This winter I saved up and bought the trek mamba's a small for my 12 year old and a large for my 15 year old. They have already wore out the stock tire's and about 10 rides in this season with me and so far just a chain and tires of course. Point is buy them well built bikes whether used or new is a better experience for you and them.
As far as the 29er's for my kids the lbs thought they would be good for the for the terrain we ride and I have to say so far I agree. They are doing so much better this year than last.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

I would look for a nice used, but small MTB for your 12 year old that fits them now. You can find some good deals on hardtails that are a little older, but have a good frame and nice (for their age) components that would last a few years, and they would cost maybe two to three hundred dollars or maybe a little more. After two or three years, sell it for little to no loss, and then put that money toward a bike that will be around a bit longer if they are close to being grown. JMHO.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

My team has a few bikes that are making the rounds. Mostly push-bikes at this point, but the oldest couple of kids are going to grow out of their pedal bikes soon, so we'll see what their Dad does with them at that point.

Second the idea of a 26" bike if at all possible. When your son grows out of it, either resell it or cannibalize it for the next bigger frame. Nashbar often has cool frames for $100. Pricepoint has a basic one for $100. In a year or two, when you need another frame, there'll be something somewhere. I'd probably be too much of a gearhead and build up a progeny-bike with more than I wanted to dump back out on CL.  So I'd be in project mode.


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## XLR99 (Sep 21, 2010)

+3 for a S or XS frame 26" wheel bike. I got one for my now 12y/o son last year - wife happened to see it at a garage sale for $30. A bit of parts bin and ebay shopping, and he has a decent bike with some XT stuff and used Fox fork for probably 300-350 total. 
I'll either move the components over to a bigger frame next year, or keep this for his sister if she ever outgrows her 20"MTB.


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## alexplantman (May 1, 2006)

I just saw the Diamondback response at Dicks yesterday and looked decent, it even has double walled rims where Trek's Wahoo doesn't.. I am going to compare components... I did see someone on here say they were crap vs the Mamba, but I am not at the "$1K budget" yet, lol...for my son


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## Natedeezy (Feb 28, 2011)

Craigslist for sure buys much more bike, bought my 12 year old a basically new Trek 4500 for $100. Didn't find it over night but worth a week or so of looking IMO.


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## BeginnerCycling (Nov 21, 2011)

Here are a couple to consider. The brakes may not be great, but at least the hubs are already disc ready, so you could swap to some BB7s pretty inexpensively

Save up to 60% off new Mountain Bikes - MTB - Dawes Haymaker 1000

Mountain Bikes - MTB - Motobecane 500HT

Hope this helps!


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## Muffinhead (Jul 30, 2012)

Get a halfway decent Trek or GT for $500 or under. I started out with a basic GT aggressor and got a nice Cannondale as I outgrew the limits of the old bike and got more into Mountain Biking (I'm 15 BTW)


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