Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is this going to get DS mugged?

106 replies

ACupOfTeaSolvesEverything · 05/12/2021 10:56

DH is a fan of bikes. He has a Very Expensive mountain bike that he uses once every couple of years!
DS has grown out of his kids bike and needs a new bike to cycle to and from high school when he starts next September. I’ve managed to convince my 6ft husband that no our 4ft8 son can’t “just use Dad’s bike” so DH is going to buy him one of his own. Fine. But he is looking at spending up to £1000. On a bike for an 11 year old to ride to school. We live in an averagely nice area but AIBU that this is going to make DS a target? I don’t want him to get knifed for his bike!!

OP posts:
VaizyCrazyDaizy · 05/12/2021 12:03

As said just get an old second bike and actually scratch it up and damage it to make it look even worse. Don’t make your kid a target for thugs. Add to your house insurance too.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 05/12/2021 12:05

Even if no one actually mugs your DS for the bike, it's likely to be stolen; far better to get him a cheaper one - pref secondhand and looking somewhat beaten up already! - than a shiny expensive bike that will be a prime target.

Beautiful3 · 05/12/2021 12:06

Where I live, £500 plus kids bikes are always being stolen. I think your husbands inadvertently, setting your son up to be mugged. Not a good idea, sorry.

DoucheCanoe · 05/12/2021 12:07

My DS has had Carrera bikes since he was 11 (now 15) - he started with a Blast then moved up to a Hellcat which he absolutely loves. They're fine :)

MarleneDietrichsSmile · 05/12/2021 12:10

He won’t get knives, but yes the bike will get stolen

EveningOverRooftops · 05/12/2021 12:12

Yes. YANBU. I’d get him a £200 bike. If he lives cycling, takes care of his bike the maybe. MAYBE. he gets a more expensive bike in a few years when he’s stopped growing like a weed and the investment will be worth it

PooWillyNameChange · 05/12/2021 12:12

If DS and DH are 'into cycling' get him a cheap hack bike for commuting and a naice one for weekends. Not sure I'd trust even the most sensible of 11 year olds not to leave it in a hedge one day when he can't find somewhere to lock it to! Even cheap ones get stolen sometimes.

Lindy2 · 05/12/2021 12:13

Yes he will be vulnerable to being targets. If he's not mugged it is at high risk of being stolen every time he locks it up somewhere.

11 year olds don't need £1000 bikes.

ShaneTheThird · 05/12/2021 12:14

Unfortunately where I live yes, my teen brother has been attacked with knives and beaten twice now for 2 of his bikes.

MobyDicksTinyCanoe · 05/12/2021 12:16

A second hand but decent bike makes more sense..... My dp got an amazing bike on ebay for £500. It was 7 years old but like your dh had been owned by a ride twice a year guy and always stored in a garage..... The spare tyres and lights with it were worth more than my dp paid! To buy new atbthe time it came out it would have been around 4.5k.

flippedpancake · 05/12/2021 12:16

He only needs a cheap bike or it will get nicked or worse. My commuting bike is filthy and covered in tape to deter thieves.

You don't need a fancy bike anyway. I did a 2000km tour in the US on a £400 bike!

Saracen · 05/12/2021 12:19

I doubt it would get him mugged, but it will get stolen. Even if it isn't actually stolen, the poor kid is going to have to watch it with his full attention whenever it isn't actually locked up. He can't lean it against the fence while kicking a football around, or leave it outside the shop while he pops in to get a packet of crisps. He can't lend it to his best friend to nip home - imagine the fallout if the friend left it lying about and it was stolen. He can't let a new acquaintance have a go on it at the park in case the other kid disappears with it forever. It will be a millstone around his neck.

I speak from experience. My kid has a minor disability and gets on much better with a super lightweight bike. It cost £300 and is a real worry for all the above reasons. I'm thinking of getting a normal one for her next bike, despite that being so much harder for her to use.

SweetBabyCheeses99 · 05/12/2021 12:21

I wouldn’t say that riding it will make him so much of a target - IME bike thieves aren’t exactly cycling aficionados so I doubt they’d spot a £1k bike from a £100 bike if it crashed into them.
He will have problems locking it up and leaving it though. And insurance will start to add up.

LostFrog · 05/12/2021 12:23

I wouldn’t trust ds with something so valuable at that age. They have always had 2nd hand phones for same reason

TravellingSpoon · 05/12/2021 12:25

Where I live you would be posting on the local FB group about a stolen bike within about 3 hours!

sociallydistained · 05/12/2021 12:25

The bike will probably be nicked even if there’s no confrontation they will likely target your son as he’s so young and get their hands on it someway. Either way this is scary and sad for your son and it’s just not worth it.

The police don’t give a crap either when it’s comes to bikes. Two expensive bikes stolen from my workplace as a nanny. One belonged to the teenager and I think they targeted him.

maudisgonne · 05/12/2021 12:25

Carrera bikes are very popular with all the secondary school pupils around here.
My dc wouldn’t have anything else.

dottiedodah · 05/12/2021 12:25

Magissa. Gosh I nearly choked on my coffee then! Whenever we pop up to London for a day ,we use Old Deer car park .Almost opp Richmond Park .I always think what a beautiful park in London. Cant believe this goes on there!

Mercurial123 · 05/12/2021 12:25

I live in a university town. Bike theft is a huge concern. Teenagers have been threatened with stabbing if they don't give up their bikes. This is in a nice area. 1K is a crazy amount.

safariboot · 05/12/2021 12:33

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I think bikejacking is uncommon. Far easier and less risk for the thief to just break the lock on a parked bike.

Rule of thumb is budget 10-20% of the bike's value for a lock. And that still won't stop the cordless angle grinders that many thieves use.

I agree you can get a decent bike for more like £500.

dottiedodah · 05/12/2021 12:35

SweetBabyCheeses I think they would spot a brand new expensive bike a mile off! Nearby towns to us there has been some cases of "RolexRippers". Young Eastern European ladies cosying up to elderly gents and strolling off with their Rolexes! They are simply told what to look for I guess .Dont have to be a cycling nut!

Aaa456789 · 05/12/2021 12:37

I got my 14 year old son a 1k boardman bike. We are in the Liverpool area, not that it makes a difference. But he did get his bike taken by 2 men at knife point. Thankfully my son just gave them the bike but the police couldn’t do anything about it and the bike was never recovered.

He wants a bike this Xmas for the same price but I’m so anxious about it happening again. Yet he doesn’t seem fazed. Just warn your son to be very cautious about the people who are approaching him or around him!

Lonelycrab · 05/12/2021 12:38

A second hand but decent bike makes more sense..... My dp got an amazing bike on ebay for £500. It was 7 years old but like your dh had been owned by a ride twice a year guy and always stored in a garage..... The spare tyres and lights with it were worth more than my dp paid! To buy new atbthe time it came out it would have been around 4.5k

Although I agree with you in that you’ll get a bargain if you know what to look for, I’d say that’s exactly what the op doesn’t want. A bike like that is likely to be a boutique brand eg Specialized/Orange etc and will stand out a mile as being valuable/nickable.

Get a Carrera and you’ll be no more likely than any other kid riding one. They really are by far the most common.

BorsetshireBanality · 05/12/2021 12:40

Richmond(!) machete bike attack

Sprostongreen21 · 05/12/2021 12:40

I live in a nice area and sometimes kids have their bikes stolen from them when actually riding them. A cheaper bike would be fine for school.