Tesco children's mountain bikes - any good?

[TheHouseofMirth]

DS, who is 6.5, needs a new bike and we're looking at getting him a 20" mountain bike for christmas. Prices in our local bike shop had my eyes watering. Knowing I could use some Clubcard vouchers from my MIL I looked on the Tesco website and there are some cheap on there but not brands I recognise. I just wondered if anyone had any experience of them?

dm got ds this one on sale near to Xmas a couple of years ago for only £26 and dont recommend. The bike, pedals, chain etc are all very heavy/bit stiff/jerky and really put ds off.

he previously had a ridgeback mx15 which cost £100 (in 2007-ish) which was light, smooth to pedal and he really liked. We sold for £50 on ebay two years later so was a good deal.

Thanks Lindax thought it was too good to be true. In fact even the Raleigh bikes they sell get awful reviews on Amazon (as well as being half the price on Amazon too!).

Back to plan A then.

halfords have got a lot of bike half price just now - we got our ds an apollo something from there last year and it's been great. Sports direct also had some great deals on muddyfox bmxs

The Tesco adult bikes are no good. I love riding Dh's bike. My own tesco one is nothing but hard work. My feet go round and round, my bike goes nowhere.

DH's is really old, but still loads better. Have you thought about looking for a second hand one? Dh's was worth around £500 when he bought it but you can get the same bike second hand in good condition for about £80 now. I've been looking because I want one.

Our ds had a tesco 16 inch bike that did him from aged about 5-7. It lasted great and is still in fab condition. And thankfully his dd1 is happy to cycle a Superman bike. Dd2 might not be so impressed when it's her turn!!

My DS (5) has had a tesco 16in bike too and it has been fab, came with stabilisers,it rode well with and now riding fab without - I think we paid about £35 for it in the sale a few years ago, and its been fab. I'm now looking at the 18in half price one as with the voucher exchange it will only cost £30 in vouchers and £5 cash- it should be £130!!

i got dd the 14" hello kitty for £37 using tesco voucher exchange (£90) in halfords, built it and it looks great!

what's he going to do on it? and why do you want a mountain bike?
if he's going to be playing in the street or the park on it then it'll be fine, if he's going to be riding on mountains then it wont.
i'm guessing you're planning something in between? but do you or his dad ride, because if not there's a limit to what he'll do alone or with friends...

actual mountain bikes are incomparable to supermarket bikes, and if you're going to ride in forests or on bridleways then i'd invest in a second-hand 'proper' bike rather than a supermarket bike... you can also send it on third-hand afterwards as they do hold value.

sell it on not send it on

Maybenow yes, not quite mountain riding but we live near Wimbledon Common so lots of off-track kind of riding as well as daily riding to and from school. DH and I are just about to look at getting (second-hand) bikes too.