Best boys bikes for 11 yr old biking novice

[BlogOnTheTyne]

What would anyone recommend as a bike for an almost 11 yr old, stocky built, average height boy who is a bit 'dyspraxic', still wobbles on his much too tiny bike and wants a new one for his coming birthday?

The local bike shope said he's now ready for 26" adult bike but the starting prices are eye-watering (nrly £300!). Where do we start to look - Halfords instead? and does he needs a 'hybrid bike' if he wants to do road biking but might occasionally do forest tracks too??

Would you spend £300 for quite good quality, something lightweight that you could sell on for £150 in 2 yrs, or easily pass down to younger sibling?

Possibly....this just seems a huge amount of money when DS rarely rides any bike he's ever had and of course is much more expensive than bikes cost in my day! The local bike shop recommended a Ridgeback MC3(?) and the next model up too. But does a novice and occasional bike rider merit this kind of thing? If it's really going to last him a long time - ie more than 2 yrs - and is v good quality and safe/reliable, we might consider it.

Does anyone know anything about different bike types, quality of different models and what would work best for an 11 yr old who'll do mostly on-road but some off road biking (and may need to have carrying facilities, if he eventually gets good enough to cycle to school)?

Bike Radar is good for reviews.
Would you be cycling with him or would you send him out on his own?
One reason he doesn't cycle much may also be the quality of the steed; most children's bikes are poor quality (too heavy, crunchy too hard gears) & don't encourage much riding.
If you get a quality kids's make (i.e. Islabikes Beinn 26 small) and look after it, you'll recoup at least half of the outlay & have something good on his body & that he will enjoy riding in meantime.
But I wouldn't buy quality if he's out on his own mostly & likely to use it in awful conditions & you don't feel like worrying about it being bashed or stolen.

Ridgeback mx3? I wouldn't get anything with suspension unless he does lots of rough off road. Suspension is too heavy for any benefits. Quality Kid bikes have smaller gears & help you avoid Osgood-Schlatters, too. If you want to take it easy you could get something basic from a car boot sale & if he uses it enough, then move onto a quality item. You could even have a car boot bike for rides to school & a proper quality bike for fun rides on weekend.

ARGOS

Honestly we bought a corker there for our hopless bike rider for his 11th birthday. he's sort of inbetween adult and child and they sell exactly that size in Argos. Was about £120 IIRC

He loves it , rides it beautifully. "6 prob too big for him if he's average height. My son tall but advised a 24 I think

My 11 year old son and his friends favour BMX style bikes.
I think that hybrid or mountain bikes are the sensible choice but they are at an age where looks matter. Mongoose and Harro are considered the overpriced cool brands but ds has a Halfords X-rated one.

The BikeRadar family and kids forum is probably the best place to ask. Islabikes come highly recommended, but you will pay for the quality and if you're not sure he'll use it, it may not be worth spending the money. If you can get a second hand one in the right size on ebay/gumtree, that could be a good compromise.

Look for a reasonably lightweight bike. Big heavy iron frames make cycling hard work, but lightweight frames cost more. On the plus side, lightweight aluminium frames last better because they won't rust.

Cyclists call bikes from Argos, Tesco and other non-bike shops "bicycle shaped objects" because although they look like bikes they aren't good enough quality to be safe and reliable. They also rely on someone who knows what they're doing to assemble them. Do you want your kid riding a bike with rubbish brakes and poorly made components?

If a new bike from a bike shop is too much then how about a decent second hand bike? Local bike shops may have some second hand bikes or look in your local paper or on eBay.

How about the local paper? We've had great bargains from there...