Hello A friend has asked about getting one of her kids a mountain bike The lad wants a Giant bike a hard tail but after a quick sarch they think Raliegh is cheaper ?.
I have suggested the giant might be better value but actualy have not looked too hard as am most confused .
The child is 10 years old 24 inch legs ?
My kids have long gown up but some of the shit bikes they pass of nowdays are crap . He has a street bike thing already . Thinking of 24 inch wheels are the order of the Day ..any help welcome or pointers in the right direction of a good value bike
Thank you
jim

new or 2nd hand?

very good nick second hand as its a xmas pressie
thanks
jim

If they are set on buying cheap then go for a fully rigid, preferably with alloy rims. Replace the tyres with something less knobbly. (See Islabikes for how to do kids bikes properly). Insist on giving it the once over. A few hours spent on things like tensioning the spokes, if its got V brakes loosen the spring tension on the arms, properly lube the cables, adjust so the lever blades are easily in reach for smaller hands, tune the gears properly. These few things, in my experience, make a huge difference to a cheap bike.

My sister looked at a Raleigh MTB style bike (bright orange paint?) for her son which was about £160 new, but it wasn’t a patch on the Islabikes Beinn 24. If you find a Raleigh secondhand at least it’s likely to be cheap. That might be a good idea if it’s likely to get abused/neglected.

Specs and build quality on Ridgeback MX24 are pretty good, so that might be worth looking at. It seems most 24″ wheel models have bouncy forks and front mech, neither of which is neecessary for a 10 year old.