As a kid, is a new bike the ultimate Christmas present?

At least we all got a leg each that year….

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I always wanted a Raleigh Maverick, but at £250 (IIRC) in 1987, it was miles too expensive….

Was that a later model?
I had a maverick but don’t think it Was that expensive. Mine had sidepull brakes

Not letting kids ride bikes on busy roads is not the same claim as kids never play out.

No, but is the same as not letting them walk 2 miles on their own and driving them everywhere they need to go as they can’t possibly be responsible enough to walk somewhere to go out on a bike at 13 years old.
The roads were sill busy in the 70;s and 80’s and the drivers were no better you know. Parents have definitely got far more precious than they were 40 years ago and it is not helping the children.

No, but is the same as not letting them walk 2 miles on their own

No, it’s not. There are segregated car-free walking lanes along most roads, and teaching pedestrian safety is straightforward. Cycling in heavy traffic is far more dangerous for a kid. We don’t all live in bucolic wilderness – by definition.

The roads were sill busy in the 70;s and 80’s

They weren’t anywhere near as busy, and there were far fewer stupidly positioned housing estates with hardly any roads in and out. Where we live there are two roads in and out, one is a windy lane with about 100x more traffic than it should have, and the other is dead busy. The 60s/70s estate further in has loads of access points and off-road paths all over it for traffic free access.

That’s just about the finest smell in the world, ‘cept maybe the time we got a new kitten.

I love the smell of pussy too.

I would agree kids play out less, my 5yo doesn’t go out to play with friends and at the same age I was playing with kids from round the corner. No doubt she will be out soon enough but there is definitely a delay. As for riding on the road, I did my cycling proficiency in primary 5 so that was 9yo.

Cougar, I have a Diamondback Traverse with the exact same paint job in the loft!

OP – as we live in the west of Scotland then a bike for Christmas is a bit of a waste given how little she could get out on it with the persistent shitty weather. Luckily birthday is at the end of March so good timing for summer.

The roads were sill busy in the 70;s and 80’s and the drivers were no better you know.

I do know. They weren’t anywhere near as busy not even 10 years ago was it.

Definitely a lot less traffic in the early 80’s. My older brother and I would play a game of spot the car on Sundays and it was rare to reach double figures. Two people on our street had cars and we considered them a bit weird. Bear in mind that this was West Yorkshire though.