Mountain bike for a 16yr old

gqelements

gqelements

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Looking for suggestions of where (and perhaps what brand) I can find a decent 'commuter' mountain bike under $350 before tax.

It's a gift for my 16yr old stepson (who is 6'3") so hoping for something more impressive other than a Crappy Tire CCM / Supercycle badge on the bike...

I realize the budget makes it a tough ask to find something, bit this is exactly why I'm hoping for some great suggestions here :)

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I'd suggest visiting a bike shop and asking questions, narrowing down your choices. There are no decent "commuter/mountain bikes", and technically what you're describing is a hybrid, which personally, for a 16 year old, sucks. They make great commuter bikes, but suck on trails. Mountain bikes are tons of fun, but they're slow in comparison on pavement.

I think asking him, if you can, what his desired choice is might help.

Don't rule out Craigslist. Seriously. All three of my motorcycles came from there, you just have to be aware. If you know anything about bikes, or can take someone with you who knows, you can find sweet deals, especially for the size of frame you're going to need for his height. And still better than what you would find at big box stores. Crappy stuff poorly assembled.

Good luck in your search.
 
gqelements said:
Looking for suggestions of where (and perhaps what brand) I can find a decent 'commuter' mountain bike under $350 before tax.

It's a gift for my 16yr old stepson (who is 6'3") so hoping for something more impressive other than a Crappy Tire CCM / Supercycle badge on the bike...

I realize the budget makes it a tough ask to find something, bit this is exactly why I'm hoping for some great suggestions here :)

Sent from my Windows Phone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


When I went mountain bike shopping last spring, all roads lead me to Giant brand bicycles. Good quality, and bang for the buck. I'm around 6'2" and they have different frame sizes to accommodate taller riders.

This one is a bit higher priced than what you were looking for, but perhaps you could get a deal on last years model?

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/bikes/model/roam.3/17634/73463/
 
At 6'-2" a 29er would suit him. Brown's has Rocky Mountain Flares on for $450


http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-bikes-mountain-RMB-Flare-29er-NEW-W0QQAdIdZ566306534


Rocky%20Mountain%20Flare%2029.jpg





 
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If your willing to go used, I bought a Norco Moutaineer that was a year old for $100 a few years ago at Bicycles Plus bike swap sale. The bike was used maybe around the block if that. tires were still like brand new. There were some serious high end bikes there for a good price. Its worth it to check it out, their bike swap is this weekend Saturday/Sunday.

http://www.bicyclesplus.com/index.php
 
I've bought my bikes from Kijiji..............One of the issues with used is finding something that fits.

I'd get a hard tail trail with disc brakes in the $300 range that isn't a CCM or Supercycle.......

You should be able to get something like a Specialized/Trek/Giant etc...........they all make entry and mid grade bikes that are good quality with decent components. All my kids and girlfriend's kids have used bikes from kijiji and every one of them loves the bike we got them.

Good luck with your search.
 
Kijiji if you don't mind used. I paid $1200 for my current bike and it was 6mo old and only used to pull their kid around the block in a cart ($4500 new).
 
hardk0re said:
If your willing to go used, I bought a Norco Moutaineer that was a year old for $100 a few years ago at Bicycles Plus bike swap sale. The bike was used maybe around the block if that. tires were still like brand new. There were some serious high end bikes there for a good price. Its worth it to check it out, their bike swap is this weekend Saturday/Sunday.

http://www.bicyclesplus.com/index.php
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Do you have more info on this bike swap? I can't seem to find it on their website

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nakkers said:
I've bought my bikes from Kijiji..............One of the issues with used is finding something that fits.

I'd get a hard tail trail with disc brakes in the $300 range that isn't a CCM or Supercycle.......

You should be able to get something like a Specialized/Trek/Giant etc...........they all make entry and mid grade bikes that are good quality with decent components. All my kids and girlfriend's kids have used bikes from kijiji and every one of them loves the bike we got them.

Good luck with your search.
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Not all disc brakes are the same. I had a Norco Mountaineer with disc "brakes"... HORRIBLE. I had v-brakes that worked way better.
Now, on my Nitro 9.1 (worth at least $1000 more than my mountaineer), I have legit hydraulic disc brakes, which are a huge improvement, and I can actually trust them to slow me down on some of the steep stuff I ride around here.

The kid is 16 and he's big... Going to need a very stout bike in order to not have it busting. I was always biking in highschool, and could go through a $400 crappy tire bike in a year before it had enough issues like bent rims, messed up derailers etc. My new Norco, I've ridden it pretty hard, smashed it off rocks and I'm doing tougher trails on it that I could my previous bikes and my only damage so far is a scratch on the handle bars and a few smashed teeth on my large front chain ring due to the rocks I can't avoid.

Don't bother getting rear "suspension". It's nothing more than a spring on those cheap bikes and makes them heavy and inefficient.
 
rmemedic said:
Not all disc brakes are the same. I had a Norco Mountaineer with disc "brakes"... HORRIBLE. I had v-brakes that worked way better.
Now, on my Nitro 9.1 (worth at least $1000 more than my mountaineer), I have legit hydraulic disc brakes, which are a huge improvement, and I can actually trust them to slow me down on some of the steep stuff I ride around here.

The kid is 16 and he's big... Going to need a very stout bike in order to not have it busting. I was always biking in highschool, and could go through a $400 crappy tire bike in a year before it had enough issues like bent rims, messed up derailers etc. My new Norco, I've ridden it pretty hard, smashed it off rocks and I'm doing tougher trails on it that I could my previous bikes and my only damage so far is a scratch on the handle bars and a few smashed teeth on my large front chain ring due to the rocks I can't avoid.

Don't bother getting rear "suspension". It's nothing more than a spring on those cheap bikes and makes them heavy and inefficient.
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Very good point that I didn't mention about brakes or even components in general.
 
Big thing with components.... don't go overkill unless you're getting one hell of a deal. Replacement parts cost more for the bring pieces. Example:brake pads foe my x to stuff is way more pricey than say slx. A lot of people who are into the sport also talk a lot about weight. Unless you're seriously racing the difference won't mean a thing to the avg weekend rider. Full suspension is great if you spend the money to get good stuff. You can find decent spec hard tails for decent prices and they're going to be lighter and if you learn properly, faster.
 
Is it just me or CT and most budget bikes are garbage these days? I have a 20 yr old walmart downtown bike and it's quite decent. Same goes for lots of downtown bikes. These new wannabe full suspension, disk brake bikes feel like dollar store junk.


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daught said:
Is it just me or CT and most budget bikes are garbage these days? I have a 20 yr old walmart downtown bike and it's quite decent. Same goes for lots of downtown bikes. These new wannabe full suspension, disk brake bikes feel like dollar store junk.
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That's because 20 years ago all the bikes built for department stores were imported from Taiwan, and the Taiwanese know how to make bicycles (plus they were spec'd with low end Shimano components). Now they're from China. Nuff said.
 
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Sad.

BTW I rode my bike on a flat and my rim is done. Where can I get a salvage rim?


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You don't need disc brakes on a commuter bike. Unless you live in the mountains or go serious offroading, it's an overkill and cheap disc brakes are no better than rim brakes, especially if the rims are aluminum.
Low end full suspension doesn't do much for you on the roads we have here. Hardtail is best all around for GTA, more bang for a buck too since you're not paying for rear suspension, you can upgrade the drivetrain or seat, etc.

At $350 you may be able to find entry level, older stock from couple years back.
I have a base model Specialized and it's a solid bike. Was 500 bucks 15 years ago though.

These are some of the best companies out there, I'm sure there's more but this is what comes to mind:

Cannondale
Giant
Kona
Marin
Norco
Santa Cruz
Scott
Specialized
Trek
Rocky Mountain
 
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daught said:
Sad.

BTW I rode my bike on a flat and my rim is done. Where can I get a salvage rim?


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You'd be surprised what a local independent shop may have at a decent price........I bent the stock rims on my Specialize Rockhopper and got some double wall alloys spoked with decent hubs for $100 cash I believe.
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