Bike for an 8 year old boy?

[Calliope]

Hi, I'm a newbie here, with a kind of strange question.

Our department has adopted a needy family for the holidays, and the boy wants a bike. I have no idea how tall he is, etc.

Any suggestions on a bike for an unknown 8 year old boy? Size, brand, etc? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Calliope

[mimitabby]

we ran into this last year, when we adopted a family with kids that wanted bikes. You can't buy a kid a bike unseen. 8 year olds come in all sizes. A gift certificate at a bike shop?
I guess you could buy a bike with the understanding that it can be returned for the right size.
sorry

[Calliope]

we ran into this last year, when we adopted a family with kids that wanted bikes. You can't buy a kid a bike unseen. 8 year olds come in all sizes. A gift certificate at a bike shop?
I guess you could buy a bike with the understanding that it can be returned for the right size.

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.

Thanks! I appreciate it!

[Tuckervill]

No, you can buy a bike for an 8 yo boy unseen. It just has to be the coolest BMX-looking bike with 20" wheels that you can find. He will find a way to ride it. My son is 5'7" and still likes to ride his 20" bike to the pool in the summer.

I've given many bikes away over the years. I know we have our standards here of what kind of bike we like and we all wish we could take every needy kid in for a proper fitting, etc. That's unrealistic. Any decent 20" boy-themed bike will do, as long as it works, and is shiny and clean. They will be happy it's a bike.

In my opinion. :)

Karen

[Bklynmom]

Absolutely - get the kids a very cool BMX bike - you look the coolest if the bike is too small. If you want to get a more roadie bike, we got my older son a kid size Specialized bike when he was nine - her road it untill he was 12, and it fit his much smaller brother at 9. The design is very clever with a very long seat adjustment. Has just enough gears and good components to get him up the big hill in the park.

Also very important to get the coolest helmet you can find so the kid will wear it. We got my 9 year old a gold skateboard helmet he loves and he usually remembers it because it is cool.

I also have to say, it is so cool you are doing this - this kid will be thrilled and have an oportunity to enjoy bikking which is such an empowering thing for kids. Yeah!

[li10up]

There are many, many generations of people who rode bikes as kids without a single bike fitting. I say go for the bike. He will love it! Our office a few years back adopted a whole family one Christmas. My DH and I bought a bike for one of the kids. I was lucky enough to be one of the group that went to give the family their gifts. The look on that little girl's face was worth way more than what we paid for that bike. I definitely got a warm and fuzzy feeling that day.

[Calliope]

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Shortly after I last posted, I got cornered by the guys in our I/O department: they want to get him the bike. They were pretty excited about it, and since the six of them chipping in had more to spend than I did, I stepped aside.

I will, however, pass on all this helpful advice to them. I'll try to keep you posted on what they end up buying. I'm hoping to go to the party where the kids get their presents. I'd love to get a picture of him with his new bike.

As for me, I'm going to buy his sister the space heater she asked for. All I can think of is how cold she must be to ask for this for her Christmas present. (L.A., being basically desert, can get surprisingly chilly at night.)

Now, If anyone has any recommendations for a good, reliable, safe electric space heater.... :) I'm going to hit Loews and Home Depot tomorrow.

Thanks again for the help.

[Tuckervill]

We have no heat or a/c in our upstairs, where the bedrooms are (110-yo house). We usually use a space heater for each bedroom, and I've had the best luck with the "milk-house" style space heaters (Wal-Mart and Lowe's both have them--don't know brand).

Make sure they have anti-tip mechanisms that turn off if it tips over. I like them because the heating element is only on one side, and that side has guards that stick out from the body which keep the element from touching something if it does tip over. They're also small (about the size of a bike helmet) which means you can put them in more places with plenty of clearance.

Karen

[KnottedYet]

We used to live in an old house with poor heating, and had a few of the space heaters that look like old-fashioned radiators. The element is in the bottom and heats up a liquid that circulates thru the radiator part. No exposed elements anywhere and you can touch the whole thing with your hands and not get burned. They also turn off if tipped, which is a very good thing. (especially in a kid's room)

I'm very paranoid about fire, but I was comfortable with those heaters.

Now I've gotta go find a link...

Edit: here's a nicer version with all the bells and whistles http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=249077-33454-TRD0715T&lpage=none
and here's the cheaper version that we had http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=35277-33454-EW6507L&lpage=none

[Calliope]

Tuckervill, KnottedYet,

Thank you for your suggestions! Yikes, I hadn't even thought of an automatic safety shut-off -- that's a definite must-have!

And the oil-filled looks like just the ticket. I'm off to Lowe's!

[mimitabby]

what a great idea about the helmet! And I'm glad to be wrong.