Anyone familiar with kids bikes? Is this a good deal?

Hello,
We are teaching my 6 year old son to ride a bike. He is currently learning on an bike with 18 inch wheels but it's obviously too small for him. We have a folding bike that my daughter outgrew but it's a bit too big for him.

Therefore, since this will be his first bike and we don't care if he beats it up, we were going to buy him a bike from craigslist. I found one today in my area for $60 but I'm not sure if this is a decent deal. I know that I can get a cheaper bike elsewhere but this one caught my eye because its a brand I often see on these forums. This bike is a single speed with hand brakes and coaster brakes. What do you think?

Here is the listing:

Specialized Boys Hot Rock - $60
In great riding condition, minor rust and a few small scratches, but similar bikes 200+ new. 20 inch wheels. Hand and foot brakes good, tires too. Just needs hand grips. Great first or second bike- no training wheels. Good for up to 9-10 yr old depending on size.

seems like a good deal. Ibought my son's first used bike for 15 dollars almost 30 years ago. this is a better bike than I bought him. :-) how can you go wrong for 60 bucks? look at the bike, make sure it's in good enough running conditions, spin the wheels, check the brakes, wiggle stuff.

Thanks! Hopefully it will be in decent shape in person. Specialized seems to be a decent brand and he doesn't need gears yet. Hope he can get at least 1-2 years out of it!

Sorry - one other question. It looks like it needs grips. Does it matter what type/brand of grips I should buy?

I don't know about the grips, but it does look like a good deal. The 20 inches at Walmart cost that much or more and definitely don't have the quality.

I'm amazed that your 6 year old is too big for the 18" as my 6 year old is almost too small for his 16 inch bike. He can't ride his bike without training wheels yet, but can ride his brothers 12 inch bike without training wheels. After reading some Sheldon Brown, I found out that to start them off - it is better to have an undersized bike to get the balance going. He's so excited that he can ride without them, but has a long way to go.

Good luck to your son!

grips are cheap! find a color that you like. go to an LBS with that bike and they'll fix you up.

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Originally Posted by Cynedra

I don't know about the grips, but it does look like a good deal. The 20 inches at Walmart cost that much or more and definitely don't have the quality.

I'm amazed that your 6 year old is too big for the 18" as my 6 year old is almost too small for his 16 inch bike. He can't ride his bike without training wheels yet, but can ride his brothers 12 inch bike without training wheels. After reading some Sheldon Brown, I found out that to start them off - it is better to have an undersized bike to get the balance going. He's so excited that he can ride without them, but has a long way to go.

Good luck to your son!

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My son is 48 inches tall and 56 pounds so he is quite a big boy! He literally is just learning how to ride without training wheels and is struggling with peddling his current bike because his knees are going up too high. However, as you mentioned, the smaller bike was perfect for learning how to balance because he could easily put his feet on the ground if he felt like he was falling over. Like your son, He also needs a little more practice and I'm hoping this Specialized bike will help him out!

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Originally Posted by Biciclista

grips are cheap! find a color that you like. go to an LBS with that bike and they'll fix you up.

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Perfect - I'm sure he will be excited about picking out grips. I have to go to the LBS this week anyway to get them to replace the seat on my bike so I can kill two birds with one stone! Thank you.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

Offer 50.00. Point out the rust... Yes. I do bargain!

Specialized is a bit better than 'decent.' ;)

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Yes - the Specialized name is what caught my eye! I'm pretty terrible at bargaining but then again, I have yet to see the condition of the bike :)

The Specialized Hotrock is a great kids' bike, my 7 year old son has one. Specialized uses a fairly lightweight aluminum for their kids' bike, compared to other brands like Trek. The Specialized were WAY lighter when we were shopping last year. I say go for it, its a great deal.

We just paid twice that for a used kids Specialized Hot Rock. Although the model we bought has the front suspension and 6-speeds. It's a solid bike, probably one of the best we looked at.

Thanks All! I bought the bike and am pleased. It's an older model but in good condition. I'm going to bring it to the LBS to get it checked but so far so good--I think I got a really good deal. The "rust" was very very minimal (can scrape it off with sandpaper) but everything else works well. Can't wait for him to ride it over the weekend!

Great that the bike worked out for your son. Mine, who is very short 42" and 40 lbs asked me today if I could sign him up for the Tour de France. I told him that he would have to work on that, but I thought he would probably need to be a bit older, and a bunch of other stuff as well - mostly practice.