Bike for Teenager

FOAM

So my litte brother is gonna be 13 soon and I have somehow agreed to buy him a mountain bike for his birthday since all his friends have got decent bikes.

I didn't want to spend too much but wanted to get the best I could for the money.

I have showed him the Voodo Bantu/Hoodoo and the Calibre Two Two but for some reason he doesn't like any of them.

So I showed him the bikes on Decathlon and took a liking to the Rockrider500s. I thought it looked a bit too cheap and found the 520 S.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-520-s-full-suspension-mountain-bike--id_8208678.html

I know budget full suspension bikes generally aren't that good but he will only be using it to ride to school and the light trails near my house.

Can't find much about the bike other that on-site reviews. Will this bike be Ok for him or is it likely to fall apart.

If so should I force him to get a hardtail?

Many Thanks

cooldad

I would get him what makes him happy. Doubt it has state of the art suspension, but the aim is to have fun.
My son's first FS bike was a Marin with elastomer forks and a very basic coil shock but what he could manage to ride on it was extraordinary. He loved it and just wanted to go out and ride in any spare time.
He has been through a number of much better bikes since, but mention the Marin and he goes all misty - often has one on the Ebay watchlist.

The Rookie

As CD says it's important it's good enough, and he wants to ride it. It has the important hydraulic damping on front and rear and an air sprung shock, the swing arm suspension is a little dated, but many well respected bikes still use it, such as the Orange 5.

TowerRider

If he doesn't like the look of the Bantu or Hoodoo then I wouldn't bother getting him anything. Sounds like he might be a bit spoilt! Calibre Two is that the highly rated GO Outdoors one?
p.s. if you thinking of Halfords then make sure you use google or Hotdealsuk to find out how you get 20% off.

cooldad

TowerRider wrote:

If he doesn't like the look of the Bantu or Hoodoo then I wouldn't bother getting him anything. Sounds like he might be a bit spoilt! Calibre Two is that the highly rated GO Outdoors one?
p.s. if you thinking of Halfords then make sure you use google or Hotdealsuk to find out how you get 20% off.

Quite right, spoilt ungrateful little brats.

I assume you buy your wife an apron and toilet cleaner for her birthday.

Cqc

^ calm it towerrider! And yeah, for under £500 that's a pretty decent full suss.

FOAM

Decided to just ignore him and go into Halfords today and pick up a Voodoo Bantu with the extra 10% off this weekend = Bargain. If he doesn't like it I'm sure I can find someone who will.

Angus Young

FOAM wrote:

Decided to just ignore him and go into Halfords today and pick up a Voodoo Bantu with the extra 10% off this weekend = Bargain. If he doesn't like it I'm sure I can find someone who will.

Mmm... you should just buy him what he wants. At 13 it doesn't matter if it's not the best bike in the world. If he loves it and thinks it makes hime look cool in front of his friends, he'll ride it. He probably won't be able to tell the difference anyway. There's plenty of time to get him on a 'good' bike. And riding something not so good will just be part of his education.

Angus Young

TowerRider wrote:

If he doesn't like the look of the Bantu or Hoodoo then I wouldn't bother getting him anything. Sounds like he might be a bit spoilt!

No. Sounds like he's 13.