Beginners bike?

Thantos
Thantos Posts: 533
edited July 2007 in MTB beginners
Not sure this is the correct section or topic title but here goes.

My brother is 11 years old, he wants to be like his big brother (me) so he (mum and dad)bought him a cheap mountainbike to see if he enjoys riding properly.
They went to Halfords and got an Apollo XC 26se. Now, i know that the spec is awful compared to properly branded bikes so i don't need slating for that, however, the frame itself seems fairly reasonable. It's aluminium with IS disc mounts (currently has unbranded mechanical discs) and appears to have 1 1/8th headset.

So, now for the question, has anyone ridden or even seen an Apollo frame that has been upgraded and being ridden hard? It looks like it might just cope.

Comments

  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,700
    It'll survive for a bit if it's used for XC. The geometry won't be great though, they'll be more suited to occasional towpath riders and the like than proper mountainbikers.
  • Thantos
    Thantos Posts: 533
    Update:
    Gears allready mullered after he rode it to school and back twice. Thats grip shift for you.
    Brakes are OK though. Tektro IO apparently.

    Lesson learned? Don't buy cheap bikes unless you enjoy fixing them.