First take her to Walmart. Go over near the Bicycles Department somewhere and act like you're interested in something near the bikes. You know you're not paying any attention to the bikes
....See what type of bike she gravitates to. See what she really likes. She just might fool you! She's only eight years old, you know.
If she appears to be interested in a particular bike, then take it down for her and complain about it being such a waste of time or something after you take it down for her
. At that time, get the approximate size and remember the type and style of bike she asked that you take down for her. As soon as you can, write it down on something (make sure you have a writing utensile and paper).
If she's interested in a BMX bike like you suspect, then call up a Mongoose, Haro, or Diamondback shop and ask them if they have anything like what she pointed out to you. Let them know about your budgetary concerns and make an appointment, if necessary (it probably won't be necessary).
You're most probably going to end up buying a hi-tensile steel BMX bike. That's exactly what Walmart sells too!
She's most probably going to outgrow this bike in just a couple of years...
- Slim
PS.
If she acts like she's interested in another type of bike, then just go to the nearest Schwinn dealership and get her something really close to what she picked out.