Recreational & Family - Torn, Am I being unfare

Don't want to be unfare to my 6 year old. Last year bought him a well used specialized hot rock 20, and for christmas bought a specialized hot rock 20in. six speed. The six spd is for family rides and long distance rides. The well used hot rock is for riding with the neighbors and jump it and everything else. To this day he is always riding the used one and the new one isn't getting rode at all except for once or twice a week. If that. Should I let him have the new one? I want him to use it before he grows out of it, and at this rate he will have barely ridin it. I want to be fare to him and still have a good bike to ride on out family outings.

I say let him ride the new bike. If you don't have someone to whom he needs to pass it along it will be in reasonable shape until he grows out of it. I have a 19 year old Specialized Rock Hopper that has been used hard and it still in great shape. At the rate kids grow I wouldn't worry about him breaking it. Talk to him about taking care of it and store it some place dry and it should be just fine.

So, he's got a good bike and a beater bike? Sounds right to me!

N + 1 Baby...

N... Plus... One...

Whoa!! Not getting that?

Has he done any damage to the used bike? If not, then he probably will not wreck the new one either. If one were a dirt bike and the other a fine quality road bike with easily damaged components, then my answer would be different. On the other hand, if you keep the newer bike in good shape, then you may be able to resell it one day and use the proceeds for his next new bike.

Whoa!! Not getting that?

There is a popular saying on Bikeforums.net that the optimal number of bikes is N+1, where N = the number of bikes you currently own.

Has he done any damage to the used bike? If not, then he probably will not wreck the new one either. If one were a dirt bike and the other a fine quality road bike with easily damaged components, then my answer would be different. On the other hand, if you keep the newer bike in good shape, then you may be able to resell it one day and use the proceeds for his next new bike.

I was thinking along the same lines. How does he treat the 'beater'? Perhaps it is time to expalin why he has a beater and let him make the call about which rides are beater rides and which he can use the good bike for. Sometimes we forget part of growing up is learning to make good decisions, this seems like a cheap way to learn. (But do be clear on what happens if the good bike gets trashed, even if all that happens is that until it gets fixed he has one bike and after it goes back to you deciding).

Bikes exist to be ridden. Children exist to play. Let him ride and let him play and let him break both bikes. I always encouraged my kids and grandkids to be safe..to take care..but never, ever worry or feel bad if they break something accidentally as long as they weren't doing something stupidly dangerous. Once my grandson expressed worry that he'd get his clothes dirty when we were doing something. I kicked dirt on his pants and told him his job was to get dirty and play. Same with bikes. His job is to play and ride whatever bike he wants. If he chooses the wrong bike for some use he'll learn that. It's your job to make sure both bikes work well. Let him help you clean them and adjust them if he wants to. At that age kids are usually very happy to be able to help tinker and even help clean. Ride on!

I have a 6 year old and I can't imagine her taking care of a bike at all. For instance, she tends to just throw the bike down in the grass when she is done riding. With a beater bike, especially a non-geared one, I think that is fine. But since I just had to replace the gear shift on a bike that was thrown in the grass, I would tend to say save the newer bike for your family rides. He is getting to ride it 1-2 times per week, it is getting used. Don't worry about it. Especially if he isn't complaining!