Wow. Thanks everybody for the replies. I am looking to buy some type of beginners road bike for my son (12 Yrs old) and thought this would be a good place to start. I am not really sure if he will stick with the riding so we do not want to invest to much into it yet. If there are some other types of bikes that people recommend i would love to hear from you. He is about 4'11" tall if that helps. Also, we live in Seattle so if there are some bikes being recommended, i can always head out and look at them instead going through Bikes direct. Thanks again everybody. Did not know this was such a sensitive subject.