My 10 year-old step-daughter asked to ride the Raleigh Sports today, more because she was bored than anything else. We were attempting to get our motorhome out and running, but the leveling jacks refused to cooperate. In the meantime, she rode the bike around the storage area parking lot. Then we went to the park to let the kids blow off steam after a fruitless car ride out to the now-stuck motorhome, and she begged to ride it some more. She says it's "super fun" compared to her current, 21-gear POC. She can barely sit down on the seat, but that doesn't seem to matter.
Now she wants one of her own. I'm going to see if I can find her a cheap-o 19" version, since mine is a 21". I figure that it will fit her for enough years to be worth it, as she's only 10 and won't be my height for many, many years, if ever (her sister, on the other hand, is two years younger and nearly the same size. She's going to be a giant!).
My question is: should I only look at older Raleigh Sports, or are there other decent 3-speeds from the 60's and 70's that she might like? Raleighs go for a lot here, but I see old Columbias and Schwinns all the time, for cheap. They also come in fun colors more often. I've never ridden another 3-speed. Are there other ones she might like as much that I can watch out for, or should I hold out for a Raleigh? She doesn't want a Twenty or other folding bike: she wants a 3-speed full-size bike, like mine.
Here's a photo, to prove it's happening:
07022011ride002 by
snarkypup, on Flickr