This really hits the nail on the head and is my bigger concern. Even if we get a bunch of bikes rideable, they aren't going to get any newer or any better new year.

The same is true of everything else in the camp, of course, but it isn't that challenging to put new faces on archery targets, reinflate soccer balls, hose off life jackets, get oars in the right oarlocks, sort paintbrushes, check if compasses point north.......a mountain bike has hundreds of complex parts.

I also feel that the bikes available are not the best choice. My son is six and one of the youngest in the camp. He rides 20" wheels, sure, but he's never messed with gears or hand brakes, and I'm not sure I want his first try with them on gravel covered hills. I suppose he could, though. My daughter is going into third grade and can work grip shifters and hand brakes, but she's outgrew her 20" wheel bike like a year ago. Granted, my daughter is tall, but I worry about fitting the kids going into 4th and 5th grade.

The camp really needs a long-term solution to this, or else the crappy bikes will turn the kids off to camp and mountain biking.

One possible solution is to find someone else to do what I do (camping skills - fire, cooking, knots, nature, pocket knives, maps), and make me a two-day a week bike guy. The problem there is that the applicant pool for these jobs are 99% school teachers, and most of them don't know anything about camping or bike repair.