Hi Guys! I'm back! Thanks for your responses so far!!
We've been reading everything we can find and trying to educate ourselves. The biggest problem we have is starting off with absolutely zero knowledge about the different bike brands or components available.
Yes, I did read the Walmart link. Even before I posted my question, I had pretty much made up my mind to go with a LBS after the second day of shopping, but when you first start shopping the price differences can seem a bit shocking especially when you need three bikes in all, a car rack and accessories... and you have five bucks a gallon for next season's heating oil in the back of your mind...but the more I learned the more comfortable I am about it...
The first shop we went to was staffed by older teenagers with poor attitude and a pretty small selection, so they lost me pretty quickly, especially after an inappropriate and insensitive comment made directly to my son.
But, the second one was great! Very knowledgeable, big selection, and the actual owner was very patient with my son trying a few bikes we keyed in on. I will probably end up with this shop. No negativity toward other brands or shops, and pointed out the good and bad of the bikes I looked at. No rushing and very detailed explanations of the "why" of things. Can bring the bike back for adjustments free for a year and not far from home. Priceless! And the kickstands are free. Who would've thunk bikes don't come with kickstands??!!
I have one more shop to look at (which I shared with this LBS - he understood - I just like to know all my choices before plunking down the money - we need three bikes in all!) because we never did get to go see the Specialized bikes (it rained for a few days).
The more I shopped at the LBS's the more I realized how I'm not gonna be happy when there is no one to turn to after it's home a few weeks and we have questions or need help if I buy from a discounter, especially since we are buying three bikes (one for each of us).. That would be especially frustrating to me.
The bike shop did fit him and I know it might sound off but he does need the 18" frame in both Giant and Raleigh - he is a very tall, long-legged boy! The 16" frame he hit his knees on the handle bars while turning.
What my son wants to do is ride as a family on our loop and on bike trails. His immediate goal is to earn the Boy Scout Cycling Merit Badge this summer. He's already done a 16 miler towards it on a rental Jamis Ranger and liked that bike. He has two more 10, one 15, two 25 and one 50 miler ride left to earn the badge.
He is much less physically aggressive than many boys his age and does not (yet) like to take too many risks or get too rough in sports. I don't see him riding through our woods or in a skate park any time soon, though I'd like the bike to survive if he finds his inner rough side and surprises me.
My son likes the Raleigh Mojave 2.0 a lot so far. I am trying to decide if I should upgrade to the Mojave 5.0 or if it would be overkill. (The LBS said the 2.0 should be sufficient, but would order the 5.0 if I like - but there was no hurry to up-sell me - so I took that as another very good sign to do business here.)
My son has eliminated the Schwinn Sierra that he rode due to the twist shifters - hates them! He has also eliminated the Giant Hybrid with 27.5 inch wheels that I thought he did well on and the LBS said he could ride longer and be less tired compared to the Raleigh; he said the ergonomic molded hand grips were annoying and uncomfortable.. I've eliminated the Schwinn Traverse he really liked because it's from Toys R Them and the lack of service issue. Yes, I will admit, the price still is very tempting, but I'm realizing he is older now and will be putting a lot more miles and stress on the bike now that he is pursuing the Merit Badge so the bike will require more attention than when he was younger and only went around the loop once in a while - I'm learning!
We're still considering the Giant Boulder SE because it seems to be built a bit beefier, though we're weighing that vs the Raleigh for price/value. I want to see him ride a Specialized and see in person what the construction is like compared to the Giant and Raleigh - we've been recommended to try the HardRock/XC I think it is.
So, we're down to the Raleigh Mojave 2.0 or 5.0, The Giant Boulder SE, or some version of the Specialized HardRock.
Here are the questions in my mind:
* Mojave 5.0 overkill at this point?
* Mojave 2.0 a good value compared to similar other brands?
* Will other kids think Raleigh is not a "cool" brand compared to say, Specialized?
* Would he be noticeably more efficient/less tired on a hybrid vs the Mojave therefore able to ride significantly longer distances?
I could go a bit higher on price if it was truly worth it, but am still looking for what is the best value for the money vs what name is on the bike (though I wouldn't want him to be teased either.)
Any comments or pointers or things I haven't thought of please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading - sorry it was so lengthy!