I'll tell you what - for kids bikes, you can get a pretty decent bike for $80-$100 at Toys R Us et al. I've bought several over the years for my kids to run around the neighborhood. Have not had one problem with any of them, and the get tossed to the ground, left in the rain occassionally, etc. Cracks me up to see folks stroll into the LBS and buy junior a $300-$400 Trek that is just going to get abused anyways.

For that matter, I compared the frame on the Toys R Us special to a bike that I saw at LBS with the Trek label on it, and I swear it was the identical frame. Hmmmm ....