Parents with three or four kids who want bikes have a problem. The stuff from Wal-Mart is $40 or $70, and requires re-assembly at home or at a bike shop. And, the bearings and other key parts are made to last for maybe six months of hard riding. At a bike shop, a kids bike may be $200 or $300 each, in large part because they have 21 speeds, two hand brakes, suspension, and other expensive stuff.

What many parents would like is a "bullet proof" one speed bike with coaster brakes, assembled at a first rate bike shop, for around $100. The industry could probably build such a bike, by using essentially the same hub, rim, tires, and brake units on millions of bikes. Instead, bikes for seven year olds look like minature copies of the bikes a twenty-seven year old professional is riding. The added cost and complexity drives parents into Wal-Mart. A real shame.

The closest thing I could find to the "bullet proof" bike was a BMX bike marked down from $300 to $200. It is strong enough to take at least five years of extremely hard riding, and simple to service. But, the hand brakes fit my hands better than the hands of a seven year old. Has the industry not noticed children's hands are smaller than adult hands? And, most folks who are not REAL into bikes are not going to spend $200 on a bike for a seven year old. And folks with three or four kids...that is $600 to $800... a lot of money.