Trek 820 - Best family/entry-level bike? (how about the Trek Jet 16 for kids?)
 

I'm 34 years old and haven't ridden a bicycle since I was a kid but I'd like to get something I can ride with my family mostly around the development we live in but I can see myself also taking the bike to local parks or trails in the future.

My son is almost 4.5 years old and has only used tricycles. Somebody gave us a 12" bicycle but it's incredibly too small.

Our local bike shop is selling brand new (2016?) Trek 820's for $315 a piece. We are looking at one for me and one for my wife.

They also have a Trek Jet 16 for my son and he rode it around in the store much better than any other bike we have tried.

Does anybody have any advice for me before I purchase these bikes? Should I get something else?

Lastly, I am undecided between the 16" frame and the 18" frame. I'm only 5'9" and my inseam is 30". The 16" frame felt much, much better.

I can't comment on the adult bikes, but my recommendations for 16" bikes would be:

Used Specialized Hot Rock 16". For families that don't ride extensively, this is absolutely the best cost for value ratio. The bikes are relatively light (coming in several pounds lighter than a Trek Jet) and have relatively good geometry. My daughter started with a 16" Trek Mystic (the girls' equivalent of the Jet) and struggled to go more than a block with it. We switched to a Hot Rock 16" and within a week, she was riding 4 miles at a stretch.

My kids ride at least 50 miles every month, so for us it made sense to invest in a high-quality, more expensive bike. These would be my choices for a new bike.

(1) Islabike CNOC (At 13.2 lbs, this close to being the lightest 16" bike on the market; the only other bike that's lighter is the often out of stock and much more expensive Early Rider Belter 16). Downsides are cost and the fact that it has a coaster brake
(2) Cleary Bikes Hedgehog. This is the bike my son has and it's great. Relatively lightweight, no coaster brake. Downside would be cost; it also has a pretty aggressive (bent over/less upright) riding position, which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
(3) Woom Bikes 3. This is a relatively new bike, which looks great, but is very expensive for a bike your child will only use for a year or two.

Thanks!

Unfortunately my area doesn't have too many bike shops. Can you buy the Hot Rock online? It also seems to cost more... ($250 vs $160 for Jet 16?)

Mikesbikes.com has the HotRock online. It is currently on sale with free shipping for $215: Specialized Boy's Hotrock 16 Coaster - mikesbikes.com

Hmmm, that's not too bad. How much lighter is the Hot Rock 16 versus the Trek Jet 16?

It's been my experience that kids grow out of bikes fast until they get up to 20" (BMX-sized) bikes, which can last a while. With that in mind, I've tended to get bikes that were just a little on the big side for my kids. I also tend to buy them used since good kids' bikes can often be found cheap, even in good condition. And as long as they're not abused, you can resell them for roughly the same price you paid. (Depreciation is obviously much steeper on a new bike.)

Those ought to be great for cruising the neighborhood.

As for size, you and I are almost the same size. I'm just shy of 5'10" and have a 30" pants inseam*. My mountain bike's an 18" frame. I have a bike with a 16" frame as well, but it's too cramped. Frame sizing is more about the reach between the saddle and handlebar than it is about the height of the bike and unless you've got t-rex arms, I think the 18" bike will probably be the better fit. But without seeing you on the bike, I'm just guessing. Find someone you trust at a good bike shop and let them confirm in person.

* "Inseam", as you might see it in bike-sizing context, is not the same as the clothing measurement. Cycling inseam is measured from your crotch to the floor, not to the end of your pant leg.

Thanks for the all of the information! I found another local bike shop (much better than the first) that sells Raleigh and Specialized (and Giant plus a few others).

They offered to order me the Hot Rock for $209 (the same price as mikesbikes.com) above. They don't have it in-stock to try it though.

They also have a few adult bikes I was looking at... More specifically the Raleigh Talus 3.0 for $299 (close-out) model and the Raleigh Venture for $330. They also had a Specialized Expedition but for $440 it's above my price range.

How do the Raleigh Venture and Raleigh Talus 3.0 compare to the Trek 820? Are there better and/or worth buying?

If the Raleighs are aluminum framed, probably a better buy than the steel framed Trek, also may come with better drivetrain and shifters.

When people come to our Trek shop and ask about kids bikes, I let them know that we offer trade-in, and excellent service, but that the service is largely moot on a coaster brake single speed kid bike. And while I would suggest you buy the adult bikes from a bikeshop, a dept. store kids' bikes usuallly hold together until your kid outgrows them. So I never try to dissuade anyone from considering a usually much cheaper dept. store kids bike. Unless it has rim brakes and shifting; also stay away from suspension bikes at dept stores. Quality is quality and a kids bike from a bike shop is definitely better, but how much per dollar is up in the air.

I don't know about the current versions, but when my daughter had hers a couple of years ago, the 16" Specialized was a little under 20 lbs and the 16" Trek Mystic was about 23 lbs. That doesn't seem like much of a difference in the context of an adult bike, but at the time my daughter weighed about 35 pounds, so it was a substantially proportion of her body weight. The Jet/Mystic also has very high riser bars, which raise the center of gravity of the bike; combined with a pretty cramped cockpit area, that made it harder to handle.

The downside of buying a BSO from a dept store is that a kid won't enjoy riding it, won't want to go any distance and just might give up riding. A new hotrock for 2 beans? Go for it- consider it an investment where you'll probably get most of the expense back.

I generally agree with this sentiment, but my experience is that in the kids' bike realm, buying a bike from a major bike manufacturer vs. a department store doesn't necessarily afford the same benefit as an adult bike purchase. After my daughter was comfortable on her Strider, I started her off with a Novara 12" bike that weighed almost 20 lbs, then when she outgrew that without being able to ride the bike more than a block, moved up to the weighty 16" Trek Mystic with terrible geometry. She had the balance and the skills, but couldn't handle the bikes and got frustrated. It was like night and day when we got the Hotrock. With my son, we went from the Strider to a 12" Hot Rock and he was riding a full year earlier than my daughter (I'm sure part of that was older sibling example, but I think the bike made a major difference).

At least in my area, people recognize the superiority of the Hot Rocks and are willing to pay a premium for them on the resale market. So I say yes to Hotrocks, no to other bike shop bikes.

I just picked up a Cleary Hedgehog for my daughter yesterday its a nice bike. Wife says I'm crazy to get her an expensive bike $350CAD. But she is going from her dept 16" bike with coaster brake to one with a handbrake so she will have to learn how to stop with the hand brakes now. Main reason for me wanting to get her a new bike was for the handbrake and besides it can be a hand me down to lil bro when he's old enough to ride it :)

Congratulations! My son loves his Hedgehog. He went from a 12" Hotrock to the Hedgehog and it only took him about 10 minutes to get the hand brakes down. I can't overstate the benefits of the freewheel vs. coaster brake. It's great for him to get into power pedal position and to track stand for stops and then get going again. He rode 3 miles on it this morning to preschool and will ride another 3 home tonight. He's our youngest, so we don't have anyone in the family to pass it down to, but I don't regret the investment at all. It's worth it for the "cool bike" compliments alone :).

OP, My Local Trek dealer has a kids deal, goes like this..

You let them fit your child to a trek bike and when the child out grows the bike you take it back to that dealer In reasonable working order and he gives you 50% of your original purchase price on a new one :P


Never buy big box store bikes or gear,,Keep your money in your local economy, Keep your local bike shop open,,you will miss him if he/she goes out of business..
Only buy Internet If your LBS cant get you what You want.

Working in a Trek dealership I've sold my fair share of 820s. Their the bread and butter of what the shop sells and what people are looking for when they want an inexpensive bike shop quality bike. It's a steel frame and really basic sprung non adjustable fork. I think once your at that level of bikes it's apples to apples. I honestly like steel bikes more so then aluminum. I wish Trek would put the 820 back to a fully rigid mountain bike like it used to be and ditch the useless anchor of a suspension fork.

As far as kids bikes even working at a shop I'll tell people that kids bikes are kids bikes. It's just who puts them together. Buy a used kids bike that fits because they'll out grow it soon and their normally hard on bikes.

Can't comment on the Specialized and I can't stand them as a Company and the crap they pull.

My son's third bike was a small Trek 800 with a solid fork. I agree with what you said about the solid fork. Most people buying those mountain style bikes are not, or should not be planning on doing serious single track with them, and the fork is more decorative than functional. Anyhow, I bought the Trek 800 used from a LBS. They repaired some worn parts, like the chain, back derailleur, and brake pads. I switched out the tires from knobbies to street tires as it is far more practical for what he was riding back then. That bike was just solid and for about half of what it might have cost for a new bike, he got a good solid 3 years of riding out of it, and I even got about half my money back when I sold it.

If it feels better, it feels better, but I don't see how. I am just under 5'9" (used to be 5'9" but my doctor says I lost an inch of height somewhere along the way). Anyhow, I don't see how 16" frame will fit. I have an 18" frame Bianchi hybrid that, frankly, feels a little small to me at 5'8".

At 5'8" a 16" is way too small. I'm 5'5" and I would ride a 16". An 18" should be right around on what you should be riding. If it's an older hybrid then it probably has a short and fairly steep riser stem so that might make it feel a little cramped.

Trek has good bikes 820is a rugged basic Mountain bike with a steel frame ..

Here Too The dealerships carrying different brands are widely separated , 'Specialized' in a different town entirely..

In todays Market place all are ocean crossing Imports ..

NB: In adult bikes the 16" is the seat tube length , in a children's Bike The 16" will be the wheel size.

Trek 820 has a solid frame, and it's great for all-around riding. I rode this bike hard for 580 miles last year. Does anyone have a review on X-Caliber 9?