A high end bike review

  I love high end bikes.  They are things of beauty.  There is nothing I love more than staring at photo after photo of carbon beauty.  Not that I dislike steel, but I'm like a monkey with shiny things when it comes to carbon.

  I could stare at the stuff for hours.  I think it's because I also have a love for high end cars.  But forget about this monkey stuff, I'm here to review a high end bike, damnit!

  So here is the problem, I don't have one of those fancy bikes to stare at.  If you have one, I'll stare at yours.  But what I do have are my kids bikes, a Huffy Rock-It!  Oh, and a Huffy Sea Star.  One for each gender.  If you can't figure out which is which, stop reading now, please.

  Both bikes are available at Wal-Mart for a few cents under $40.00.  These are 12" bikes, and do not look huge next to my new 29er.  But if you are 36" tall, this might be the bike for you!

  Yes, they both look that badass.

FRAME:  Some sort of Chinese steel

REAR SHOCK: Legs

FORK/SHOCK:  Arms.  Fork is steel

HEADSET: Uh?

STEM:  Same as Headset

HANDLEBARS:  Included

GRIPS:  Rubber

FRONT BRAKE:  Face?

REAR BRAKE:  Coaster

BRAKE LEVERS:  Legs

CASSETTE:  Single speed, not fixed.

CHAIN:  Yes

CRANKSET:  Custom

PEDALS:  Keep falling off

FRONT TIRES:  12", rubber

REAR TIRES:  Also rubber

NOTES:  Protective pad on handlebars.  Chain Guard.  Sweet paint schemes!


  Lets start by saying, these bikes are amazing.  My sons bike should have included wheelie bars, but I guess that's an additional cost?  I haven't even seen it as an option yet.  


  Tire wear has been an issue.  I showed my son that if he goes fast, and slams on the brakes, he leaves a black spot on the sidewalk.  My daughters bike 
doesn't do this, and we assume it is defective. 


  Pedals have had a hard time staying on.  At first we thought it was because our son was a complete badass, but it turns out that the bike is an issue.  I'm 6'4", 200 lbs, I know how to tighten things.  I believe some thread  locker might be in order.  It will cause a few problems when we convert to clipless, but that's a few weeks away. 


  The paint seems to be rather tough actually.  And the chain guard is a nice touch.  It stops my kids from getting chain tattoo's at such a young age.  I only wish it came with a road guard, to thwart off road rash.  That might also be an additional option.  I'll call the company for that info, if anyone needs it.  


All in all, these are good bikes.  The training wheels have only fallen off 4 times now, and that's respectable, considering my $2000 road bike didn't even include them!  Helmets are a must if your kids plan on doing backflips on their bikes.  Also, consider a rear light for those midnight rides.