What is better about a "better" bike?

[JacksMommy]

Reading the posts about bikes made me wonder what you get for the extra money when you buy a better (read more $$) for your DC. DS likes his Target one just fine. He sometimes asks for a new bike but I think just because he likes to get new things. He'll be outgrowing it soon and I was wondering what's worth paying $160 vs. $60 for.

TIA!

Laurel
Mama to Jack 6/02 and Maddy 12/04

Babywearing education in Napa, CA

[schums]

We bought both DC Giant brand bikes from the local independent bike store. They are great! Specifically, we liked that they were a bit heavier and more solid than the Target/TRU/Walmart bikes. Also, the gearing is much smoother and easier for DC to pedal. In short, they just seemed like better built bikes that would last until the kids outgrew them. I was dead set on a Target/TRU bike until we saw DS try to pedal one in the store. It seemed like it was more work that it was worth. We went to "just look" at a bike store near us, and the difference was incredible. DS hopped on a bike and was tearing around the store with almost no effort (same day, 1 hour later than TRU). When we looked at the pricing, it wasn't that much more. We paid about $120, and that included assembly (by people who knew what they were doing) and training wheels. At TRU, we were looking at about $70-$80 without assembly. Plus, at the bike store, they were really interested in helping us pick the "right" bike. In our case, it turned out to be a different (and less expensive) bike that we had originally thought we needed/wanted.

HTH,
Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)