wrote:

But measured in miles travelled per dollar paid, I don't think he'll
beat that Schwinn anytime soon. "Beater" bikes have their place.

Actually I shouldn't be hard on Target, as they do have some bikes that
aren't totally horrible, i.e. their Schwinn offerings. The super cheap
"Magna" house brand is terrible, but some of the Schwinn's are okay.
Some of the sporting goods stores like Sports Authority, Sports
Basement, and REI (and the former Tri-City in Fremont (now condos), a
store so large that the joke was that you could see it from space),
offer some decent stuff, though the prices aren't much cheaper than a
real bike store.

The problem for the 10-12 year old boys is that most of the 24" wheeled
bikes are too small for them, but there aren't many 26" wheeled "men's"
bikes with small enough frames (12"-14") where the reach to the bars
isn't uncomfortably long. You really need a 12"-14" frame with an
adjustable quill stem where you have the adjustment almost vertical,
whereas the bikes with adjustable stems with a threadless headset have
too long of a reach.

Something like the 13.5" frame Jamis Explorer 2 is good,
"http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/sportcomfort/explorer/09_explorer2_spec.html"
and it has the frame angles that make it not too hard for
mounting/dismounting even on the "men's" frame.

My own son is about to outgrow his 12" frame Jamis Ranger, but when
compared to the stuff some of the kids were riding on Monday, his bike
looked positively huge.