Avigo 18 inch One Eight BMX Bike - Boys

Great value, but one minor kink...

My son who is five has completely outgrown his 12" bike and was ready for a big-boy bike. He is a tall kid for his age. He would have only gotten about a...Read complete review

My son who is five has completely outgrown his 12" bike and was ready for a big-boy bike. He is a tall kid for his age. He would have only gotten about a year or two out of the next bike size up (16") and the 20" was too big, besides he still needs training wheels. After searching numerous bike shops and looking online I concluded that an 18" bike would be best and that I was willing to spend around a hundred dollars. I'll wait until he's ready for a 20" bike before spending the bigger bucks. Anyway, I went to the local Toys R Us to look at their display models[...]My son rode the assembled model and loved it. He really likes the cool green color scheme. I like the fact that the bike had dual hand brakes as well as a rear coaster brake (operated by pedaling backward for anyone who may not know). Plus it comes with the training wheels. The bike is also fully adjustable for handlebars (height and tilt), the seat, the dual hand brakes and the training wheels (up or down). The in-store display rode smooth with no bearing problems as mentioned on some of the other Avigo kid's bikes.Since I thought it would be a fun project for me and my son I decided to purchase a boxed bicycle that we could assemble together, plus I figured I would save the ten or fifteen dollar assembly cost. If you are not mechanically inclined by all means spend the money to have the store assemble it. [...] We got the bike home and unpacked it. Everything was nicely packaged and protected, so nothing was damaged or scratched. The assembly instructions were pretty basic and were designed for various different models. Some of the pictures didn't look exactly like the parts I was assembling, but I have assembled many bikes in my youth and as a Dad, so it was not a big deal. The first step in the assembly was to attach the front tire to the forks, a no brainer right? ...wrong... As other people have stated the forks were too narrow and the front tire would not just slide into place. I spent a half hour just trying to pry the forks open wider just to slip the front tire on. What a pain! I was able to finally get it on through the use of a screw driver. Once I set one side in I used the screw driver between the hub of the other side and the fork to push them apart and I finally managed to squeeze it in. What I did was stupid and I don't recommend it. The screw driver could have easily slipped and I could have gotten hurt. It took a lot of force to spread the forks. I could have also damaged the front hub, but was lucky I didn't. Aside from that first step everything else went smoothly. I believe someone mentioned that one or both of the hand brakes were tight or stiff. Keep in mind that they do not come from the factory pre-adjusted. There are several adjustments you can make once the brake shoes are set in the right place to make the brakes either tighter or looser. My son has small hands, so I kept it on the loose side, so that the hand brakes are easier to pull. It was pretty easy to adjust them to get the right resistance. The training wheels could be adjusted parallel to the ground with the back tire or higher, so the rider is forced to try and balance better. I kept ours closer to the same level as the back tire for more stability until my son gets better at riding.The bike is pretty well made. All of the welding at each of the joints was done correctly and the bike is solid, but not too heavy. It is easy for him to pedal and there are no problems with either of the tires being out of round or making any noises. The bike rides pretty smooth. The training wheels are adequate and supportive. The chain guard is cheap plastic, which time will tell how it will hold up. I wish they would have used a metal chain guard.All in all, even though I didn't get the online price at the store, this bicycle is still the best bang for your dollar when compared to the other bicycles in the same size. I have no problem recommending it.