new pocket bike shopper needs help

hello. n00b here.

my son (turning 10 next week) has wanted a pocket bike for ages (Xmas over year ago was the first time we heard about them). we felt he was too young/small then, but now the wife has agreed to get him one .

so im looking for tips on buying a pocket bike. this will be his first motored ride, so we are not looking for a racer or spending a ton of cash. we are looking for a good bike for a 9/10 year old. we live on some land in the country, so riding will not be a problem (very looong driveway).

he has 'sat' on a few bikes (the ones For Sale in gas stations for example). the smallest sized bike are really too small for him IMO. the larger bikes (mid?) fit him like a 1200 fits me. he looks cool on it, but i dont think his first ride should be so 'big'. what defines the sizes ?

i have read a few articles<sp> here but most of the bikes i see For Sale are not reviewed here yet (or i may of just not looked well enough). any help/assistance would be greatly needed.

thanks in advance.

if you sell bikes and would like to offer help/prices/etc. you can do it here, or Email me at cadster_3d@yahoo.com . we live in northern Alabama, so if someone here is from this area maybe we can meet sometime.

used is not out of the question, but we are not looking for a racer, but a good bike that will give several years of enjoyment.

as far as the forums here .. i think you should ahve a section for new riders/buyers. im sure the questions will be basic but i had trouble finding where i should post.

thanks in advance, again

CAD

you could get an electric bike to let him get used to steering but if not that you can get a cag they are great beginers bikes

i dont want to get an electric, but thanks for the heads up on them.

now when you say 'cag' do you mean a certain bike ? or just any china knock off ?

i'd decide what is best for your son comfort being a x1,x2,x6, ect. vs. proformance being lucky 7. i'v been dowing a far amount or reaserach and decicde that the lucky 7 is the best china made cag you can get. The only think neg. about that bike is how low it sits but you can buy a kit to raise your bike up an inch or so form nastyn8 the ojnly other thing you would need to do to your sons bike is buy better bolts for your local hard were store and lock tight and think that will tend to vibrate out. i would go with the lucky 7 best part about that is you can get it shipped to your house for 275 where an x1,x2, ect. bike will run you about 450 500 pm me if you would like web site names hope this was help full.

P.S. if money is not a problem go euro

Cag is short for cagllari which includes all the chinese knock-offs. Most cags wll be the mini size (seat about 15"). I'm 5'11 and 180 lbs and fit on a cag just fine.

The other group of bikes are the X-series. These typically have lights, suspension, etc and seat height is 17-20"

The lucky 7 cags are the ones with the removeable rear swingarm. They have the best build quality of all the cags and perform pretty decent for what they are. All comes down to price. Cag for <300, X for <500, or an entry euro (used) for around 1000

again .. thanks for the heads up and information. i would say 300/350.00 is the range we could afford.

now is it just looking for the best price ? or is there really a difference between each 'cag' that these people sell ?


http://www.minipocketrockets.com/rsr.htm
- its in our price range, has a longer wheelbase and rear suspension. It also comes with a stand, tool kit and stickers, but you must pay shipping ($57.82 ) . would this be the 'cag' everyone is talking about ?
Thsi place has some of the best good prices i have found on the net.

i dont like the pull start only or the lack of lights.

this site also has the raptor and the blade. both bikes look liek the same thing, why would there be a price difference ? (i guess i could call them)

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages...cket_blue.html
This one looks completley different. It looks a little larger and taller, has lights, and its only a little more money. I like this one as well. so is this also a cag ?

if you had to pick between the two above bikes, what would you choose ? and why ?

remember we are not looking for a racer persay, and if this thing goes 40+ mph. it will be governed back untill he gets the hang of it.

http://www.badazztoyz.com/page2.html
here is another i like. The BT-hydra AC. Shipping is too expensive, so we could not do this. But there is a super 7 at this site as well. is this the same thing your offering shipped to my door for 275.00 crowntownpb ?

does anyone here own any of the bikes i p[osted link to ?
can you tell me about what you own .. the good, bad, etc.

sorry for asking so many questions ... dropping 300+ is not something i do at the drop of a hat.

Sir at your price you need to buy 2 cheap cags, you can pick up 2 for 300$ on ebay. Then you can ride with your son. I know people over 6 feet tall that ride the small cags and they don't think they are to small, so im sure your 10 year old son would fit on one. The midbikes are more work and in my opinion they aren't as fun. And they go pretty slow stock and will get old quick. However if he wants to look good riding down the driveway in the country (not sure who hes trying to impress?) and you want to spend more get a mid bike.

It appears the mids would be more comfortable, but form my experience its the opposite. The way my x2 sat it felt like all my weight was on my hands and it was uncomfortable to ride and my arms would get tired quick. Sitting on a cag almost is comfortable, and they handle great.

For the price of a nice midbike you could buy 3 cags, one for you, your son, and your wife. Or you could buy 2 cags and some performance mods to make them more fun.

im not the one selling for 275 shipped you would have to talk to nastyn8 i could give you his web site and e-mail just pm (privatt message) me and yes the lucky 7 is the same one im talking about

thanks for the reply.

i would be the one who was looking for him to have the 'fancy' bike with elec. start, lights, horn, etc. from what i have gathered the larger bikes are slower (as you said). i would also think having a suspension would be a better handeler... but i dont know. i think the overall weight and price of these mid-bikes will be the factor that keeps me from buying him one (i dont think my 55lb. kid could pick up a 95lb. bike).

i looked at Ebay and saw several bikes. most are at great prices, but when you include shipping in the price, i would be paying almost as much as the local 'gas station' prices. for example, i saw a nice fancy model for a very cheap 225.00. but it has a 250.00 dollar shipping and handeling fee. this brings the bike up to almost 500.00. i did not see any of the 'cheap cags' as being that cheap once you include shipping and handeling :shrug:

im also not an Ebay customer, so i dont know how its really done. i may not of looked hard enough.

but i would jump on getting 2 cags delivered for 350.00


the idea of riding with him is very enticing and a great idea. i have a go-ped and the daughter has a go-kart. the son is the one without something to motor around.

@crowntownpb - ill take any web addresses or contacts you can give.

**** ... less then 10 days untill his birthday... what am i going to do anic:

Cadster, I'm not sure if you have a pocketbike race league near you but I suggest you check out the PB racing scene (bring the family). I got into this when I bought a Cag for my son Christmas of '03. Actually, I bought it with no intentions for him to race 'cause I didn't know such a thing existed. As soon as I found out though, I went to take him for a few practice sessions (parking lot) with the local club. I found that more adults than kids were in attendance (moms, dads, young girls and boys were racing). Needless to say, I had to get on his bike and went around with the rest of the racers. I ended up buying a Cag for myself and we both started racing.

Well, it's been over a year and we now have 4 euro pocketbikes (sold my Cags), racing in the SoCal race league. My son is getting better at riding and he enjoys it now more than ever. Pocketbiking has given us something we can do together and have made great new friends along the way.

Here in SoCal, we have a class for the x-bikes but I don't think many other leagues have it. Though it's fun to ride around driveways and parking lots by yourself, it's even better riding against other poeple (you probably know this already).

Sorry for the long post and getting off topic. I just wanted to point out that racing should not be out of the question for you or your son (my son is 11). No matter what bike you get I'm sure your son will be very happy. Good luck to you

CADster have you looked in the CLASSIFIED section "Speednow" & "Outlaw50" have some cheap Cags for sale.

@Flippn - excellent idea. i did some hunting and i did not find a league persay, but i did find where several pocket riders ride. The son and I are going tomorrow to check it out. Should be fun. maybe one of the riders will let the son 'test ride' a bike.

@Racin Junkie - i looked but most were raced out and we are looking for a bone stock ride. i think i have found where im buying and if all goes well, we will be getting two

Cadster - that's great! You'll find that the PB community is always more than welcome to help out; though it doesn't always seem like it here on the forums. You might get lucky and get an offer to do a demo ride.

If I may suggest; with a bike running on the stand have your son get the feel for throttle response (don't have him sit on it though in case the bike takes off for some reason). What I've found with most kids is that the first thing they do is grab a handfull of throttle and away they go, usually out of control. When my son (and daughter) first started, I actually tied a rope to the bike frame and jogged beside them to make sure that they learned to ease on the throttle. It was quite a work out but it worked.

yup. more good info, thanks.

ive been looking at your avitar and its really cool. that must be you and your son.

i think im getting more excited then my son is about all of this..im just waiting on the dealer i contacted to reply.

Hit me up on aol screen name acidklownhdgone and i will find you 2 nice cags for around 350$ shipped. Im good at finding good deals. Local might be a good idea for you, if it breaks down you may be able to take it back. I had a modded out goped, top speed wasn't all that, but man did it have the low end torque like crazy!

Yup, that's him. It was the first time he got his knees down, he was so excited he didn't want to leave the track that day. You'd be surprised at the litlle kids racing, as young as 6 0r 7 and they are quick.

Oh yeah, the adults have just as much fun racing too

****... the weekend was a total bust.

sat started out great, but by noon it was raining, and sunday it rained all day. Today its starting to snow.

got to love this freaky alabama weather.

@jman47cc - thanks, but i cant us any IM service at work. we an talk via Email if you like.

cadster_3d@yahoo.com