The 12 Best Kids Bike Reviews
As your kids grow and gain interest in biking it’s important that they go from their balance bike to a real kids bike. Finding the best kids bike is simple when you know what to look for. It’s important to remember that kids drop bikes so choosing a kids bike that is high quality is important. In this guide, we will tell you what to look for in a kids bike and review the best quality models.
How to choose the best kids bike.
The most important thing to consider when choosing a kids bike is the child’s age and size. The taller your child is, the bigger wheel diameter is required. Choosing the right bike size is important because it directly affects the overall comfort of your child. An uncomfortable child won’ want to ride.
What size kids bike do I need?
Below is our kid’s bike size chart
When choosing adult bikes, the frame size is used as a reference point. With children’s bikes, it is based on the diameter of the wheel. The reason is because the kid’s wheel size determines the proportion for the remainder of the bike. The most common kid’s bike wheel sizes are 12, 14, 16, 20, and 24 inches. Anything 26 inches or higher is considered an adult mountain bike.
As you can see knowing your child’s height is essential to choosing the right sized kid’s bike.
- Balance bikes, 1-3 years old: The earlier your kids start out biking, the more confidence they will become cycling as they grow up. Balance bikes are a great place to start as they teach the fundamentals of biking, instead of teaching your child to rely on training wheels. Children that own balance bikes generally transition to regular bikes faster.
- The next level; Basic Small Wheelers, 3-7 years old: These are basically crafted with being your childs first bike in mind. They normally come with 12, 14 and 16-inch wheels. Some of the higher quality bikes come with simple gear sets and front fork suspensions. It is important to look for good quality models to ensure durability. Make sure your kids feet can touch the ground comfortably, and their hands can reach the brakes on the handlebars while you child is in the seated position. These bikes go faster so, make sure you have proper safety equipment.
- Big Boy Bikes: 20 inch, 7-9 years old: This is where it can get rough. Your child will have access to their first real set of gears and proper suspension. They gears range between 5 and 10, this allows them to come along and keep up when climbing hills.While it may not be the first priority upon purchase, it would be good for your kids to begin to learn how the gears work. Avoid bikes that come with for suspensions, even though they look cool the chances are the fork will be cheap and heavy thus losing its effectiveness.These bikes tend to take a lot of wear and tear so make sure to choose a high-quality model.
- Tween Bikes: 24 inches and bigger, 9-14 years old: The same things said above about the fork and suspension above are true of the big boy bikes. This is where the bikes start to come with all the bells and whistles of adult bikes. It’s not uncommon to find bikes up to 36 gears, with triple chain-sets.
The 3 Best Balance Bikes For 1 – 3-year-olds
The Cruzee Balance Bike is a great kids balance bike. It’s very light at just 6 pounds so that you toddler can easily maneuver it. It is made of rust-free anodized aluminum, so it will last even if it gets wet. Some other features of the Cruzee balance bike is soft grips, super comfy seat, low-profile axle bolts. The Cruzee is one of the best balance bikes on the market.
The Joovy Bicycoo balance bike is one of our top kid’s balance bikes because of its nice wide tires. This helps with the overall balance helping to build confidence as your child gets used to learning to balance. It has an aluminum frame, and height adjustable seat. The Joovy comes with refillable 12″ pneumatic tires that help proved suspension. The tires are a wide 2.25″ to help with stability. This balance bike is also equipped with a hand brake.
Strider – 12 Sport Balance Bike
The strider 12 Sport balance bike is well-made and built to last. The seats and handlebars are both adjustable. The cushioned tires make sure that ride is smooth, and there is even a little place for kids to rest their feet while they get the hang of it.
The Best 3 Kids bikes ages 3 – 7-year-old
The Woom USA is a great kids bike made with high quality and light weight components. It is good for smaller kids between 3-4.5 years if age. This bike weighs only 13lb 2oz. The Woom USA provides a low center of gravity and offers a lot of flexibility as well as adjustability.
The Diamondback mini viper kids bike is a very high-quality children’s bike. Like the adult Diamondback bikes, it is made from Hi-Ten steel. The Viper’s Lowered top tube provides exceptional stand over clearance and riding position. This bike has coaster brakes for easy stopping. The wheels are 16″ aluminum specifically designed to be durable and light weight. This bike is best suited for 5-7-year-olds.
The RoyalBaby Buttons kids bike is a good choice because it comes in 12, 14, and 16 models. This means this can be ordered to fit 2 – 7-year-olds depending on which tire size you go with. This kids bike has a lot of great features such as it’s Pulse TIG welded steel 12mm frame, as well as BMX TIG welded steel fork with leading edge dropouts.
The 3 Best 20″ Kids Bikes
Diamondback Cobra Junior Mountain Bike
The Diamondback Cobra Jr is one of our favorite 20″ kids bikes. This bike is made for 7-9 years old and is made from high quality Hi-Ten Steel. It has linear pull front and rear brakes, and sits on 36-spoke, 20″ aluminum wheels.
The TykeBykes Fat Tire kids bike is designed from high-quality material. It is recommended for ages 7 and up. With its oversized tires, the TykeByke can take on all elements, even snow. It also features front and rear disc brakes for greater stopping power as well easy to reach brake levers designed for smaller hands. These heavy-duty 20″ tires can handle anything that comes their way.
Firmstrong Urban Single Speed Beach Cruiser
The Firman Urban Beach Cruiser is one of our favorite bikes because of its classic appearance. It features a simplistic pedal back coaster brake. The Firman comes equipped with white-wall balloon tires for a cushioned ride as well as front and rear fenders.
The Top 3 24″ Kids Bikes
Diamondback Podium Youth Road Bike
The Diamondback brand constantly makes our list because they strive for perfection. The Podium comes equipped with a light alloy frame with a replaceable hanger. It also has high-quality Shimano Front and Rear Derailleurs with 8 speed Sora STI Road Shifters. This Bike is recommended for ages 9 – 11.
Diamondback Insight Hybrid Bike
The Diamondback Insight features an alloy frame with a replaceable derailleur hanger for increased durability. Diamondback also employed an aero alloy straight blade fork for solid steering. The Insight has a Shimano 14-speed drivetrain, and linear pull brakes that provide safe stopping power.
The Mongoose Spectra, is both economical as well as efficient. It features 21-speeds to allow you to climb hills, then catch up when you get to level ground. The Spectra features high-tech linear pull brakes to make sure that you can stop when you need to. The Mongoose Spectra’s full suspension performance gives optimum balance and maneuverability.
Bottom Line:
There are many choices when choosing the best kids bike. The most important thing is you get one that matches your kids ability and size. If your child is on the border and you are trying to decide which size to buy, always go one step up.
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