There’s no better way to get kids out of the screen-staring habit than by putting them on a bicycle. It’s a lifetime activity that pays big dividends in everything from hand-eye coordination to long-term cardiovascular health.
Youth cycling has seen a revival lately. Not since the 1970s and 1980s has so much effort been put into building places for children to learn and exercise their skills. Parks, pump tracks, skateparks, lift-service mountain bike parks, you name it—fun places for kids to ride are being built near you.
The increasing variety and complexity of cycling environments for children mean that it’s never been more critical than now to find a bike that fits correctly and offers the right capabilities for the job. The first step is to figure out what kind of riding your child will be doing and select the best type of bicycle for that endeavor. After that, you’ll want to get the lightest bike that works for your budget and situation, in the proper size. We’ve selected some of the best options for a variety of riding styles.
The Best Kids’ Bikes
The Expert: I’m a former professional BMX racer, bike store owner, and cycling coach. I’ve worked with young riders since 1991 and count national and world champions among my former students. I currently spend most of my riding time with my son, a 13-year-old downhill mountain biker and BMX rider with multiple wins in different categories and a few Strava times that rival the very top rank of adults at Snowshoe Bike Park in Snowshoe, West Virginia, and Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, Colorado, among others.
What To Consider When Buying a Kid’s Bike
Style: BMX, Road, Mountain… or Something Else?
Children’s bikes have diversified quite a bit since every kid on the block wanted one of those super-cool, candy colored “Krate” Schwinn Stingrays during the Summer of Love. Today’s options generally mirror adult models in design, equipment, and even price. So if you expect to take long or skill-intensive rides with your child, you’ll want to make sure their bike matches or exceeds yours in capability.
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BMX street bikes have long been the default choice for children, and for many situations they’re still the best bet. They are sturdy in daily use, difficult to damage, and tolerant of a wide range in physical size. The downsides: They’re slow and have a limited range due to their singlespeed drivetrain and inefficient geometry.
For those children who want to actively compete in BMX racing, however, they’ll require a BMX racing bike, which is entirely different from a BMX street bike—size-specific and usually quite expensive, at anywhere from $500 to $5,000 or more. If your child is interested in skatepark or freestyle competition, they will need a BMX park bike, which is built for the rigors of landing on concrete.
The majority of children will be happiest with a front-suspension mountain bike in the appropriate size. This can be used for neighborhood trips, park outings, and general-purpose riding. It is not suitable for downhill or jump-line riding; for that, consider an enduro bike with dual suspension, or a dirt jumper with special geometry. It’s also possible to buy a traditional road bicycle for children, but unless you’re planning on doing long-distance touring with a child it’s not the best bet due to fragility, maintenance, and cost issues.
Sizing and Weight
It’s critical to get the lightest bike that meets your needs, in the correct size for your child. Adults are far more tolerant of “bad bike fits” than children, who have limited strength and experience. The same is true for bicycle weight; a rough guide is that a one kilogram increase feels to a child like a five kilogram increase in bike weight does to an adult.
The old idea of letting kids “grow into” bikes might save you a few dollars now, but it turns many riders away from cycling—and in certain disciplines, like mountain biking, it can be downright dangerous to ride a bike that is too large or heavy. Training wheels, as well, have fallen into disrepute, because most children do better by starting with a balance bike than they do by starting with training wheels on a pedal bike.
Additional Criteria
If your rides are more than a few miles, it’s worth considering a bike with multiple gears. This adds complexity and cost but reduces effort over longer trips. When it’s time to slow down, make sure your child has the right braking setup. Coaster brakes feel natural for younger children, and they don’t require a lot of hand strength. Tweens and pre-teens will be better off with hand brakes. A few of the bikes I’ve selected offer both.
How We Selected These Kids’ Bikes
I’ve been putting kids on bikes for more than 30 years and have purchased dozens of cycles for my child and for my team riders. During that time, I’ve gotten a solid working sense of what matters and what doesn’t when it comes to a successful bike-and-rider pairing. The selections below reflect some of the lessons I’ve learned in the process coupled with research from the Bicycling test team.
Specialized Riprock 12
Frame Material: Aluminum | Weight: 15.6 lb. | Brakes: Coaster brake | Tires: 12 x 2.3 in. pneumatic
Pros
- Durable
- Geometry suited for small children
- Simple and easy to assemble
Cons
- Not suitable for long distances
The Specialized Riprock family of bicycles offers a lot of solid choices for young riders, but I particularly like the Riprock 12, which is smaller and easier to handle than virtually every other pedal bike on the market. It’s sized and designed to be an easy and quick transition from balance bikes for young riders who are precocious in their ability to start pedaling for themselves. It also looks pretty cool!
Co-Op REV 16 and REV 20
Frame Material: Aluminum | Weight: 16.9 lb.; 20.1 lb. | Brakes: Coaster and single hand brake | Tires: 16 x 1.75 in.; 20 x 1.75 in.
Pros
- Coaster and hand brake
Cons
- There are lighter choices available elsewhere
Looking for something better than a department store special, but not quite ready to spend thousands of dollars on a high-end kid’s bike? The REV 16 and REV 20 are solid middle-of-the-road choices with a lot of adjustability to fit a variety of children. (Be aware that both bikes have an 80-pound weight limit.) A new-generation chainguard protects legs from dirt, grease, and pinching. The riding position is upright, with plenty of visibility. Parents who like training wheels will find them included here, but we continue to recommend balance bikes as a better way to learn.
Redline MX Junior
Frame Material: Aluminum | Weight: 15.4 lb. | Brakes: Rear hand brake | Tires: 20 x 1.75 in.
Pros
- Great way to start racing
- Affordable
- Long-lasting
Cons
- Not ideal for street use
- Won’t work on a mountain bike trail
Redline’s MX family of BMX race bikes has been very popular with new racers for quite some time. The MX Junior is intended for riders between 4-foot-6 and 5-foot-1. If your child is shorter, consider the MX mini; taller kids can go straight to the MX 20. You won’t need to make any changes in order to go racing; just add a number plate. The narrow-diameter wheels and tires increase speed, at the cost of daily-use durability.
Cleary Owl
Frame Material: Steel | Weight: 20.3 lb. (singlespeed) | Drivetrain: singlespeed or three-speed | Brakes: Hand brakes, front and rear | Tires: 20 x 2.125 in.
Pros
- Durable
- Light
- Choice of drivetrains
Cons
- No 7-speed or 11-speed variant
Cleary’s Owl is another tough-as-nails bike from the manufacturer, but this one is aimed at older and/or larger riders. The base model is a singlespeed, but a few extra bucks gets you an Owl with a three-speed hub. The benefits of hub gearing for kids’ bikes are priceless: It’s durable, impossible to damage by dropping or propping incorrectly, and requires less maintenance. As with all Cleary bikes, the seat and handlebar are sized correctly for the intended rider—particularly crucial for children with smaller hands. [The new Cleary Owl, just out now, weighs 19 pounds with all-terrain tires that measure 20 x 1.9 inches.]
Cannondale Trail
Frame Material: Aluminum | Drivetrain: 7-speed | Weight: 20 lb. 6 oz. | Brakes: Front and rear hand brakes | Tires: 20 x 1.95 in.
Pros
- Light
- 40mm front suspension travel to smooth out obstacles
- 7-speed drivetrain to climb hills
Cons
- Fork and drivetrain will require maintenance
Want to spend $4,000 to $8,000 on a mountain bike for kids? You have several options from companies like Trailcraft and Spawn. Want most of the capability at a tenth of the price? Cannondale’s Trail 20 is a good place to start. It has a twist shifter to help kids get used to a multi-speed drivetrain, and a short-travel fork up front to help with rocks and roots. It’s fairly light and should hold up to serious use. The cranks are designed specifically for young riders, which makes a big difference.
Radio Bike’s Zuma 24
Frame Material: Aluminum | Drivetrain: 8-speed | Weight: 24.87 lb. | Brake: Front and rear hand brake, disc | Tires: 24 x 2.25 in.
Pros
- Adds a little all-terrain capability to the general-purpose idea
- Disc brakes
- Microshift drivetrain
Cons
- A little heavy
With the Zuma 24, Radio Bike offers a stylish everyday bike with just a little bit of MTB attitude. The Zuma’s 2.25-inch-wide tires can cover a broad range of terrain, but the riding position is first and foremost designed for on-pavement use. Best for mixed park trails and unpaved (but smooth) paths, the Zuma is quick to accelerate and stop thanks to a wide-range gear set and disc brakes. Don’t have any plans to ride dirt trails? Consider the Cleary Meerkat instead.
Diamondback Sync’r
Frame Material: Aluminum | Drivetrain: SRAM 12-speed | Weight: N/A | Brakes: Front and rear hand, disc | Tires: 24 x 2.6 in.
Pros
- Tires for modern trail conditions
Cons
- Sluggish on paved roads
Diamondback offers a full range of Sync’r hardtail front-suspension mountain bikes; the Sync’R 24 takes that same formula for children around 5-feet tall. It has wide tires, a 12-speed drivetrain, and 80 millimeters of front-suspension travel, so it should be able to handle most mountain bike trails. The trade-off: sluggish on-road behavior. Make sure you’re serious about riding mountain bikes with your child before you choose a bike of this specification.
Woom Up 5
Frame Material: Aluminum | Suspension Travel (Front Only): 80mm | Tires: 24 x 2.35-in. Schwalbe Rocket Ron | Weight: 34 lb. (M) | Brakes: Promax hydraulic disc
Pros
- Excellent fork
Cons
- Grips spin and tear easily
Woom makes some of the best kids bikes we’ve ever tested, and the Up 5 is one of the best e-bikes of any size we’ve reviewed. The Up 5 reviewed here has 24-inch wheels; there’s also a Woom Up 6, which has 26-inch wheels. Both use a Fazua Evation 250-watt motor that kicks out 55 Nm of torque. That’s similar to what you get on some lighter and smaller options, like the Orbea Rise. Woom’s system weighs just 7 pounds—again, about half as much as those on most full-size adult bikes. With the relatively low torque, and fewer high-speed power demands (the Up 5 tops out at 12 mph), the battery lasts plenty long, at least three hours on its highest power setting in our testing and likely much longer. The Up 5 comes with excellent components, including a supple RST-made front fork, Schwalbe tires.
Trailcraft Maxwell 24 and 26
Frame Material: Aluminum | Suspension Travel: 100mm to 140mm | Tires: Choice of tube or tubeless | Weight: Starting at 24 lb. | Brakes: Front and rear hand brakes, disc
Trailcraft Trailcraft Maxwell 24
Pros
- A wide variety of options and configurations
Cons
- Expensive
Trestle Bike Park’s “36 Chambers” trail in Winter Park, Colorado, is the second most intense jump trail on that particular mountain—behind the adults-only “Banana Peel”—and it features several jumps of 30 feet and above. The Trailcraft Maxwell can handle all of those 30-foot jumps as well as an adult bike can, and at an adult-level pace. Trailcraft will set the Maxwell up with a dropper post, Fox Factory suspension, carbon fiber wheels, you name it—but at a price. That price starts at $3,499 and goes up to double that. If your 10-year-old wants to challenge college students at a lift-served park, the Maxwell is hard to beat.
Buying a Kid’s Bike? Our Expert Jack Baruth Shares What to Spend, What Size to Try, and More!
BI: When should a child get their first bike?
J.B.: There’s almost no such thing as “too young to ride”; a surprising number of 3-year-olds are ready to pedal themselves in a controlled and safe environment. If a child shows interest in riding, it’s time to learn.
BI: If your child is between sizes, which bike do you buy?
J.B.: Most manufacturers have overlap in their sizing recommendations; buy the smaller of the two bikes. It will be easier to control. Tweens and teens who are already competent riders can “size up” with fewer consequences.
BI: What is a good price range for a first bike?
J.B.: As much as you can afford. The quality of a child’s first bike has a big impact on their enjoyment of cycling, and high-quality children’s bikes are much easier to sell secondhand than their adult equivalents.
BI: What can I do with the bike my child outgrows?
J.B.: Depending on what you paid initially, either pay it forward or sell it. If it originally sold for $500 or less, consider an online marketplace near you. Higher-end children’s bikes are easy to sell via Pinkbike classifieds; I’ve sold several four-figure kids’ bikes there on the same day I listed them.
Jack Baruth is a writer and competitor who has earned podiums in more than fifteen different classes and sanctions of automotive and cycling competition, in both amateur and professional capacities, as well as an enthusiastic hobbyist musician and audiophile who owns hundreds of musical instruments and audio systems. His work has appeared in Bicycling, Cycle World, Road & Track, WIRED, Wheels Weekly, EVO Malaysia, Esquire, and many other publications. His original design for a guitar, the Melody Burner, has been played by Billy Gibbons, Sheryl Crow, and others.
