Buying Guide on Choosing The Right Bike Size For Kids

It is serious to pick the right bikes for your kid. When it’s your kid’s first cycle, you want to be sure that they get the finest kid’s ride and that their premier riding experience is joyful so that they can learn so much fun life can be on two. Here, we help you by providing Bikes size guides for kids.

In the last decade, the world of kids’ bikes has been turned upside down. There are training wheels are out balance bikes in. There’s a slew of compact bikes with suspension forks and disc brakes for little rippers. And even simple bikes have advanced to make cycling more fun, safer, and easier to learn.

Suggested Read: Protective Gear for Kids: Should Kids really wear Helmets, Knee & Elbow Pads, and Hand Gloves?

Helping them get the biking bug means finding the right kid’s bike for them; one that’s healthy and can be regulated, and maybe a little racy, not that we’re competitive parents by any means. Ideally, without getting a phone call from the bank asking if you were closing out your account. Yeah, and all this.

It can be a big achievement in a child’s life to learn how to ride a bike. But you need to select the right size bike for them before you clip on the training wheels and strap on their helmet. It can be hard to manage and manipulate bikes that are too big or too small. Therefore, knowing what bike size to buy can be vital to the experience of a child.

Suggested Read: Best Bike Trainers Stand for Kids

What are the Best Kid’s bikes you can choose?

There is a huge range of children’s bike brands on sale, and knowing where to start can feel daunting. Although we can’t detail every style out there, we can give you some insight into some of the top trusted brands on the market, as well as help, lead you through the process of looking and what to look for when ordering.

Kids Bike Sizing Chart

Kids’ bikes, made small and optimized for starting riders, come in a number of styles and sizes, but are most commonly modeled after BMX or mountain bikes. Kids’ bikes are sized according to the height of the bicycle’s wheel and age.

Balance bikes for toddlers who are only being exposed to bike riding, also known as push bikes. There are no brakes on Balance bikes rather, the kid straddles the bike, steers the handlebars, and walks to get acquainted with the sound of a bicycle. A simple entry-level bike with adjustable training wheels is the next step up.

He or she will step on to larger bikes with six or 21 gears and start changing and using handbrakes after a child is secure on training wheels. Kids’ bikes are built for the early rider to the young adult rider who is more mature.

Suggested Read: How To Choose The Right Size Balance Bike For Your Child

Best Kids Bikes for Toddlers (under 2 years)

Check more Kids Bikes for Toddlers

The faster you have a kid on a bike, the better it would be for them to ride a bike for the remainder of their lives. As an infant, children who learn to ride a bike have a lot better time learning to balance, pedal, stop, and cruise.

Suggested Read:

>> How to Choose the Right Balance Bike for Toddlers?

>> Balance Bike vs Training Wheels: Which Is Better For Toddlers?

>> Best Trailers for Kids & Toddlers

Best Kids Bikes for 2 to 3 years Age

Check more Kids Bikes range for 2 to 3 years

It’s always a landmark to have your first bike, and it’s one that now comes faster than ever before. The demand for 2-year-old bikes is still growing because children at a much younger age are gaining important skills such as balancing, agility, and steering. It is important to buy a high-quality bike for 2-year-old kids if you want to get your child into cycling or help them grow their confidence.

There are some things you need to consider to find the right cycle for 2-year-old kid’s bikes. You can find it easier to navigate and get the right bike for your child if you have a clear knowledge of the pre-school cycling industry and what to expect.

Best Kids Bikes for 3 to 5 years Age

Check more Kids Bikes range for 3 to 5 years

It’s not a kid’s game to pick the best bike for your child. Given that the market is filled with endless bikes, it can seem a disconcerting challenge to pick the one that is right for your girl. But you can easily narrow down your choices and make an outstanding decision if you know where to start from.

Bear in mind that the right bike will serve as your child’s secret to countless hours of fun, physical health, and freedom. We also outlined this guide on how to pick a children’s bike for your 3-to-5-year-old-kids to help you out.

Best Kids Bikes for 5 to 9 years Age

It may be difficult to pick the right bike for a 5-year-old, but there is a vast range of different models available, and many of them come with more additional features than your child will require. It relies on a variety of things to choose the right bike for your 5-year-old, such as their ability to ride a bike, their height, and what type of biking you expect them to do.

Best Kids Bikes Types, Features

As compared to adult bikes that are measured by frame size and seat height, children’s bikes come in sizes measured by wheel diameter.

1. Kids Balance Bikes (2 to 4 years)

Many children first attempt a two-wheeler at the age of three, according to the International Bicycle Fund. A balance bike with 12-inch wheels is the traditional first option for those kids. Balance bikes are pedal-less and can come with a stop, or may not. By scooting ahead with her foot on the deck, your child propels the bike and stops by literally planting her feet.

Balance bikes are perfect for building confidence, freedom, and, of course, a sense of balance for a toddler. As an alternative to tricycles or pedal bikes with training wheels, they’re really popular today.

Suggested Read: Why Your Child Should Learn To Ride A Balance Bike?

2. Kids Small Wheelers (3 to 5 years)

Your simple first-pedal bikes are small wheelers. Basic is a keyword here, which indicates that most bikes in this group have few features, such as handbrakes and freewheel hubs, seen on bigger bikes. But as a transition from a balancing bike or a tricycle, keeping it easy is a smart idea. Find a coaster brake platform that requires less physical dexterity and coordination.

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3. Kids Middle Wheelers (4 to 6 years)

Typically, with 16-inches the most common in this category, they’re only defined by wheel scale. Usually, but not always, medium wheelers come with hand brakes and can have a gear package. Some feature a freewheel hub that enables the rider to reverse the pedal. Blocks made of steel or aluminum are other typical characteristics.

4. Kids 20-inch Wheel Bikes  (5 to 10 years)

With 20-inch sizes, gear packs, hand brakes, and suspension systems are beginning to reveal a lot more. Words such as road bike, mountain bike, and a cruiser will also start to be used. In other words, at this stage, specialization begins to creep in, taking with it a range of types and functions.

5. BMX Bikes

In the 20-inch domain, there is another type of bike that you could hear your child begging you for. BMX bikes were born out of the world of motocross motorcycles and initially were mostly about dirt racing with jumps and banked turns on tracks. They have a lot wider appeal now, mainly because of their longevity and style. Typically, BMX bikes come with single speed, lightweight frames, and knobby tires.

Suggested Read: Why are Single Speed Bikes preferred over Gear Bikes for Early Childhood Riders

Find the Right Kids Bike Size

The easiest and most reliable way to guarantee a proper bike fit is to use the child’s inseam in comparison to the bike’s seat height. To decide the saddle height of a bike, the frame, and the wheel size work together.

• Measure your child’s inseam – Although most bike producers base their size on the age or height of your kid, we still suggest using the inseam instead.
• Narrow Down Wheel Size – Find the one or two types of bike wheel scale they fall under by using your child’s inseam. In general, it’s easier to buy a bigger wheel size as long as your child’s inseam is good for the vehicle. Larger wheels are more durable and provide more space for development.
• Finding the right kids’ seat – As opposed to the inseam of the kid, the right fit of a bike is dependent on the saddle height of the bike. However, the saddle height on a bike can be adjusted accordingly depending on whether the child is a novice, is seasoned, or uses training wheels.

Suggested Read: Bike Sizes Matter. It Affects Kids’ Riding Experience. Choose the Right One.

How to measure your child’s inseam?

The Inseam (inside leg length) length of your child is one of the better variables to determine whether to pick the height of the child’s bike. That is the distance measurement between the child’s groin and the surface. When they are sitting on the bike, check whether the child can hit the floor(ground) with both feet on both sides.

Take a look at the simple chart below, according to the inseam definition, to check the combinations ideally fit for your child, and narrow down wheel size based on inseam:

We also classified them into three groups, such as Balance Cycle, Bike with Stabilizers/Training Wheels, and Pedal Bike, to simplify the stages of childhood and their related bike styles. From the baby age with balance bikes to the early childhood age with training wheels, to the late childhood age with pedal bikes; this will suggest how a child develops at the right level of their physical developmental growth with their riding experience along with the right bike scale.

Group 1 Balance Bicycle	Group 2 Bicycle with Training Wheels	Group 3 Pedal Bike and more
The estimated seat height of a balance bike will range from 1 inch to 1.5 inch below the child's inseam, having their knees slightly bent and foot flat on the ground. This would enable the child to run on the bike adeptly.	The estimated seat height for a bike with training wheels will range from 0 to 3 inches above the child's inseam. Here, we see two types of benefit for a learning rider. One is, a child should be able to stop the bike with their feet (tip toes or flat feet) on the ground while seated; and second, they could use the brakes.	Pedal bike without training wheels allow the child to immaculately stop and start the bike with confidence, without falling off, and with their foot touching the ground while seated on the bike. Here, the seat height should be equivalent to the child's inseam. Gradually, the seat can be raised for better pedaling regulation.

Quick  TIPS on Kids Bike and Kids Bike size

• Nothing is as helpful as watching your kid really try out a real bike.
• Make sure that the bike suits your boy, not the other way around.
• Especially during their late and early childhood years, there is no idea of ‘your child can develop into it’. They’re going to outgrow it too, someday.
• Try to get suggestions from a seasoned specialist on your bike buying plan; it could save your time scouting online and/or offline for responses.
• It is nice to be careful and show your kid how to be healthy, along with having fun, no matter where and where your kid drives.

Suggested Read: How To Choose The Right Size Balance Bike For Your Child

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, what we also ought to know is the way we choose our bikes as adults by reference to frame size is obviously not how we choose the correct kids. Therefore, take one step at a time. In the long run, you can plan to buy a bike that can last longer when your child has grown enough to know how to maintain it.

We believe the guides and guidelines mentioned in this article were of value to you in choosing a perfect bike for your child.

If you would like to read our other articles on Kids Bikes, visit the link below:

kidsbikesadvisor.com/