Best kids’ bikes: How to choose the right bike for your children

The best kids' bikes will help give your children a quality ride experience, that can foster a love of cycling and help them learn a valuable new lifelong skill. 

There's always a temptation to buy large, but that's a mistake as they'll not enjoy a bike that is too large or too heavy for them. While balance bikes are all relatively similar, bikes designed for older children start to diversify into different categories with different end uses in mind. 

Below, we've picked a range of quality children's bikes that will give them the best experience, however old they are and whether they want to ride on the road or take to the trails. 

Keep in mind that most brands offer the same bike in a variety of sizes so if you like a particular bike but need a different size it's worth checking if it's available.  

It's important to kit them out properly too, and that starts with one of the best kids' bike helmets - we all fell off at that age! If they're too young to ride far, we've also got a guide to the best bicycle trailers for kids, while our kids' bike deals page may help you to find a bargain.

Read on for our pick of the best kids' bikes or head lower down the page for our guide to how to choose a children's bike to give them the best ride experience.

Best kids’ bikes: our picks

Best kids’ bikes for all ages

Balance bikes

If your child is between 18 months and five years old, you’ll likely want them to get on a balance bike, perfect for them to get used to steering and balancing on a bike before moving on to actual pedals. The Strider 12 Sport is an affordable option for getting your child on a balance bike. Helped by heaps of adjustability, it is perfect for taking your kid from baby steps to zooming around, without having to even get a toolkit out. In fact, the saddle can be dropped as far down as an industry-low 28 cm and be raised to 48 cm, whilst the handlebars are also adjustable. 

Whilst it has a sturdy feel to it, the bike comes in at just 2.9 kg. It also comes with wide, knobbly EVA foam tyres that will never go flat, but give your child lots of control on the bike. When your kids get up some speed on something like a small descent, the bike has handy footrests to allow them to get in a safe position and coast. It has no brake however so this is a bike for slow speeds and flat paths and trails.

The Alpha Zero is the entry point to Prevelo’s range of balance bikes. That doesn’t mean they’ve skimped on the specification though. It comes with a lightweight aluminium frame and forks and a chromoly steerer. An easy-to-reach brake lever is attached to a powerful Tektro V-brake for easy, safe stopping. You can customise your ride with coloured grips, and for $20 you can add the rider’s name on the frame; just like the pros. 

The bike is finished with great touches like rounded hex bolts so should your kid’s legs hit them they don’t get scratched. Another novel addition is the option to join Prevelo’s trade-up club for $69 a year. If you do, then when your kid grows out of their bike you can trade it in for the next model up with 40% off the original purchase price. 

The Hotwalk Carbon's frame is made from the brand's high-end Fact 9R carbon fibre and also rolls on tiny 12-inch carbon wheels. The result is an expensive, 2.1kg bike that, according to Specialized, will give your toddler enormous riding confidence thanks to the low weight and increased agility of the lightweight bike.

Another impressive design feature is Hotwalk’s composite cockpit. It features a carbon-fibre handlebar and special grips, which are 38% thinner in diameter than you’d find on a conventional flat bar. 

With its slimmer handlebar, tiny hands can find a more secure grip, boosting steering confidence and control when rolling along. And with those lightweight Specialized Rhythm Lite tyres and carbon rims, this new Hotwalk will roll faster than any other balance bike you can imagine. 

The LittleBig begins as a balance bike, suitable for kids as young as 2 to practice getting their coordination on a bike and give them that first bit of freedom to explore. That’s not all the bike is capable of though; simply flipping the rear end of the frame upside down converts the LittleBig into a larger balance bike with a higher saddle and a longer arm reach. This makes it perfect for any child who is still getting used to balancing but has outgrown the smaller balance bike.

Once they’ve mastered balancing the bike can be converted into their first pedal bike with a simple attachment. The lightweight frame comes with air-filled tyres and a set of high-performing v-brakes for safety. If you’re in the market for a more sustainable approach to getting your child into cycling, then this bike could be perfect for you.

12 and 14-inch bikes

The Gecko is small enough for the very smallest of riders and great for those who have mastered their balance bike and want their first pedal bike. The small 12-inch wheels and stretched-out geometry make it incredibly stable and easy for toddlers to put their feet on the ground when they are starting and stopping. There is a rear freewheel, and front and rear brakes so they can focus on learning to ride in the style of an adult bike from the start. 

The lightweight frame, easy gearing and 2 1/8-inch Kenda tyres mean this bike will excel from standing starts when heading uphill, and on the pump track. Compared to some others, it does have a fairly aggressive riding position, and whilst any kid should quickly master any riding position, if your child is a little on the cautious side, you may want to look elsewhere. 

Frog bikes have gained a reputation for quality, and the 43 is a perfect example of why. The Frog 43 is part of their “First Pedal” range, designed specifically to be a child’s first pedal bike. As you’d want for your young child, it’s a lightweight machine, meaning there should be no issues for newly-pedalling cyclists. The bike also comes with a simple single-speed gear with an easy-to-push gear ratio.

The aluminium wheels are both lightweight and strong enough to take a bit of a battering from your child. One brilliant addition is the two sets of tyres the bike comes with. The hybrid-style tyres are perfect for roads and smooth paths, whilst the knobbly set can be installed when your kid gets confident enough to take it on some muddier trails and paths. Powerful Tektro mini v-brakes finish off the bike and will give your child confidence with braking. 

16 and 20-inch bikes

Kids who start on a balance bike can sometimes have a really difficult time transitioning to a coaster brake on a larger bike. The Priority Start 16" uses a hand brake that's much easier to understand while also trying to learn how to stay upright. That's not even the best feature of the Priority Start though.

Instead, the best feature is the Gates carbon belt drive. While most kids of this size use shields for the chain, that only adds weight and complexity. Why not do away with all of it and go to a completely clean belt system? It requires no maintenance and if it gets left outside it will never rust. It's also much safer for curious little fingers. 

While Priority Bikes is US-only, Islabikes is a European-only option. It wasn't always like that though. For years after the brand left the US market there were bidding wars on used examples. The reason for their demand is all about sizing. 

Professional cyclist and triple British cyclo-cross champion Isla Rowntree spent her racing career dealing with sizing issues in her bikes. She understood the importance of proper fit and when she started answering questions from friends about their kids' bikes, she realised the challenges were the same. The most obvious answer to this from Islabikes is the sheer number of sizes available but it actually goes way beyond that. 

Yes, there are a variety of size options but every single size of every bike they sell fits the riders it's for. Many kids' bikes make use of off-the-shelf components that are too large for small hands or too wide for small hips. Islabikes custom specs everything to fit the rider's need. If you care about exact sizing, Islabikes is the place to look. 

The Spawn Yama Jama is a serious bit of kit. A sturdy aluminium frame, aggressive off-road tyres, and high-quality parts make this bike ready to take anything your kid can throw at it. The hand-laid carbon fibre fork, with lockout, 15mm thru-axle and 80mm of travel should give you an idea of how Spawn expects your little one to use this bike. 

130mm cranks offer up suitable crank lengths for your youngsters, but the SRAM pattern direct-mount chainring interface means chainrings can be swapped in and out, and the sealed external bottom bracket keeps things spinning smoothly. The groupset is SRAM's 10-speed GX, pairing a 30T chainring with a 10-36T cassette. Tektro's Auriga hydraulic discs provide the stopping power. 

As expected, there’s plenty of saddle and handlebar height adjustment as well, so the bike can grow with your child. 

While adult bikes have become increasingly all-road capable, kids' bikes are lagging behind the trend. There are excellent on-road bikes and excellent off-road bikes, but should kids have to choose? The Trek Wahoo 20 is an option that lets your kids go anywhere. It's not the most serious off-road bike but it's versatile enough that it's not going to hold kids back. 

Beyond that, it's also a quality-built bike. The frame is a lightweight aluminium and it's specced with a Shimano 1x8 drivetrain. Part of making sure it works on all surfaces is gearing and that means here you've got easier gears than most road bikes. For small legs that aren't as used to climbing, those gears will be welcome no matter the surface. 

24 and 26-inch bikes

This is a serious piece of kit for any aspiring mountain biker. The huge 2.8-inch tyres, sturdy aluminium frame and 70mm Suntour suspension fork make it perfect for some tough love as a first off-road bike. The eight-speed Shimano gears mean your kid will be fine going uphill and the Tektro disc brakes will take care of them heading downhill.

The dropped-frame design means there’s plenty of room to grow with this bike, so long as they can push the weight of what is a sturdy bike. This is an ideal bike for a child who is growing more confident with riding and is looking to push their skills to the next level off-road or on the trails with their parents. 

Giant claims that the aluminium frame at the centre of this bike is the lightest in its category, meaning it should zip up climbs with ease. They can’t see why lightweight bikes need to be the preserve of the MAMIL, so have designed the ARX to be lighter, quicker and therefore more fun for younger riders.

The frame features a low centre of gravity to help with handling and stability, to which they’ve fitted ever-reliable Shimano shifters. The 1.5-inch tyres will allow your kids to ride with speed and confidence on road, gravel and even some dirt. The bike has an adjustable saddle and handlebar positions to allow the bike to grow alongside your child.

Frog has a great reputation for making great value do-it-all bikes for good reason, and the Frog 73 is a prime example of what it has to offer. The Frog 73 is built from lightweight aluminium, and the whole bike comes in at an impressive 10kg. The bike is kitted out with 8-speed Shimano gears and powerful Tektro bikes. 

As your child begins to crave more independence, they’ll want a bike that can do it all and the 1.5-inch hybrid tyres are ideal for mixed riding both on and off-road, allowing them to go almost wherever they want when exploring. 

Electric bikes

The idea of an electric kids' bike might sound radical but it's happening. And may be useful if you live in hilly or challenging terrain. Woom already makes some of the best kids' bikes on the market. The Woom Up range starts with the Woom Up 5. The Up 6 is the next size up and a mountain bike with some of the best components available to kids. Things like thru-axles, and hydraulic disc brakes, that you just don't find elsewhere - then they add a Fazua electric motor to the mix.

The Fazua system is well-known in adult electric bikes. In this case, it's updated to make it work even better for kids. Its removability has always been its strength. The battery and motor are one unit. Remove them and the bike is useable without assistance. For the Woom Up 6, the system has a lower assisted top speed but it's still got the power to help kids keep up with the rest of the family.

UK electric bike laws mean that a 24-inch wheeled bike probably means off-road use only given the age range associated with the sizing. With that in mind many of the, already limited, brands offering electric bikes don't make them available in the UK at all. For those in the UK that leaves the Cube Acid 240 Hybrid Rookie Pro as one of the only options available. 

The Cube Acid 240 Hybrid Rookie Pro might be pretty much all that's available right now but it's a solid choice. The electric system builds off a Bosch mid-drive system. It's often considered the best electric bike system on the market and in this case while power output scales for a smaller bike, the power to weight should be similar to adult bikes. 

If you like the idea of riding with your kid, they will have the same power to shred trails as you. If they have to push it there's a walk mode that will help with the added weight of the bike also.

How to choose

There's a lot to think about when choosing the best kids' bike for your child. That starts with sizing, but where they'll ride, weight and adjustability as they grow are all important considerations.

Here's our guide to how to choose the best kids' bikes for your children.