Best kids’ bikes 2024: Children’s bike recommendations for every age

Cyclist
Best kids’ bikes 2024: Children’s bike recommendations for every age

The best kids’ bikes make learning to ride as easy and enjoyable as possible. And whether you’re a cycling enthusiast or not, it’s impossible not to find joy in teaching your child how to roll on two wheels. Watching a little one master their balance and get to grips with cycling is right up there with the top parenting moments.

But to help them along, you’ll first need to invest in a children’s bike that can properly support their learning.

Whichever stage you’re at in your child’s relationship with cycling, our buyer’s guide is here to help. From toddlers to teens, this article will point you in the right direction for the best children’s bikes for all ages. For beginners from six months to six years, take a look at our guide to the best balance bikes, which includes a full list of pedalless options to make learning to ride a little easier.

Best kids’ bikes

This list is organised by wheel size.

1. Cube Cubie 120 Walk 12-inch: RRP £199
2. Strider Sport 12-inch: RRP £130
3. Hoozar Cruz 12 12-inch: RRP £199
4. Hornit Airo 14-inch: RRP £189
5. Woom Original 2 14-inch: RRP £380
6. Early Rider Belter 14-inch: RRP £399
7. Prevelo Zulu one 14-inch: RRP £529.95
8. Frog 44 16-inch: RRP £390
9. Black Mountain Skog 16-inch: RRP £499
10. Ridgeback MX16 16-inch: RRP £219.99
11. Guardian Bikes Ethos 16-inch: RRP $289
12. Squish 18 Junior Hybrid 18-inch: RRP £339.99
13. BTwin Riverside 900 20-inch: RRP £299.99
14. Specialized Riprock 20-inch: RRP £629
15. Trek Precaliber 24 24-inch: RRP £325
16. Scott Scale 24-inch: RRP £519

How to choose the right children’s bike

What size bike does my child need?

Many brands will have their own height or age recommendations. However, here is a rough guide to matching bicycle and rider by using the diameter of the wheel.

Size and age guide

How much should I spend?

Don’t put your tot off cycling for life by getting them a sub-standard bike. While it’s not necessary to spend loads, really cheap kids’ bikes will make learning harder and might not even last until they’re outgrown. Better to spend a bit, then look to swap with other parents later.

Smaller kids’ bikes cost less. The cheapest decent 12-inch wheeled bikes start around £150. Each size increase tends to add around £20 to £40 to this. By the time you get to 24-inch wheeled bikes the addition of gears and other components causes a rapid jump. From here on in expect to pay almost the same you would for an adult bike.

Should I fit stabilisers?

Almost all bikes up to and including a 20-inch wheel will accept stabilisers, and some will even come bundled with them. Although fixing on this extra set of wheels will allow your child to get riding straight away, we’re not fans. The reason is it’s impossible to learn to balance with them fitted, so removing them will feel like a backwards step.

Using a balance bike is a much better alternative. These crankless bikes allow kids to scoot along, teaching balance without ever building enough speed to get themselves in trouble.

Why take our word for it?

We live and breathe bikes at Cyclist, so we know what works. While we’re a little too tall to ride these bikes ourselves, we have the knowledge and experience (and children) to pick out the features that matter in a kid’s bike.

All the kids’ bikes featured here are from reputable brands that we’d consider for our own children.

Our pick of the best kids’ bikes from balance bikes to 24″

Cube Cubie 120 Walk 12in children’s bike

£199 | View offer

• Pneumatic tyres and carry handle
• Two seatposts so can swap once they outgrow the shorter one

Cube’s balance bike is simple and lightweight. It offers low standover height and pneumatic tyres on the 12in wheels for a comfortable ride. A steering limiter helps prevent crashes.

Cube includes a carry handle under the saddle, so the Cubie is easier to carry when they get tired of riding. The bike comes with a second seatpost, so you can size up when they start to grow out of the first.

• Buy now from Tredz (£199)

Strider Sport 12in wheel children’s balance bike

£114.95 (RRP £130) | View offer

• Affordable, adaptable first bike
• Reasonably lightweight at 2.9kg

If your child is between the ages of 18 months and five years, you may want to consider getting them started on a balance bike. Balance bikes don’t have pedals, with the rider instead using their feet on the floor to control the movement.

This is particularly handy when it comes to getting young children used to the ideas of balance and steering before they’re ready for the real thing.

The Strider Sport is a particularly affordable and adaptable option in the world of balance bikes: rather than forcing you to buy a new balance bike every time your child has a growth spurt, this design has an adjustable seat post that can match up with inside leg measurements anywhere between 27cm and 48cm.

The handlebars can be raised in accordance with this, and the saddle can be replaced if you end up needing a bigger one.

The Strider Sport has a sturdy steel frame but an impressively low weight of just 2.9kg. Its one-piece composite wheels come with EVA foam tyres, which should stand the test of time as your child grows.

• Buy now from Amazon (£114.95)

Hoozar Cruz 12: 12in wheel balance bike

£120 | View offer

• Grippy, comfortable pneumatic tyres
• Rear brake for more control

A feature-packed introduction to cycling. The 12in wheel Hoozar balance bike features a rear brake. Useful in its own right, getting familiar with stopping means one less thing to learn when your youngster makes the leap up to a pedal-powered machine.

Other features are equally grown-up, like the bike’s conventional pneumatic tyres. Requiring occasional attention to keep inflated, they’re nevertheless far more grippy and comfortable than solid options. Other neat touches include an aluminium frame with a steering limiter, plus pads on the stem and grips to prevent unwanted bumps.

• Buy now from Hoozar (£120)

Hornit Airo 14in

£189 | View offer

• 4.18kg claimed weight
• Lifetime warranty

Hornit claims its slightly larger balance bike weighs just 4.18kg. It also sells a 12in balance bike for beginners. It looks stylish, with its magnesium alloy split frame and this larger size comes with a rear brake. Comfort comes from alloy wheels with pneumatic tyres and there are built-in footrests, so little one can get used to balancing and gliding.

While the 12in Airo will suit kids with inside legs from 30cm to 46cm – so from around 18 months old – the 14in is designed for 40cm to 53cm inside leg, which Hornit says should be most kids from three and a half years old. There’s a shorter seatpost available for the 12in model too. Hornit offers a lifetime warranty on its bikes too.

• Buy now from Hornit (£189)

Woom Original 2 14in wheel children’s bike

£379.99 | View offer

• Kid sized components
• Two brakes, with the rear colour-coded green

Woom’s bikes come in a range of six sizes from 12in balance bikes all the way up to 26in bikes for kids from 10 to 14 years old. There’s a great range of bright colours too.

The Woom 2 is the first option with pedals and would, according to Woom, suit rides from age three to four and a half. The 5kg weight isn’t too much for smaller riders and the bike comes equipped with both front and rear brakes, with the rear colour-coded green. A removeable rubber ring between the frame and the fork helps to keep the bike in a straight line and the components fitted are kid-size.

• Buy now from Woom (£379.99)

Early Rider Belter 14in wheel children’s bike

£399 | View offer

• Alloy frame and fork help keep weight low
• Low maintenance belt drive

Early Rider aims to keep its bikes light with an alloy frame and fork, alloy wheels, bar, stem and seatpost helping to keep the bike down to a respectable 5.5kg. That’s important, as lugging around a heavy bike is hard work for smaller kids, so the Early Rider Belter should be appreciated by its owner.

Aimed at three-to-five-year-olds with a 36.5cm standover, the bike comes with a belt drive single speed drivetrain, so it’s low maintenance and the wide 2in tyres give it ride-anywhere capabilities. Front and rear brakes are sized for smaller hands. The Belter comes with wheel size options up to 24in to suit older kids as well.

• Buy now from Early Rider (£399)

Prevelo Zulu One

£425 | View offer

• Junior mountain bike for exploring
• Single speed drivetrain for easy maintenance

The Prevelo Zulu is the ideal beginner’s mountain bike aimed at three-to-five-year-olds, with an inseam from 14 to 17in.

It has a single speed drivetrain, so it’s low maintenance, and 14in tyres which means it can literally go anywhere.

The Zulu One comes with front and rear Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with reach adjustable short levers as well as custom made cranks created specifically for kids.

The bike also has a robust BOXT rear chainstays and seatstays, and BMX track style forged dropouts that shroud the rear axle, which make sure this bike is tough enough to survive being thrown around by even the most adventurous of kids.

• Buy now from Prevelo (£425)

Frog 44 16in wheel children’s bike

£330 (RRP £390) | View offer

• Reasonably lightweight
• Fully equipped with mudguards, reflectors and a bell

If your four-to-five-year-old is looking to rip it up on a pedal bike, the Frog 44 is a really strong contender to consider. This single-speed bike looks the part, with its strikingly simple frame design coupling nicely with a range of colourful paint job options (of which there are five to choose from).

The Frog 44 also has a lot of strong features: a bell, reflectors and mudguards are all included as standard, and the locking headset is perfect for learning the ropes when it comes to steering.

The whole bike weighs 6.39kg, meaning it’s still light enough to be easily transported around and for your sprog to pedal their way up those really big hills. A set of Kenda 16in tyres with a 1.5in width should also help with any early off-road adventures.

Basically, this is a brilliant little bike with a bit of an extra edge, which can serve as a great introduction to cycling.

• Buy now from Tweeks (£330)

Black Mountain Skog 16in wheel children’s bike

£499 | View offer

• Converts from a balance bike to pedal power
• Covers a wider age range than most kids’ bikes

The Epok Series Skog from Black Mountain is one of the most capable bikes on the market. It boasts a wide range of versatile features that allow it to adapt as your child grows: it begins as a pedal-free balance bike for toddlers, and grows into a fully-fledged bicycle suitable up to the ages of five.

There is also a stage in between to cover that tricky transition phase.

This impressive feat of adaptability is achieved through various means: the patented ‘growing triangle’ frame can shift between three modes; the gears and pedals are completely removable; the custom saddle has numerous height options; and the 14in wheels couple with 1.5in Kenda tyres to provide a smooth ride – whichever mode you have the bike in.

Despite all of those snazzy in-built features, the Pinto isn’t overly heavy: it weighs in at 6.1kg, thanks to its super-light aluminium frame. It may have a slightly higher price than some of the options on this list, but the Skog is basically three different bikes in one.

• Buy now from Black Mountain (£499)

Ridgeback MX16 16in wheel children’s bike

£219.99 | View offer

• Affordable option
• Comes with a chain guard and stabiliser wheels

Down at the lower end of the price spectrum, the Ridgeback MX16 offers all the proof you need that it’s possible to pick up a brilliant bike on a budget. This is a sturdy single-speed bike made from solid-yet-lightweight materials, and its 16in wheels make it perfect for children around the four-to-six age mark.

It’s an affordable option, but it still has the basic features you’d expect, and there’s very little to go wrong. The saddle and the handlebars can be raised or lowered to suit your child’s height, and a pair of stabilisers come included (although as above we don’t recommend using these).

• Buy now from Freewheel (£219.99)

Guardian Bikes Ethos 16in

$249 | View offer

• Single lever front and rear brakes are easier to use
• Quick adjust seatpost

US-based Guardian Bikes was funded via the US version of Dragon’s Den to develop its kids’ bike range, which has a unique single lever brake system that works on both wheels, to make stopping easier for kids and safer than the more usual coaster rear brake.

The steel frame should be robust and the bike is fitted out with tyres suitable for tarmac and off-tarmac use, and it comes with kid-sized parts and a quick-adjust seatpost so it’s easy to move it up as they grow. There’s a whole range of Guardian bikes from a balance bike right up to 26in wheels.

• Buy now from Guardian Bikes ($249)

Squish 18 Junior Hybrid 18in wheel children’s bike

£339.99 | View offer

• One of few intermediate sized options available
• Simple set-up helps to learn the basics

The brand claims this is ‘the perfect in-betweener’ as not every child is big enough, or confident enough, to jump straight from a 16in to a 20in wheel bike, so Squish offers this hybrid with 18in wheels.

Despite its larger size, it keeps things simple for children who are still getting to grips with cycling and so has a similar spec to the brand’s smaller bikes – that’s to say it’s a single-speed.

Aimed at children aged four and up, the bike is relatively light at 6.96kg.

BTwin Riverside 900 20in hybrid bike

£299.99 | View offer

• 9.3kg weight
• Equipped with front and rear lighting

As kids’ bikes get towards the size of adult bikes and they sprout gears and other extras, prices begin to head upward too. Decathlon helps out with a range of own-brand bikes, including MTB style, that are more affordable though.

We reckon this kids’ hybrid is a good option to suit six-to-nine-year-olds. Decathlon claims a 9.3kg weight, so it’s reasonably light. Its eight-speed gearing provides decent range and it has a brake levers sized for smaller hands and kid-length cranks. It’s specced with LED front and rear lights too.

• Buy now from Decathlon (£299.99)

Specialized Riprock 20in wheel children’s bike

£500 | View offer

• A junior mountain bike for proper off-road terrain
• Wide range nine-speed gearing

Whoa! Kids’ bikes have got serious. Serious in terms of capabilities, and also serious in terms of price. However, if your five-to-eight-year-old really loves off-roading adventures, the Specialized Riprock has a lot recommending it. Ideal for cycling holidays in challenging areas such as the Lake District, the Specialized Riprock comes with massively chunky tyres on its 20in wheels, plus hydraulic disc brakes and a super-wide single-ring drivetrain.

With a slack aluminium frame that takes its cues from radical adult-sized bikes, irregular terrain won’t be a problem. At the same time, its free-spinning range of nine gears includes a vast 42t easiest sprocket to make major inclines manageable.

Still light compared to less capable children’s bikes, it’s nevertheless very much aimed at off-road adventures and is designed to be robust. However, budding roadies may still want to look elsewhere. Either way, the Riprock makes the most of its extra capabilities by being a seriously sturdy option for rugged terrain.

There’s also a larger version of this bike, with 24in wheels, which would be suitable for 8-to 11-year-olds. Whichever size you go for, you’ll be picking a raucous bike for off-roading families.

Trek Precaliber 24 24in children’s bike

£325 | View offer

The Precaliber is sized for kids between eight and 12 years old, with a low centre of gravity, 24in wheels and eight speed derailleur gearing with low ratios, which is controlled via a twistgrip.

There’s an integrated handle in the saddle, in case the need help with balance still and a kickstand for stops. Kid-sized components help with comfort and control. While this model is aimed more at urban adventures, Trek offers a version that replaces the rigid steel fork with a suspension fork if it’s likely they will want to go somewhere more rugged.

• Buy now from Trek (£325)

Scott Scale 24in wheel children’s bike

£429 | View offer

• 2.4in MTB tyres
• Eight-speed gearing to handle diverse terrain

Another junior MTB option, the Scott Scale 24in has an alloy frame and fork to keep weight down and eight speed derailleur gears with a grip shifter to make a wide range of terrain accessible. Mechanical disc brakes provide confident stopping power and the 2.4in Kenda Booster tyres provide the grip to take on awkward off-road terrain.

The geometry is modern too, with a long, low frame that gives extra wheelbase length to keep the ride stable. There’s a 26in wheel size option for older kids as well and both the 24in and 26in bikes are available with a suspension fork.

…or join The Bike Club

Have you ever felt like buying a rapidly growing child a bike is a risky move? Of course you have, that’s why most of us grew up riding over- or under-sized bikes passed down from older siblings, cousins, friends and the like.

The Bike Club is essentially a bike rental service through which you can get your child the bike that is right for them, pay monthly and when they grow out of it trade it in for a bigger one.

For example, this Forme Cubley 14, a super-light 6kg aluminium bike recommended for three- and four-year-olds and built to withstand the British weather, costs under £10 per month.

There are loads of bikes on offer for all ages so why choose one of the above when you could have all of them?

For more information and to check out what you can get visit thebikeclub.co.uk.

Want to be able to ride further with your kids? Check out our guide to the best bike child seats.

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