How to Choose the Best Kids Bike
Seeing your little one pedalling off is one of the proudest moments for any parent, but before we can get that far we have to choose the best kids bike for them. For most parents that raises some head scratching questions. Thankfully you’re already in the ideal place to answer those questions! So let’s get started…
What size bike do I need?
This is by far the most important question as it will have a huge impact on your child’s enjoyment of riding their new bike. You can get a rough idea of sizing based on your child’s age. Unfortunately, as any child who’s turned up for their first day of school with their trousers halfway up their shins knows; what fits one 7 year old might not fit another. That’s why we recommend sizing based on inner leg length. This method means they’ll always be able to reach the floor properly and have the perfect experience.
To find out how to measure your child’s inner leg length read our handy guide here.
Use the chart above as a guide to narrow down your search for the perfect bike. Alternatively put your child’s age and height into our interactive bike finder to see all the bikes that will fit them.
What brand of kids bike should I choose?
You can be safe in the knowledge that Bike Club only works with the absolute best kids bike brands like Frog, Forme and Woom. That means all of our bikes are premium quality and lightweight. It used to be the case that kids bikes were designed and built simply as scaled down versions of adult bikes. That meant that they were heavy and used parts that were designed for grown up hands. Thankfully all of our brands are designed with kids in mind and are tested on some of the toughest little critics before they ever reach the general public.
If you want to learn more about our brands, then check out our battle of the brands rundown here.
Do I need Stabilisers?
We always recommend starting kids off on balance bikes rather than using stabilisers. Learning balance is often the hardest part of riding and so starting out with a balance bike that strips everything else out of the equation is the best bet. That means when your child moves on to a pedal bike they’ll be up and pedalling much faster. Even if your child is on a pedal bike, you can ditch the pedals and drop the saddle for a time and use it as a balance bike.
That said we do know that some kids just don’t get on with balance bikes, so if you want to use stabilisers, we do provide them. It’s worth noting that they don’t fit bikes with gears.
What type of bike do I need?
In a world where road bikes seem to be everywhere and hybrid bikes that you ride on the road aren’t actually road bikes!? Knowing what type of bike you need for your child can be confusing. For most parents the only question you need to ask is ‘what size do I need?’ Most kids bikes will be hybrids designed to work well on all terrains – and excel in parks and trails. It’s only if your child is a budding Mark Cavendish that you’ll need to look at a road bike (specifically designed to be lightweight with skinny tyres and a curved handlebar for racing). Or if you happen to be a keen mountain biker yourself and want to bring your child along for the ride, then you’ll need to look at a specialist mountain bike with knobbly tyres and suspension.
How safe are the bikes?
We’re proud to be able to say our bikes are the safest out there. Our team of expert mechanics complete the most thorough safety check procedure in the industry. That’s true of all our bikes whether they are brand new or pre-Loved, and that means you can be secure in the knowledge that whichever kids bike you choose, will be the right one. Plus you know that using Bike Club is always the sustainable option.