Best Bikes for Kids Learning to Ride—Whether They're Age 2 or Age 8

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Learning to ride a bike is such a fun milestone, but it's one I put off with my first child. In conversations with friends and coworkers, I found plenty of other people who never got their preschooler a balance bike, never taught their kindergartner how to ride, and who subsequently realized their school kid needed a bike—and lessons.

Our top picks:

• Best overall: Woom GO 3

• Best value: Huffy

• Best for learning to ride: Guardian

• Best balance bike: Strider Rocking Bike

I did better with my second. He started on a balance bike at age 3 and was pedaling by 5. Between the two kids, I probably purchased five different bikes, because (surprise surprise) they kept growing and needing new ones.

Woom GO 3

Huffy 16" Bike with Removable Training Wheels

Guardian Bike

Strider Sport 2-in-1 Rocking Bike

Mongoose Legion L60 Kids Freestyle BMX Bike

How I chose the best kids bikes

I'm a journalist and a mom of two who has been reporting on the juvenile product industry for 25 years. My colleagues at the Good Housekeeping Institute and I have reviewed Woom, Guardian, and Strider bikes as part of our annual Parenting Awards and Toy Awards , which means we saw them in our offices and also got feedback from consumer testers. I'm familiar with Huffy from my own children's use and my nieces who learned to ride in the last five years. Mongoose came highly recommended from families outside the Institute and the brand earns strong online reviews.

What to look for when shopping for the best kids bikes

"The best bike is one that gets ridden. If a kid tests a bike and it feels good, that's their bike!" says Steve Finkelstein, founder of ProfessorPedals.com , which offers bike tutors in New York state.

He's a huge fan of local bike shops. "They offer assistance in selecting bikes, make adjustments on site, offer reliable brands with warranties, and usually give free tune-ups within the first year," he says. Plus they'll assemble a bike for you.

Be that as it may, many of us buy online. In that case, you'll especially want to consider these other points:

✔️ Cost:"While any bike is better than no bike, when possible parents should consider increasing their budget," says Natalie Martins, founder of the bike-centric blog Two Wheeling Tots . "Lower-end budget bikes are often heavy and designed to be 'throw away bikes,' so replacement parts are not available."

Brian Hackford, former owner of a bike shop in Pennsylvania, agrees that you generally get what you pay for. He also points out that, "As the bike gets larger, the price generally increases."

Parents have some secrets for saving. "I recommend finding a nonprofit used bicycle sales situation," one dad staffer told us. "You can donate old bikes your kids outgrow and get a 'new' used bike for less. Where I am, in Birmingham, we have a place called Redemptive Cycles . In New York City there's Recycle-a-Bicycle ."

✔️ Size:Choose carefully, for both comfort and safety. " If a bike is too big or too heavy, it's hard to control," says Hackford. He likens it to running in sneakers five sizes too large. "It's just not fun," he says.

On the flip side, if the bike is too small, a child's weight is pushed over the front end, increasing the risk of flipping. Plus there are maximum height settings on the seat. "Too often we see the seat post on bikes raised past the minimum insertion line," Hackford says. "We've seen seat posts break, and that can cause serious injuries."

See our guide to finding the right bike size in the next section below.

✔️ Material:Our experts, including Hackford, vote for aluminumfor its light weight, and that is what Woom bikes use. That said, steel bikes are less expensive, so you'll find those on our list, too.

✔️ Tires:We noticed that most kids bike tires are somewhat nubby and are about 2- to 2.4-inches wide, so it's probably not something you need to go searching for. Your kid might want a bike with a mountain bike or BMX look. But super fat, nubby tires are not necessary.

"Fat tires are not the most efficient on pavement, they're more for sand. Big tires are slower and harder to turn," says Finkelstein. "That said, if a kid likes a bike and will ride it because of the tires, then that is great and don't worry about it! But I do suggest standard tires for more efficient riding, especially for those who struggle with endurance or strength. Also, the thicker, fatter tires tend to be more costly to replace."

✔️ "Boy bike" or "girl bike?":"It's nice to buy a neutral colorso a bike can be passed down, but it may be hard to convince your kids of this idea," says Finkelstein. "If possible, I'd suggest using accessories like bells, hand grips, and other items to colorize a neutral bike to make it their own."

How to find the right size bike

Each brand assigns ages to its wheel sizes. Hackford had his own guidelines he used at his bike shop. "Fit will obviously vary based on the growth of the child and there will be exceptions to the rules, but the shop was in business for about 75 years and used these guidelines for a long time," he says. They are:

12" wheels — ages 2 to 4

16" wheels — ages 4 to 6

20" wheels — ages 6 to 8

24" wheels — ages 8 to 12

26" wheels and above — teens and adults

Martins adds that inseam should also be taken into consideration. (Here is how Guardian bikes suggest you measure you child's inseam .) "For beginning riders, the saddle of a bike should be set to match the child's inseam. This allows them to easily start the bike with a push as well as use their feet to stop while they are still learning the mechanics of riding," she says.

For experienced riders, the saddle should be set two to three inches above a child's inseam. "This allows the child to have proper leg extension on the pedals to allow for the most efficient pedal stroke," Martins says.

When can kids learn to ride a bike?

Age 4 is when most kids are ready to pedal , according to Stanford Children's Health. But every child is different. Some will want to use training wheels. Others might not be mentally ready for the challenge of riding a bike, even with training wheels, until they're age 8. You'll be the best judge of your child's readiness.

Learning to balance

I saw firsthand the difference between my eldest learning to ride a pedal bike at age 6, using training wheels as a crutch, versus my baby, shown, who got a balance bike at age 3. My kid with a balance bike graduated to pedaling without any help!

USA Cycling recommends either a balance bike or training wheels and lists pros for both. But bicycling.com suggests skipping training wheels and teaching an older child to glide on a pedal bike as if it is a balance bike. ("The glide method.") That's also what Finkelstein does for lessons.

"Balance bikes are great for building skills in balance and movement," Finkelstein says. "But they come at a price. A cost-effective option is to take the pedals off of a bicycle and basically create a balance bikewithout additional cost." That's what I should have done with my oldest kid!

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Testing strategies at the Good Housekeeping Institute are overseen by Lexie Sachs Executive Director, Strategy & Operations. A mom of two, Sachs also tests many products, including kids bikes. She also helms award programs like the annual Family Travel Awards .

This article was written by Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn , a journalist and mother of two who has specialized in writing about kids products for several decades, previously at Parents magazine.

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