If you’re wondering “Which kids bike should I buy?” start with size. Letting your child pick a bike with colors and designs they like is important, but when it comes to ensuring they enjoy riding, making sure their bike fits them properly is far more crucial! A properly sized bike allows the child to stand over it, feet flat on the ground, and comfortably reach the handlebars and brakes. Avoid buying a bike your child will “grow into.” Instead, consider age and skill. Balance bikes are excellent for toddlers to learn balance, while pedal bikes (often with coaster brakes) are great for preschoolers. As your child grows, you can buy a bike with hand brakes and gears. Take the “Help Me Choose a Kids Bike” quiz above to narrow down your options!

Children can start riding bikes at various ages, beginning with baby walkers or balance bikes as early as 12 months to 3 years old. These learner bikes help them master balance and coordination. From her, most kids will transition to their first pedal bike between the ages of 3 and 6. The average age for kids to ride a bike without training wheels is typically 4 to 7 years old, but this can vary depending on their individual development, confidence, and experience with learner bikes, like balance bikes.

Baby walkers are a type of kids bike intended for infants around 12 to 24 months old, who cannot yet walk independently. Baby walkers consist of a stable frame on wheels, with a seat that allows the baby to touch the floor and propel themselves around. Unlike a normal balance bike, baby walkers don’t have to be held upright by the child, they are inherently stable on their own. They’re a great choice to help infants develop motor skills and coordination.

A balance bike is a training bicycle designed for young children, typically toddlers aged 18 months to 4 years. Balance bikes have a traditional bicycle frame, but don’t have pedals or a chain. Instead, children propel these bikes by pushing off the ground with their feet, learning to intuitively balance and steer. This focus on balance allows kids to transition more easily and confidently to a pedal bike later in life. In fact, many kids who train on a balance bike will end up skipping the need for training wheels altogether! This makes them excellent first bikes to develop cycling skills.

Most kids learn to ride a pedal bike between the ages of 3 and 8, depending on coordination, interest level, and practice. Some kids are riding a pedal bike without training wheels by age 3, for others the training wheels don’t come off until years later. One good indicator is your child’s performance on a balance bike. If they show good coordination on a balance bike, then they may be ready for a traditional pedal bike! On average, most children aged 1 to 4 years are best riding tricycles or balance bikes. Some move to a pedal bike with training wheels as early as 2 to 3 years, others between the ages of 4 and 6. By age 6 to 8, almost all children have taken off the training wheels and are ready to ride on a lightweight kids bike!

Kids may start riding bikes without training wheels at anywhere from 3 to 7 years old. Children who start on balance bikes often learn to balance first, and may transition to a pedal bike without ever needing training wheels, sometimes as young as 3 or 4. For those who use training wheels, the transition to riding a bicycle independently might occur a bit later, commonly between ages 5 and 7, once they've mastered pedaling and are ready to learn how to balance.

The cost of the best kids bikes varies, but can range from around $50 to $400 or more, depending on several factors. Balance bikes and smaller single-speed pedal bikes (12” to 16” wheels) are the most affordable kids bikes, and can be anywhere from $50 to $250. As kids bikes get larger (20” to 24” wheels) they also begin to include features like gears and hand brakes, so the price tends to increase, with models costing between $200 and $400.

The best way to measure a bike for a child is by matching wheel diameter and inseam. Purchase a bike with a wheel diameter that is slightly under or equal to your child’s inseam (their inside leg length, from groin to foot). For example, if your 5-year-old has an inseam between 18 and 16 inches, search for bikes with 16-inch wheels. Once their inseam is around 20 inches or slightly above, you can move up to the next category and look for bikes with 20-inch wheels. To make your search easier, our kids bikes aren’t just grouped by wheel size, but by age, as well. Take our “Help Me Choose a Kids Bike” quiz to see the bikes that best match your child’s age and needs!

The easiest way to know if a bike is too small for your child is the “standing test.” When your child stands over their bike with their feet flat on the ground, there should be no more than 1-2 inches of space between their groin and the top tube of the bike frame. If there’s more space than this, their bike is likely too small. Another sign that a bike is too small for your child is if their knees are heavily bent on the pedals even when at the bottom of their rotation, or if their elbows are heavily bent on the handlebars when riding.

The choice between coaster brakes (back-pedal brakes) and hand brakes for kids bikes largely depends on the child’s age, size, and coordination. Coaster brakes are often found on smaller bikes for very young riders (around 2-5 years old) as they can be more intuitive than hand levers for this age group. However, hand brakes provide better stopping power and control, and learning to use them is an essential skill as they are standard on larger children's bikes and all adult bikes. The best solution for practicing riders is to use a bike that offers both, allowing kids to learn hand brake operation while still having the familiar coaster brake as a backup. Our smallest kids bikes with hand brakes are found in our 16-inch bikes collection, Koda Plus and Beaumont Mini, both of which feature a rear coaster brake in addition to a front hand brake. The best of both worlds!

It depends on your state. The laws vary state-by-state, but many states restrict ebikes to above a certain age (often 15 or 16 years). See a full list of state-by-state ebike laws at People For Bikes. Keep in mind that whether or not your child legally can ride an ebike does not mean they should ride an ebike. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that children under the age of 13 should not operate any motorized wheeled vehicle (such as an ebike) that can travel faster than 10 mph.