Kids bike types explained

Six categories cover every kids bicycle sold: balance bikes (no pedals), first pedal bikes (single speed, 12–16 inch), big-kid bikes (geared, 20–26 inch), kids mountain bikes (geared with knobbly tyres and often suspension), electric balance bikes (throttle, no pedals) and tricycles (three wheels, direct drive). Within each, wheel diameter is the real classifier.

Why the category matters less than the measurement

Retailers sort kids bikes by age band because age is the only thing a gift buyer knows. It is also the least useful classifier available: in this registry two different 16-inch bikes disagree by nearly four inches of minimum saddle height, which is more variation than exists between some wheel sizes.

So read the category to decide what kind of bike your child needs, and read the inseam to decide which one. The chart that joins the two is the kids bike size chart.

Category by category

Tricycles

Three wheels, direct drive through the front wheel, and no freewheel — the pedals turn whenever the wheel turns. A trike teaches pedalling and nothing about balance, which is why it is a toy for a one- or two-year-old rather than a step toward a bicycle. Ours are compared on best tricycles for kids.

Balance bikes

A frame, two wheels, a saddle and no drivetrain at all. The child walks, then scoots, then glides. This is the category that does the real work, because balance is the hard part of riding a bicycle and pedalling is not. Weights here run from 6.4 lb to 12.5 lb, and the deciding spec is minimum saddle height.

First pedal bikes

Single speed, 12 to 16 inch wheels, and either a coaster brake, hand levers, or both. This is the most crowded and most variable category on the market: the same 16-inch label covers a 12.1 lb aluminum bike and a 26 lb steel one.

Big-kid bikes

20 to 26 inch wheels with seven or eight gears on a single chainring. Gears, hand brakes and real tyre volume turn the bike from a toy into transport. The threshold for gears is terrain, not age — see when do kids need gears.

Kids mountain bikes

Mechanically a big-kid bike with knobbly tyres, disc brakes and sometimes a suspension fork. The fork is the thing to scrutinise: on a lightweight child a cheap coil fork barely moves and adds three or four pounds. Our picks are on best kids mountain bikes.

Electric balance bikes

A throttle, a hub motor and no pedals, usually 12 to 20 inch. They are classified separately because the deciding spec is not fit but speed cap and battery certification. We cover them on best kids electric bikes.

The categories that overlap

Two products sit deliberately between categories. A convertible balance bike such as the Strider 14x takes a separate pedal kit, so one frame covers the balance and first-pedal stages. And a 12-inch pedal bike occupies a strange gap: by the time a child's legs fit one, a 14-inch is usually the better buy, which is why we rarely recommend the size.

How to use this to shop

Three questions, in order. Can they balance? If not, a balance bike regardless of age. Do they pedal confidently? If yes, a first pedal bike sized by inseam. Do they meet hills? If yes, a geared big-kid bike. Everything else — colour, suspension, basket, brand — comes after those three answers.

If you are not yet sure which kind of bike you are sizing, the six categories — trike, balance bike, first pedal, big kid, mountain and electric — are set out on kids bike types explained.

Two pages go deeper than this chart can: the categories themselves are explained on kids bike types explained, and the single most-asked size question is answered on what age is a 16 inch bike.

For the 16-inch side on its own — every model in our registry and the inseam each one needs — see what age is a 16 inch bike.

Saddle height is the first of four settings. Handlebar height, reach and brake lever position are covered on kids bike riding position.

Fit is one constraint; the published rider weight limit is the other. Every figure we can find is tabulated on kids bike weight limits.