Best girls' bikes with a basket

Four bikes in our registry arrive with a basket already fitted, and all four are Schwinn: the Elm in 12, 14 and 16 inch, and the Elise 16. They also come with removable training wheels and a chainguard. The trade-off is weight — every one of them is heavier than a comparable bike without the extras.

Why the basket matters, and why it does not

It matters because a five-year-old who has somewhere to put a toy rides further and rides more often. That is not a small thing — the best bike is the one that gets used, and a basket gives a child a reason to go somewhere rather than just around.

It does not matter because a basket is a strap and two bolts. Almost any kids bike takes an aftermarket front basket, and fitting one to a lighter bike gets you a better bike with the same feature. What you are really buying from Schwinn is the convenience of it arriving assembled and matching.

The weight cost, stated plainly

All four of these are steel bikes with steel rims, and they weigh accordingly. Against the lightest 16-inch bikes in our registry the gap is substantial:

The CDC median five-year-old is about 40 lb, so the Elise 16 is 55% of the rider — the equivalent of a 99 lb bicycle under a 180 lb adult. A woom or Prevelo at this size is around half that. If your child is small for five, that gap will decide whether the bike gets ridden.

No published saddle heights — plan for it

Schwinn publishes total bike weight for every model here and a saddle height for none of them. That means you cannot check the fit before it arrives. Two things follow.

First, measure the inseam anyway and use our size chart to pick the wheel size. Second, buy somewhere with a return window, and check on day one that your child can sit on the lowest saddle setting and put the balls of both feet down.

Elm or Elise at 16 inches

They are close. The Elm 16 is 21.14 lb with Schwinn's SmartStart geometry, a slack seat-tube angle and a seat handle for towing it home. The Elise 16 is 22 lb, cruiser-styled, with an aluminum front caliper instead of a steel one. Both have a coaster brake as the primary stop and both include the basket, training wheels and chainguard.

Take the Elm for the extra pound saved and the seat handle. Take the Elise if your child picks it — which is a legitimate reason at this age and one we are not going to argue with.

The lighter alternative

If weight is what matters most, buy the lightest 16-inch you can afford and add a basket. A woom GO 3 or a Prevelo Alpha Two is several pounds lighter than anything on this page, has proper dual hand brakes, and takes a front basket in ten minutes. See what to buy with a first bike for the rest of the accessory list.

What we would actually buy

For most five- and six-year-olds: the Schwinn Elm 16. Basket, training wheels and chainguard in the box, a front hand brake as well as the coaster, and the lighter of the two 16-inch options here.

For a three- or four-year-old: the Schwinn Elm 14 at 20.28 lb, or the Elm 12 at 17.24 lb — the lightest bike in the Elm range.

If your child cares about how it looks more than how it rides: the Schwinn Elise 16, at the cost of a pound.