Gift Guide
What to buy with a first bike
One thing is mandatory: a helmet that fits, certified for their age. After that, a floor pump and a multi-tool do more good than any accessory. Everything else — bells, streamers, baskets, a lock — can wait until your child asks for it by name.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which bike we put first — here is exactly how we make money.
Buy the helmet in the same order as the bike. It is the only item on this page that is not optional, and a child who starts riding without one will argue about it forever after.
The one mandatory item
A helmet, sized by head circumference
Measure around the head about an inch above the eyebrows and match the centimeter range — helmet sizes are not age-based. If the child is under five, check that the certification explicitly covers that age: the CPSC standard requires extra head coverage for helmets intended for children up to five.
Sizing bands are on the kids helmet size chart, and the picks are on best kids bike helmets.
The two things that earn their place
| Item | Why | When you will use it |
|---|---|---|
| Floor pump with a gauge | Small tires lose air fast, and a soft tire makes a bike feel heavy and slow | Monthly, forever |
| Multi-tool with hex keys | Saddle height changes constantly at this age | Every few weeks |
| Spare tube in their tire size | A flat a mile from home otherwise ends in a carry | Rarely, memorably |
What can wait
Knee and elbow pads. Useful for a nervous child or a skatepark, unnecessary for driveway laps. Buy them if your child is anxious about falling — the confidence is worth more than the protection.
Gloves. Worth having eventually; not a first-week item.
A lock. Only when they start leaving the bike somewhere.
Lights. Genuinely important the moment they ride at dusk, irrelevant before that.
A bell, streamers, a basket. These are presents, not equipment, and they are excellent presents — see bike gifts that are not a bike.
What to skip entirely
Training wheels. They come in the box with most mass-market bikes and they slow learning down. Reasons on do kids need training wheels.
A cheap suspension fork. Two to three pounds of weight that absorbs almost nothing.
A second bike "to grow into". Buy the size that fits now.
Ten minutes before the first ride
Saddle height, tire pressure, brake reach, helmet fit. The full list is on the first ride checklist, and doing it the night before beats doing it in a driveway with an impatient child.
One more thing worth adding once the helmet is sorted: a pair of gloves. They are not essential the way a helmet is, but a scraped palm is what stops a child riding for a week. The picks are on best kids bike gloves.
The picks
Every figure below is the manufacturer's own published spec, linked to the page we read it from, so you can check the one number your decision turns on — here is how we choose.
Quick picks — sorted by weight
| # | Product | Score | Best for | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Top pickGiro Scamp MIPS II The XS covers a 45–49 cm head and carries the CPSC certification for age 1 and up with extended rear coverage — the combination most toddler helmets miss. | 9.8/10 | Toddlers and preschoolers | n/p | |
| 2 |  Bell Sidetrack II MIPS 320 g in youth size with a visor and Mips Evolve — the value pick once a child is past five and riding further than the driveway. | 9.5/10 | School-age riders | n/p | |
| 3 |  NÜDL Youth MIPS A skate-shape helmet with MIPS inside and a magnetic buckle outside, in graphics kids pick for themselves — which is most of the battle at this age. | 9.5/10 | The helmet they'll actually wear | n/p | |
| 4 |  Lazer Nutz KinetiCore 250 g and 12 vents, with rotational protection built into the foam rather than added as a separate liner — the lightest helmet in this registry. | 9.0/10 | Hot-weather riding | n/p |
n/p = the manufacturer does not publish that figure. Every other spec number here comes straight off their spec page. Scores are ours, on the 8.4–9.8 scale explained on our how we choose page.
Top pick — Toddlers and preschoolers
Category-defining · our scale
Giro Scamp MIPS II
The XS covers a 45–49 cm head and carries the CPSC certification for age 1 and up with extended rear coverage — the combination most toddler helmets miss.
| Head size | 45–53 cm |
|---|---|
| Brakes | — |
| Frame | In-mold polycarbonate shell, MIPS liner |
| Brand says | XS is CPSC certified for age 1 and older; S for age 5 and older |
Why we picked it
- XS 45–49 cm, S 49–53 cm — two sizes across the whole toddler-to-kid range
- Extended rear coverage on the XS
- Roc Loc Jr. dial fit with a pinch-guard buckle
Good to knowThe MIPS version costs more than the plain shell, and the dial fit wants a quick re-check at the start of each ride.
How we checked it: Researched from published specs · Giro — Scamp MIPS II
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#2 — School-age riders
Category-defining · our scale
Bell Sidetrack II MIPS
320 g in youth size with a visor and Mips Evolve — the value pick once a child is past five and riding further than the driveway.
| Head size | 47–57 cm |
|---|---|
| Brakes | — |
| Frame | In-mold polycarbonate shell, Mips Evolve |
| Brand says | CPSC certified for age 5 and older |
Why we picked it
- Universal Child 47–54 cm and Universal Youth 50–57 cm
- 320 g in size Y, light for a helmet with rotational protection
- Removable visor for trail riding
Good to knowCertified for age 5 and up on universal sizing, so it is the youth pick here rather than the toddler one.
How we checked it: Researched from published specs · Bell — Sidetrack II MIPS
#ad · How we make money · Price as of November 12, 2026
#3 — The helmet they'll actually wear
Category-defining · our scale
NÜDL Youth MIPS
A skate-shape helmet with MIPS inside and a magnetic buckle outside, in graphics kids pick for themselves — which is most of the battle at this age.
| Head size | 52–60 cm |
|---|---|
| Brakes | — |
| Frame | ABS skate-style shell over EPS, with a MIPS liner |
| Brand says | Two youth sizes: YS 52–55 cm and YM 56–60 cm |
Why we picked it
- MIPS in a bucket/skate shell, which most skate-style helmets skip
- Fidlock magnetic buckle: one-handed, and it cannot pinch a chin
- PAS dial fit system for a precise final adjustment
- 11 vents, which a skate shell usually does not have
Good to knowSizing starts at 52 cm, so this is a youth helmet rather than a toddler one, and a skate shell runs warmer than a vented road shape.
How we checked it: Researched from published specs · NÜDL — Youth MIPS helmet
#ad · How we make money · Price as of November 12, 2026
#4 — Hot-weather riding
Outstanding · our scale
Lazer Nutz KinetiCore
250 g and 12 vents, with rotational protection built into the foam rather than added as a separate liner — the lightest helmet in this registry.
| Head size | 50–56 cm |
|---|---|
| Brakes | — |
| Frame | EPS with integrated KinetiCore rotational protection |
| Brand says | CPSC certified for age 5 and up |
Why we picked it
- 250 g published weight
- KinetiCore rotational protection integrated into the EPS
- 12 vents, which matters in summer
Good to knowOne 50-56 cm size and an auto-adjust cradle: fast to put on, with less manual control than a dial.
How we checked it: Researched from published specs · Lazer — Nutz KinetiCore
#ad · How we make money · Price as of November 12, 2026
Questions parents actually ask
01What do you need to buy with a kids bike?
A correctly sized helmet, and that is the only mandatory item. A floor pump with a gauge and a multi-tool are the two accessories that genuinely earn their place.
02Do kids need knee pads for cycling?
Not usually for pavement riding. They are worth it for a nervous child or for skatepark use, where the confidence they give is the main benefit.
03Should I buy the helmet at the same time as the bike?
Yes. A child who rides from day one with a helmet never treats it as negotiable, and helmet sizing is by head circumference so it needs its own measurement.
Our recommendation
Top pick
9.8/10Giro Scamp MIPS II
Toddlers and preschoolers. The MIPS version costs more than the plain shell, and the dial fit wants a quick re-check at the start of each ride.
#ad · How we make money · Price as of November 12, 2026
Runner-up
9.5/10Bell Sidetrack II MIPS
School-age riders. Certified for age 5 and up on universal sizing, so it is the youth pick here rather than the toddler one.
#ad · How we make money · Price as of November 12, 2026
Sources
Read next
- Gift GuideHow to buy a bike as a surprise giftFour ways to size a bike for a child you cannot measure.
- Gift GuideBike gifts that aren't a bikeGifts that fit any child, from someone who can't measure them.
- Helmets & GearBest kids bike helmetsFive helmets, compared on head size and certification.
- Learning to RideFirst ride checklistNine checks, ten minutes, before the first ride.
- First Pedal BikesBest girls' bikes with a basketThe bikes that arrive with a basket already on, 12 to 16 inch.
- Helmets & GearBest kids bike lightsFive real light sets, chosen on the mount and the switch rather than the lumens.