Is it possible to pick the best kids bike? I certainly wouldn’t like to have to select just one children’s bike, as what’s the best bike for a 3 year old is going to be very different to what’s the best bike for a 13 year old mountain biker, or a 9 year old cyclocross racer! It also depends a lot on your budget and how often the bike is going to be used.
However, I’m totally fed up seeing articles which are entitled “Best Kids Bikes” which select a range of fairly average (or worse, rubbish) bikes that:
a) the author has never tested and
b) are only recommended as they’re the best selling kids bikes at a retailer the host website is getting commission from.
So, in an attempt to set the record straight, here’s my list of the very best kids bikes for all ages of child.
We’ve reviewed these bikes here on Cycle Sprog and have the photos to prove it! The one brand we haven’t yet had a chance to review comes recommended by The Bike Club (who need it to be so robust they can lease it out for years, so we trust them!)
Some brands we do have affiliate relationships with, but many we don’t. It’s basically a list of brilliant children’s bikes we can vouch for and have been happy for our kids to ride.
Take a moment to GRAB YOUR FREE KIDS BIKE BUYING CHECKLIST which will help you record all the information you need to find the perfect bike for your child.
| Cycle Sprog is an family run, reader supported, website. We belong to several affiliate schemes so may receive a small commission from sales made from links on our site. We do our best to be impartial and recommend products on their quality not whether they are in a scheme. |
During lockdown 1.0 the nation went mad for cycling and all the kids bikes sold out, and many brands and retailers are struggling to restock again. This means that there aren't as many quality kids bikes as usual at the moment, BUT there are a few to be had.
We've kept all our usual recommendations at the end of this article (especially useful if you're buying secondhand), but this shorter list are the current places we're recommending who have stock ready to dispatch.
If you're in a real hurry, just check these places that should have quality kids bikes in stock and ready to dispatch. For more details on each, scroll down a bit!
If you're not sure what makes a great kids bike take a moment to download our FREE kids bike buying checklist, so you know what you're looking for and don't get tempted by a dodgy deal. Don't forget a lightweight, well made bike will be LOADS more fun to ride than a heavy, poorly made toy bike, that has a tendency to fall apart - I'm not joking - check this out!)
The Bike Club is a brilliant way to get a great quality kids bike for your child without the upfront cost. It works like this: you sign up to their membership scheme and select your chosen bike, which they send out to you in return for a monthly payment (so you do have to pass their credit checks). When your child gets too big for the bike you send it back and upgrade to a bigger bike.
We know many parents who are using The Bike Club and they are all really impressed (some have been using them for several years). The Bike Club take the hassle out of having to buy and sell bikes, which means you can pick a bike that fits your child right now, rather than worrying they're going to out grow it too quickly and buying one that's a bit to large (never a good idea!).
Plus it's much more environmentally friendly - you can pick from new or previously used bikes (which they call Re-Bikes). When you return your bike it gets fully serviced by their qualified mechanics before being sent out again.
So with the Bike Club you get peace of mind that your child is riding a really great quality bike at a bargain price, rather than a really cheap bike.
They only stock Cycle Sprog recommended brands such as the brand new Forme Bikes as well as Squish Bikes and Frog Bikes.
UPDATE: Wednesday 6th January 2021 - After the Christmas rush The Bike Club are now restocking with both new and used bikes. They've added this link which takes you to bikes ready for dispatch if you need a bike quickly.
Black Mountain have, not surprisingly, sold out of some of the most popular sizes and colours in their unique "growing bikes", but still have stock of 16", 18" and 20" bikes in some colours. A good choice if you don't want to be left looking for another bike as soon as your child grows.
Check Availability at Black Mountain Bikes
Tredz stock a good range of quality kids bikes, and we really like that they are honest and upfront about how long delivery should be before you place your order (we're aware some retailers are taking money and then telling people the bike isn't in stock until the middle of 2021).
To be extra helpful Tredz even have an "in-stock now" button which is a real timesaver and saves so much frustration.
CRC sell the great value Vitus Kids Bikes and the popular Commencal range (which is more suited to off road riding). Stock has been appearing on their website (although they are selling fast!)
Check Availability at Chain Reaction Cycles
For those of you who are in a rush, here’s a list of the brands (in alphabetical order) that we or others we trust have reviewed and recommended as building some of the best kids bikes in the UK. Most are available second hand or to rent if you’re on a budget. As they are all quality children’s bikes its well worth considering these options, rather than a cheaper new alternative.
The bicycle brands featured in this post produce some of the best kids bikes but we understand that not every family can afford, or wants, to spend so much. If this is the case, then check out our other post on the cheapest kids bikes – they’re all really great, safe bikes that your Sprog will love riding, just at a lower price than the ones in this article.
It’s also worth checking out The Bike Club for monthly rentals – they only stock quality kids bike brands, so you know you’ll be getting a decent bike without the upfront cost.
If you’re tempted to buy a REALLY cheap bike (say under £85 new) from a superstore or catalogue, then check out our post on why we don’t recommend buying a really cheap kids bikes.
If this is your first time buying a kids bike, remember the two questions to ask yourself:
1) Can they pick the bike up? (some cheap steel framed bikes are too heavy for most children to pick up, or ride up hills etc)
2) Can they operate the brakes and gears? (all the brands featured in this post have child specific brakes and gears – you can imagine the consequences if they can’t operate them on a poorly designed bike)
Take a moment to GRAB YOUR FREE KIDS BIKE BUYING CHECKLIST which will help you record all the information you need to find the perfect bike for your child.
Apart from those specialising in just balance bikes, all the brands featured do kids bikes in lots of different sizes, and we’d be happy to recommend their entire ranges, whatever size bike your child needs. Don’t forget we’ve got LOADS of other articles to help you find the best bike for your child, whatever their age, which are listed at the end of this article.
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Black Mountain EPOK Series key data:
Price: £350 – £650
Wheel Size: 14″ balance bike to 20″ wheel mountain bikes – all with the ‘growing frames’
Age range: 2.5 years to 8.5 years
Types of bike: Balance, First Pedal, Hybrid and Mountain Bikes
Available colours: Orange, blue, green, purple
Where to buy: Directly from Black Mountain Website
Warranty: 3-years on frame and forks; 2-years on non-consumable components. Warranty can be passed onto new user if you sell on (must inform Black Mountain of change of ownership)
Black Mountain is a Welsh based brand taking the kids’ bike market by storm with their innovative new “growing” bikes. The smaller bikes start off as balance bikes and can be converted to pedal bikes when your child is ready.
With all sizes of their bikes the frame can be extended as your child grows, to cover the same time period that you’d usually need two pedal bikes for. They may be a bit pricier at the start, but you’re getting either 2 or 3 bikes in one, saving you money, time and hassle over a longer time frame.
At the current time, this also provides peace of mind. There’s been such shortages of kids bikes over the past few months so having a bike that will grow with your child is very useful.
There are four different sized bikes in the range, from the smallest PINTO (14″ wheels) through to the 20″ wheel HÜTTO which has gears and the option to add disc brakes and suspension.
BUY NEW – Black Mountain kids bikes are only available direct from their website
Buy secondhand: As Black Mountain are such a new brand, and their bikes are designed for last your child a long time you won’t find very many available second hand at the moment
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Cube Kids Bikes Key Data
Price: £150 – £1,900
Wheel Size: 12″ to 27.5″ wheels
Age range: 2 – 13+ years
Types of bike: Balance, First Pedal, Hybrid, Mountain, E-bike
Available colours: Various depending on model
Where to buy: Local Cube Bike stockists, Online retailers and secondhand from Ebay
Warranty: Frame 6 years; rest of bike 2 years
Cube are a German brand with a large range of kids bikes. From 20″ wheel bikes and larger there various options to choose from depending on the type of cycling your child is doing. So you can get step through city bikes with racks for panniers, all round hybrids, entry level mountain bikes, serious full suspension MTBs and kids size e-bikes.
We’ve been lucky enough to have tested out some of their top of the range mountain bikes and were really impressed with how much confidence they gave our boys on the trail. If you’re looking for a “proper” MTB for a keen mountain biker who is on the cusp between a kids bike and an adult bike and have the cash to spend, then Cube junior mountain bikes are an excellent choice.
One thing to note about some of the small wheeled, single speed Cubes is that they come with rear coaster brakes (where you need to back pedal to stop). These are very common on the continent and the USA, but don’t tend to be found on bikes in the UK, so check to make sure you know what brakes are fitted on these smaller sizes.
BUY SECONDHAND: Cube Bikes are so well made they make a good secondhand buy
Forme Bikes Key Data:
Price: £9.50 – £12.90 per months
Wheel Size: 14″ to 26″ wheels
Age range: 3 – 12 years
Types of bike: First Pedal and Hybrid Bikes
Available colours: Red, Pink and Blue
Where to buy: Currently only available to lease from The Bike Club. Coming to bike shops later in the year
Warranty: Lifetime on Frame
Forme Bikes are the only brand of kids bikes we’re including in this guide that we haven’t yet been able to fully test ourselves. That’s because they’re so new – we’re on the list to get sent one when the next shipment arrives!
However, the reason I feel confident about recommending them now is two fold. Firstly, we’ve had an adult Forme Bike for years, and it’s been great. Secondly, the first couple of shipments of their new kids bikes to arrive in the UK have been snapped up by The Bike Club.
If you’ve not heard on them, The Bike Club rent out quality kids bikes on a monthly membership basis. When your child has outgrown the bike you send it back and upgrade to the next size. They service the bike and hand it onto the next rider. They therefore need their bikes to be really robust and able to be ridden by many different kids over a number of years.
Given that we’ve reviewed and recommend all the other brands of quality kids bikes they stock, I feel it’s appropriate to include Forme Bikes here, especially given the shortage of a lot of the other quality kids bike brands after the lockdown related rush earlier in the year.
Forme are a Derbyshire based brand, and their bikes are all linked to local routes. The smaller Cubleys are named after an ancient Derbyshire village which appears in the Doomsday Book, and the larger Kinders are named after the iconic Kinder Scout in the Peak District.
Rent now: Forme Bikes from The Bike Club
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Frog Bikes Key Data
Price: £170 – £670
Wheel size: 10″ balance bike – 26″ wheel bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid, Mountain, Road and Track
Typical age range: 18 months to 13 years +
Colours available: Red, green, orange, blue, pink, white, black, spotty, Union Jack, USA Stars and Stripes, yellow (Tour de France limited edition), Team Sky (now discontinued – only available secondhand).
Where to buy: Local Frog Retailers, Online Retailers, Secondhand on Ebay and lease from The Bike Club
Warranty: 2 years - extended to 5 years for frame if you register the bike within 28 days of purchase
Frog Bikes make some of the most popular and best kids bikes around. They cover virtually every type and size of kids bike, from three sizes of balance bikes for toddlers through to mountain, road and track bikes for older kids.
Frog Bikes are sized by the inside leg measurement, so for example the Frog 44 pictured above is designed for a child with a minimum inside leg of 44cm (roughly the 4-5 year age group).
We’ve reviewed a wide range of Frog Bikes over the years, including their first pedal bikes, hybrid bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes, and always been really impressed with them.
Given how popular and robust Frog Bikes are there’s usually a lot available secondhand, and they’re also available to lease via The Bike Club,.
Frog Bike Update January 2021 - Please note that at the moment Frog Bikes are having significant issues with their production / distribution and most places are out of stock of new bikes. When they do come back into stock they tend to be selling very quickly indeed.
RENT NOW – Click here to lease a Frog Bike
BUY NEW – Click here to buy a Frog Bike
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Giant ARX key data:
Price range: £295 – £379
Wheel sizes: 16″ – 26″ wheel bikes
Bike Types: First pedal and Hybrid Bikes
Typical age range: 4 years to 10 + years
Colours available: Purple, Blue, Green, Red, Yellow, Orange
Where to buy: Local Giant Shops and Online Retailers
Warranty: Frame - lifetime, Forks - 10 years, All other components - 1 year
Giant are the world’s biggest bike manufacturer and the ARX is their premium kids bike range.
As you’d expect, the range has many of the same features as the majority of the quality kids bikes we’ve already featured. However, in a sign of how confident they are with the quality of their bikes, Giant offers a lifetime warranty on their frames, plus 10 years on forks. Your child will have grown out of the bike long before then!
Our reviewer really enjoyed riding the Giant ARX 20 she was sent to test and Dad was impressed too! It’s a great looking bike, with grown-up styling at a good price.
BUY NEW: Giant ARX kids bikes
BUY SECONDHAND: The ARX range is still quite new so they don’t tend up become available secondhand
Cycle Sprog reviewed bike
Hornit Bikes Key Data:
Price: £119
Wheel size: 12″
Bike Types: Balance Bike
Typical age range: 18 months to 5 years
Colours available: Red, yellow, white and
Where to buy: Online only
Warranty:
Lifetime on frame and forks
When the Hornit Airo balance bike arrived at Cycle Sprog HQ the box was so light I thought they’d forgotten to put the bike in it!
The AIRO was launched Christmas 2020, and has features such as a stem protector, footplates and pneumatic tyres that set it apart from most of the other lightweight, speedy balance bikes in the same price range.
Our Sprog gave it a good ride, despite being a far too large for it (you’re never too old for a balance bike!) and managed to get up some speed! You can read our thoughts on the Hornit AIRO here.
BUY NEW: Hornit Airo Balance Bike
BUY SECONDHAND: The AIRO was launched Christmas 2020 so there are no secondhand bikes avaialble yet.
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Hoy Bikes – key data:
Price range: £110 – £550
Wheel sizes: 12″ balance bike – 26″ wheel bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid, Cyclocross and Mountain Bikes
Typical age range: 2 years to 10 plus
Colours available: Red, pink, blue, black and yellow;
Warranty: Evans Cycles website says "All products ordered from Evans Cycles come with a full warranty which covers manufacturing faults and defects in workmanship."
The Hoy range of children’s bikes has been recently relaunched, and they’re now some of the lightest weight kids bikes available in the UK.
The range is all named after places in Scotland that Sir Chris Hoy rode whilst a child or early in his racing career. The Napier is their balance bike, the Bonaly is their “Go Anywhere” bike, which is equally at home on road or on the trails (with the larger sizes have disc brake options), and the Meadowmill is the cyclocross / road bike option with drop handlebars.
We’ve tested out the 16″ single speed Bonaly 16 and the larger 20″ wheel Bonaly 20, which is the smallest of their geared bike offerings. Our two reviewers loved these lightweight bikes and were zooming around in no time!
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Price: £200 – £1,000
Wheel size: 12″ – 27.5″ wheel kids bikes plus adult bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid, Cyclocross/Road and Mountain Bikes
Typical age range: 2 – 13 years
Colours available: Teal, Orange, Pink (and Charcoal for larger bikes)
Warranty: 5 years on frame and forks and a 2 years on parts
Islabikes are the original quality kids bike. They blazed a trail over a decade ago, when everyone thought their founder Isla Rowntree was crazy for thinking parents would be willing to spend big bucks on a bike for their child. They’ve proved what a difference having a lightweight, properly sized bike makes, and all the other brands listed in this article have come in their wake.
Islabikes are specialists (and obsessives) in kids bike design, so if you buy an Islabike you’re paying for all those years of expertise. Yes, they’re more expensive than virtually all the other bikes on this page, but there is a good reason for that.
We’ve been lucky enough to test their range as our Sprogs have grown, and each bike has proved why Islabikes continue to lead the way in kids bike design. Recently we’ve reviewed their larger wheeled Beinn 27, which look our reviewer onto larger wheels earlier than he would have been able to with other brands.
And our boys have loved riding their Islabike Creig mountain bikes over the years – they’ve been on many adventures and coped with everything they were asked to ride over.
Plus the Islabikes Luath got so much use as a road bike – it really ate up the hills around where we live on the edge of The Lake District, and also got tried out on the local track too as well as going a bit of off road cyclocross type racing too in our local GoRide races.
Buy new: Islabikes are only available direct from their website
Rent now: The Bike Club has a small but growing number of Islabikes to lease
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended
Lena Toddlebikes key data:
Price: £23
Typical age range: 18 months to 3 years;
Available colours: Red, pink, and blue
If you’ve got a toddler who is desperate to start riding a bike but isn’t quite ready for a balance bike, then the Lena Toddlebike (also known as the Lena First Scooter for some reason!) is your answer. It’s cheap, it’s lightweight, and it’s loads of fun – plus it will prepare them for the move to a balance bike when they’re ready.
You can read our review of the Toddlebike here.
BUY NEW – Click here to buy a Lena Toddlebike
BUY SECONDHAND – These bikes are almost indestructible, and usually used for a short time so they are often passed on to friends and family. Due to their low cost not many make it onto eBay, but some do so try searching for the names Toddlebike and Lena Balance Bike as they’ve been sold under different names over the years.
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Squish Bikes Key Data
Price range: £140 – £530
Wheel sizes: 12″ balance bike – 650B wheel bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid and Mountain Bikes
Typical age range: 2 years to 10+ years
Colours available: Each size bike has two different colours available
Where to buy: Local Squish Retailers, Online Retailers, Secondhand on Ebay and lease from The Bike Club
Warranty: Frame and Forks - 3 years; components - 1 year (excluding wear and tear)
Squish Bikes are a good alternative to some of the more established kids bike brands. They’re made by Birmingham based Tandem Group Cycles, who own a variety of different bike brands. Since launch they’ve been steadily expanding their range to include bigger wheel sizes and mountain bikes.
We’ve reviewed the single gear Squish 18 which our 6 year old reviewer loved, and she moved confidently onto a bigger bike when the time was right for her.
We’ve also tested out the Squish MTB 26, which performed really well on the varied terrain it was ridden on.
RENT NOW – Squish Bikes from The Bike Club
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Vitus Kids Bike Key data:
Price: £45 – £530
Wheel size: 12″ balance bike – 26″ wheel bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid and Mountain Bikes
Typical age range: 2 – 12 + years
Colours available: Silver, Red, Purple/Pink
Available from: Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle (new) and Ebay (secondhand)
Warranty: 5 year frame and forks, 2 year components
We’ve been really impressed with the Vitus Kids Bike range as a low cost competitor to some of the more established brands on this page. We’ve met the designer of these bikes several times and he’s really obsessed with getting the design and geometry absolutely correct as well as making a really good looking bike.
Vitus do a full range standard hybrid kids bikes which are great all round choices which will handle most types of cycling. We’ve reviewed several of their off road bikes, including the wide tyred Vitus 20 plus.
Our Sprogs have been lucky enough to ride some really expensive, top of the range junior mountain bikes, but we can confirm you don’t need to spend huge amounts to get a quality kids MTB. Our 10 year old Sprog spent an entire summer riding the Vitus Nucleus 26 around the trail centres of Wales and absolutely loved it.
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Woom Bikes key data:
Price: £165 – £840
Wheel size: 12″ balance bike – 26″ wheel bikes
Bike Types: Balance, First pedal, Hybrid and Mountain Bikes
Typical age range: 2 – 14 years
Colours available: Blue, Green, Purple, Red, Yellow, (and Black for Mountain Bikes)
Warranty: 2 years
If you’re looking for a kids bike for urban or gentle off road riding that’s a little bit different, then Woom Bikes are a great choice. They’re an Austrian brand who are well established on the continent, but are still fairly new to the UK (but gaining in popularity all the time).
They are available in a range of sizes from balance bike (Woom 1) through to 26″ wheel (Woom 6) plus they’ve recently brought out a range of Mountain Bikes, called WOOM OFF..
We’ve reviewed a couple of the smaller single speed Woom Bikes and were really impressed with the quality. Even after being ridden to school every day for months they looked like new!
BUY NEW: Click here to buy Woom Bikes from The Little Bike Company who are the only stockists in the UK
Cycle Sprog reviewed and recommended brand
Worx Junior Bikes key data:
Price: £595 – £845
Wheel size: 24″ – 700c
Bike Types: Road / Cyclocross and All Purpose race bikes
Typical age range: U8 – U14 riders
Colours: Black/Blue
Available: Only from Worx direct – call them to discuss your requirements
Warranty: Check with supplier
If you’ve got a Lizzy Deignan or Tao Geoghegan Hart in the family, then they’re going to want a serious bike to pick up some speed. There’s not a huge selection of kids race bikes around, but the Worx Bikes are some of the fastest there are.
They range in size from 24″ to 700c wheels and there is a drop handle bar road / cross specific option plus a flat handlebar all terrain option for those wanting to try their hand at a mix of cyclocross and cross country racing.
Note – these bikes aren’t for nervous riders – we should know as our 12 year old reviewed the Worx JA700. He’s ridden it in both road and cyclocross mode – suffice to say I couldn’t keep up with him in either!
BUY USED: Worx are rare bikes, but they occasionally come up secondhand
We hope this article has helped you find the best kids bikes. If you need more advice and inspiration, these articles will be of help:
To find the best bike for your child, then these age-specific guides will help:
We’d love to hear what bike you ended up buying your Cycle Sprog. Do leave a comment below, or come over to our Facebook or Instagram pages to share your pictures.
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You do not rate early rider bikes?
Unfortunately we have not been able to do a long term test on these bikes. One thing worth noting is that they come with a 1 year warranty on parts, whereas other kids bikes in a similar price bracket come with up to 5 years on frame and fork and 3 years on parts. Regards Karen
Hi,
You spoke highly of Bobbins bikes in 2017 but they have not made your list, just wondering why.
Thanks
Simon
Hi Simon,
The Bobbins are a good bike – and feature in some of our other more detailed posts (such as this one https://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/family-cycling-advice/best-girls-bike/) However, unfortunately we can’t feature every single brand in this one post, or it would go on and on for ages! Karen
Thanks for this page! I’ve been researching good bikes for my son, and you’ve done a great job of sharing this information for someone who isn’t an expert, but wants to make a good choice. Thanks!
Glad you found it helpful Emily. Hope you find the perfect bike for your son. Karen
Vitus in the brand list? … now that you have the Nucleus 26 in the recommended bikes list.
We’ve just bought a Vitus Nippy balance bike for the School (the first of many I think) as we’re going to start ‘Balanceability’ in the Nursery, and for £45 it’s a lovely bit of kit.
[Disclosure – as you know I work for WiggleCRC, and Ben is a friend of mine, but I’ve been running the Ditcham Park School MTB Club longer than I’ve been with WiggleCRC. I’m now looking forward to seeing the Nukeproof Cub-Scouts]
hi none of these are very affordable for a person who wants to buy themselves an affordable bike
Hi Bob
Thank you for your comment. You’re correct, in this post we’ve included children’s bikes that we consider to be some of the best. We also have this post, Cheapest Kids Bikes, brilliant bikes, but more choices for those on a budget. We hope this helps. Penny