Kids Bike

The Kidvelo Rookie 18 is a popular kids bike for older children aged 5 – 8 years old. Although it is a starter pedal bike in its own right, it does come with a conversion kit to remove the pedals for kids who may want the option to convert to a balance bike if they’re just starting out and need to practice balancing.

The Rookie 18 is also a great choice for children with additional needs who may want to practice balancing before learning to ride with the pedals. So buying the Rookie 18, you’re essentially getting two bikes, for the price of one.

It is also a great option for families with more than one child, or a younger sibling coming along behind, as they may be at different stages and therefore benefit from either the balance mode, or the pedal mode.

We’ve not reviewed this particular bike, but we’ve put the smaller Rookie 12 through its paces and were very impressed with the quality of the bike and the design features.

The Pinnacle Koto 16 is a good value option if you’re looking for a decent 16″ wheel kids bike without the higher price tag of some of the more premium brands.

The aluminium frame with aluminium rims helps to keep this bike reasonably light, meaning it will be much easier for your 4 or 5 year old child to manoeuvre than a 16 inch wheel bike several kilos heavier.

Quality bearings in the hubs, cranks and headset make for a smooth ride.

Whilst the bike comes fitted with stabilisers, you may what to read this article about whether stabilisers are a good idea before deciding whether to fit them.

The Pinnacle Koto 16 makes a good secondhand choice – remember we always recommend buying a good quality used 16″ wheel kids bike bike cheaply, than a cheap, poor quality new bike (which won’t be anywhere as much fun to ride).

It’s unusual to find a lightweight aluminium framed 16″ wheel kids bike at this price point.  B’Twin is the in-house brand for Decathlon, which explains why – they’re such a huge company they have economies of scale that many smaller brands don’t have.  This means they can deliver a great value kids bike at a cheap price.

Until recently Decathlon’s kids bikes were all heavy steel framed affairs, but they’re been upgrading their range and the B’Twin 16 900 is a great example of what they’ve managed to deliver.

The BTwin 16 weighs in at 6.3kg, which is significantly lighter than most cheap 16 inch kids bikes at this price, or lower.

The Trek Precaliber is suitable for children aged 3 – 4 years old, with a range of 91 – 102cm in height.

It has a useful handle on the rear of the saddle to allow you to guide your child as they ride and is available in blue and pink.

The frame is aluminium and the forks are steel, making this one of the heavier 12″ bikes we feature at 6.98kg.

However, do remember this is still hugely lighter than the majority of 12″ wheel kids bikes, which often come in well over 10kg in weight. It has a rear coaster brake, but no front rim brake and comes in two colour choices – blue and pink.

This bike has stabilisers which is useful for children who aren’t yet completely confident with balancing, or for children with additional needs who may not be able to use a balance bike. Read more here – Does my child need stabilisers?

The Specialised Riprock 12″ is a small pedal bike featuring an aluminium frame and a steel fork so is reasonably lightweight. The tyres are nice and wide to give additional stability for your child.

The bike is aimed at ages 2 – 3 years old and is a good starter bike for a child who is ready to start pedaling and have already gained confidence on their balance bike. The stabilisers are easily removable, and may provide useful for children with additional needs who may not be able to use a balance bike.

The Specialized Riprock features a rear coaster brake, so your child only has to worry about learning to pedal backwards to stop (but will have to learn to use brake levers when moving up to a 14″ wheel bike at some point).

The Raleigh Pop 12 is a started kids pedal bike aimed at young riders aged 3 – 5 years old. It has an upright riding position, which some children find comforting when starting to pedal, helping them to master the basics of riding a bike.

This bike does come with stabilisers, although we recommend that if your child isn’t ready to pedal you buy them a balance bike instead and save your money for a larger pedal bike in a few months time. Read more – Does my child need stabilisers?