Kids Bikes and Junior Bikes

A kid’s bike is designed to take account of their smaller physical dimensions. While the most common sizes for children’s bikes are 12, 16, 20 and 24-inch wheel bikes, some companies also make 14-inch and 18-inch wheel sizes to bridge the gap between sizes. These two sizes are less common and parts or spares such as tyres and tubes may be harder to find. Most good bikes of each wheel size will be adjustable by raising the saddle and handlebars as the child grows.

Ages 2-4 Around the age of two children should be able to ride a 12-inch wheel bike. These bikes typically come with training wheels (stabilisers) and ‘direct drives’, allowing the child to stop and go forward or backwards using the pedals, as brake levers would be too much for tiny hands.

Ages 4-7 At about four years of age, most kids will fit on a 16-inch wheel bike. Again most of these come with stabilisers and almost all have ‘real’ tyres with inner tubes. Most will have a coaster brake which works when the child pedals backwards although some are fitted with hand operated brake levers on the handlebars.

Ages 7-9 By the time the child reaches about seven they should have already mastered the basics of balance and stopping. The 20-inch wheel bike introduces gears on some models, there may also be features that you would see on an adult bike like front and rear suspension and even disc brakes.

Ages 9-12 Around nine years of age, the majority of children will be stepping up to 24-inch wheel bikes, known as ‘junior bikes’. As the wheel size gets bigger the bike becomes longer. This is one of the biggest leaps in bikes as it is a smaller version of nearly all adult mountain bikes. Almost all 24-inch bikes come with gears, suspension and the other components of a full size cycle.

Ages 13+

Once a child reaches their early teens, they’ll move to small adult cycles with 13-14 inch frame sizes. The type of bike (e.g. road bike, mountain bike, BMX etc) then depends on the child’s riding preferences. Our relevant bike guides have more information.

Please see our kids bike sizing table as a guide to help you choose the right size bike for your child. If you feel you’d like further help please contact us and we will do our best to help you make your choice.

Please note, we always advise the use of a proper cycling safety helmet for use when riding.