But we found, after polling numerous parents, that the more athletic your child is, the more likely they will take to them. The Woom 1 doesn’t compromise on anything—simple assembly, solid parts, ideal geometry—so if money is secondary and bike enthusiasm is primary for you, this is the bike for kids whose clothing size is between 2T and 4T. The Woom is designed in Europe (the motherland of most good bike culture), built in Cambodia, and dialed in with precision at Woom’s assembly facility in Austin, Texas, which gives the brand high quality control. Weighing just under 8 pounds, the Woom 1 features an ideal upright riding position, a very low 7-inch top tube height (great for shorter kids), and 5 inches of seat adjustability, starting on the lower end at 10¾ inches (most start around 12 inches).
The bike’s 24-inch wheelbase, common to most of our picks, gives the bike a good mix of stability and agility. The tire valve stems also feature child-resistant valve caps—which you push down to turn like a child-safe lid on a bottle of pills—to keep your toddling tyke from mistaking them for raisins. The kids also liked the customizing sticker pack that came with the bike—letters, numbers, and illustrations of dinosaurs, birds, bunnies, and robots. We also tested the budget Kazam v2e, which features the lowest step-in height of any bike we tested, at 6 inches, and a wide, comfortable footrest.
The REV 12 also gets high marks for what may be an even easier assembly than the Strider. Turn the handlebar into the correct position, tighten it down with the included Allen wrench, and adjust the seat post height, and your child is ready to roll. “How often should I inflate my tires?” is a common question among many casual bikers. Some people break out the pump every few days, others once a week, and still others even
less regularly than that.
These models are not very portable and they’re best suited to those who can ride them straight out of the garage. Electric bikes that fall into Class 1 are pedal-assist only, which means that power is only delivered when the rider is moving the pedals, and most of the time, there is no throttle on the handlebar. If there is one, it offers an extra power boost, but it only works when the rider is pedaling.
Strider does sell a $20 simple add-on foot-operated brake, which can also help teach coaster braking skills. This is an important safety feature for hilly terrain, but we’d love to see a hand brake option. For our testing subjects, we enlisted our friend’s adventurous little kids, including 2-year-old Elle, 6-year-old Luke, and 7-year-old Fleet here in Charleston, South Carolina. River, who is 3 and a proficient balance biker, took to our fleet with enthusiasm.
These typically have a very user-friendly interface and have the option for a step-through frame design to make mounting and dismounting easier for most people. They may not be as powerful or speedy as some other models, but they provide a boost to your pedaling efforts and are fun and comfortable to ride. If you know what type of e-bike you’re looking for, we offer more in-depth information in our category-specific reviews. Fat tire electric bikes feature extra wide and often knobby tires, much like their analog counterparts. Tires can range from 3.7″ to 5.2″ wide, compared to the 1.75″ to 2.21″ width found on most standard bikes, increasing traction and stability and making them suitable over a much wider range of surfaces.
A nicely narrow Q factor—the distance between the cranks—keeps a child’s legs from splaying out while on the pedal and allows them to generate power more easily. Balance biking gives small children the chance to build the coordination, balance, leg musculature, and confidence that they’ll need for pedal biking. Because nothing in life is ever as simple as it should be, we’ve included a few more things to ponder when it comes
to making sure everyone’s tires are in good shape for their next ride.
Once they can balance, they learn to use a hand brake and, finally, learn to pedal, skipping training wheels altogether. Though it folds into a compact package, it’s quite heavy at 62.5 lbs, so lifting it into a trunk or carrying it up a flight of stairs can be difficult. All that said, this value-oriented foldable model is a great option for anyone short on storage or seeking a compact e-bike. Striking a delicate balance in the cargo bike market, the Specialized Haul ST manages to be useful without being overly imposing. Its small footprint makes for easy storage and agile handling, while its burly frame and solid spec ready it for heavy-duty service. The frame design is very similar, with the same 18-speed configuration, but the Hyper Shocker is a men’s mountain bike, whereas the huffy cruiser is a women’s mountain bike.
Couple that range with a handlebar stem that can be raised nearly 4 inches and a bar that can be tilted upward and forward nearly 4 inches, and you have an incredibly versatile and maneuverable little people mover. When I raised the bars to their maximum and rotated them halfway forward, even my 8-year-old huffy mountain bikes had a blast whipping around the driveway with his friends without bumping his knees. If your beginner kid is old enough or large enough to graduate from a 12-inch balance bike to something bigger that will balance now and pedal later, the Strider 14x Sport should merit your serious consideration.
The chain is joined by either using the same tool to push in a special pin, or by using a special split link – which is generally easier to do. Is there anything I’m going to run into while taking this apart, cleaning it up and getting it ready? The chain is rusted, so I’ll probably buy a new one also, but are there huffy bikes any tips or tricks to restoring a bike? She doesn’t necessarily like the color so I’m planning on taking everything off, sanding it down and repainting. I’m handy with a wrench around my truck, but I just want to make sure there isn’t anything ridiculous I’ll have to do and/or replace to get it ready for her.