It includes ATB resin mountain bike pedals that are lightweight and tough enough to be difficult to break. 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. We had issues with the width of its rear tubes, which rubbed our tester’s legs. Agile, simple to assemble, and sporting a useful rear hand brake, this is the balance bike for bike enthusiast parents who want their kid to have a pro-level tyke bike. Ryan McFarland, John Bradley, WeeBikeShop’s Ivan Altinbasak, and most everyone I interviewed consider training wheels to be about the worst thing you can put on kids’ bikes. The ride is simple — no confusion with handbrakes, or with shifting multiple speeds.
Our test kids generated slightly greater speed with the REV 12’s fat, inflatable tires, which are semi-knobby and offer good off-road traction. 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.
When sitting, the child should be able to put their feet flat on the floor, and nearly all the child’s weight should be on the saddle. Giant’s Pre is on a par in most respects with the Co-op REV 12, including the price, but it’s available only in bike shops, making it harder to find. A nicely narrow Q factor—the distance between huffy trail runner the cranks—keeps a child’s legs from splaying out while on the pedal and allows them to generate power more easily. Still, the REV 12’s fit and finish are top-notch, it’s fun to ride, and the support and availability you’ll get from REI, both in their brick-and-mortar stores and online, makes this bike a solid backup choice.
This point, however, is disputed by John Bradley, who said that, just like an adult, a child will be more likely to want to ride a lightweight, high-quality bike (which proved true among our testers). He also pointed out that such a bike will also sell on Craigslist for a pretty good percentage of what was paid for it, provided it was taken care of, making it a more digestible investment. The single-speed bike has a durable steel frame showcasing the Huffy ornament, while the ribbed-style chainguard completes the classic look. 26” cruiser tires are smooth-riding, and provide huffy cruiser good traction for a confident ride. All these details add up to one fantastic bike that is so comfortable to ride. Many kids need a little encouragement (and flat, paved terrain) to get into balance biking.
When your kid no longer needs it, simply pop off the O-ring and let it dangle. The frame design incorporates the characteristics of a hardtail mountain bike, with a shock fork in the middle to reduce impact without making the ride too difficult. To maximize the chances that your kid will come to enjoy balance biking, Strider’s McFarland, bike guru John Bradley, and fellow Wirecutter editors recommend the following.