It took a little longer for my son to get moving on this trike than on the Joovy, but the ride was smooth once he got up to speed. For bigger kids, the Schwinn Roadster 12-inch Trike is a shiny, gorgeous tricycle that’s fast and fun to ride. It’s low to the ground, with more of a Big Wheel style than you typically see in a metal trike.
At age 1 to 2, kids can sit securely in a trike, and around 2½ to 3, on average, they are able to start pedaling on their own. The Joovy TriCyCoo works for a baby, converts quickly to a big-kid bike, and is easier and more fun for bigger kids to ride than most traditional tricycles. We tested the Roadster side by side with two other Big Wheel-style tricycles, the Original Big Wheel and the Radio Flyer Big Flyer, which are both made of plastic. We preferred the Schwinn’s grippy tire to the Original Big Wheel’s plastic wheel, which felt not-that-durable and slipped all over the place—which, yes, is sort of the idea. The Schwinn Roadster was easier to ride uphill than the Radio Flyer Big Flyer, and the Schwinn clearly outperformed the rest of the low-rider pack when it comes to durability and rideability.
At 28 pounds, the Midi was by far the heaviest of all the trikes we tested, and user reviews and years of seeing these tricycles in action at schools and other public places tell us they’re also by far the most durable. “Quality and safety come before everything else,” David Curry, the VP of schwinn cruiser merchandising and product development at Angeles Corporation told us. It wouldn’t be an issue for storing in most garages, but I found it was a challenge to navigate my narrow walkways with this trike (and without a push bar, in narrow spaces, you’re relying on your kid to steer precisely).
The Doona Liki Trike S5 has some great features, like the ability to fold down to a 12.5 inch by 24 inch by 9 inch rectangle for travel (it’s designed to fit in airplane overhead bins). Like the Joovy, it has a sunshade and converts to five different stages that take a kid from a pre-walker (10 months) all the way up to age 3. The sun shade is skimpy and the front wheel is smaller than Joovy’s, making for a bumpier ride. The push bar is more loosely attached than the Joovy’s, which made it difficult for an adult to push the Liki in a straight path, especially one-handed.
The platform on the rear wheels is wider than the one on the Angeles, making this trike the easiest of any we tested for a second kid to stand on. The trike has a bell that was a hit with my then 3-year-old son (the Joovy comes bell-less) and like our pick it has a storage compartment in back. The Radio Flyer’s storage space is covered, which keeps precious items from flying out (the Joovy’s compartment is open). The Deluxe Steer & Stroll weighs 14½ pounds, just a smidge more than the Joovy.
Personally, I’m a science writer with more than a decade of experience interviewing experts in countless fields, including health, parenting, and child development. I’m also the mom of two small guys who were 1½ and 3½ when I was initially reporting and testing for this guide. I’ve pushed, pulled, rolled, and cajoled kids on tricycles for countless after-dinner strolls and park dashes over the past three years. You might think that tricycles are just for kids who haven’t learned to ride a bike. But the Schwinn Meridian Tricycle for adults is an excellent alternative to a bicycle for your commute or weight loss.
You can buy a brand-new tricycle that looks exactly like one you rode as a kid. After considering more than 30 of today’s tricycles and test-driving 12 of them with a dozen kids, we think most people whose kids are still toddlers should get the Joovy TriCyCoo 4.1. This grow-with-me tricycle offers significantly more versatility than competitors. It works as a stroller alternative for smaller kids who are still learning to pedal on their own, and allows a smooth, fast, fun ride for bigger kids, too. We also like the Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer & Stroll as a less expensive (though also less versatile) option for older toddlers; the Schwinn Roadster for a stylish low ride; and the Angeles Midi for an upgrade pick to outlast them all. The Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ‘N Trike has many of the features we were looking for in a convertible trike—but a few flaws too.
The Joovy TriCyCoo 4.1 is far more versatile than the shiny-red metal trike or the ground-hugging plastic Big Wheel you had as a kid (modern replicas of which we also tested). The trike can be used as young as 9 months in the first of its four grow-with-me configurations, with a padded ring that circles the bike seat and your baby as well as a parent push bar that allows you to use it like a stroller. It also has a storage compartment, a cupholder, and a sunshade that is significantly bigger and more functional than those we found on other grow-with-me models. As your toddler grows, you remove the shade, the safety ring, and the push-bar, and the trike transitions to a big-kid mode where, rated for use with 4-year-olds up to 44 pounds, it continues to excel against competitors. With an average weight and one of the most stable designs we tried, the Joovy was easier to start, pedal, and maneuver than any of the other 10 top trikes we tested. It’s one of the more expensive tricycles out there, and it doesn’t include a bell, but with such a wide age range it’s still a good value for the price.
We’ll look at the features listed by the manufacturer and why they make this tricycle perfect for a heavier rider, riders who want to lose weight, and those that need extra balance. The trike took about 17 minutes to assemble—less than average for the 11 trikes we tested—and though it required an extra screwdriver, the instructions were straightforward. This trike lacks a restraint system and sunshade for small kids, and it’s not as easy to ride as our pick, but it usually costs less.