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In addition to several weeks of everyday use, I conducted some controlled tests. I had my 3-year-old ride a block on a concrete sidewalk and take a corner at full speed while timing and recording him. I used this test to help assess how easy it was to start and turn each trike, looking for evidence of wheels lifting up or the trike seat being unstable. This took about two hours with my son (we had to take snack and water breaks because, man, trike riding is exhausting). To test the trikes, I timed the two-person assembly of each of the 11 tricycles, noting any particular difficulties or frustrations, as well as if extra tools were needed. I considered how easy each tricycle was to roll or lift out of the way if a parent has to push a child on it.
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.
The Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer & Stroll isn’t as versatile as our pick for littler kids, because it doesn’t have a protective ring and straps to hold a baby in place. It also doesn’t ride quite as well for older kids, and isn’t quite as good as the Joovy at smoothness and ease of starting. Although it was the least stable of our four picks, we still found this tricycle easier and more stable to ride than most of the other trikes we tested, including three other Radio Flyer models. The tricycle a kid learns to ride at school—and usually pedals well for the first time—is often an Angeles trike, a generally higher-quality tricycle than what most kids have at home. Even though the company sells more to institutions than directly to parents, you can buy an Angeles tricycle at retail.
With the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ‘N Trike, the process of converting from baby to big-kid mode took two minutes or more. The Joovy TriCyCoo 4.1 is a versatile, stable, easy-to-use tricycle with the ability to safely and comfortably hold babies as young as 9 months and sturdily ferry big kids up to 4 years (or 44 pounds). “Trikes are really the first tool that give kids the sense of moving forward,” says Judy Wang, a physical therapist based in Los Angeles. They also help develop a child’s visual processing abilities while in motion.
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.
In our tests, the Classic Red was harder to ride than the Joovy or any of our other picks. My 3-year-old gave the trike high marks for its ease of starting and turning. At 10 inches, the front wheel is larger than that on many other convertible trikes, making it easier to roll over grass, gravel, and other rough surfaces. The Joovy’s performance was consistently smooth in our cornering tests. When a dozen kids were pedaling all our tester trikes around a track-shaped sidewalk in a local park, the Joovy was noticeably faster and smoother-looking than rival tricycles. Just about every kid will eventually learn to ride a tricycle, and have fun riding.
The seat features a dual-spring setup that absorbs impact for extra comfort and weight. The Schwinn Meridian is an excellent bicycle alternative for adults looking to lose weight or simply add a fun exercise method to their everyday routine. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service schwinn tricycle from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).
But many modern tricycles also serve as a tool to transport toddlers too young to ride independently around the neighborhood—to the park, a friend’s house, or a local restaurant. These trikes come with a push bar and often a sunshade and security straps and/or belt as well. As a kid grows, these little-kid extras are stripped away, leaving a more typical trike. The banana-shaped bike seat doesn’t adjust, though its ample length allows kids to comfortably push back and stretch their legs as they grow. The Midi is designed for kids 3 to 6 and can accommodate riders up to 70 pounds, which includes many 7- and 8-year-olds, too. We found that bigger kids could more comfortably ride the Midi than the other picks, which you could say is a good reason the higher price tag is worth it.