HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SIZE KIDS BIKE

When it comes to choosing the right size kids bike, our over-riding advice is 'smaller is better than bigger'. Children learn to ride with greater ease, have more control on the bike and have a lot more fun if they are the master of their domain.

Our overall advice on choosing the right size kids' bike is based not only on Age and Height, but Ability and Personal Confidence.  

It is all too common to see parents using height as the only key measurement for a bike's correct size. Be careful: it can easily be misleading as an indicator. As most kids' balance develops at roughly the same speed, using age with ability is far more relevant. If you can add age, with height, and ability (ability is a hard one to measure but as a parent you must be honest and realistic) and confidence, than you have a really good indicator.

A Bike Is The Right Size When Your Child Can:

• Sit on the saddle and rest the balls of both feet on the ground.
• Straddle the top bar with a comfortable clearance and with both feet flat on the ground.
• Reach the handlebars with a slight bend in the arms when sitting on the seat.
• If there are handbrakes, your child should be able to grasp them and apply enough pressure to stop the bike. 

The most common reason kids have to move up a size on a normal bike is because of the lack of knee room between the seat and handlebars. This forces you to put up the seat and then your child loses interest or confidence in riding because the centre of gravity is really high and hence the bike becomes even more difficult to ride.

ByK bikes have more knee room than other bikes, which helps to lengthen the life of the bike and make the bike handle in a more predictable way. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are just a few of the frequently asked questions we get about riding kids bikes. If you've got a specific query that is not answered here, please do not hesitate to contact us: [email protected] or message us on Facebook

What is the low centre of gravity design?

A kids bike that has a lower centre of gravity will ensure it is easier to control at any speed. From start up speed for learners to high speeds for budding dare devils, the superior distribution of weight of the ByK kids bikes ergonomic design inspires confidence and control in the rider.The low centre of gravity design is part of our total ergonomic concept. Compared to the top of the wheels, the heavier elements of the bike are sitting lower or deeper into the wheels. It is our unique design and you may see this visually illustrated on our safety page. Effectively we have helped to stabilise the rider and distribute their weight and the bike weight to a position of better control.

Why is a lighter bike better for kids?

After design & efficiency, the next most important aspect is weight. This applies to all bikes and in kid's bikes we have found most bikes on the market are over-weight! The average adult bike weighs approximately 15kgs with the expected rider to weigh between 60-90 kg. By comparison, the average children's bike weighs 13kgs for a child weighing around 20kgs.

You can clearly see the kids have their work cut out. By making our bikes 20% lighter, the rider benefits hugely in many ways, especially bike control. Every little bit of weight we have saved will benefit your child as it does on an adult bike; just multiply the affect by more than two!

Why are bigger wheels more efficient?

Our ByK bikes superior efficiency is possible because we have an innovative design and genuinely lighter weight, but also from our more efficient wheel dynamics. We have achieved this by reducing the rolling resistance of the tyres while increasing the overall rolling size of the wheels. One major benefit from our big wheel concept is the significance it has on reducing the time it takes to get a stationary bike up to balance speed, a critical advantage for all new riders.