Perfect for keeping active, improving coordination and getting outdoors, a great bike can be one of the best things you buy for your child.
When it comes to choosing the best kids’ bike, forget about ‘one size fits all’. While different retailers will give an idea of age suitability based on wheel size, it all comes down to your child’s height and inside leg measurement. Just don’t be tempted to ‘size up’ to save money. Kids’ bike brand Frog Bikes says: “The bike should fit your child now, not be something to grow into. They should be able to place their feet flat on the ground while seated and reach the handlebars without stretching.”
Weight is an important consideration, too – buying a bike that’s too heavy for your child is going to make two-wheeling far tricker to get the hang of.
Also think about your child’s riding style. Are they going to be using their bike for the school run, family bike rides or off-road adventures? Picking the best kids’ bike for the terrain being tackled can make all the difference. Get it right and you’ll struggle to get your budding cyclists off their bikes (just remember to keep them safe with a helmet).
To help you out, we’ve tested a whole range of bikes to suit all levels and types of riders. Keep scrolling to find out which ones are ‘wheelie’ good.
How we tested
We recruited a crew of little cyclists, ranging from four to nine years old, to really put these kids’ bikes to the test. Over a month of mixed weather, we took the bikes out for road rides and adventures through woodlands, along mountain bike tracks, across fields and along bumpy countryside paths, to share our honest reviews. While our child testers gave us their feedback on comfort and how easy it was to operate each bike (looking at things such as easy-to-reach brakes and simple gears), we looked at durability, value for money and if the bikes really do live up to each brand’s claims.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
Sarah Dawson is a writer with a great deal of experience when it comes to recommending the best parenting buys and products for kids. As with all IndyBest reviews, Sarah's testing process involves assessing how the products fare under real-world use, factoring in their quality, and any potential pitfalls. By calling in assistance from younger testers when writing this article, she was able to see how different bikes actually go down with kids.
The best kids’ bikes for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Carrera blast junior mountain bike: £315, Halfords.com
- Best budget buy – Apollo gridlok junior mountain bike: £195, Halfords.com
- Best high-spec mountain bike – Early Rider seeker 24: £799, Earlyrider.com
- Best balance-to-pedal bike – SmarTrike Xtend 3-in-1 bike: £299, Amazon.co.uk
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Carrera blast junior mountain bike
This kids’ mountain bike is good value and it instantly won over our mini testers, thanks to its cool matte black frame with flashes of yellow. There’s a lot more to the Carrera blast than good looks, though – especially as the one we tested is now completely covered in mud (good job we added our own mudguards, as they were very needed).
The bike packs in some decent features for the price. The front suspension did a great job of absorbing the bumps as our mini tester took it off-roading, and the aluminium frame made it relatively lightweight for a bike of this size, which helped make uphill climbs less challenging.
The seven gears helped, as our (very tall for her age) five-year-old tester took the bike out over all kinds of terrain – although, the twist mechanism took some getting used to, putting our young reviewer’s wrist strength to the test. A thumb push gear shifter, such as the one on the Early Rider seeker bike (also included in this roundup), would have been easier to use, but that’s just us being picky.
Designed for kids aged 6-11, it’s a brilliant bike that will grow with your child, although our tall nine-year-old tester felt it was too small for him to ride comfortably. We’d suggest it as a brilliant mountain bike (that works just as well on roads and cycling paths) for children aged five to eight. It’s an absolute workhorse of a bike that seemed to cope well with whatever our enthusiastic testers threw at it.
You can opt to have your bike built for you at Halfords, or you can put it together yourself at home. As Carrera is a Halfords brand, you can also get free safety checks at Halfords, which is a great touch.
Buy now £315.00, Halfords.com
Apollo gridlok junior mountain bike
We had to do a double take when we saw the price of this bike. Looking anything but budget, it comes in at just £195, making it a great entry-level mountain bike for girls and boys of about 8-12 years old.
The wide handles are perfect for helping with stability, particularly when off-roading, and we were pleasantly surprised with the suspension, which offered impressive bump-absorption, considering the price.
Despite being designed as a mountain bike, the Apollo also performed well during more-relaxed family rides (thanks, in part, to its 18-speed gearing), and our nine-year-old tester rated it as a very comfy ride.
The brakes could be better, though, and needed quite a bit of adjustment to get them to stop squeaking. Naturally, for the price, you’re going to get basic brake pads, but you can buy more-premium pads and fit them to the bike, if you want to.
We love that this bike comes with a bell – an essential for warning unsuspecting walkers as our mini tester bombed through woodland – and the “cool paint job” was a hit as well. Overall, it’s a great budget kids’ bike that offers value for money.
Buy now £195.00, Halfords.com
Early Rider seeker 24
Early Rider is all about designing high-spec bikes for kids, and the seeker 24 is absolutely that. We were completely blown away by the build quality (this hard-as-nails bike feels indestructible), while our nine-year-old tester raved about how responsive the bike was.
It’s exceptionally lightweight for a bike this size yet still manages to feel fully planted on the ground, making it a dream to navigate our local mountain bike trail and while off-roading through the woods. The hydraulic brakes (which use mineral oil instead of brake fluid) are absolutely standout, just requiring the lightest of touches to come to a standstill. We also loved the tyres – trust us, these Vee Crown gem tyres mean business and make light work of some serious off-roading.
We highly rate the gear mechanisms, too – featuring a lower-than-expected nine gears, it still boasts a 418 per cent gear range (the difference between the highest and lowest gears) and our rider found it so easy to switch between them with a simple thumb press, rather than having to twist, as per the Apollo bike included in our list.
Honestly, it’s so hard to fault this bike – our nine-year-old loves everything about it and his mountain biking has improved no end since we got it. It would have been our number one, but we have to take price into consideration and this is an investment. If you have a serious biker on your hands, and budget allows, this is the bike for you.
Buy now £799.00, Earlyrider.com
Frog 53
Perfect for pavements, parks and the school run, this premium hybrid kids’ bike was an immediate hit with our five-year-old tester. Designed specifically with children in mind, this bike is very lightweight with responsive, easy-to-reach brakes (just right for little hands), shorter cranks and a low centre of gravity.
It’s suitable for children aged between five and seven years old, however, the narrow handlebar (which may suit some smaller kids) was a little too narrow for our tall five-year-old tester, who seemed on the edge of outgrowing the bike.
Similar to Woom (see below), Frog is renowned for creating ergonomic bikes that really help little kids to thrive on two wheels – although, these bikes don’t come cheap. The thumb-click gears are easy to operate, even for children who haven’t ridden a bike with gears before, and the full-length mudguards are a very welcome addition.
While we found this bike struggled a little off-road (the Woom seemed to tackle bumpy ground a lot easier), it’s such an excellent hybrid bike for family rides, which puts little riders firmly in control. Oh, and the bright green colourway is pretty excellent, too – there’s no way you’re losing sight of this bike.
Buy now £425.00, Frogbikes.com
Raleigh pop
A real classic, this bike takes the crown as an awesome all-rounder with bags of style. Perfect for six- to nine-year-olds, this 20in hybrid sits somewhere in the middle weight-wise (featherlight compared with the Apollo but heavier than the Early Rider seeker), while offering a smooth, easy ride.
Raleigh claims the bike can “withstand even the biggest adventure”, and we’d have to agree. This bike performed far better than we imagined on off-road woodland rides, with our tall five-year-old tester summing it up as “very comfy”, despite the lack of suspension. We rate the wide handlebars (which helped with balance and stability), and the gears, which were simple to click through.
While the bike needed the most basic of setting up, we like how it came with a brilliant tool kit with everything we needed to make further adjustments – it’s ideal to use with other bike brands, too.
With kid-friendly features such as chunky tyres that work just as well during the school run as they do on bumpy countryside paths; ergonomically designed cranks for little legs; and anti-slip pedals, so younger bikers don’t lose their footing, it packs in a lot for its mid-range price tag.
Buy now £279.00, Raleigh.co.uk
SmarTrike Xtend 3-in-1 bike
Forget stabilisers – if you want to make it as easy as possible for your child to learn to ride, it’s all about the balance bike. The three-in-one Xtend is designed to grow with your child, transforming from a balance bike to a pedal bike, saving you the job of buying both. We’ll be honest, this was a bit of a pain to assemble, particularly as you have to add the chain yourself. The instructions could have been clearer, too, and we stumbled at the first hurdle, as we didn’t realise you need to remove a bolt to get the seat in place.
However, once built, this was a massive hit with our little testers. We found, in pedal mode, it was a good learning bike for mastering the art of pedalling. It’s lightweight and there are no gears to worry about. We particularly like how you can extend the frame, and adjust the handlebars and seat, for added longevity.
Our testers found this a breeze to control and steer, even over grass, although, it doesn’t match the Woom GO 3 or Frog 53 when it comes to specs. While this bike is not cheap, it certainly justifies the price when you consider how long it will last – it can be used from the age of two or three right up to seven (at a push), and does the job of two bikes, saving money and garage space.
Buy now £299.00, Amazon.co.uk
The verdict: Kids’ bikes
Robust, easy to ride and perfect for on-road and off-road adventures, the Carrera blast is an excellent value bike and a worthy best buy. That said, if your budget allows, the Early Rider seeker 24 is an absolute powerhouse of a mountain bike and offers the kind of high-spec fittings we’ve never seen on a kids’ bike before. If you’re looking to spend less, the Apollo gridlok comes in at less than £200 but is still a durable option with great suspension.
Want more recommendations? We’ve rounded up the best kids’ scooters, too
