However, many folding bikes have adjustable components, such as the seat post, stem angle, and handlebars to improve fit and comfort. Many folding bikes use 20-inch wheels to ensure they fold down to a manageable size and stay relatively light when commuting or traveling on public transport. If you plan on riding longer distances, 700c wheels will offer a smooth ride and maximize your pedaling input. The Strider 12 Sport comes without a rear linear-pull hand brake—the ideal kind for a balance bike. Most kids can indeed stop a balance bike even on moderate hills with nothing more than their feet or simply step off the back of the bike, but a good squeeze of a hand brake can stop them faster. Strider does sell a $20 simple add-on foot-operated brake, which can also help teach coaster braking skills.
As far as geometry and weight, the 14x Sport is meant for older kids, from the late 3s up to 6 or 7. The 14x weighs 12 pounds without pedals, 15.5 pounds with, which is pretty light for a 14-inch bike, but double the weight of the 12 Sport. Couple that range with a handlebar stem that can be raised nearly 4 inches and a bar that can be tilted upward and forward nearly 4 inches, and you have an incredibly versatile and maneuverable little people mover. When I raised the bars to their maximum and rotated them halfway forward, even my 8-year-old had a blast whipping around the driveway with his friends without bumping his knees. When shopping for beach cruiser bikes, it’s important to note that they usually weigh more than traditional bicycles. This is because they’re designed with features that stand up to daily wear and tear, like wider tires and curved handlebars.
Firmstrong’s Bella Fashionista Single Speed Bike is our choice for a sturdy, well-designed, single-speed beach cruiser bike. We love the wide range of bright hues, especially because Firmstrong adds an extra pop of color to the rims. The extended frame is made from durable steel, to better suit taller riders. SixThreeZero’s EvryJourney Step-Through Bike is our other top pick because it’s designed to go just about anywhere. It features wider tires, which makes it great for riding on different types of terrain, including rougher trails.
There are lots of reasons why this popular Dahon folder deserves your attention—the aluminum-frame bike has brand-name parts, a quick-folding design, and everything you need for a convenient commute, like fenders and a rear rack. There is only one gear, although the frame does have a derailleur hanger for potential future upgrades. If the ride you’re looking to do on your folding bike involves a lot of hilly terrain, consider spending $50 more for the Tilt 120, which features six gears.
We also like that the bike comes with a one year warranty—or, you can purchase a lifetime warranty for an extra $29.99. Although you’ll have to assemble this huffy scout bike bike yourself, it’s fully customizable. Choose your desired color, number of speeds, and accessories to create a cruiser you’ll use for years to come.
This allows riders to pack a full-size bike into a case that is under the TSA size limit for oversized luggage. Most folding bikes come “one size fits all” with lots of built-in adjustability. A model with a lot of versatility might even be suitable for more than one member of your family. 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. Making a turn with training wheels with too much speed can throw a kid from their bike. Typically, too, training wheels encourage parents to buy bikes far too big for their kids.
Its 20-inch fat tires deliver a comfortable ride by absorbing road vibrations, while the foldable design makes it convenient for storage and transportation. The bike’s Shimano Altus rear derailleur shifts smoothly with trigger shifters, and its 8-speed gearing is more than capable of tackling urban climbs. Thick, 1.75-inch-wide Schwalbe Citizen tires on 20-inch wheels are burly enough for city riding. If you’re on a tight budget and need a simple, easy-to-maintain folding bike to get you through the last few miles of your commute, this is a great option.
Similar to the automotive and technology industries, the delta between Private Party and Trade-in values stems from customer benefits and re-seller hurdles. However, Huffy includes all of the tools you’ll need to get the job done. Choose from classic gray or royal blue with pink accents and floral details.
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 huffy bicycle 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.
Modern V- and disc-style hand brakes are superior because they allow a child to stop with the pedals in any position—potentially important in an emergency stop situation. The 14x’s closest competition, the hybrid LittleBig, which is manufactured in Ireland, sells its 3-in-1 model as a hand brake–equipped balance bike and offers its freewheel pedal/sprocket assembly as a stand-alone option. In the US, North Carolina’s Glide Bikes does the same thing with its 12-inch Mini-Glider. The 14x Sports sold in non-US markets (keeping up with international bike standards) will, in fact, feature a freewheel and linear-pull hand brakes.