Q. What Wheel Size Should I Buy My Child?
Age Wheel Size
3 to 5 Years 12" Inch Wheel
4 to 6 Years 14" Inch Wheel
5 to 8 Years 16" Inch Wheel
6 to 9 Years 18" Inch Wheel
7 to 10 Years 20" Inch Wheel
First Bikes; 12" & 14" wheels, suitable for average ages 2˝ up to 5. Larger and slightly older children should benefit from the 14" wheel bicycles.
Once a child has learnt to ride without stabilisers (generally about age 5) they will move up to a 16" wheel cycle. These do not normally come fitted with stabilisers but they can be added to virtually all 16" wheel bikes if required.
Once you get into the realms of 20" wheel bikes and above, you may be offered multiple frame sizes. This has the benefit of being able to fit a younger child onto a bigger wheeled bike if they are confident riders. Although you will find that size options are generally not offered on a particular model, rather that different models have different frame sizes.
It is a very tempting thing to do, but don’t buy a bike which is too big for your child in the hope that they will grow into it. They will, but in the meantime they will be riding a bike which is not easy for them to control, which can be very dangerous. It does not really save money anyway, because if you change bikes more often, the outgrown ones will have a higher resale value.
