Chances are there’s a good place to ride somewhere in your neck of the woods, but before your kids can experience nature on two wheels they’ll need a solid bike. Why? The key to getting your kid to love any activity is to make sure that they’re at least mildly successful when they first try it. For mountain biking, that means picking a trail with a low level of difficulty and equipping your little one with one of the best mountain bikes of kids, a ride that can easily handle beginner trails.
See more: Best Kids Outdoor Toys
But shopping for a kids’ mountain bike can be tricky. Manufacturers often build kids’ bikes heavier because it’s cheaper and parents, cognizant of growth spurts, don’t want to sink a lot into a bike their kid will soon outgrow. While it’s tempting to save some cash this way, it’s worth spending a little bit more if your kid is itching to become a dirt-hopping downhiller. Our picks are light but tough. They come with reliable brakes, smooth shifting, and legit suspensions that add up to a positive introduction to an active nature-based hobby.
Also: Best Bike Helmets
Huffy Kids Dual Suspension Mountain Bike
With its 20-inch tires and full suspension, this six-speed bike is ideal for kids ready to really go off-roading.
Buy Now $141.99
Pros: Great for kids five and older, this Huffy mountain bike has twist grip shifting for smooth transitions, plus it has a removable rear derailleur guard that protects the gears, and front and rear steel linear pull handbrakes that give riders stability and control.
Cons: The brake lines take some adjustment to get them just right.
Tommaso Ghost Mountain Bike
This mountain bike has a rider-friendly grip-shift system, so it's a great choice for kids just starting out on the trails. The disc brakes are a nice add, too.
Buy Now $349.99
Pros: This stellar bike has knobby tires that are perfect for gravel, pavement, dirt, or grass. And the grip shift makes the bike easier to control. Plus the 6061 SLA aluminum frame is lightweight, but can take a major beating.
Cons: Some riders say the gears don’t shift as smoothly as they could.
Mongoose Mountain Bike Exlipse 24 Inch Dual-Suspension
Exlipse is a weird name, but this steel bike is a great option. It has front and rear linear brakes and 21 Shimano dearilleur speeds for smooth shifting over rough terrain.
Buy Now $189.99
Pros: Twist-action shifters makes it easy for kids to change gears while keeping their hands on the handlebars and near the brakes. Users also tend to agree that assembly is pretty painless, with some getting it done in as little as ten minutes.
Cons: Steel just isn’t as light as aluminum, and this bike’s 40ish pound weight means it might be harder for kids to take up steep hills.
Guardian Lightweight Kids Bike
If you have an accident-prone kid, this is the bike for them. It's billed as the safest bike in the world, which isn't a claim we can verify, but we can tell you that it's loaded with features designed to keep kids safe no matter what kind of trail they're on. It's engineered to have a lower center of gravity, a feature that makes tip-over accidents less likely. The SureStop brake system activates both brakes with one lever, greatly reducing both stopping distance and the odds of your kid going head-over-handlebars on a quick stop. And every bike comes with a 34-point safety check already completed.
Buy Now $419.00
Pros: At 21.5 pounds, the frame is lightweight, so kids don’t need to pedal as hard to fly down the trail. This bike also arrives almost completely assembled so even the least handy of parents can get their kid up and riding quickly, with just the handlebar and pedals to install.
Cons: There are only six speeds, and the tires could be a bit too thin for particularly rocky trails.
HASA Kids 21-Speed Mountain Bike
This 21-speed bike is fairly lightweight, and it has a host of features that kids will be excited about.
Pros: It’s a great value for the money, with high-quality components from companies like Shimano included at a fairly low price point. There’s also a dashboard-style display that looks cool and shows them which gear they’re using, key information for kids still learning how to shift.
Cons: Some parents say that the shifters can be hard for small hands to operate.
Diamondback Mountain Bike El Oso Nino
There are thick tires and then there are the 4-inch bad boys that come standard on this bike, appropriately called a fat bike. Just like a monster truck's tires crush everything that comes in their path, the Oso Niño can roll over whatever comes in your kid's way. There are seven gears and disc brakes built on a solid steel frame.
Buy Now $375.00
Pros: It’s not just their size. The tires on this bike are low pressure, which means they mold to the terrain and glide more easily on top of snow. This thing also has a steel frame that’s stronger than aluminum and mechanical disc brakes that have plenty of stopping power.
Cons: The steel frame is way heavier than aluminum options, and it might be harder for smaller kids to propel and control.
Raleigh Mountain Bike Rowdy
This single-speed bike couldn't be easier to ride, so it's a great choice for older kids who are learning to ride who want to tackle trails once they get the hang of things. It has 2.125-inch tires for a smooth ride over rough terrain, a low standover frame, and soft PVC grips that make longer rides super comfortable.
Buy Now $229.99
Pros: The low standover frame means it’s easy to mount and dismount this ride, and the lack of gears means that kids still nervous about riding won’t have to worry about shifting. The twisting shifter makes it easy to change gears , and the styling looks like an adult mountain bike in a smaller package.
Cons: We don’t love the neon frame, and the downside of a single-speed bike is that getting up hills can be tricky. Save this one for flat rides.
Diamondback Bicycles Octane Mountain Bike
This is a sharp-looking bike. It has a rich blue coat of paint, white front fork, and an all-black chain and gear assembly that look badass together. The six simple speeds in a Shimano 1x6 drivetrain strike a nice balance between the flexibility of a bike with multiple speeds and the simplicity of riding a single-speed.
Buy Now $224.99
Pros: The shifter is a trigger that’s easy for smaller hands to operate while rolling, and there’s a guard over the rear derailleur to protect it from damage or slipping.
Cons: At 25 pounds, this bike isn’t as light as some of our other picks, so it’ll take a bit more work to get to top speed.
Schwinn High Timber Mountain Bike, 20-Inch Wheels
This 21-speed mountain machine is great for casual rides around town and more intense rides on the trail. It has a front suspension fork, which means that you have a smooth ride no matter how many rocks you run over along the way.
Buy Now $190.27
Pros: The High Timber has a full compliment of 21 different speeds, so it’s great for older kids and/or those who have already mastered riding bikes with more basic gear options.
Cons: This thing really feels like an adult bike, but smaller. That means beginning riders should look elsewhere to master the ins and outs of basic trail riding.
woom 4 Pedal Bike
Woom makes its kids’ bikes in six different sizes, from the woom 1 (kids 1 and a half to 3 and a half, 31 to 40 inches tall) to the woom 6 (kids 10 to 14, 55 to 65 inches tall). No matter which woom you start them on, if they like it you have an obvious next bike for them, which makes things a heck of a lot easier. Each woom comes in five different bright colors. The woom 4 is the first in the line to include gears, a key tool for mountain biking where the whole point is to go up and down hilly trails.
Buy Now $449.00
Pros: All of the tools you need to build this bike are included. There are only eight gears to shift with the grip shifter, so it’s an easier bike to learn to shift on than, say, a 21-speed model. The brake levers are small enough to fit small hands, and the stem that connects the handlebars doesn’t have any protruding bolts for kids to bang into with their legs.
Cons: Kickstand sadly not included, so be ready for your kid to leave this thing lying around a lot unless you have a rack to hang it from or a wall to lean it against.
Schwinn Koen Bike with SmartStart
We like that this mountain bike includes both a rear coaster brake and a front caliper brake, which helps kids transition to a hands-only brake when they're older.
Buy Now $169.99
Pros: This is the bike to get if you have a beginner and don’t want to throw down a ton of cash. This bike is easy to ride and has an adjustable saddle and a slack seat-tube angle that let the bike to grow with your child.
Cons: The quality can be iffy, so this is at best a starter bike and not meant for years of use and abuse.
Every product on Fatherly is independently selected by our editors, writers, and experts. If you click a link on our site and buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Related Articles: Never Lose Your Car in a Huge Parking Lot Again With This GPS Tracker Everything We Know About 'Ballerina,' The John Wick Spin-Off Movie You Have Until Friday To Save $40 Off a Disney+ Streaming Subscription How to Curb Your Phone Addiction, According to the Guy Who Helped Create It
The post The Best Mountain Bikes for Kids Who Are Ready to Rip Up the Trail appeared first on Fatherly.
#Gear
