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Best Girls and Boys bike guide- NiceC

Gifting a boys’ or girls’ bike is an exciting present that they will most likely remember forever. Kids love to ride bikes, and sometimes their bike means their entire world. Your kid will probably view their bike as their most precious gift because it brings the enjoyment of cycling. It will help them get off the couch and get some outdoor fun. These fun experiences can be the gateway to a lifetime of healthy exercise and adventure.

bike for boy and girl

Children’s bikes come in so many different styles, from bikes in different wheel sizes like the NiceC 12”, 14”, 16”, 18” kids’ bikes to bikes with different seat and brake systems. With so many choices, how do you know which one to pick? Well, first and foremost, before you select a bike, take into consideration what terrain your child will be riding on and how they will use their bike. In this post, we’ll guide you through the process of selecting the right bike for your child.

 

How to Select the correct Bike for Your Child?

Choosing the correct bike can make all the difference in your child’s cycling experience.

Here are some handy tips to help when you are choosing:

Tips:

  1. Choose the right size that fits your girl or boy.
  2. Choose a reliable brake system.
  3. Choose a comfortable seat.
  4. Lightweight means a lot.
  5. Training Wheels or not?

Choose the Right Size that Fits Your Girl or Boy

You might have hears that you need to check a bike seat height versus age, wheel, or frame size to ensure you purchase the correct bike, but this is incorrect. Actually, the frame and the wheel size in combination determine the seat height of a bike.

So, to make sure you get the accurate size, use your child’s inseam when you select a bike. Check your child’s inseam in relation to your bike’s seat height to get the right bike fit. This will give a more precise fit for your child especially if they don’t have a chance to try out the bike before you’ve purchases it!  This will make riding easier and safer.

(1) Measure Your Child’s Inseam

As previously mentioned, use your child’s inseam to get the most accurate sizing. Here’s how to measure your child’s inseam:

 

How to measure inseam for bike size

  1. Let your child stand against the wall with their shoes on and feet slightly apart
  2. Put a hardcover book between their legs, with its spine towards the crotch
  3. Slowly bring the book upwards until the spine of the book touches the crotch
  4. Bring the book to floor level and measure from the ground up to the book’s spine – that’s your inseam!

(2) Pick a Wheel Size Based on Inseam

With your child’s inseam as the guide, find the correct bike wheel size category for them. Choose a larger wheel size as they offer more stability and there is more room for growth

For example, based on the chart below, if a 5-year-old has an inseam of 19.5″ inches, the child could fit three different size bikes. But as she grows the 16″ and 20″, would be the best choice. You’ll have to determine which of the two is best.

Wheel size 12” 14” 16” 18” 20”
Approx Age 2-4 3-6 4-8 6-10 8-12
Approx Inseam 15”-20” 17”-22” 20”-25” 21”-26” 23”-31”
Approx Height 36”-44” 40”-48” 41”-54” 48”-56” 49”-61’

(3) Find the Perfect Seat Height (With Child’s Inseam and Riding Ability)

Your child’s riding ability is another important consideration. The seat height should be set depending on your child’s experience level e.g. novice, using training wheels or experienced.

With the proper seat height (distance from the ground to the top of the seat) you can pin down the best fit for your child from day one. Beginning Riders (1st Bike After a Balance Bike or Training Wheels).

kids bike size chart

With the perfect seat height, a beginning rider should have their feet fat on the ground when they sit on the bike. The bike seat height should be at the same height of the child’s inseam and the child should be able to stop their bike with their feet.

In the image above, the 5-year-old tester is on a 16-inch bike with the seat height set to 19.5″ to match her inseam, which would be perfect if she were just starting out.

SIZING TIP: set the seat of the bike at the same height as your child’s inseam.

Choose a Reliable Brake System

Brakes are a crucial feature on a bike, because they are used to stop the wheels from spinning, thus bringing the bike to a stop. Bikes come with either disc brakes or rim brakes.

Brakes are extremely important on a bike, because they guarantee the safety especially when riders are racing, are in traffic, at stop lights, descents or an unexpected meeting with distracted pedestrians or wildlife.

Current day bikes are more advanced and both types of brake – rim and disc – has their own set of benefits and/or drawbacks.

Disk brakes vs Rim Brakes

Benefits of Disc Brake

Disc brakes can be slightly adjusted, which is great for a child’s bike as it they can feather the brakes and kids can apply light, hard or medium pressure.

Disc brakes also have great stopping power which is great for races and steep descents and kids don’t have to apply much force at the lever. A significant advantage of disc brakes is that they function well in all weather conditions including sleet, rain and mud.

Disc brakes are extremely popular among bikers. Especially off-road riders such as cyclo-cross racers, mountain bikers, bike packers and gravel enthusiasts swear by disc brakes disc brakes. These bikers love disc brakes it does not require a brake caliper which leaves more room for wider wheels and tire clearance. Now, some bikes with a disc brake can fit tires that are up to 38 mm wide.

Bikers can also change and customize disc brake rotor to boost or reduce stopping power. Generally, a larger rotor produces more stopping power, which is why downhill mountain bikes have the largest disc brake rotors and hybrid bikes have the smallest.

Advantage of rim brake

One major advantage of rim brakes is that they are much lighter than disc brakes. Rim brakes are also easier to service and if a rim brake motor has a bent or slight misalignment it will not cause squalling from the brakes.

Disc Brake Vs Rim Brake

Many people choose disc brakes over rim brakes as they are superior to rim brakes in almost every category. Disc brakes are better for quick stops in traffic, different weather conditions, high-speed races and steep descents.

The downside is that disc brakes are often more expensive, difficult to change and maintain. Disc brakes have also been dubbed to be less safe than rim brakes, but all the ‘evidence’ regarding this is anecdotal and circumstantial.

On the contrary rim brakes are cheaper, usually lighter, easier to change and maintain than disc brakes. Rim brakes, however, perform extremely poor in wet conditions. This is caused when the brake pads come into contact with the water that builds up on the surface of the rim. The brake pads will first have to displace the water before they can get to the rim, which will cause a split-second delay between the applications of the brake lever and the actual slowing of the rim. However, rim brakes aren’t all bad, with a bit of practice and experience, you can learn to safely use rim brakes in wet conditions.

The best type of bike to choose for your child is one that has both a rim- and disc brake. The NiceC bikes are equipped with dual brake system, combine both rim- and disc brakes to offer your child greater safety.

NiceC kids bike brake

Why You Should Choose a Lightweight Bike for kids

When it comes to the getting the perfect bike for your girl, weights plays a huge factor. As a parent you want to purchase a bike that your girl will enjoy while riding. A heavy bike isn’t much fun for any child and can also be a safety hazard.

Heavy Takes out the fun

A heavy bike is a lot more difficult to control, and it can get kids in all sorts of trouble, teetering and tottering until they fall over usually with the bike on top of them. With a lighter bike, the child can pick it up and move it, ready to hop back on and continue their ride.

Heavy Makes Riding different

A heavy bike doesn’t pedal, handle and stop very well either. Kids will not want to cycle on a heavy bike because that takes away the enjoyment of the ride. As with any sport or pastime, if you have the right gear it makes everything so much better and more enjoyable.

Heavy bikes are a metal lump

Today’s children have beautiful and light weight bikes out there for them to ride, like the NiceC 12”,14”,16”, 18” kids bike with training wheel and 20” kids bike. But be aware, there are plenty of horribly heavy lumps of steel painted in bright colors that pass off as kid’s bikes. These often have clumsy components and useless accessories like baskets that only add to the weight of the bike.

Weight Weenies

Professional cyclists (and novices too) may take hours in search of the lightest bike. This also applies to kids bikes. Kids’ bikes should be about lightness and strength. Any weight you can take of a kid’s bike is magnified because the bike is a much bigger proportion of their own weight.

So, when it comes to kids bikes, the best option is a light bike. A light bike will bring your kids more fun, unforgettable memories and happiness which in turn will make the parents happy.

NiceC 12-18 inch boys and girls bike 

girls bike

NiceC 12″-18″ boys and girls bike feature:

Shop the 12″-18″ Girls bike

NiceC 20 inch boys and girls bikeNiceC 20 kids bike

NiceC 20″ boys and girls bike feature:

 Shop the 20″ Girls bike[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]