Hey y’all! My daughter is 4 and is 42.5” tall. I’m ordering her her first bike. Should I go with a 14” or a 16”? Thank you!!
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Definitely a 16” if you want it to last a couple years. My daughter is almost 44” tall and is at the very maximum seat height for her 14” bike.
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16. We just bought bikes for the whole fam last week!
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Agree! 16” is perfect for a 4yo.
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I actually disagree with the others - if you’re hoping to teach her to ride a 2- wheel quickly, the 14” will be easier since it’s smaller/lighter. My 42” 5 year old is currently in a 12”, she’ll probably get the 14” in a month or so when her 46” sister gets a 16”....but we are planning on teaching her to ride two wheels on the 12”. She tried on the 14” this past weekend and the extra size/weight was definitely making it harder. Both girls bikes are a little small for them at 12”/42” and 14”/46”, but it’s not ridiculous and the seat could still move up. They are light for their heights, though.
If you’re worried about longevity, you could buy used on a mom swap board or check local sports consignment stores (Flip, Play-it-again Sports).
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@PinkElephant: I was thinking the same thing but since my 5 year old has been soooo slow at catching on to riding a bike I didn’t think I really had much to offer.
She had a nice balance bike that she never balanced on at all. Now has a small hand me down with training wheels and it’s slow going, but I know bigger wheels would make her more fearful.
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We have gotten her training wheels bikes for free though- hand me downs or there is a swap area at our town dump. We figured she will outgrow these quickly so we will wait and splurge more when she’s bigger.
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@Foodnerd81: My almost-7-year old is SUPER un-coordinated. I thought she'd be 12 before she could ride! (exaggeration, but not really....) - she had been begging and begging, do right after she turned six I told DH to just take off the training wheels, let her try, and put them back on after she fell a few times.
Well, she was up and running within 10 minutes!!!!! Shocked us all! I was so proud of her.
DD2 is almost 5 and tried last weekend; it seemed hard for her to balance the 14" bike, so we'll take the wheels off her 12" to let her try soon. She's also like your daughter - not particularly inclined to biking. She prefers scootering, so we will see what happens.
I received the advice from a neighbor who bikes not professionally but very seriously.
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16. Both my 3.5 and 5.5 year old girls have 16 inch bikes and ride them well. The 3.5 year old still had training wheels but my oldest is not super coordinated and she still learned to ride without training wheels recently. She’s probably 44 inches tall and weighs 38 lbs.
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A 14’’ will be much easier for learning on but will be outgrown quickly. I’d recommend finding a lightweight 14’’ used if you possibly can! Both my kids started on a woom2 and we swear by them.
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I have an avg sized almost 4.5 year old and I think we're going to go with a 14". I think 16" is too big/heavy for her to maneuver. I'm okay with having to get another bigger bike later on since she can pass down to lil sis.
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@PinkElephant: @Foodnerd81: My almost 4.5 year old is still content riding her a trike
She had a nice balance bike that she never balanced on at all. Now has a small hand me down with training wheels and it’s slow going, but I know bigger wheels would make her more fearful.
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