When you are in the market to make a comparison of the best kids bikes under $200, there are numerous options you’ll come across online or offline. In recent times, bicycles for kids are well-engineered and vary with size and models.
After we’ve carried out some research on the top kid bikes available for purchase under $200 via physical and online stores, we were able to come with the best options for our readers.
And so if you go through other 4-year-old kid bike reviews, you’ll find out these bikes have gained positive reviews.
We urge you to take your time and go through our kid bike buyer guide and you are sure to find one you’ll love, no matter your terrain, preferred style, or budget.
Best Kids Bikes Buyer Guide
Best Kids Bikes on Amazon | Our Rating |
When you want to get a bike for your kid, you should put the following things into consideration.
1. Getting The Right Size
Consider the current height of your kid when you want to purchase a bike for him or her. If he or she can comfortably reach the pedal, then the bike should be the right size for him or her. Also, you should observe if your kid’s feet can touch the ground while sitting on top of the bicycle if it does; then you can proceed to consider the next thing.
However, you should understand that this is the only way a comfortably sized bicycle can give your kid an amazing riding experience.
2. Put Safety First
When you make up your mind to buy kid bikes online or offline some other important accessories like the helmet, knee pads should be taken into account. The main point is that you are very much likely to need these things. These accessories and the bike should be of bright color, so your child can be seen from distance.
3. Get a Bike With The Right Frame Size
During the course of reading 4-year-old kid bike reviews online, you may have learned that kids’ bikes are conventionally measured by the size of the wheel and not the frame. A 12 inched wheel size will be suitable for a 4-year-old kid, getting a bigger bike with the thought that it will help your kid grow tall is only going to make riding less fun and more frustrating for your kid.
4. Remember That What You Pay For Is What You Get
When it comes to purchasing children bikes, parents tend to put the price into consideration because they think the child will soon outgrow the bike and it may become useless in about 2 to 3 years’ time, but they seem to forget or not bother about the fact that “good quality comes with a good price”.
Nevertheless, it is possible to get an inexpensive bike which is of better quality than an expensive one. This guide will provide a kid bike price comparison, and some information about the bike so you will know what type of bicycle to purchase for your kid under $200 without sacrificing quality 100%.
5. Give Your Kid a Chance to Choose
In most cases, children tend to be choosy when it comes to colors of anything; this is the same in the case of bicycles.
Even if you want to present the bike as a surprise, take your child with you to the store or check kids’ bikes for sale online together with them and tell him or her to choose a favorite bicycle color. This will save you from your kid throwing tantrums when you present the bike to him or her.
6. Get the Right Fit
Aside from a bicycle of the right size, your kid can also get an amazing riding experience with the right adjustments made to the saddle, gear, and paddle. You should make all necessary adjustments that best meet the needs of your kid. More joy of riding can be derived from a properly adjusted bike.
7. Make Sure The Bike Is Well Set
If you are purchasing the bike from an online store, ensure all the parts of the bike are properly set. You can take the bike to a local bike shop for some proper examination of all components like brakes, steering units, gears, saddle, and paddle. You can as well request for a first ride test. If you are a DIY person, you can carefully read the manual and set the bike according to instructions.
8. Tools
Make sure you get a tool kit that contains some basic tools like keys and wrenches. Unforeseen emergencies may occur and a tool kit can come in handy.
Top 3 Best Kid Bikes Under $200
1. Schwinn Koen Boys Bike for Toddlers and Kids
The Schwinn Koen Boys Bike for Toddlers and Kids tops the list of the best kid bikes under $200; it is impressively sturdy, well-designed, and durable. It offers a smooth, fun, and comfortable ride and it is fairly long-lasting. The bike has handlebars that are slightly lower which allows it to perform better, for kids that love adventurous rides and are likely to go over curbs or small jumps. Though, it is not recommended for really aggressive riders; but the best choice for adventurous riders that are on a budget.
2. JOYSTAR Kids Bike
The JOYSTAR Totem Kids Bike with Training Wheels for 12, 14 & 16-inch Bike, Kickstand for 18-inch Bike (Blue Ivory Red Orange Pink Green) is available in various styles and they are a massive step up from inexpensive big-box store bikes. As it is, the JOYSTAR Totem Kids Bike is lighter than those kinds of bikes; it also provides state-of-the-art child-specific geometry which gives room for a more comfortable and stable ride for your kids. Although, the general design is still a low-quality budget design and the price is much more affordable for most parents that are planning to buy a kid bike for sale online. The JOYSTAR Totem Kids Bike comes with a handbrake, but then again it is poorly built and riders will have to depend on the coaster brake to stop the bike.
3. Schwinn Elm Girls Bike
This Schwinn kids bike is best suitable for taller kids, considering the fact that the Mini-Viper has the tallest handlebars compared to that of the Schwinn Elm Girls Bike for Toddlers and Kids. The Elm Girls Bike has a similar seat height range with the Schwinn, but the handlebars are 2 in. taller. The taller handlebars will protect children with longer torsos from bending over to hold unto the handlebars and it allows for sufficient room for growth.
Some other candidates of the best kid bikes under $200 include REI’s Co-op REV, RoyalBaby Classic, Diamondback Mini Venom andNext Rocket/Flare.
If you want to save yourself the stress of going to a store to look for a bicycle that matches your price budget and you have no idea where to buy kid bike online, you can visit online stores like Amazon or others.
Bike Quality
The frames of kids’ bikes hardly break, but the smaller parts of the bikes often experience breakage. Just like adult bicycles, it’s often the quality of these smaller parts that determines the total cost of the bicycle. Though determining the quality is subjective, but after assembling and checking how well the parts fit together, it indicates the quality of the bike.
In accordance with some other accurate 4-year-old bike reviews, our three candidates are the best three bikes for a 4-year-old under the budgetary price.
The Raleigh is believed to be the best kid bikes under $200 price point, due to its quality – thee components of the bike went together perfectly without noises or rattles while pedaling.
The Schwinn SmartStart has the lowest quality amongst the three as it requires a series of tweaking to get the handbrake to function properly and it squeaks slightly when in use.
The Diamondback Mini Viper was of average quality between the three candidates. Although, not as solid as Raleigh but it hardly squeaks or rattles when in use.
You should remember that these bikes are some of the best in their price range, so you can only expect so much for the given price. One thing worthy of note is that you should endeavor to test anyone you end up buying. This will make it possible for you to do an acceptable return if there are any defects.
If you are looking for child bike seats, don’t forget to have a look at the comparison of front & rear-mounted child bike seats for your little ones before finalizing any specific seat type.
