The 5 Best Balance Bikes of 2025

The gorgeous, aluminum LittleBig three-in-one model is a hybrid balance pedal bike like the Strider 14x Sport. It offers a step up in quality, weighs less (11.2 pounds without pedals, 14.5 pounds with), and has excellent front and rear handbrakes as well as an ingenious system that allows you to flip the midpoint of the frame so that it grows with your kid. The pedal-installation process is not as simple as with the 14x Sport, though, and this bike’s geometry is more aggressive, which makes it agile but not quite as comfortable as the Strider model. In spring 2025, an updated version of the LittleBig will be available. Changes include a slightly lighter weight and more colors.

The Yedoo TooToo is a small, lightweight (8.2 pounds) steel bike with air tires, a steering limiter, and a strong linear-pull handbrake (great for hilly areas). Its step-through height of 10 inches is a bit high, and though its seat-adjustment range is a little larger than that of our top pick from Guardian, its 1.1-inch-diameter bar grips were too wide for our smallest brake-grabbing kids.

The Ridgeback Scoot is a solid, bigger 12-inch model. Made by a UK-based company, it’s a really nice bike, but it doesn’t exhibit quite the attention to detail that the Guardian Balance Bike does, despite a comparable cost. This model is also hard to find in the US.

We also tested the budget Kazam v2e, which features the lowest step-in height of any bike we tested, at 6 inches, as well as a wide, comfortable footrest. We had issues with the width of its rear tubes, which rubbed our tester’s legs, and the foam tires were quite slippery.

The original Croco Ultralight Balance Bike, a popular, sub-$100 Amazon option, has foam tires and a tool-free adjustment system, and it weighs just 4 pounds. With a seat-height range of 11 to 15.5 inches, it’s built for smaller kids, and it’s equipped with a bell. But we found it annoying to build—you need your own screwdriver, and the parts don’t fit together easily—and its cheap, hard tires didn’t have enough give for kids to ride it comfortably. The frame is made with such thin aluminum that it felt like plastic to us, and the paint got scratched up almost immediately.

The similarly budget Bixe Extreme Light Balance Bike was nearly identical to the Croco model we tested. It has a puzzlingly high 85-pound weight limit to match its seat height range of 11 to 15.5 inches. It’s also a light 4 pounds. But this Bixe model had cheap, foam tires with very little tread; Jenni’s son wiped out on this bike more than on any other. And the frame and hardware felt flimsy.

Specialized’s Hotwalk is a solid bike, but it usually costs over $200 and offers no handbrake.

In most respects Giant’s Pre is on a par with our runner-up pick, the REI REV 12, but it’s available only in bike shops, so it’s harder to find.

Cannondale’s Kids Trail Balance bike is unique, with its single-sided lefty-style fork, made famous on Cannondale’s big mountain bikes. But most riders don’t need the extra-robust wheels, and feature-wise, you get more for your money from the REI REV 12.

The Retrospec Cub is a budget-priced balance bike that you’ll find featured prominently on Amazon. But it has plastic wheels, which meant our kid testers avoided it entirely. It didn’t ride well on pavement or dirt. The seat height starts at a low 11 inches, which is nice for younger kids, but we think they’ll get frustrated quickly based on the challenging ride.

We were initially impressed by the Schwinn Toddler Balance Bike, which is a heavier 14 pounds but was one our older kids chose over and over again because it moved well, with smooth 12-inch tires and a sleek body. But then Jenni’s son ran into a wall (rather gently) with the bike, and the handlebars were knocked completely out of their housing. Despite Schwinn’s unlimited warranty, this gave us pause related to durability. 

The Hornit Airo fell into the neutral zone with our tester kids. It doesn’t have adjustable handlebars like some of the other bikes we tested, which means you can only change the height by lowering the seat. This leads to some level of discomfort, depending on the kids’ size. The styling of this bike is also unique, with a hollow downtube. Jenni’s children told her over and over again that this bike wasn’t comfortable, and we believe them.