14" Bikes
Browse used 14in bikes for sale from riders across the UK. A 14in wheel is the first pedal bike for most children, suiting an inside leg of roughly 40-48cm and ages three to five, and nearly all are single-speed with either a freewheel and two hand brakes or a coaster brake. Most are sold on within a year or two, because children move up to 16in as soon as the saddle runs out of post.
Is my child ready for a 14in bike?
The test is not age but whether they can already balance and scoot, and whether their inside leg lets them sit on the saddle at its lowest with both feet flat on the ground. If they are still pushing along with their toes and stopping with their feet, a balance bike for another few months does more good than pedals will. Measure the inside leg against the bike's minimum saddle height, which good sellers will quote — it is a far more reliable figure than the age range printed on the box.
Should I buy a 14in bike or a 12in?
A 12in wheel suits a shorter inside leg and is the lightest thing a small child can handle, but it is outgrown fast and many are heavy, stabiliser-equipped bikes that never really get ridden. A 14in gives a longer wheelbase, rolls over grass and kerbs better, and usually lasts two summers instead of one. If your child is at the bottom of the range, compare against the 12in bikes before deciding, because a bike too tall to touch down on will simply be refused.
Freewheel or coaster brake?
Coaster brakes stop the bike by pedalling backwards and are common on European-designed bikes; they mean a child cannot back-pedal to set the cranks before pushing off, which frustrates some new riders. Freewheel bikes with two hand brakes teach the braking they will use for the rest of their riding, provided the levers have short reach and a light action — Islabikes Cnoc 14, Frog and Squish bikes are all built around child-specific levers. Some bikes ship with a coaster hub and a front hand brake together, which is a reasonable middle ground.
What should I check on a used 14in bike?
Raise and drop the seatpost: on a bike that has sat at one height in a shed, the post is often seized and that is the adjustment you need most. Pull both levers and see how far the lever travels before it bites, then check the pads still have material. Spin the wheels and listen for dry, grinding hub bearings, which is the usual outcome of a bike hosed down after muddy rides. Look for cracked plastic pedals and body-weight dents in perished tyre sidewalls, and check whether the stabiliser mounts and chainguard are still present if you need them.
What should I pay for a used 14in bike?
Heavy supermarket bikes have little resale value and go for a small fraction of new; lightweight bikes routinely sell at two-thirds of retail even when scuffed, because they get passed along quickly and come back to the market in good order. Look across the wider kids' complete bikes listings before paying near-new money for a 14in, since a bike at this size is only in use for a couple of summers and cosmetic scratches make no difference to how it rides.