10" Bikes
Browse used 10" bikes for sale from riders across the UK. The 10" measurement is the wheel diameter, and it is the smallest size sold, suiting children of roughly two to three years with an inside leg of about 30cm to 38cm. Some 10" bikes are balance bikes and some are first pedal bikes with a single gear and a coaster or short-reach rear brake.
What age is a 10" bike for?
Wheel size is a rough proxy for the child, so measure the inside leg and compare it with the bike's minimum saddle height rather than going by age. A 10" bike suits a child around 85cm to 95cm tall. Within the size, the choice is between a pedal bike, which needs a child who can already balance, and a balance bike on 10" wheels for a child still learning. Weight matters more than anything else at this size: a bike over 5kg is a large fraction of the rider's own body weight.
10" or 12" for a first pedal bike?
10" is the smaller and rarer of the two, and most first pedal bikes are built around 12" wheels instead, so the choice of models is wider there. Go for 10" only if the child is genuinely too short to get both feet down on a 12", otherwise the extra wheel diameter rolls better over kerbs and lasts an extra season.
What wears out on a 10" bike?
Cranks and pedals take the worst of it, because bikes this size get dropped constantly and the pedal threads strip in soft alloy cranks. Check the pedals wind in and out cleanly and that the crank arms are not loose on the axle. Tyres at this size are often solid or moulded and go hard and shiny with age, losing grip on damp pavements. Test any hand brake for reach: many small children cannot span an adult-sized lever, and a lever that will not adjust close enough to the bar is effectively no brake.
Is a used 10" bike worth buying?
They get about a year of use before the child moves up, so most come to market barely worn, and a used one at half the new price is usually the sensible buy. Cheap heavy models are worth very little regardless of condition, since the weight is the problem and no amount of servicing fixes it. Buy new if you need a specific lightweight model and none appears used, and look at the whole kids' bike range for what is available at neighbouring sizes.