Biky Bikes 14 Inch Bike Review

When it comes to getting your little one rolling happily on two wheels, the Biky 14-inch bike checks all the right boxes. It’s lightweight, coaster-brake-free, and offers plenty room for growth. It’s truly a standout choice.

As a newcomer to the bike world, we put the Biky to the test against several competitors to see how it stacked up. In our tests with multiple riders of various ages and heights, the Biky performed like a seasoned champ. From crank arm length to wheelbase, we’re here to share our real-world experiences with how every feature affects riding ease and performance.

Biky Bikes 14 Overview

RATING: Exceptional

MSRP: $349

BEST FOR: Any young rider advancing from a balance bike, and especially those who are hesitant or timid.

SEAT HEIGHT: 15.5″ – 18″ (can be raised to 21.5″ by cutting the longer, included seat post – more about this in the review)

WEIGHT: 11.5 lb. (on our scale)

ADDITIONAL SPECS
BRAKES: Single rear hand brake (no coaster)
FRAME: Aluminum Alloy
GAIN RATIO: 3.57
CRANK ARM LENGTH: 89mm
WHEELBASE: 675mm
TRAINING WHEELS: Not compatible

View on Biky Bikes

Who is Biky Bikes?

First off, who is Biky Bikes? Founded in 2023, Biky Bikes is a new bicycle brand based in Covina, California. But the team behind Biky Bikes brings years of experience in the children’s bike industry in Eastern Europe to the US market.

Since their inception, Biky Bikes has already won several awards for design, including the iF Design Award (a version of this balance bike is in the works!) and the NY Design Awards.

Biky Bikes specializes only in kids bikes and currently offers a 12″ balance bike as well as 14″, 16″ and 20″ pedal bikes.

Biky Bikes 14″ Review – Results of our Test Rides

It’s a rare occasion when a new 12″ or 14″ bike hits the market and impresses us, but the Biky has certainly managed to do just that. Crafting a high-quality 12″ or 14″ kids’ bike is no easy feat due to their small size, yet Biky has excelled in its first attempt.

Not only is it lighter than other bikes in its category, but it also offers plenty of room for growth and comes equipped with a freewheel instead of a coaster brake.

While the Biky sure looks good on paper, our group of young testers, ages 3 to 5, confirmed it during our testing period. Once the “new bike” excitement wore off, we knew Biky was on to something when our testers clearly preferred the Biky over several of our tried-and-true 14″ bike favorites.

What size and age of child fits on the Biky 14?

During our multiple testing sessions, we put the Biky to work against the Guardian 14″, the woom 2 (14″) and the Cleary Gecko 12″. Our testers included a 3, 4, and 5-year-old who are all proficient riders without training wheels.

With a possible seat height range of 15.5″ – 21.5″ (possible when cutting the second included seat post), the Biky 14 is a great fit for kids with inseams ranging from 15.5″ to about 21″ (typically kids in 24 months to 3T pants). With the Biky balance bike having a maximum seat height of 15.5″, its easy to transition from their balance bike to the Biky 14.

Seat Height

The Biky comes with two seat posts (but only one saddle – you swap the post by removing and replacing a single screw). The shorter seat post allows for a seat height between 15.5″ and 18″. This seat post worked great for our tiniest tester, who is still in 18 to 24 month pants.

With the seat height set to the minimum of 15.5″, he could firmly plant both feet on the ground, which is essential for novice riders to enable them to start and stop the bike with their feet.

Taller riders who need a seat height above 18″ must use the longer seat post. However, this post hits the bike’s bottom bracket, preventing seat heights between 18″ and 22.5″. This longer post is a necessity due to outdated CPSC regulations.

To remedy this, we cut 4″ off the post, enabling a usable seat height range of 18″ – 21.5″. Any bike shop can do this for pretty cheap if you don’t have the tools.

But is the bike rideable at the higher range? Absolutely! Here’s our 42″ tall 5-year-old rider on the Biky 14 with the seat height set to 21″.

While the bike is certainly on the smaller side, she still enjoyed riding the bike without feeling too cramped.

With the minimum seat height of a few 20″ bikes coming in at around 21″ or 22″, it’s possible to skip from the Biky 14″ to a 20″ bike. That said, we actually wouldn’t recommend it, as its a big jump in wheel size.

Biky 14 vs. Biky 16

If your child’s inseam already measures 17.5″, you might want to consider the Biky 16, with a seat range of 17.5″ – 25″. This slightly larger bike offers more growing room without being too big for little ones to maneuver.

Compared to other 16″ bikes, the Biky 16 is quite small; the minimum seat height of the woom 3 is almost 2″ taller at 19.3″ while the Commencal Ramones is over 3″ taller at 20.8″.’

While small, it is certainly a step up in size compared to the Biky 14″. In the image below, our 5-year-old tester is riding both the Biky 14 and 16 with the seat height set to 21″.

42″ Tall Rider on Biky 14 vs. Biky 16

What We Love about the Biky 14

Lightweight Built

Built with a lightweight aluminum frame and with smaller kid-specific components, the Biky 14″ comes in at 11.5 lb. on our hanging bike scale, the lightest 14″ bike on the market (as of 2024). With the average 3-year-old weighing in at 26 lb. to 28 lb., most 12″ and 14″ bikes are over half their body weight!

While many young riders can make heavier bikes work, lightweight bikes are even more important for timid or petite riders. Since young riders often ride for shorter periods, having to frequently pick up a heavy bike to turn it around or reposition it can be discouraging, especially for those who are already apprehensive.

How does the weight of the Biky compare to other bikes?

On the same scale, our woom 2 with the freewheel kit installed weighs 11.9 lb. (with a coaster brake the woom 2 is about 0.5″ lb. heavier). However, the main weight difference between these two bikes is likely due to the brakes. The woom 2 features dual hand brakes, while the Biky 14 has just one.

The popular Guardian 14 weighs in much heavier at 16.5 lb., but it’s also $100 cheaper than the Biky.

No Coaster Brake!

The Biky 14 comes standard without a coaster brake. Having tested kids’ bikes for 15 years, I can assure you that teaching a child to ride a bike is significantly easier on bikes that do not have coaster brakes.

When learning to pedal, kids often pedal backward by mistake, inadvertently engaging the coaster brake, which can lead to a crash. Even if the child doesn’t fall, the sudden activation of the coaster brake can kill their momentum, which can be frustrating.

Without a coaster brake, upon pedaling backwards, the bike will continue moving forward without losing momentum. Within a few seconds, the child can correct their pedal stroke and continue riding.

Although most higher-end bikes offer freewheel kits to remove the coaster brake, these kits add to the cost of the bike and can be challenging to install.

Why don’t all brands include a freewheel kit? Unfortunately, this is due to CPSC regulations (the same reason the second seat post has to be so long). Biky (as well as Guardian) avoids the coaster brake requirement by including the longer seat post with their 14″ bikes. Other brands like woom and Prevelo offer freewheel kits and stock their bikes with seat posts of reasonable heights.

Longer Wheelbase and Cockpit

While it’s hard for our young riders to articulate what they love about a bike, after watching repeated test rides, it was easy to see that the Biky was bigger than other 14″ bikes – not in height, but in length. The wheelbase of the Biky 14 is just under 1.5″ longer than the woom 2 and Guardian 14.

While most of the added wheelbase is in the chainstays (the frame tubing that runs parallel to the chain), the saddle of the Biky 14 is also positioned farther back on the bike than the woom 2. This additional space provides for more space in the cockpit (distance between the child’s body and the handlebars).

More space in the cockpit allows for more space for growth, more maneuverability (especially as kids get more aggressive and want to lean in), and can prevent young riders’ knees from hitting the handlebars during sharp turns.

For a slightly taller 3-year-old tester with the seat height to 18″, the difference is even more apparent with the 12″ Cleary Gecko.

Biky 14 vs. Cleary Gecko 12

Too large of a cockpit can be problematic (riders have to lean too far forward to reach the handlebars), so Biky ensured their handlebars could be tilted inward for smaller riders.

This allows a small rider to reach the grips without having to sacrifice their natural, upright body positioning. woom’s handlebars also tilt in, but their taller bars can quickly impede the cockpit.

Wider Base for Taller Riders

One of the biggest benefits of the longer wheelbase is that it provides additional space for taller riders. A longer wheelbase allows for a larger cockpit, but also creates a wider base, helping taller riders feel more balanced and centered on the bike.

The two different riders below are both riding at a 21″ seat height. Biky’s longer wheelbase (longer than Guardian’s by 35mm) provides a wider base than the Guardian.

Guardian 14 vs. Biky 14 with Taller Riders

Longer Crank Arms

The crank arms of a bike are the metal pieces that connect the pedals to the bike. They vary in length depending on the bike brand. The Biky 14 features longer crank arms compared to other 14″ bikes, measuring 19mm longer than the Guardian 14!

With the crank arm essentially being the radius of the pedal circle, the longer the radius, the larger the circle. While long crank arms do have their downside, on a positive note, they prevented kids from having to pedal in super fast and tight circles!

Over the years, we have seen our fair share of little riders struggle to pedal bikes with tiny crank arms due to the small pedaling motion required. The super short crank arms on the Guardian 14 have been problematic for some of our test riders.

With the longer crank arms of the Biky, the downside is that they create a more cramped pedal position on the high stroke for kids riding at lower seat heights. When set to the minimum seat height of 15.5″, there is only 5″ of space between the top of the pedal stroke and the bottom of the seat, which leads to a tight knee bed on the upstroke.

As a comparison, when set to their minimum seat height of 16″, the woom 2 offers 5.5″ of space and the Guardian 6.2″. However, if we raise the Biky’s minimum seat height 0.5″ to match the others at 16″, then it’s on par with the woom at 5.5″ of space. So although the Biky’s is slightly tighter, we didn’t find it to be more problematic than the others.

Gain Ratio

The gain ratio of a bike measures how far it travels with each pedal stroke. A higher gain ratio means the bike covers more ground with each pedal revolution.

Compared to the woom and Guardian bikes, the Biky 14 has the lowest gain ratio at 3.57, with woom at 4.0 and Guardian at 3.95. This means the Biky covers a shorter distance with each pedal stroke. However, there’s a twist.

Due to the super short crank arm of the Guardian (70mm), it requires a much faster pedaling speed in order to reach it’s top speed. The longer crank arms of the Biky (89mm) and woom (80mm) allow the rider to pedal at a much slower rate in order to reach top speed.

To put this into number, to travel 10 mph on the bike, the rider needs to pedal at a rate of 154.2 revolutions per minute on the Guardian, but only 133.5 RPM on the woom and 134.4 RPM on the Biky 14.

Why does this matter? Many young kids struggle to pedal at a high cadence on small bikes, with parents often noting their kids have to pedal too quickly. With the Biky’s longer crank arms, children don’t need to pedal as fast to reach a similar, but slightly slower top speed, compared to the Guardian 14.

Handlebar Design

Smaller riders need narrower handlebars, but how narrow? Young riders also prefer taller handlebars to allow then to sit more upright, but how tall?

Over the years we’ve seen a huge range of handlebar heights and widths, and while there certainly isn’t a perfect, one-size-fits all bar for young riders, the Biky 14’s comes pretty close.

From inside grip to inside grip, the Biky 14’s bar is 1″ narrower than the woom 2’s. As shown in the images below, you can see how our young rider doesn’t have to splay his arms out quite as wide on the Biky.

As the child grows, there is still plenty of room on the bar for when they need to widen their grip.

Enclosed Chain Guard

All small kids’ bikes are required to have a chain guard and most are pretty clunky. The Biky 14 stands out with its fully enclosed Hebie Chainlooper guard, which prevents any fingers or clothes from coming into contact with the chain.

However, one drawback with this chain guard is that it’s challenging to remove and reinstall when you need access to the chain (for cleaning or greasing). A video from woom, which once used the same chain guard, demonstrates the removal process effectively.

woom has since switched to a different style of chain guard, which is easier to remove and install. This change was crucial as removing the chain guard is necessary to install the freewheel on their 14″ bikes (which you don’t need to worry about on the Biky).

Removable Turning Limiter

The Biky has the same turning limiter as most higher-end 12″ or 14″ bikes on the market. The design is simple and effective in preventing the brake cable from being wrapped around the headset.

The turning limiter is also removable, but we wouldn’t recommend it as it doesn’t restrict a child’s steering enough to need to be taken off, and it protects the brake cable from accidentally getting stretched out.

Street Tires vs. All-terrain

The Biky comes equipped with smoother, street tires. While this makes sense for the majority of riders who stick to pavement, a multi-use tire option would benefit the few kids who venture onto dirt paths.

While Guardian also features smooth street tires, woom and Prevelo offer multi-use tires.

What we don’t love about the Biky 14

All in all the Biky 14 is exceptional, but like all bikes, there are a few improvements we would like to see.

Single Hand Brake

The Biky is different from other bikes we recommend because it has only one hand brake, which stops the rear wheel. While dual handbrakes would be preferable, our testing didn’t reveal any issues with the single brake. Testers were able to stop the bike without difficulty.

Considering most young riders don’t ride particularly fast, the single, rear brake is plenty powerful enough to stop these lightweight riders. That being said, having a second handbrake would increase the stopping power, which if used correctly, is always a good thing.

To help kids learn good braking technique, the single Tektro brake is linked to the rear brake (which they should primarily use if they had dual hand brakes). The brake lever is easy for small hands to reach and pull to activate.

Biky vs. Competitors Comparison Chart

Because of the ease of pedaling due to the longer crank arms, and the additional room for growth due to its longer wheelbase, the Biky is our favorite 14″ bike.

If you are on a budget though, the Guardian 14 is our best budget pick. If you prefer to stick to a tried and true brand, you can’t go wrong with a woom, but be sure to order the freewheel kit!

Biky 14 Bike Bottom Line

Not too big and not too small, the Biky 14 hits all the right features to make an exceptional 14″ bike. Easy to ride with plenty of room for growth, the Biky 14 allows your little one to easily transition to a pedal bike, without the concern of them outgrowing it too soon. As an added bonus, the longer crank arms of the Biky allow for a slower pedal speed, which makes learning to ride a bit easier for little ones.

FTC Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this review.  No monetary compensation was provided for this review, however, the reviewed product was supplied by the manufacturer or distributor to help facilitate this review. All opinions and images are that of Two Wheeling Tots LLC.  All content and images are copyrighted and should not be used or replicated in any way. View our Terms of Use.