The Guardian Airos 26 is the newest (and biggest!) member of the Guardian Bikes family. Featuring Guardian’s proprietary SureStop brakes, a lightweight aluminum frame, smooth-shifting 7 speeds, and eye-catching colors and designs, the Guardian 26 inch bike has been a big hit with our testers.
With 26 wheels, this exceptional bike is uniquely sized to allow young riders currently on 20″ bikes to jump up to a bike that will provide more room for growth than a standard 24″ bike (which is typically the next size up). For kids already on a 24″ bike, the Guardian 26 is likely to offer very little room for growth. In fact, the Guardian 26″ max seat height in only 0.5″ taller than their 24″. Read our full review below to see if it’s the right fit for your child’s size and riding style.
Guardian 26 Inch Bike Overview
RATING: Exceptional
MSRP: $549
BEST FOR: Neighborhood riders – timid, average, and even aggressive kids love SureStop brakes!
SEAT HEIGHT: 27.7″ – 33.5″
WEIGHT: 24.75 lb. (with kickstand and pedals)
SPECIFICATIONS
GEARS: Microshift 7-speed, Grip shift
FRAME: Aluminum Alloy
GAIN RATIO: 1.9 – 6
BRAKES: Surestop Dual Hand
PROS:
- Proprietary SureStop brakes for simpler, faster, safer braking
- Kid-friendly geometry and sizing for a comfortable and natural ride
- 7-speed Microshift grip shifter easy to engage and smoothly shifts through gears
- Gear shifter indicator window provides visual cues to help kids determine which gear they should be in
- Lightweight aluminum frame
CONS:
- Pattern on grips can irritate hands if kids grip too tightly
- Room for growth on the high-end is less than on similar bikes
Guardian 26 Bike Review – Results of our Test Rides
We put the Guardian 26 to work with five different testers, ages 8 to 15 to see how well it performed. All in all, we LOVED the Guardian 26, but found its sizing to be pretty unique compared to other bikes. If you’re lucky enough to have a child that fits in the Guardian 26 size range, we’re quite certain they’ll love this bike as much as our testers did!
If you are familiar with the Guardian brand, be aware that their 26″ bike is only available in their premium AIROS line and is sized for young riders moving up from their 20″ Large bike. The Guardian 24″ is a better fit for kids moving up from their 20″ Small bike.
If you are new to Guardian, be sure to learn about their amazing SureStop braking system as outlined below. Also, this bike is really a “half size” between a typical 24″ and a 26″, and it much too small for kids moving up from a standard 24″ bike.
Why Guardian Bikes?
Guardian Bikes are exceptionally designed kids bikes, and are on our short list of the best kids bike brands. With lightweight frames and every part of the bike designed to fit with the proportions of kids’ bodies, our fleet of kid bike testers have happily and comfortably been riding Guardian Bikes since before they made a splash on Shark Tank.
But within this small pool of exceptional kids bike brands, Guardian Bikes shines for its innovation in safer braking. Every Guardian bike features their proprietary SureStop braking system. SureStop brakes make braking simpler, faster, safer, and even funner (more fun, we know!)
What Type of Rider is the Guardian 26″ Designed For?
The Guardian 26 inch bike is ideal for timid to typical neighborhood riders. With a child’s body in a slightly leaned forward position, it’s in that comfortable and natural sweet spot of not awkwardly upright, but not too leaned forward and aggressive.
Kids this age generally prefer a slightly leaned forward position so they can lean in for speed, turns, or to get more adventurous when the occasion arrises.
Timid riders particularly benefit from the simple and powerful stopping power of SureStop brakes, but average and even aggressive riders have a blast stopping on a dime and creating skid marks all over the sidewalk. SureStop brakes are also an excellent choice for kids who live in hilly areas and want the extra assurance of being able to quickly and safely stop when it matters most.
With a relatively flat tread on the tires, the Guardian 26 is best suited for pavement, but certainly could take on packed basic dirt trails on occasion. If you’ll be tackling dirt frequently, the similarly-sized Prevelo Alpha Five may be a good option for you.
What size child fits on a Guardian 26?
The Guardian 26 is a small 26″ bike, sized similarly to a large 24″ bike. (Guardian’s 24 inch bikes are on the small end for 24″ bikes.)
The 26″ has a seat height range of 27.7″ – 33.5″. From our testing, we believe the Guardian 26 will be a good fit for kids ranging from approximately 52″ to 63″ tall, as you’ll see in our images below.
Our shortest 8-year-old tester was 52″ and had been riding the Guardian Airos 20″ large. While she can still ride that smaller bike, she can also fit on the Guardian 26 when set to its lowest saddle height as seen below. Both bikes have the saddle set to 27.7″.
52″ Tall 8 yo on Guardian 20 Large vs. Guardian 26
She is certainly on the small end of the Guardian 26, but preferred it to the smaller bike she’s been riding. For many kids transitioning from Guardian 20″ LARGE bikes, the Guardian 26″ will be a great next bike.
On the middle and higher end, you can see below how our test riders who are 56″ tall and 62″ are also a good fit.
56″ Tall 10 yo vs. 62″ Tall 13 yo on Guardian 26
While currently a good fit, it is worth noting that both riders are maxed out or almost maxed out on the bike. The 62″ tall rider is riding with the seat at the max height of 33.5″ and the 56″ rider at 32″ (he has long legs for his height).
Considering kids this age often go through major growth spurts, it’s important to consider how long they will fit on the bike. The Guardian 26″ allows smaller riders like our 52″ tall 8-year-old tester to fit on the bike, but could quickly become too small for older riders.
Guardian 26 is a small 26″ kids bike
To demonstrate how the Guardian 26 is small compared to other 26″ kids bikes, we compared it to the kids specific 26″ woom 6.
56″ Tall 10 yo on Guardian 26 and woom 6
Our 56″ tall tester only has 1.5″ inches of seat height left on the Guardian 26″, but still has 6″ of growth left on the larger 26″ woom 6. The higher minimum seat height of the woom 6 (29.9″) however, would be much too tall for our 52″ tester. So while the woom 6 offers much more growth on the high end, a child can fit on the small end of the Guardian 26 before they could fit on the woom 6.
Extending it even further, our 5’6″ (66″) tall 15-year-old tester riding with the seat set to 36″ is much too tall for the Guardian 26 (seat height maxes out at 33.5″), but can still fit reasonably well on the woom 6 with 2″ to spare on the seat post.
66″ Tall 15 yo on Guardian 26 and woom 6
To be fair, Guardian clearly states that their max recommend height range for their bike is 64″, but they do recommend ages 10 to 15. Based on our tests, we would lower the age ranges to 8 to 12 (depending on your child’s height). In order to allow for room for growth, we wouldn’t recommend purchasing the Guardian 26 for a child taller than 55″.
Guardian 26″ vs. Guardian 24″
With similar seat heights, the Guardian 24″ is also an option for riders moving up from a 20″. While their differences in seat heights can be deceiving, the Guardian 26″ has a larger frame as well as larger wheels compared to the Guardian 24″. The larger frame makes the Guardian 26″ a more spacious and comfortable fit for taller riders compared to the Guardian 24″.
| 24 ETHOS | 24 AIROS | 26 | |
| MSRP | $429 | $529 | $549 |
| Seat Height | 25″ – 33″ | 25″ – 33″ | 27.7″ – 33.5″ |
| Weight | 25.5 lb. | 23 lb. | 24.75 lb. |
As you can see below, our 56″ tall tester fit great on both sizes of Guardian bikes, but has more room in the cockpit (about 2″) on the Guardian 26″ than on the Guardian 24″ AIROS. Between the two bikes, he preferred the 26, but was able to comfortably ride the 24″ without any concerns.
56″ Tall 10 yo on Guardian 26 and Guardian 24
Considering the minor price difference ($30) between the Guardian 24 AIROS and the Guardian 26 (also an AIROS), it’s best to choose the larger 26 as long as your child can fit on its 27.7″ minimum seat height.
If the price of the AIROS 24 and 26 are a bit out of your reach, the more budget-friendly Guardian 24 ETHOS is a great option as its adjustable stem allows you to raise the handlebars as your child grows, providing more room for growth than the Guardian 24 AIROS.
Guardian Bikes 26″ Components Round-up
Guardian Bikes spec solid quality components on all of their bikes, with the intention that a Guardian bike can last for many years and through several kids.
SureStop Braking Technology – How It Works and Why You’ll Love It
SureStop braking technology is genius, and actually quite simple. With just one brake lever on the right hand, a child engages both the rear and front wheel brakes.
One brake lever = the braking power of dual handbrakes. No need to wonder which brake lever to pull – because there’s only one! When that brake lever is pulled, the rear brake engages. The rear brake immediately activates the front brake.
The magic lies in a special rear brake pad. When engaged by the rider’s right hand, it slides slightly forward due to friction on the rim. This pulls on the wire, which triggers the front brake.
So why do kids and parents love SureStop brakes so much?
- SAFER – Travelling at fast speeds, if a rider brakes only with the left hand (front wheel brake), the front wheel can lock up and buck a rider off the bike. (Called endo-ing.) Because the SureStop system always engages the rear brake and then the front brake, a Guardian bike won’t endo.
- SIMPLER – With only one brake lever to engage, there’s less for a kid to think about when riding.
- FASTER – Compared to many other bikes on the market, Guardian claims that SureStop brakes stop a bike faster. While we haven’t conducted tests to quantify this ourselves, through our years of experience riding bikes, we’ve seen both timid and aggressive kids gain confidence as they feel the power of these brakes in action!
- FUNNER – SureStop brakes are a ton of fun, and create exquisite skid marks on the pavement! Even us parents have gotten in on the action after watching our kids delight in braking on a Guardian Bike.
How much do Guardian Bikes Weigh?
Coming in at 24.75 lbs. on our scales (with pedals and a kickstand), the Guardian 26 is significantly lighter than similarly-sized bikes you’d find at a big box store. While not as lightweight as the 26″ woom 6 (22.1 lbs.), it is lighter than other high-end kids bikes like the 26″ Cleary Meerkat. (We haven’t tested the 26″ Meerkat, but the smaller 24″ Meerkat weighs 28.3 lbs.)
Overall, unless you have an extremely lightweight or petite child, the Guardian 26 is plenty light enough for most kids to ride pretty effortlessly, and do kid-tricks like popping a wheelie! (This Guardian 26 Airos features a lighter weight aluminum frame compared to the steel frame of the Ethos models available in smaller sizes.)
Gearing and Shifting
With 7 gears and a gain ratio range of 1.9 – 6.0, our testers found that range to be comfortable for gaining speed on longer flat roads, successfully climbing neighborhood hills, as well as maintaining control speeding down those hills on the other side.
The MicroShift grip shifter is easy to twist in either direction, and the MicroShift derailleur smoothly shifts through those gears.
Guardian grip shifters are unique to any kids’ bike shifter that we’ve ever seen because of its “Man in the Window”.
The red man on the bike points uphill, perpendicular the ground, or downhill, depending on which gear a child is in. His position corresponds to which gear a child should be in if they are climbing a hill, riding on flat ground, or going downhill.
Our kid testers LOVE this feature. Not only does it have that extra fun factor, but it takes the guesswork out of the question “What number gear should I be in???” So while Guardian’s SureStop brakes simplify braking, the “Man in the Window” simplifies shifting!
Wheels and Tires
Guardian’s double-wall rims offer extra durability to keep wheels true, even when kids give them a beating! While the rims are painted to give each bike an extra pop of color and personality, the outside edges are texturized and not painted in order for the brake pads to have maximum bite on that rim.
The 26×1.75″ tires have a relatively smooth tread that provides less rolling resistance for where this bike is designed to play most often – pavement. While they can certainly handle a mild dirt trail, if you’ll be riding dirt trails frequently, a knobbier tire would provide more traction for loose dirt.
High-quality Threadless Headset
Guardian Airos bikes feature high-quality threadless headsets that are stronger and keep your handlebars aligned more firmly than your typical threaded headsets that are found on many cheaper kids bikes.
Guardian Ethos bikes (not available in 26″) have more cost-effective threaded headsets. While not considered as high-end, threaded headsets actually have an advantage in that you can raise them several inches, allowing you to adjust the height of the handlebars as a child grow.
Saddle and Kickstand
Guardian gets both the big and small details right on their 26″ bike. The channeled, matte black saddle gives the bike a sophisticated look. It’s nicely padded for a comfortable ride.
It’s also railed so that you can adjust the saddle’s position forward or backward according to your child’s preference, or as they grow.
The kickstand is high-quality and strong, holding the bike upright without issues.
Assembly
Guardian is proud to assemble and ship all of their bikes from their new factory in Indiana, USA. (The frames and components are still manufactured overseas.) But because they can’t ship this bike 100% assembled, they’ve made it as easy as possible for you to complete that assembly at home.
You must put on the front wheel, secure the brake cable above the wheel, put on the handlebars, and put on the pedals. This is not hard, we promise you! But be sure to watch their assembly video BEFORE you assemble the bike. There are several helpful tips that are important not to miss.
To simplify this process, the Guardian 26 comes with some stickers to guide you through the process, as seen here.
The stickers on the handlebars and headset help you line things up correctly. The stickers on the crank arms and pedals make sure you put the right pedals on the right side, and also that you tighten them in the correct direction.
The hardest part of assembly is placing the brake cable in what’s called the “noodle” above the front tire. It’s a pretty tight connection and you’ll need to exert a lot of force to make it fit.
Guardian 26 Inch Bike Bottom Line
For who are lucky enough to fit on the Guardian 26, they are sure to be rewarded with a fun, smooth, and safe riding experience. With top-notch braking, a comfortable geometry, and several colorful options, there’s plenty to love about the Guardian 26 – just make sure it is a proper fit before you order!
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.
