{"id":1369,"date":"2022-08-29T02:02:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T02:02:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/?p=1369"},"modified":"2022-09-26T11:43:30","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T11:43:30","slug":"best-bike-seat-height-for-kids-finding-the-right-fit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/best-bike-seat-height-for-kids-finding-the-right-fit\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Bike Seat Height for Kids (Finding the Right Fit)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019m trying to figure out how to set up my son\u2019s first bike and I never knew there was a proper seat height. I don’t mean to sound like the grumpy old man complaining, \u201cback in my day\u2026,\u201d but I don\u2019t think I can remember ever setting up my bike seat. I\u2019m pretty sure my dad randomly picked something that looked right and I was happily on my way (no judgement to my dad. He did a great job!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the question I ran into is, how high should I set my child\u2019s bike seat height? After a lot of research, I can now tell you fellow dads the best way to find the right fit for your kid\u2019s bike seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A child\u2019s bike seat height will be different for a balance bike, first pedal bike, and every bike after. A balance bike should be about 1-1 \u00bd inches below your child’s inseam. A first bike should be the same height as their inseam. Every bike after will be between 2-4 inches above their inseam. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example: Child Inseam vs. Seat Height Range<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Inseam<\/strong><\/td>Balance Bike (-1-1 \u00bd in)<\/strong><\/td>First Pedal Bike (at inseam)<\/strong><\/td>Every Pedal Bike After (+2-4 in)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
12 in<\/td>10\u00bd to 11 in <\/td>12 in<\/td>14 to 16 in<\/td><\/tr>
14 in<\/td>12 \u00bd to 13 in<\/td>14 in<\/td>16 to 18 in<\/td><\/tr>
17 in<\/td>15 \u00bd to 16 in<\/td>17 in<\/td>19 to 21 in<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course this isn\u2019t an exact science and you’ll need to make some adjustments to find the right fit for your child. Let\u2019s take a look at how to figure out your child\u2019s inseam and the factors to look for when finding the right height for each bike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Measure Your Child’s Inseam (In 3 Easy Steps)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I know gentlemen, you\u2019re probably thinking this is a mom thing. (And for those of you who don\u2019t know what an inseam is, it\u2019s the distance between the crotch and the end of your pant leg opening.) And regardless of what you saw on that episode of Friends, it doesn\u2019t have to be an uncomfortable situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off, do not just grab a pair of their pants and measure the inseam there. You\u2019re kids are growing like weeds so those pants can be anywhere from, \u201cyou just bought them and you got them long so they can last a couple months,\u201d to, \u201cI really need to get them new pants, they look like highwaters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Don’t use pants to measure you child’s inseam<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

1. Have your kids where the shoes they\u2019ll ride their bikes in. <\/p>\n\n\n

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2. Put a hard cover book between their legs and (gently) raise it up to the crotch<\/p>\n\n\n

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3. Measure to the top of the book<\/p>\n\n\n

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Bike Seat Height for a Balance Bike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Generally, a balance bike seat should be about 1 to 1 \u00bd inches below their inseam. A balance bike seat is going to b<\/strong>e lower than a pedal bike seat because the rider needs to be able to use their legs to move the bike. <\/strong>A lower seat allows for the feet to reach the ground easily and for the knees to bend enough to push the bike. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Once you\u2019ve set the seat to below your inseam measurement, have your child sit on the seat. You child should have flat feet with knees bent somewhere between 100 and 130 degrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bike Seat Height for a First Pedal Bike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a general rule, the seat height of your child\u2019s first pedal bike will be about at their inseam.<\/strong> Learning to ride their first pedal bike is exciting but it\u2019s also a bit intimidating. Becuase your child is learning the mechanics of pedaling while balancing, they should be able to put their feet on the ground easily to catch themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After you set the height at your child\u2019s inseam height, have them sit on the bike seat. While sitting on the seat, your child should still be able to put the balls of their feel comfortably on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Your child\u2019s knees should be lightly bent, but not too much. If their knees are too bent, they’re likely to hit the handle bars. Also, it take a lot more effort to pedal when the seat is too low.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bike Seat Height for a Second Pedal Bike (and After)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bike seat for your child\u2019s second pedal bike (and every bike they\u2019ll have after) will be about 2 to 4 inches above their inseam. <\/strong>At this point your child is likely to be a more experienced bike rider with a stronger sense of balance on a bike. They will not need their feet closer to the ground because they no longer need to catch themselves as much. They will also be more confident in their riding and will not need to catch themselves as often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main reason the bike seat is higher for a more advanced rider is a higher sitting position gives more pedaling efficiency (think about how you can pedal harder and faster when you\u2019re standing on a bike versus sitting on a bike).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To check the height of your child, adjust the seat to above their inseam, and have them sit on the seat. Your child should be able to touch the ground with their toes with a slight break in their knees. <\/p>\n\n\n

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If your child\u2019s heels can touch the ground, raise the seat. If they can barely get their big toe to touch the ground, the seat is too high. You want to find that sweet spot of being able to just touch the ground comfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, if you\u2019re looking to find the right size bike for your child, it\u2019s more than finding the right height of the seat. If you need help picking the right size bike, check out Picking the Right Bike for Your Kid (Find the Perfect Fit).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m trying to figure out how to set up my son\u2019s first bike and I never knew there was a proper seat height. I don’t mean to sound like the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[202,199,194,196,193,198,197,195,201],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1369"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1750,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1369\/revisions\/1750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}