There's no feeling in the world that can beat seeing your favorite little people progress from wobbling around the park to bossing the bike path.

When kids learn to ride it can be the start of a passion that lasts a lifetime. So what's the recipe for a perfect kids’ bike?

We reckon we've cracked it with the new Marin Bikes Coast Trail range.

Right Size, Right Time

If you want kids to enjoy biking riding, getting them a bike that fits well is key.

Too small and they'll be cramped and uncomfortable. Too big and they'll be stretched out, struggle to get on and off, and lack control.

To make getting the right size bike super easy, we've built the Marin Coast Trail range around wheel size. Smaller wheels are easier to spin up to speed and let us make a bike with plenty of standover height for little legs.

The Marin Coast Trail range has three different wheel sizes. When you see a number after a model name, that refers to its wheel size in inches.

As a guideline, we’d recommend the following wheel sizes:

16" wheels for kids 3'1" to 3'11" (94-120 cm) tall.
20" for kids 3'5" to 4'7" (107-140 cm) tall.
24" wheels for kids 3’9" to 5’1” (110-155 cm) tall.

Little people love light bikes

Lots of kids’ bikes are heavy - either deliberately overbuilt to take lots of rough treatment, or made as cheaply as possible with low-quality parts.

Heavier bikes are more difficult to balance and younger kids also get tired quicker when riding them. While lots of us grew up with them, we've found that kids tend to get the hang of riding much quicker when they get a lighter bike.

As a bonus, a lighter bike is much nicer for mum or dad to haul around too. So we've used light alloy frames and forks for all of the Marin Coast Trail range, as well as quality components to create a bike that gets the essentials right.

Keep it simple

There's already a lot to think about when you're learning to ride, so we've deliberately kept the Marin Coast Trail range as simple as possible.

Some kids’ bikes come laden with redundant accessories but we've focused on getting the details perfect. That means frames with low standover heights, lightweight maintenance-free rigid forks, and custom contact points like grips and pedals that are perfectly matched to little hands and feet.

We've used linear-pull rim brakes with short-reach levers across the range, as they're straightforward to look after, while being easy to use and plenty powerful enough for first rides.

Younger children tend to stay seated when riding, so for a comfortable ride, we've added higher volume tires than kids’ bikes usually come with. 2-inch Vee Rubber tires with a low profile tread pattern will let them stay in control over the bumps and can cope with a bit of light off-road, but won't drag on longer rides.

Skip the Stabilizers

Stabilizers or training wheels used to come as standard on kid's bikes, but they can be more of a hindrance than a help. If kids don't learn the crucial skill of balancing the bike before pedaling, they'll take much longer to get the hang of riding.

They can also cause nasty crashes when kids overbalance and tip the bike over. So we've designed the Marin Coast Trail to be ridden independently, right from day one.

By combining all this into one package, we've made a range of bikes that’ll not only get them rolling, but are durable enough to be passed on to more budding riders.

Many kids’ bikes are designed to be throwaway toys, but these will be making their riders smile for years to come.