Help! I need to get a new bike for my kid. Which should I buy?

About a year ago — and after many months of trying — my kid finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. I no longer had to hold her up, running behind the bike while she struggled to maintain her balance. It’s one of those parenting milestones that you’re so proud to witness.

Months later, those first tentative wobbles have turned into confident cycling, as she cruises around the neighborhood, going to the playground and her school on bike bus Fridays. Even if the weather is iffy, she still asks me if we can go for a bike ride, which I’m all too happy to oblige.

However, the bike she learned on—a bike someone was throwing out, which I disassembled and painted pink—is now too small for her. What was the perfect size for a 5-year-old now looks comically small for someone three years older. As cool as BMX is, she needs something more suited to cruising around.

As someone who tests and evaluates a lot of gadgets for my job, I’ve been doing a lot of research on the best bike for my kid. I’ve narrowed it down to a few models, but I wanted to tap into the Tom’s Guide audience's wisdom to see which you would pick.

I’ve been looking mainly at bikes with 24-inch tires; my child is nearly eight and 49 inches tall, so I have a feeling she'd quickly outgrow a bike with 20-inch wheels, and I'd rather not have to buy another bike two years from now. But I could be wrong — let me know if I should pick the next size up (or down).

With that, these are the five bikes that are my finalists:

Guardian 24-inch bike

This bike came up a lot in my research. It’s a top pick from Wirecutter, and I’ve even seen some of my kid's friends riding it. It's also the least expensive among my five finalists.

The bike comes in six different colors; crucially, one is purple, my daughter’s second-favorite hue. It only has a single handbrake, but it operates both the front and rear wheel brakes, though they are rim brakes rather than the newer disc brakes. Guardian says this bike is best for kids ages 7 to 11 and 49 to 57 inches tall, so my kid is on the lower end of both, which means room to grow.

Guardian 24-inch: $349 at guardianbikes.com

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Retrospec Dart Plus

This bike has separate front and rear hand-operated disc brakes, plus a front suspension fork, which seems a little overkill for a kid's bike. It has more of a mountain bike setup, with straighter handlebars than some other models. This bike comes with a kickstand and is available in two colors (Black Mamba and Fairy Floss). The Dart Plus is one of the least expensive models I'm considering, though it is the heaviest, at 30.6 pounds.

Retrospec Dart Plus: $399 at Amazon

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Priority Start 24

Priority’s bike looks the most grown-up among the options I’m considering, and it’s also one of the more expensive models. Uniquely, it has a belt drive rather than a chain, which in theory means less maintenance and less grease on my hands.

It has a three-speed shifter, which seems more approachable than a six- or seven-speed shifter, as well as dual handbrakes — though they're rim, rather than disc brakes. It comes in four colors (red, coral, blue, and black), so she might be disappointed there’s no true pink option, but I think the bike looks pretty smart overall.

Priority Start 24: $469 at Priority Bicycles

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Batch KM.24

Another mountain-bike design, the KM.24 has front suspension and beefier 24 x 2.35-inch tires, good for off-roading—or whatever abuse your kid delivers. It technically comes in three colors, though only the spruce green variant is currently available on the company's site. (I suspect my kid might choose another brand based on this alone).

It also has an 8-speed shifter, suited for hillier terrain, and mechanical disc brakes, which should provide greater stopping power than rim brakes. At $569 and 29.5 pounds, this bike sits on the heavier — and pricier — side of things.

Batch KM.24: $569 at batchbicycles.com

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Woom Explore 5

Woom’s bike, which is sold through REI, is the lightest and most expensive of the models I’m considering. It comes in pink and blue—I dig its two-tone look—and has an 8-speed shifter and hydraulic disc brakes, though, annoyingly, it doesn't include a kickstand or reflectors. I feel like those should be standard with any kid’s bike. Still, this looks to be a solidly built bike with good geometry.

Woom Explore 5: $819 at REI

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So, which bike should I pick for my kid? Am I making a mistake in not going for a model with 24-inch wheels? Take the poll and leave a comment below. What bike did you get for your kid, and do they like it?

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