By Hatim Kalmuwala — BDM, ABH Group & ChooseMyRide
Updated May 2026 · 6-minute read
Most parents in the UAE buy a kids’ bike using one of three methods:
1. They Google their child’s age and pick whatever Carrefour suggests
2. They eyeball it (“looks about right for him”)
3. They ask a friend whose kid “has the same bike”
All three are wrong about a third of the time. Sometimes more.
The reason isn’t the parent. It’s that kids’ bikes don’t size like clothes. There’s no equivalent of “age 6–7” or “size M.” Kids’ bike sizes are listed by wheel diameter — 12“, 14”, 16“, 18”, 20“, 24” — and the wheel size correlates with height, not age. A tall five-year-old and a short five-year-old need different bikes.
This post gives you the exact sizing chart we use at ChooseMyRide, the 60-second method to measure your child, and the two physical checks that confirm the fit when the bike arrives. Use it once and you’ll never wonder again.
A bit of context for why I’m telling you any of this: our parent group, ABH, has been selling bicycles in the UAE since 1980. We launched online as Dubai Bicycles in 2016, rebranded to ChooseMyRide, and across retail and wholesale we’ve moved well over a million bikes. About 100,000 of those came through online orders. Our in-house brand Mogoo is the bike Dubai parents most often pick for their kids. The chart below is the one we’ve refined through 40-plus years of fitting children — and it’s the same chart on our official size guide page.
Step 1 — Measure your child’s height (the only number you really need)
For kids’ bikes, height is the primary measurement. Take it like this:
1. Take off shoes. Wear thin socks or barefoot.
2. Stand against a wall, back straight, heels touching the wall.
3. Place a flat, hard object (a hardcover book or clipboard works) on top of their head, level with the floor.
4. Mark where the bottom of the book meets the wall.
5. Measure from the floor to the mark — in centimetres.
Write the number down.
That’s the only measurement you need for 95% of fitting decisions. If you want to double-check the result, measure the inseam as well — floor to where the leg meets the body, with a book pulled firmly up between the legs like a saddle would. Inseam is what determines actual leg-down clearance on the bike, but for picking the right wheel size, the chart below is built around height.
Step 2 — The official ChooseMyRide kids’ bike size chart
This is the chart we use in our showroom and on every Try Before You Buy fitting.
|
Wheel size |
Height (cm) |
Typical age |
|
75–95 |
2–4 years |
|
|
85–100 |
3–5 years |
|
|
95–120 |
5–7 years |
|
|
105–130 |
6–8 years |
|
|
115–140 |
7–10 years |
|
|
135–160 |
10+ years |
If your child falls between two sizes, we recommend sizing up.
That last rule matters, and it’s worth understanding why. Read on.
For toddlers under 75 cm (typically under 18 months) who aren’t ready for a pedal bike, the right starting point is a balance bike — no pedals, no training wheels, just two wheels and the floor. We’ve written a whole separate post on balance bikes vs training wheels if that’s where you are.
Step 3 — Why we recommend sizing up between sizes
Most parents instinctively want to size down — they’re nervous about getting a bike that’s too big and worry their child will be unsafe. That instinct made sense to me at the start of my career. The data we’ve collected since says the opposite.
Two things back this up:
1. The Try Before You Buy data. When Dubai parents use our Try Before You Buy service to test three bikes at home, the bike they end up choosing is almost always one wheel size larger than the size they pre-booked. The pattern is so consistent across thousands of fittings that we built it into our recommendation by default.
2. The growth curve. Kids in the 95–120 cm height range (the 16" age) grow about 6–7 cm per year. A 16" bike fitted at the smaller end of its range will be outgrown in 12–14 months. A 16" fitted at the larger end will still fit comfortably 18–24 months later. The “size up” rule isn’t about pushing kids into oversized bikes — it’s about choosing the larger of two valid sizes when both will fit today.
That said, there’s an important caveat: “size up” doesn’t mean “buy two sizes too big.” A child whose height is firmly in the 16" range should not be on a 20“. The rule applies when you’re genuinely on the border — say a 102 cm child who fits both the 14” and the 16" range. In that case, go with the 16".
For absolute first-time riders — toddlers who’ve never been on a bike — staying at the smaller end of their height range builds confidence faster. For kids with any pedal-bike experience, the larger size is the better long-term call.
Step 4 — The two physical checks once the bike is in front of you
The chart and the rule get you 80% of the way. These two checks confirm the fit:
The feet-flat test. Sit your child on the saddle at its lowest setting. Both balls of their feet should rest flat on the ground.
• If only their toes touch, the bike is too tall right now — either lower the saddle further (if there’s room) or go down a size.
• If their knees bend deeply when seated, the bike is too small — they’ve outgrown it.
The brake-reach test. Have them squeeze each brake lever with one hand. They should be able to fully engage the brake without rolling their hand awkwardly around the bar.
• If they can’t fully squeeze, the lever needs a reach-screw adjustment (30-second fix in any bike shop, included in our pre-delivery prep).
• If their hand slips off, the grip diameter is too thick. Some cheap bikes use adult-grip diameters on kids’ models. Avoid those.
Both pass? The bike fits.
What “too big” actually looks like (so you can avoid it)
The reason parents over-correct toward sizing down is that they’ve heard the phrase “kids on bikes that are too big are dangerous.” That’s true — but the failure mode is specific. Here’s what an actually-too-big bike looks like:
• Child cannot touch the ground with their feet when seated on the lowest saddle setting
• Child has to lean forward awkwardly to reach the handlebars
• Child’s knees bang into the handlebars when pedalling
• Child cannot fully squeeze the brake lever
If your child’s height puts them in the 95–120 cm range and you’ve bought a 16“, none of those things will happen. A bike sized using our chart is — by definition — not too big. The”size up" rule means choosing the longer-lasting bike among two correctly-fitting options.
Special cases
Tall-for-their-age kids. Use height, not age. Most “tall five-year-olds” we see are actually on a 16" or even an 18". Birthday-based sizing is the leading cause of mis-fits in this group.
Short-for-their-age kids. Same rule — height wins. A six-year-old at 100 cm should be on a 14“, not a 16”, even though the age column suggests otherwise.
Second-hand bikes. Worth buying if the frame is straight, the brakes work, and the chain isn’t visibly stretched. Worth skipping if the bike has been stored outdoors through a UAE summer — UV degrades plastics and rubber faster than most parents realise. Tyres and grips that look fine can crack on the first ride.
Two kids close in age. Size the older one first, plan to hand the bike down. The younger one rides a balance bike or the one-size-down model until they’re tall enough for the inheritance.
A child returning to cycling after a year off. Re-measure their height. They’ve grown more than you think.
Quick checklist before you click “buy”
• ✓ Height measured this week (in cm, not from memory)
• ✓ Wheel size picked from the chart, not from age alone
• ✓ If between two sizes, picked the larger one
• ✓ Feet-flat test passes (or your shop offers free fitting on delivery)
• ✓ Brake lever pulls cleanly with a child’s grip
• ✓ Bike will arrive fully assembled — not in a box
• ✓ Return policy works on a ridden bike if the fit is wrong
If you can’t run the feet-flat and brake-reach tests because you’re buying online, the next best thing is a shop that lets you try at home before committing. In Dubai we run Try Before You Buy — pick up to three bikes, pay AED 25, test all three at home, keep one and the fee comes off the purchase. Outside Dubai we deliver fully assembled across the UAE with a 14-day free return policy as the safety net.
What about adult and mountain bikes?
The chart above is for kids’ bikes only. Adult bikes are sized differently:
• Mountain bikes by wheel size (24“, 26”, 27.5“, 29”) and frame size (13“–20”), based on rider height
• Road bikes by frame size (S/M/L), based on rider height
• City bikes by wheel size (24" or 26"), based on rider height
The full chart for all bike types — including mountain, road, and city — lives on our size guide page. We’ll cover adult sizing in a separate post.
FAQs
Q. My child is exactly between two sizes. Which one?
A. The larger one, per our official guidance. The Try Before You Buy data confirms this — parents who test both sizes at home almost always pick the larger. The “feet-flat” test will confirm it fits today, and the larger size will last 18–24 months instead of 12.
Q. Does brand matter, or just wheel size?
A. Wheel size determines fit. Brand determines durability, build quality and resale value. Our in-house brand Mogoo is engineered specifically for UAE conditions — heat, dust, occasional sand exposure — and is the most-fitted kids’ bike across our deliveries. Other brands in the catalogue serve specific niches (premium aluminium, BMX-style, etc.) — but for a typical first bike, Mogoo is what we’d put our own kids on.
Q. How often should I re-check the fit?
A. Every 4–6 months. Raise the saddle as your child grows. When the saddle is at its highest setting and their knees still bend deeply when pedalling, it’s time for the next wheel size.
Q. Is the wheel-size to height chart different in the UAE vs Europe/US?
A. The chart is the same — wheel size is a physical measurement, not a regional one. What changes is the typical product mix. UAE-sold bikes are usually heavier on coaster brakes and training wheels at the small sizes because that’s what local parents prefer.
Q. Are training wheels mandatory on the first bike?
A. Not for kids who started on a balance bike — they often go straight to pedalling without them. For kids transitioning from a tricycle or no prior riding, training wheels are useful for 2–6 months. Don’t keep them on longer than necessary; they delay the lean-and-steer reflex that real cycling needs. See our balance bike vs training wheels post for the full thinking.
Q. Where can I get my child fitted in Dubai?
A. Walk into our showroom or book a Try Before You Buy appointment via WhatsApp. If you’re outside Dubai, send us a photo of your child standing against a wall with a tape measure, and we’ll size them remotely.
Q. My child is 100 cm — what bike size?
A. 100 cm sits in the overlap between the 14" (85–100 cm) and 16" (95–120 cm) ranges. Per our size-up rule, go with the 16". They’ll grow into it within months and ride it for nearly two years.
