Best 24-Inch Bikes for Young Cyclists: Our Top Selections (2023)

Best 24 Inch Full Suspension Mountain Bike

1. Marin Rift Zone JR 24” Bike

Our Rating

5/5

$1899

KEY SPECS

If you can expand your budget, you’ll find that the Marin Rift Zone Jr is a well-rounded entry-level mountain bike for young (or petite) riders. The Rift Zone JR is based on the Rift Zone but in a smaller form. 

Yes, you’ll pay a little bit more coin to get this bike, but you also get loads more features. 

First, although it comes with 24-inch wheels, there’s enough frame clearance for 26-inch wheels, so you can get a few extra years out of it just by changing them out.

Next up, the Rift Zone JR has 120mm of front and rear suspension. This will give you much more grip on rough terrain and smooth out the lumps and bumps, so the ride doesn’t feel so harsh. It follows this up with Shimano hydraulic disc brakes (my favorite type) to provide steady and consistent stopping power. 

I love that this bike is dropper post compatible and has tubeless-ready wheels. So you can inexpensively upgrade the bike to make it a little more gnarly and a little more puncture-proof.

This bike can rip it up, and while it is the most expensive bike on the list, if you compare it to similar mountain bikes, you’ll find it’s a very high value for the price. 

Marin doesn’t give you much info on exactly who this bike is for – they leave it a bit open-ended. However, if you’re a very petite adult and aren’t ready to cash in a Furtado, you might want to try out the Marin JR or some other entry-level mountain bike. It makes a well-rounded short travel short-suspension bike ready for some simple upgrades. 

OUR VERDICT

Of all the 24-inch bikes on this list, the Marin JR is the one most likely to be able to be used by an adult, as well. It’s tough to find any drawbacks on this bike other than the price. I’ll admit it costs a little more, but that’s because it comes with better components, and full-suspension bikes always cost more than a hardtail (non-suspension bike). I love this bike so much that I give it a 5 out of 5. I might even ride it myself!

Best All Around 24 Inch Bike

2. Woom Bike Original

Our Rating

4.5/5

$649

KEY SPECS

Woom Bikes are known for making safe, affordable bikes for kids, although there is no reason a smaller adult couldn’t use one of these bikes, except the components aren’t as high-end as adult bikes typically are. 

The Original Woom 5 is an all-road bike. It has an ultralight frame and a grip shifter with flat bars for easy handling. You’ll also find eight gears to make it up those steep hills. 

The Woom 5 is intended for kids aged 7 to 11 – old enough to shift and brake well. For height, it is designed to fit kids who are 49 to 57 inches tall – so roughly between 4 and 5 feet tall. However, the crank length and the distance between the pedals (the Q Factor) were designed with children’s bodies in mind. As a result, it makes the bike easier for them to pedal. 

The bike is easily adjustable at the stem and the seat, so you can make it fit just right. It has knobby tires to take on easy trails or pavement. And it has independently working front and rear rim brakes. Rim brakes have been around for many years and work well. 

I wouldn’t hesitate to get one of these bikes for my kids. I like how easy it is to adjust, I love the safety features, and I especially love how it is designed with kids’ bodies in mind. In addition, the weight limit is very forgiving at 175 pounds. 

At $649, it isn’t just a big box bike – you’ll get more quality and durability than a cheap bike, even if it isn’t as high quality as some of the more expensive bikes. 

OUR VERDICT

I give this bike a 4.5 out of 5 possible points. It’s a high-quality, safe bike I would feel comfortable giving to my children. The gearing and shape are too small for adults but great for younger kids’ learning skills.

Best 24-Inch Hard-Tail Mountain Bike for Kids

3. Woom Off 5

Our Rating

4.5/5

$849

KEY SPECS

The Woom Off 5 is a lot more bike for just a bit more money than the original Woom 5. 

First of all, this is a hardtail mountain bike. So it’s designed to take a bit of a beating and harder riding. Second, it has disc brakes, which give you much more stopping power, especially under wet or muddy conditions. Finally, it has a carbon fork, which absorbs more road chatter than a typical aluminum fork, making your ride much more comfortable. 

It’s still a standard Woom bike, designed to fit children’s bodies comfortably. However, your child will get a more comfortable ride with shorter cranks and pedals that are a bit closer together. 

This bike might work for a petite adult, but considering it was designed for the average child’s proportions, it probably won’t.  Even the brakes and grip shifters were designed with children’s hands in mind. That makes it ideal for a child but maybe not for a small adult. 

The Woom Off 5 has a 28T chainring in the front with an 11-34 T cassette in the back. This gives you many easy gears for hill climbing but not many hard gears for pure speed. 

This is a great bike for easy mountain biking and gravel riding. You can take it a little bit further if you purchase the model with the optional front suspension, which gives you a little more grip and a little bit more cushioning, but it won’t handle terrain like a full-suspension bike. 

It would work really well in place of a hybrid or gravel bike. 

OUR VERDICT

I really like the concept of womb bikes because they design bikes that are great for kids 7 to 11. Although this is technically a mountain bike, looking at the wheels, the gears, and the shifters, I would not use it on gnarly terrain. Instead, since it’s a hardtail, I would treat it more like a gravel bike unless you purchase the model with the front suspension. Nevertheless, it still earns a well-rounded 4.5/5 points.

Best 24 Inch Step-Through Bike (on and off trail)

4. Co-op Cycles REV CTY 24 Step-Through Kids’ Bike

Our Rating

4.3/5

$399

KEY SPECS

It can be difficult to find a bike that fits your child ‘just right’ only to have them hit a growth spurt and outgrow it way too fast. So the Co-op Cycles REV CTY has created a step-through frame that makes it easier for smaller kids to get on and off the bike, which stretches the time they can use it. 

Although they call it a step-through bike, it’s really more of a hybrid bike. It’s great to tool around town, hit some easy gravel trails, or ride to school and home. 

The bike looks just like a smaller version of an adult hybrid bike, so it won’t look childish to your preteen. 

A really cool characteristic of this bike is the triple chainring. These are hard to find, but they give you a wide range of gears with a 42/34/24 chainring in the front and a 14 – 34 cassette in the back. Hills, flats, and descents are no problem at all with these gears. 

This bike could work for a petite adult, but it’s probably best left to younger kids for two reasons. First, the weight limit is only 120 pounds, including any cargo. Many kids and adults over age 12 will simply be too heavy for this bike. On the other hand, the bike uses linear-pull brakes, my least favorite in stopping power. 

Yes, they will stop you – but the lighter and smaller the rider, the better the brakes will work. A larger, heavier rider will have more momentum and likely more speed than these brakes are great for. They’re also tricky to adjust, but REI is known for its excellent customer service and free tune-ups.  

OUR VERDICT

This is a solid bike for smaller, lighter kids or adults who don’t put down too much power. But if you’ve got a young tween with a lot of strength, you’ll want to go for a bike with better-stopping power.

Best Cruiser Bike for Kids

5. Electra Cruiser 24-inch Kids Bike

Our Rating

 4.1/5

$400

KEY SPECS

There’s something about a cruiser bike that reminds me of warm summer days at the beach, wind in your hair, and breezes blowing. The Electra Cruiser has this vacation-esque, retro feel that’s fun and easy to pedal. 

Here are the details. It’s a steel-framed, single-speed bike with a 44t chainring and a 22t cog. Riding with its cushy seat and comfortable, vibration-absorbing frame will be very comfortable. But you aren’t going to go fast with the upright position and single speed. Riding up hills will be a bit tough, but it will be a great ride on flat roads and boardwalks. 

What’s really cool about this bike is that it is designed for the seat to sit comfortably low so that kids (or short-legged adults) can put their foot down on the ground without getting off the seat. And, of course, in a true cruiser – fashion, it has a shallow step-through frame and nice comfortable, upright handlebars. 

You get even more comfort from the wide, cushy wheels and the springs in the seat. It looks like an old-fashioned bike – and it is! 

This bike has an old-fashioned coaster brake, meaning you just pedal backward to stop the bike. However, this does give you lots of stopping power as long as you know how to use it. 

This would be a fun bike to ride in a flat area, but if you live in a very hilly location, you will either get tired or really strong fast! 

OUR VERDICT

I really like this bike for its very comfortable ride and cool retro appearance. This is a great bike if you want something to creep over to the ice cream shop. But it won’t give you speed or hill climbs – it’s all about comfort whether you are a child or a petite adult. And if that’s your jam, it makes a lovely little bike for the price. I give it a 4.1 out of 5.