Just a few years ago, 16 inch mountain bikes simply didn’t exist. You could find a good-quality bike and add some beefier tires, and that was about as good as it got. Not anymore!
Today, there are quite a few legitimate 16″ mountain bikes. Over the last decade, we’ve tested and reviewed lots of kids bikes. We’ve rounded up what we’d consider the best of the crop, so you know what all your options are. We also share a comparison chart and tips on choosing a good-quality kids mountain bike.
If you’re looking to keep your kiddo safe on their new mountain bike, we’ve also tested best kids bike helmets and the best kids knee and elbow pads.
Key Takeaways From This Article
- Our favorite 16″ mountain bike is the Prevelo Zulu Two.
- Evaluate whether your child really needs suspension before adding the extra weight and expense.
- Hydraulic disc brakes are easier for kids to operate than mechanical disc brakes or v-brakes.
First….Does Your Child Really Need a “Mountain Bike”?
We end up with a lot of parents looking for a “mountain bike” who’s child doesn’t really need one. If your kiddo is primarily riding their bike on pavement, with the odd foray onto dirt, check out our list of the best 16-inch recreational bicycles instead. All of these can be used on mild trails as well as on the road.
On the other hand, if your family is spending most of your time on the trails, hitting up the bike park, etc….then you should definitely look for a true mountain bike like those listed below……
Our Top Picks
| Bike | What We Love | Price |
| Prevelo Zulu Two | HEIR suspension fork | $699/$949 |
| Commencal Ramones 16 | Local bike shop option | $530 |
| Spawn Yogi | Brood tires + components | $495 |
| Early Rider Hellion 16 | Beefy build | $899 |
Prevelo Zulu Two
Price: $699/$949
The Prevelo Zulu Two is our top pick for young shredders. It comes with Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, and slack, trail-oriented geo. We also appreciate Prevelo’s excellent customer service.
The bike comes in two versions. The Zulu Two has a rigid aluminum fork, while the Zulu Two HEIR offers a high-quality 60mm adjustable air fork with carbon lowers. The weight gain for the suspension fork is negligible, so if you can afford the extra coin, we’d highly recommend the HEIR version.
These sweet bikes sell out so you will have to get on a purchaser list. Also, little kids are still learning to climb so make sure to buy a Tow-Whee when you check out. (Prevelo carries them on their site). Prevelo makes it easy to plan ahead and surprise your kiddo with a fun adventurous first real mountain bike.
If your child doesn’t need disc brakes or a suspension fork yet, you could also consider the Prevelo Alpha Two which is still off-road appropriate and comes in a little lighter and cheaper.
Read Our Reviews: Prevelo Zulu One (smaller version) and Prevelo Zulu Three (larger version)
Commencal Ramones 16
Price: $530
The Commencal Ramones 16 has been upgraded from it’s prior version. It now comes with Tektro Aries mechanical disc brakes and beefy 2.25″ Vee Tire Co Crown Gem tires. We also like the nice wide 500mm bars.
While the mechanical disc brakes are a definite step up from v-brakes, they are harder for little hands to pull than the hydraulic disc brakes offered on the Prevelo.
Still, for the price, this is a pretty superior little bike. We also like that it’s a local bike shop option if you prefer to shop in person rather than online.
Spawn Yoji 16
Price: $495
Spawn has long created the kids’ bikes of choice for mountain biking families. Unfortunately, we feel that Spawn has fallen a bit behind on it’s 16″ offering. The Spawn Yoji 16 lacks disc brakes and suspension.
Still, it’s this lack of “extras” that keeps the Yoji 16 super light (14.5 lbs), making it a great pick for families who spend as much time going up as they do going down. It also has in-house Loam Star 1.9″ tires that can handle whatever comes their way.
If you want a bike with mountain bike geometry and knobby tires but don’t need suspension or disc brakes yet, the Yogi is a great choice.
Read Our Review: Spawn Yoji
Early Rider Hellion 16
Price: $899
The Early Rider Hellion 16 is a beauty thanks to it’s brushed aluminum frame. Thankfully, it doesn’t just look good, it performs as well.
Beefier than any of the company’s other 16 inch offerings, the Hellion has hydraulic disc brakes and super wide Vee Crown Gem 2.25″ tires. (These are easy to set up tubeless). The frame will even accept tires as wide as 2.6″ if you wanted to try a little fat biking with it.
We also like the fact that the bike can accept a rear derailleur if you decided you wanted to add gears.
The only drawback here is the price. For a bike without suspension, the price tag is a bit eye watering.
Comparison Chart: 16 Inch Mountain Bikes
| Bike | Price (MSRP) | Weight (lbs) | Fork | Brakes | Drivetrain | Tires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prevelo Zulu Two HEIR | $949 | 15.3 | 60mm | Promax hydraulic | Singlespeed | Kenda Booster 16 × 2.2 |
| Prevelo Zulu Two | $649 | 15.8 | Rigid Alloy | Promax hydraulic | Singlespeed | Kenda Booster 16 × 2.2 |
| Commencal Ramones 16 | $530 | 17.63 | Rigid Cromo | Tektro mechanical | Singlespeed | Vee Tire Co Crown Gem 16 x 2.25 |
| Spawn Yogi | $495 | 14.5 | Rigid Cromo | Tektro V-brakes | Singlespeed | SPAWN CYCLES LOAM STAR, 16 x 1.9 |
| Early Rider Hellion | $899 | 14.9 | Rigid Alloy | Promax hydraulic | Singlespeed | Vee Crown Gem 2.25″ |
Tips For Choosing a 16″ Mountain Bike
Not sure how to choose between bikes? Here are some things to consider before buying.
Suspension Fork vs Rigid Fork
Let’s be real. Most kids don’t really need a suspension fork on a 16 inch mountain bike.
With wide enough tires and low enough pressure, they can tackle most obstacles without a suspension fork. We personally didn’t introduce our son to suspension until we moved him up to a 20-inch bike. A rigid fork also saves some weight, which makes it a good choice for petite kids or for families who do a lot of climbing.
That said, if your child is riding rocky or technical trails, or hitting up lift-served downhill trails on the weekend, you absolutely want a suspension fork. It can make a world of difference in your child’s comfort and capability. Just make sure you are buying a high-quality air-sprung fork, not a coil-sprung fork.
Brakes
You’ll notice the bikes on this list have three different brake types: v-brakes, mechanical disc brakes, and hydraulic disc brakes.
V-brakes are the cheapest and the lightest. They work pretty well for kids who don’t weigh much, and they help keep the weight of the bike down. They also require minimal maintenance, if tooling around on bikes isn’t your thing.
That said, v-brakes just aren’t that great for mountain biking. When we first switched our son from v-brakes to disc brakes his descending ability went through the roof. Chances are you haven’t had v-brakes on your mountain bike in years and if you’re asking your child to ride the same trails you are, they should get the same high-quality braking system.
As far as disc brakes go, hydraulic disc brakes are really the way to go for kids. Not only do they have superior braking power compared to mechanical disc brakes, but they are also much, MUCH easier for little hands to operate.
That said, hydraulic disc brakes are more expensive and are more complicated to maintain than mechanical disc brakes, so we understand why some folks might choose the latter.
Tires
Tires are one of the most important things on a 16 inch mountain bike, especially if it doesn’t have a suspension fork. Nice high volume tires can provide a lot of cushion.
We particularly like tires that can be set up tubeless. This allows them to be run at a much lower pressure, with the added benefit of additional comfort and traction.
As far a tire width goes, it will be largely dependent on the type of riding your child is doing. Lots of hardpack cross-country trail? You can get away with a lighter, narrower tire. For downhill mountain biking, on the other hand, we like a nice wide 2.2″ tire.
Weight
How important weight should be in your decision-making process is largely dependent on the type of riding your family does. Are you mostly doing shuttle rides and lift-served riding? If so, weight probably doesn’t matter that much.
On the other hand, if you live in Colorado or Utah and do lots of trail riding, your child is going to be climbing. And climbing is really tough on a heavy bike. In this case, we’d recommend sticking with a lighter weight OR buying a Tow-Whee so you can help give them an assist.
More Reading to Help You Choose
About Us
The Rascals are a family of three. Kristen (mom), Blair (dad), and Parker (kiddo). We started Rascal Rides when Parker was born and we didn’t want to give up our passion for biking. As we learned, we shared.
Over the years, we’ve added other families to our team and have tested hundreds of kids bikes, helmets, bike trailers, and more.
Kristen is a licensed USA Cycling coach and NICA coach, and loves to share her passion for biking with other families. Blair is a bike geek, mechanic, and mountain bike junkie. Parker is 13 now and is our resident shredder.
If you see us out on the trail, make sure to say hi!
IG: @rascal_rides
YT: @rascalrides
Hello!
I love your reviews.
I’d also love some reviews of mid range bikes. Are there no descent quality bikes in the 200$ range? (For 16 inch or 300$ for 20 inch). I get the whole dont buy a walmart bike thing. However most of your listed bikes are really really hard to find used and pretty expensive for the amount of years they will be used. Thanks for considering
Hi Andy,
Did you check out our list of 16 inch recreational bikes? There are several bikes on there in the $200 range. https://rascalrides.com/the-5-best-pedal-bikes-for-your-5-to-7-year-old/
For this list, we were focused on real mountain bikes (which aren’t cheap).
Cheers,
KB
Does a child need a mountain bike if you live on a mountain side and all of the paved roads in your neighborhood are steep hills? He won’t be going on dirt trails, but will definitely need gears to get up and down the hills that lead to school. I guess I’m wondering if bikes that aren’t considered “mountain bikes”, come with gears, or are gears strictly a mountain bike thing?
Hi JP,
No, you don’t need a mountain bike. In fact a “mountain bike” might be overkill and heavier than the best bike for riding steep paved hills. There are plenty of geared kids bikes that aren’t mountain bikes, though gears don’t generally begin untill 20 inch bikes. What size bike are you looking for?
Hi!!!
Thx for your amazing work! You saved me tons of hours of research!
What’s your input on the dimension of the tires? 1.95 vs 2.1 vs 2.25?
I feel that my daughter will have more fun on a 2.25 but don’t know if it affects the weight of the bike.
Thx!!!
An
Hi there!
Thank you so much for your reviews! they’re helping so much in combo with Chat GPT to find the best options for my kids. I was wondering what you thought of the Early Rider Seeker 16 for my 37 lbs, ~105 cm, 3 year old daughter? I saw the Early Rider Hellion made the list but at her size I’m thinking V-brakes might actually work better? My primary considerations are trail ready and light enough for her to keep up and do climbs. She’s using the bike on trails, at the pump track/skills park and BMX track. Alternatively we were considering the Prevelo Alpha 2 or Spawn Yoji. Any thoughts?
For mountain biking, hydraulic disc brakes will definitely work better than v-brakes even at her size. If she were only doing occasional off-road riding, I might recommend otherwise, but it sounds like you’re mostly mountain biking. If you’re sold on v-brakes, though, all three of those are great options. You can’t really go wrong, you’re on the right track!