Is your kid’s bike saddle damaged? Or maybe they are complaining about their current bike seat?
In either case, you’ll find some good options on this list. These are comfortable, well-made saddles that should make your child’s ride more enjoyable.
In addition, we have some tips at the bottom of the article on other things to try if your child is complaining about their saddle hurting. In particular, we hear about a lot of girls complaining about their bike seats. (And I understand, I’m a girl too). A good saddle, a proper angle adjustment, and maybe a pair of bike shorts should help a lot.
SDG Fly Jr
There’s no doubt that the SDG Fly Jr is the best kids bike saddle around. Really, we could have made this list and included ONLY the SDG Fly Jr, but ya know, options….
The SDJ Fly Jr is basically a high-quality adult saddle sized down for little bottoms. Its comfortable, sized appropriately, and well-constructed.
It comes standard on higher-end kids mountain bikes including Cube, Mondraker, Norco, and YT. While it’s definitely marketed as a mountain bike saddle, you can put it on any kids bike.
Kids will also love that it comes in a wide variety of accent colors, so you can match their bike or favorite color.
Price: $35.99
Trailcraft Velo Jr
My son rides the Trailcraft Blue Sky 20 and it came stock with the Trailcraft Velo Jr. He’s had zero complaints about the saddle, and he usually finds something to complain about.
Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a fortune on a Trailcraft bike in order to get a Trailcraft saddle. They sell them as an aftermarket accessory on their website.
Price: $29
Bontrager Kids Saddle
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Trek makes the Bontrager Kids Saddle that’s a step-up from the cheaper saddles you’ll find on Amazon. It’s durable, and doesn’t easily get torn or scuffed up when your child lays their bike on its side.
The saddle is appropriately sized and reasonably comfortable, although it doesn’t have as large of a relief channel as the saddles listed above.
Price: $25.99
Nukeproof Urchin Youth Saddle
Nukeproof makes “bombproof” bike components and we’re a big fan of their kid size bling. As you would expect from this brand, the Nukeproof Urchin saddle is super durable. The outer layer is meant to handle the abuse that kids give their bikes.
It comes in several color schemes that can also be matched to the Nukeproof grips and pedals.
Price: $20
Velo Plush Junior Saddle
The Velo Plush saddle is a gel seat which means that it is a great choice for parents looking for a “softer” saddle for their child.
While I think this seat is a good choice for kids doing shorter rides around the neighborhood or to school, for families doing longer rides, I’d stick to one of the first saddles I mentioned, and add a pair of padded bike shorts instead. The problem with a saddle that is too soft is that on longer rides, it can actually cause chafing and issues like saddle sores.
For kids (especially girls) that are just having fun playing around in the neighborhood on their bike, this saddle is a good choice.
Price: $28.99 (Last updated: 2023-05-30 at 08:48 – More Info)
DaddyLab Kids Road Seat V2
Looking for a replacement saddle for your child’s balance bike? The Daddylab Road is the saddle you want!
It’s made by Velo (the same manufacturer of the larger Velo Plush listed above) and has better padding and ergonomics than the seats found stock on balance bikes. It is also adjustable–for both the angle and rear-aft position.
Price: $34
Girls Bike Saddles
Sadly, there really aren’t any great female-specific, youth sized bike saddles out there. A women’s-specific saddle will often have a cut-out for soft tissue. And in smaller sizes, this just doesn’t exist. (Step it up, bike industry).
If you google “girls bike saddles” you’re going to come up with a list of pretty pink saddles that really aren’t well-designed or well-constructed.
For girls, we’d recommend the SDG Fly Jr saddle (listed above). It comes with pink or purple accents (if that’s important to you), and it has a (small) releif channel that runs the length of the saddle.
In addition to that, if your daughter still complains, I’d highly recommend investing in a good pair of bike shorts for her. Read more on that below.
Check The Seat Angle And For/Aft Adjustment
Before buying a new bike saddle (or when installing your snazzy new bike saddle), make sure to play around a bit with the saddle angle. Often times (especially for girls), a lot of comfort can be added just by tilting the nose of the saddle downward. You may also want to try sliding the saddle rails forward or backward to play around with the for/aft position.
That said, saddles on less expensive or smaller kids bikes may not have an adjustable saddle. If that’s the case, then I’d recommend getting a new saddle that IS adjustable.
Try A Pair Of Bike Shorts
Most adults we know wear bike shorts to ride, so why wouldn’t you get your child a pair of bike shorts too?!
A good pair of padded kids bike shorts can make a big difference in how comfortable your child is on the bike. Our favorite is the Zoic Ether Jr (and they’re a favorite of most of the bike families we know). For girls, you can’t beat the Shredly shorts and Youthcham chamois.
If you want even more options, read: Ultimate Guide To Kids Bike Shorts and Jerseys
Give It Some Time
If your child just got a new bike (or a new bike saddle), give it a little time and see if they’re still complaining about the saddle hurting. A little soreness in the beginning is totally normally, and usually goes away the more you ride. (This goes for adults as well as kids).
Obviously, if you ride often, and your child is still complaining, something needs to change. You might need to try a new saddle (or even a couple of different saddles), an angle adjustment, or a pair of padded bike shorts.
Thanks for this! Our Woom 5 and 6 seat min seat heights were just a bit high initially, so we swapped on old tykesbykes balance bike seats on those bikes. Now they won’t switch because the Woom seats are a lot harder. Which looks ridiculous… the tykesbykes are quite small seats. We never had a complaint with her Frog 52 stock seat. I’m wondering if there are safety concerns with a too small seat? The larger “butt” part is fairly wide but they re-purposed balance bike seats are shorter lengthwise significantly than the other seats.
Hi Kelsey,
I don’t think you need to be concerned safety wise. The biggest thing would be a loss of power with a smaller saddle, and less room to reposition weight for climbing, etc. But if they don’t seem to be struggling riding, I’m not sure I’d fight about it.