Writer Jenni Gritters researched more than 20 tricycles, and she built and tested 10 of them in late 2023. She has a decade of experience reporting on parenting, purchasing, and psychology, and she was previously an editor for Wirecutter’s outdoors section. She’s the author of our guides to the best balance bikes and the best jogging strollers, and she’s a mom to two children. As Jenni was writing the current version of this guide, her kids were 15 months and 3½ years old—perfect trike-testing age.

The first version of this guide was written by Katharine Gammon, a science writer, when her children were 1½ and 3½ years old. Kate spent upwards of 25 hours researching and testing a dozen tricycles, and she interviewed two pediatric physical therapists, among other experts.

For many families, a tricycle is a beloved toy. Tricycles also teach important skills like steering and pedaling, which lay the foundation for a child to eventually become a confident big-kid-bike rider.

Trikes come in many shapes and sizes. Along with simple, classic three-wheelers, fun-to-ride low riders, and trikes that turn into balance bikes, there are convertible tricycles with push bars, sunshades, and safety harnesses, which act as strollers to start. As a child grows, these little-kid extras are stripped away, leaving a trike they can ride independently.

“Trikes are really the first tool that give kids the sense of moving forward,” said Judy Wang, DPT, a board-certified clinical specialist in pediatric physical therapy who practices in Los Angeles. They also help develop a child’s visual processing abilities while in motion. At age 1 to 2, kids can sit securely on a trike, and at around age 2½ to 3 (on average), they are able to start pedaling on their own.

A good tricycle should meet the following criteria:

It should be made of quality materials. We looked for trikes that can be passed down from child to child. We tested tricycles made from steel, aluminum, and plastic, in varying combinations. Compared with trikes that were 100% plastic, trikes with at least some steel tended to age better and more consistently stood up to a beating.

It should be safe and easy to ride. A tricycle should help your child learn to pedal and steer. Models with a wide wheelbase will provide stability and grip the roadway, and we found that lightweight trikes are, in general, easier for younger kids to use. Tires made from rubber or foam are softer, and that can help cushion the ride; hard plastic tires can ride a little rougher and be slippery on pavement. But all of these materials are fine as long as the trike is stable.

It should have a supportive seat. The seat should ideally include some back support to help brace a child’s trunk, especially if they’re under age 3, said Rebecca Talmud, DPT, a pediatric physical therapist in Washington, DC. “This support will be important to ensure more effective forward motion and help a child build momentum when pedaling.” She also pointed out that a kid shouldn’t have to strain to reach the pedals.

It should be fun. We wanted a trike that kids would find appealing and want to play with, ideally for many years. For some, the fun is all in the speed. For others, extra pizzazz like a bell, a basket, bright colors, and/or tassels may mean a lot. Storage spaces for stuff kids might need—like a cupholder for a sippy cup or a trunk or basket for toys—may also be appealing to kids.

It should be able to grow with a child. Many people are looking for a versatile trike that can be used with the same child over a number of developmental stages. We sought a trike with a parent push bar, to propel a toddler who is still learning to pedal, as well as one with the ability to convert to an independent trike for older kids.

Both Kate and Jenni timed their tricycle assembly, noting any particular difficulties or frustrations and whether extra tools were needed. For the combo grow-with-you models, they assessed how difficult and time-consuming it was to convert a trike from mode to mode. And they checked how the tricycles fit their older and younger kids, to assess which models would work best over many years.

The trikes were then turned over to their kids, so they could test their durability, ease of use, speed, and inherent fun-ness. Kids took the trikes on neighborhood strolls, and they tested them on grass, pavement, broken concrete, and dirt. We paid attention to how the wheels performed and how long it took to get the trikes moving, as well as their stability. Kate timed her 3-year-old as he rode a block on a concrete sidewalk and took a corner at full speed. This demonstrated how easy it was to start and turn each trike, and it provided evidence of wheels lifting up or a trike seat being unstable.

Both writers also threw “bike parties” with a dozen kids, ages 1 to 7, along with the parents, and they noted which options everyone gravitated toward and which they ignored. (When toddler fights ensued, it was a good sign that a trike was well-loved.) After Jenni’s party, the parents reported back on which trikes they preferred, which they hated, and which one they were likely to buy for their child.

The Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike is far more versatile than the shiny-red metal trike or the ground-hugging plastic Big Wheel you may have had as a kid (modern replicas of which we also tested). This tricycle has four modes, for kids of different ages, and ample accessories, and it rides well on many different surfaces. This trike is an updated version of the 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike we tested for a previous iteration of this guide.

It’s versatile and can be used for years. Jenni’s 15-month-old loved the 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike as much as her 3½-year-old did, due to all of its different modes. Choose from an infant trike, with a harness; a steering-only trike, with a parent handle; a learn-to-pedal trike; and a classic, bigger-kid trike. As your child grows, you simply remove parts: first the tray; then the pedal covers and harness; and, finally, the parent handle, which extends to 36 inches tall. Eventually, your kid can pedal along on their own. Radio Flyer puts an age range of 1 to 5 years on this trike, and it puts a weight limit of 49 pounds, which we found to be accurate.

It includes many accessories. This tricycle comes with a canopy, a wide push handle for caregivers (it’s reasonably adjustable for adults of different heights), a wraparound tray and cupholder, and a storage bucket. It also has a three-point harness, and this one was easier to use than the harness on any other model we tried—it actually pulled tight, too. The 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike has a steel frame but is mostly made of plastic (wheels included). So it’s not the most durable option we tested, but it still stood up to several months of heavy use without injury. One of our long-term testers did note that the color of the plastic faded over time after being left in the sun.

It’s sturdy, yet kids found it fun and easy to ride. Jenni’s son loved riding this trike across pavement, dirt, and even rough concrete. Despite its rigid plastic wheels, the 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike could handle all of these surfaces; it moved especially well on sidewalks, where it stayed stable during turns. Compared with other convertible trikes we tested, like the smarTrike and the Joovy, this one had a more-effective handlebar and sturdier wheels. It was much harder to tip this trike over, due to those sturdy wheels and steel frame, and the harness was the easiest to tighten. Jenni’s 15-month-old daughter loved riding in the infant mode, often pushed by her brother using the parent handle.

Radio Flyer offers a two-year warranty on all of its tricycles when you register it; otherwise, it’s a one-year warranty.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It takes a while to build. It took 40 minutes to build the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike; that was longer than it took to build many of the trikes we tested. The long build time is due to the fact that this trike has so many parts; this makes it versatile, but it’s also a pain. The tools needed—a Phillips head screwdriver, a hammer, and a wrench—are not included. This trike held up well during testing, but it’s less durable than some of the other models we tried, including our upgrade pick.

The parent-push handle can be finicky. One of our long-term testers said that while he appreciates and uses the parent-push mode, he finds the handle a bit wiggly, which can make it hard to steer.

The INFANS Kids Tricycle is similar to our top pick, with more-durable steel features and a slightly easier-to-use steering mechanism. But this model usually costs about $50 more. And our kid testers found it less easy to use, likely because the IFANS trike is about 4 pounds heavier than the Radio Flyer tricycle (20 pounds versus the Radio Flyer’s 16).

It has four modes and grows with a kid. Like our top pick, the INFANS trike should last a kid from about 10 months to 5 years (or up to 50 pounds), due to its four modes: stroller, push trike, training trike, and independent trike. As your kid grows up, you can adjust the features. First you pull the foot pegs up. Then you remove the safety bar, and either lock the pedals or allow your child to pedal while you can still help with steering. Finally, you remove the parent handle, and your child is fully on their own. We liked the Radio Flyer’s stroller setting better, since it has a cover over the pedals for kids to rest their feet on, instead of foot pegs. (Jenni’s daughter didn’t use the foot pegs on the INFANS trike and instead tended to kick the tires, creating a bumpy ride.)

It has an easier-to-use push handle. During testing, parents praised the IFANS trike’s adjustable push handle, which extends to 37 inches (just slightly taller, by an inch, than the one on our top pick). This push handle is also thinner than our top pick’s, and it’s easier to use one-handed. The INFANS push handle allows an adult to steer the front wheel, which gives them more control over the trike. By comparison, the parent handle on our top pick is connected to both the front wheel and handlebar, so if the child moves the handlebar, the parent handle moves as well. (With both trikes, the parent could wrestle with the child for control, but the INFANS trike gives the adult a greater advantage.)

And it offers solid add-ons. The IFANS trike’s canopy is made with thicker material than the Radio Flyer trike’s canopy. That means this one can protect your child for longer during a rainstorm or provide a bit better shade coverage. An open basket at the back can be used for carrying snacks, water bottles, and rocks (if you know, you know).

It even has brakes. The INFANS trike also has rear brakes; the Radio Flyer trike does not, and we didn’t find them on many other models. Similar to brakes on a regular stroller, these rear brakes (one against each wheel) can be operated by parents. They can also be activated by children when they’re riding on their own (they pedal backward), which can be good practice for learning to ride a pedal bike.

Parents didn’t love the harness, and kids preferred our top pick. The INFANS trike is about 4 pounds heavier than the Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike; we think the added weight is why our kid testers found it harder to ride independently. Like the Radio Flyer trike, this one also has plastic wheels, but they didn’t work as well on dirt pathways. We appreciated that the infant harness was padded across the chest, but it didn’t tighten as well as our top pick’s harness.

It’s faster and easier to build. It took only 20 minutes to build the INFANS Kids Tricycle. Like the Radio Flyer tricycle, this one has a lot of parts, but the instructions are a bit clearer, and the required tools are included.

It has a three-month warranty, much shorter than the Radio Flyer’s two-year warranty.

For bigger kids, the Schwinn Roadster Tricycle 12-Inch is a shiny, gorgeous tricycle that’s fast and fun to ride. It’s low to the ground, with more of a Big Wheel style than you typically see in a metal trike. Because it doesn’t have a push-bar option, it’s not as versatile as our top or runner-up picks. But if you’re buying a tricycle for an older kid, they may prefer the style of this more-sophisticated-looking trike.

This is a good tricycle for kids who are 3 to 6. The Schwinn Roadster can carry 60 pounds of kid (10 pounds more than our runner-up pick and 11 pounds more than our top pick can carry). The molded plastic seat slides back on a track to adjust for taller children. But while we were testing it with kids around age 7, we found that their knees hit the handlebars, even when the seat was pushed back all the way. (If you want a low rider for older kids, check out the Razor RipRider 360.)

Air-filled tires and a low center of gravity make this trike easy to ride. The tires are air-filled, like a bicycle’s, so this three-wheeled baby can tear up some ground. It weighs 17½ pounds, and it has a low center of gravity, which prevents tips and allows the trike to take corners. (Our upgrade pick, the Angeles MyRider Midi, was a bit more stable than even the Schwinn Roadster.) Because this trike is easier to pedal and steer, it handles better than other low-rider options we tried, such as the Big Wheel.

It’s impressively flashy—but big. The Schwinn Roadster comes in seven shiny colors, including red, black, blue, and pink. Other features include black handlebar tassels, a bell, and a wooden deck in back—where a friend can hitch a ride. This trike also has one of the largest footprints of any model we tested. Kate found it was a challenge to navigate her narrow walkways with this trike.

It took about 24 minutes to assemble the Schwinn Roadster Tricycle, and it required a screwdriver. It has a limited warranty (PDF).

Angeles tricycles are common at many daycares, schools, children’s museums, and community centers. These simple, industrial-strength trikes are built to last—not just through two or three kids in a family, but through two or three hundred kids over many years. The Angeles MyRider Midi Tricycle—intended for kids ages 3 to 6 and rated to hold up to a whopping 70 pounds—is the midsize option in the company’s MyRider trike line. The MyRider Midi is easy and fun to ride, close to maintenance-free, and absolutely durable.

The quality is top-notch. User reviews and years of seeing these tricycles in action at schools tell us the MyRider Midi is by far the most durable trike out there. “Quality and safety come before everything else,” David Curry, VP of merchandising and product development at Angeles Corporation, told us. “If you were to buy one of these trikes, your grandkids would still be riding that same trike.”

The MyRider Midi is fun and safe. At 21 pounds, the MyRider Midi is one of the heavier trikes we tested. Yet despite its heft, it provides a very smooth ride and is easy for kids to start pedaling. The spokeless wheels move smoothly, and the rubber tires, though narrow, seem to glide easily. The wheels require no adjustments; no parts stick out, and nothing can get caught in them. This trike is the hardest to tip of any we tried, due to its weight and welded steel frame design. But we also found the MyRider Midi harder to stop when going fast downhill.

The MyRider Midi has no extras, but it accommodates older kids. The banana-shaped bike seat doesn’t adjust, but because of its ample length, kids can comfortably push back and stretch their legs as they grow. We found that bigger kids could more comfortably ride the MyRider Midi than our other picks, and that could help justify the much higher price tag. The MyRider Midi doesn’t have storage or come with a bell or tassels.

The Angeles MyRider Midi Tricycle arrives fully assembled. It comes only in bright yellow and is also available in smaller and larger sizes. You can choose from 11-inch, 14½-, and 16-inch sizes.

Angeles tricycles have an unusually long, five-year warranty.

If you’re looking for a fun option for older kids: The Razor RipRider 360 is an appealing novelty. It’s not a typical tricycle because it likely won’t work for kids under age 6, due to the height required to reach the pedals. But it’s not a pedal bike, either. Instead, it’s a low rider with one large, rubber front wheel and two scooter-esque back wheels, which drift from side to side as a child pedals. The back wheels swivel on their own, allowing the RipRider 360 to lean into turns; this trike is much more maneuverable than any model in this guide, and the drifting is a blast. It takes about 25 minutes to build the RipRider 360, due to its complex design. But despite its non-traditional build, this trike was one of the favorites in the lineup during our testing party. Kids and adults alike loved climbing into the RipRider 360 and racing up and down the street. (It can carry a recommended maximum weight of 160 pounds.)

If you like our top pick but your kid doesn’t need a full harness: The Amazon Exclusive Radio Flyer Pedal & Push 4-in-1 Stroll ’N Trike is quite similar to our top pick, with a few key differences. Our top pick’s parent handle has a foam grip. Also, our top pick offers a headrest for tiny kids, and it has a shoulder harness, whereas the Pedal & Push offers a waist belt only. If you plan to start riding with a child when they’re around age 1, you’ll want our top pick’s additions—the headrest and shoulder straps matter for safety! If you plan to use a trike with a kid who’s older (around 2½ years old), you can use either one and likely won’t notice the differences.

If your kid is older, and you don’t need the restraint features at all: The Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer & Stroll, our former runner-up pick, is still a great choice for kids ages 2 to 5. It doesn’t have a harness or a sunshade, but it does include a parent push handle, which can later be removed. One unusual advantage: The pedals don’t move if the child isn’t pushing them. The seat is adjustable, and the trike comes with a storage basket and a bell.

The Joovy Tricycoo 4.1 Kids Tricycle (our previous pick in this guide) was loved by our kid testers, and it has a short, five-minute build time. It’s also adjustable, and it can be used by smaller kids (with the fabric harness) and older kids (just remove the insertable secure seat, which keeps little kids from crawling or sliding out of the chair). The materials are mostly plastic, which got dinged up after just a few weeks of testing. Many parents complain in reviews about losing pieces of the Joovy over time; the screws, the plastic basket, all tend to fall off. It’s also now significantly more expensive than our current top pick, and it’s not as stable; when Jenni’s kids played with the Joovy, it tipped over a number of times, causing small injuries. It also got stuck on any surface that wasn’t pavement.

The Doona Liki Trike S5 has some great features, such as the ability to fold down for travel (it’s designed to fit in overhead bins on airplanes). We enjoyed its three-second fold, padded straps, and sleek look. Like our top pick, this one converts to multiple stages. The sunshade is similar to that of our top pick, too. But this trike is more than triple the cost of our top pick. And the push bar is also more loosely attached than that of our runner-up pick; this made it difficult for an adult to push the Liki in a straight path, especially one-handed.

The shiny, steel Radio Flyer Classic Red Tricycle is a well-made trike for kids from 2½ years to about 4 or a small 5. The design replicates that of tricycles from decades ago, so this sturdy, metal tricycle has serious nostalgia appeal. We found that the controlled turning radius made it harder to tip than some of the other trikes. But it lacks a back support and adjusts only a bit to accommodate taller riders. In our tests, the Classic Red was harder to ride than any of our picks.

The Radio Flyer Deluxe Big Flyer is a decent version of the Big Wheel–style trike, and it’s intended for kids who are 3 to 7 years old. It has more heft and seems sturdier than today’s Big Wheel brand. Older kids will likely enjoy the speed and easy turns of a lightweight, low-slung trike, but Kate’s 3-year-old son had some trouble getting the 16-inch front wheel to move. When it comes to a low-rider-style trike, overall we think the Schwinn Roadster provides a better ride. For bigger kids, the Razor RipRider 360 is more fun and easier to use.

The SmarTrike 3-in-1 Breeze S Toddler Tricycle (now unavailable) felt flimsy, with plastic wheels and screws that are tough to tighten. And the harness didn’t tighten well; Jenni’s 15-month-old daughter kept nearly falling out. When an adult pushes this convertible trike, the handle (rather than the kid steering) directs the front wheel, which is ideal for younger kids. And it adapts well to older children. But our top pick and runner-up pick simply felt safer and more durable, and they were easier to build.

The XJD 5-in-1 Kids Tricycle is a trike that turns into a balance bike. It takes 10 minutes to build, and it’s easy to adapt from trike to bike by adjusting the two back wheels into one (they slide together) and removing the pedals. It’s sturdier than many of the trikes we tried, with hard rubber wheels instead of plastic. But it doesn’t have a warranty, and the kids in our test group avoided this bike like the plague, probably because the stand-over height for the balance bike configuration wasn’t low enough. This trike also doesn’t work for kids under age 2. If you want a balance bike, try one of our balance bike picks.

Nearly identical to the XJD trike, the Besrey 5-in-1 is a trike turned balance bike that takes 10 minutes to build. It’s also easy to adjust into a balance bike (by sliding the back wheels together and removing the pedals), and it has a two-year warranty. But as with the XJD trike, kids didn’t like the Besrey in trike or bike form during testing, because it was uncomfortable to ride. In trying to be a trike and a bike, it succeeds at neither. It also doesn’t work for kids under age 2, despite the ages listed on the product page.

The Bentley 6-in-1 Stroller Trike is heavy and large, requiring about 15 minutes of build time and a lot of tools. It transitions from a stroller to a tricycle, and it has a comfortable seat and harness (it should, considering its nearly $500 price tag!). The ride is much smoother than with many of the trikes we tested because the wheels are made with rubber instead of plastic. The Bentley is also fairly easy to push and convert from stroller to trike, and your child can apparently start riding in it at 6 months old. But it’s missing key touches, for something with such a high price point: The storage bucket is small, with a Velcro lid that barely stays on, and the cupholder is made of cheap plastic. The harness is also hard to secure, and the canopy feels similar to that of our top pick, which is around one-fifth the price.

The Fisher-Price Harley-Davidson Tough Trike was a surprising amount of fun. Even though it’s small and low to the ground, Kate’s son enjoyed the trike’s big pedals, fat wheels, and super-large underseat storage container. However, we found that the plastic wheels provided a really rough ride, especially on hard surfaces and bumps. The trike also doesn’t adjust in any way, so it’s usable for only around a year or two before a child outgrows it. Fisher-Price makes a few versions of this trike, including one that’s “Barbie Tough.”

Many of today’s parents (and grandparents!) may have fond memories of rolling down the driveway—and perhaps over homemade jumps, definitely helmet-free—on an Original Big Wheel. The actual Original Big Wheel was manufactured in Pennsylvania by a company called Marx, which went out of business in the 1980s. Today’s Big Wheel (the name was sold) is lightweight, and the wheels slip a ton. It was difficult for Kate’s young son to get started on the trike, and he soon lost interest. Kate lost interest even sooner, when it took a whopping 54 minutes to assemble, mostly due to the number of decals. Jenni’s 3-year-old son also screamed in frustration while using the Big Wheel and found it didn’t move well across pavement or dirt. Like its namesake, the Big Wheel is better for bigger kids. It accommodates kids up to 70 pounds and 8 years old, and we’ve known older children who did, in fact, love it. But this trike is the most fun when it’s used to barrel down steep hillsides; even older, stronger pedalers will find it difficult to use for sidewalk travel. Plus, for what it is, this bike is really expensive. Overall, if you’re seeking a truly fun ride for older kids, we think the Razor RipRider 360 is the better choice.

This article was edited by Amy Miller Kravetz and Kalee Thompson.