How to Measure Children's Bicycles

Finding the right fit for a child's bicycle involves knowing two measurements--your child's inseam and the bicycle size. The bicycle size for children's bikes refers to the size of the wheel rim in inches, plus the inflated tire. A 20-inch bicycle has a rim that is approximately 16 inches, but the tire is about 2 inches wide, so that adds 4 inches to the diameter of the wheel. There are recommendations for matching up the child's inseam and the bike size.

Things You'll Need

• Bicycle with tires
• Tape measure

Show More

Instructions

1. • 1

     Stand up the bicycle and make sure the tires are properly inflated.

   • 2

     Place the tape measure on the ground right next to where the tire touches the ground.

   • 3

     Pull the tape measure up until it reaches the top of the tire.

   • 4

     Look at the tape measure and note what the numbers are. They may not exactly match the standard bike tire measurements (the most common are 12-, 16-, 20- and 24-inch tires), but you can round the number to the closest standard number.