18" BYK E350 (2027)

The E-350 is an 18in bike built to fit a child most shops would put on a 16in. That is the whole design brief, and it is the reason this bike keeps selling. The frame is a custom X-Lite alloy design weighing 760 grams on its own. It has a frame and saddle sitting low enough that a four year old can get both feet down while rolling on a wheel taller than the one they would otherwise be riding.

A bigger wheel rolls over gutter lips, driveway joins and bark chips instead of stopping dead on them. It carries speed between pedal strokes, which is what lets a new rider stop pedalling and glide, which is how balance gets learned.

A 16in wheel makes a child work harder for the same distance and punishes them more for hitting anything. The E-350 gives them the taller wheel without lifting the saddle out of reach.

Complete weight is approximately 8kg without training wheels.

Put that next to the child:

A typical 20kg five year old is riding something around 39 percent of their own bodyweight. Scaled up to an adult, that is a 32kg bike.

Weight is not a spec-sheet nicety at this size.

It is the difference between a bike a child can pick up, turn around, lean into a corner and correct when it wobbles, and one that decides where it is going without them.

Why the 18in wheel matters

Wheel size in kids bikes is sold as an age chart, which is why so many children end up on the wrong bike.

What actually matters is the relationship between the wheel and the saddle height.

ByK builds the E-350 with a low centre of gravity frame and a 180mm alloy seatpost. So the saddle range starts low enough for a rider at the bottom of the age band and extends far enough that the bike stays useful as they grow.

The practical result:

Your child gets the roll, stability and speed of a bigger wheel at the point in their riding where they need confidence most. And you get a bike they will not outgrow in a season.

Brakes, three of them

The E-350 runs twin alloy linear-pull V brakes with four-finger micro-reach alloy levers, plus a KT-350R rear coaster brake.

The levers are the part worth pausing on.

Small hands cannot squeeze an adult-shaped brake lever, so most kids bikes either fit a lever a child cannot reach or give up and fit a coaster only.

Micro-reach levers sized for a four year old mean the hand brakes actually work from day one, which is what builds the habit they will need on every bike after this one.

The coaster brake sits behind that as a third option, and it is genuinely useful for a rider who has not yet learned to modulate.

Back-pedal and the bike stops. No decision required.

The trade-off:

Coaster brake means you cannot reposition the pedals by rolling them backwards, so getting set for a pedal-off takes a moment of learning.

The training wheel system

The training wheels run on a solid steel frame with PU pro-scooter wheels, and they use ByK's on-the-fly assist system

They come on and off without tools and without a workshop visit. That sounds like a convenience feature. In practice it is a teaching one.

Learning to ride is not one event, it is a series of short attempts, and children lose the thread when the equipment cannot keep up. Being able to take the trainers off at the park, try three runs down a grass slope, and put them back on for the ride home means you can follow the child's confidence rather than committing to a decision in the driveway.

The details that get skipped

The wheels are double-wall CNC-machined alloy rims with 20-hole lacing on alloy hubs, wearing reflective lightweight all-weather tyres.

Double-wall rims on a kids bike are not standard at this level, and they are the reason the wheels stay true through the kerb drops and gutter hops that a bike this size actually gets. The reflective sidewall is a real safety feature on a winter afternoon school run.

The drive is alloy 102mm cranks on a sealed cartridge bottom bracket.

Short cranks matter. Adult-proportioned cranks force a child's knees up into the bars and rob them of leverage. The 540 x 50mm rise handlebars, 150mm adjustable stem and ergonomic padded saddle are all sized to the rider rather than scaled down from an adult bike. This is what produces the knee-to-bar clearance that lets a child turn tightly without catching themselves.

Fitted properly before it leaves the store

The E-350 suits riders roughly 95cm to 117cm tall, which is most children from four to six, but height bands are a starting point rather than an answer.

We fit the bike to the child in store:

Saddle height set so they can get a foot down with confidence, lever reach adjusted to their hands, trainers set or removed depending on where they actually are. Bring them in and we will size them properly across the range rather than guessing from a chart.

Every bike we sell is built by our own mechanics and backed by a free first service.

You will find us at Heidelberg Heights, Hallam and Hoppers Crossing, family-owned and selling kids bikes to Melbourne families since 1986.

It is worth reading our kids bike sizing guide before you come in, and picking up a properly fitted kids helmet at the same time.