Kid’s Bike Setup for Biking to School Safely

My kids are headed back to school next week and I’m getting their bikes ready for daily action after a busy summer. This year we have a kindergartener and a 3rd grader, and they will be biking to school on their own bikes 3-4 days a week as long as the weather and daylight allow. They are currently riding the Prevelo Alpha 3 20″, and Woom 5 24″. Let’s talk about what I’m going over for these bikes.

There are three categories I’m thinking about when getting kids’ bikes ready for daily use: reliable, visible, and fun.

Kid’s Bike Safety Checkover

When checking over any bike I’m following the “A, B, Cs”:

  • Inflate the tires (I do this weekly on their bikes) and check the tires for wear. I’m also refreshing the Slime in their tubes to help prevent flats.
  • Check the brakes so that they stop quickly. I have the front brake adjusted so it makes contact just slightly after the rear brake.
  • Lube the chain and make sure the gears are working properly

If you want to see my full rundown of checking over a kid’s bike then check out this video.

Making a Kid’s Bike More Visible

Kids are much smaller than an adult and they are much harder to see when around cars. Add in that my kids have to ride on a twisty neighborhood street for a part of their ride, and we’ve added some additional items for increased visibility.

A safety vest

We prefer this style that pulls over their head. We have made these a requirement anytime our kids get on their bikes as they have to bike on a neighborhood street to get anywhere from our house.

Kids Reflective Vest Child Safety Vest (2 pieces) Kids Reflective Vest Child Safety Vest (2 pieces)
$9.99

We prefer the ones that pull over their head.

03/25/2024 07:20 am GMT

Flag on the rear of their bike

We have some twists and hills on our streets and this flag sticking up catches people’s attention and makes the kids about 3 feet taller to be seen over cars or hills. I am interested to see if they get stolen at school since the bike racks are right by the playground.

03/25/2024 07:13 am GMT


Bike Lights

Blinky lights on the front of their bike and the back of their helmet. I’m personally running the Lumos Firefly lights on their bikes this year as they are easy to take off since they are magnetic, and I can charge 4 lights at once which is very handy. There are much cheaper options out there and I plan on taking the next 3 months to see if these are worth it.

Lumos Firefly Smart Bike Light System
$59.95

Sync up to 8 lights and your Lumos helmet into a smart light system with turn signals and brake lights.

Amazon Lumos
03/25/2024 01:23 am GMT

Adding Some Kid’s Biking Fun

Bells are rad

Music helps with morning meltdowns

Bike Ride Tracking

I recently added a little dongle to their front wheels that tracks their ride stats and then uploads to their iPads through the Garmin app with a Bluetooth connection. We haven’t used them enough so far for a full review, but the kids love seeing the distance and max speed after their rides, and I love that they aren’t being distracted with a bike computer on their handlebars.

03/25/2024 03:03 am GMT

Other Random Things

I added some woom plastic zip tie fenders to my son’s 20″ bike since the frame doesn’t have clearance for typical fenders. I’m adding fenders to my daughter’s woom 5, and switching out the knobby stock tires for a more durable city tire from Schwalbe.

As the year progresses I’ll post an update on what’s working! I would love to hear from you on how you outfit your kid’s bikes for bike commuting.

1 thought on “Kid’s Bike Setup for Biking to School Safely”

  1. Do you have tips for transporting a kids bike on an e-cargo bike – my specific case is going to be a Gen 2 HSD. Our little guy loves to ride, and it would be great to be able to schlep him and his bike to a park so he can practice riding away from city traffic.

    Many thanks.

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