There’s a new player in the world of kids’ bikes that goes by the name of Biky. Biky’s story began in Eastern Europe more than 10 years ago, designing and improving on children’s bicycles. Three years ago, the brand’s founders, Danil and Gulya, relocated to California with the goal of starting a new kids specific bike brand with bikes that are light weight and well built.
How light? The Biky team claims that the Air 20 is currently the lightest 20-inch kids’ bike in the world. On our scale, the Air 20 checks in at 14.18lb fully built with pedals. That’s certainly the lightest 20″ kid’s bike that we’ve weighed for a production bike.
Light Weight 20″ Single Speed
Potential Biky buyers will likely compare these bikes directly to those from Woom, but there’s one thing that Biky offers here that Woom doesn’t – a single speed drivetrain with 20″ wheels. That single speed drivetrain is part of the reason for the low weight of the Air 20, but it’s also something that many parents may be looking for.
While some kids may be ready to learn to use multi-speed gearing by the time they move to a 20″, not everyone needs or wants that. For kids riding mostly in the neighborhood, a single speed drivetrain will be far more durable in the long run. It’s also less expensive, which is why the Woom Go 4 retails for $639 with gears vs. $499 for the single speed Biky Air 20. But for those that really want their kiddo to learn gearing, a 7-speed version will be added to the line up in the future.
In order to make the Air 20 as easy to pedal as possible, the Biky team designed it with the narrowest q-factor in its class. To do so, it seems that Biky simply shrunk the width of the bottom bracket shell to 47mm. That’s about as narrow as you can go while still having room for the bottom bracket cups. That’s paired with a narrower set of custom hubs that have an 86mm spacing in the rear to allow for narrower chain stays and proper heel clearance.
In addition to the narrow Q-factor, the Biky bikes include premium details like internal cable routing, completely enclosed chain drives, and quality components like Tektro brakes.
- Age: 5-8 years
- Height: 43-51 inches
- 20-Inch Wheels: Designed for older, more experienced riders (ages 5–8)
- Lightweight Aluminum Frame: Easy to handle at just 14.8 lbs
- Single-Speed Drivetrain: Simple, low-maintenance riding
- Quick-Release Seatpost Clamp: Tool-free seat height adjustments
- Tektro Brakes: Reliable front and rear hand brakes for safety
- Durable Wheels: Aluminum rims, stainless steel spokes, and smooth industrial hubs
- Narrow Child-Specific Fit: Optimized Q-factor for better pedaling and comfort
- Hebie Chainlooper: Fully enclosed chainguard for safety and cleanliness
- Internal Cable Routing: Rear brake cable routed inside the frame for a clean look
- Air-Filled Tires: Cushioned ride with reflective sidewalls for visibility
Pros
- Extremely light (14.18lb)
- Single speed durability & price
- Easy to adjust
- Geometry allows room for growth
- Smooth tires are great for pavement
- Narrow Q-factor fits children better
- Completely enclosed chain guard
Cons
- No kickstand (yet)
- Cheap Pedals
- Freehub sticks a bit initially
- Handlebar design isn't as bag/basket friendly as traditional designs
- Grips aren't as nice as lock-ons used on Woom bikes
Biky Bikes Air 20 Review
When you order a Biky Bike, it ships for free, directly to your door. The bike shows up in a box with the wheels on, but parts like the handlebars, and pedals still need to be installed. Like almost every consumer-direct bike, the Air 20 could be ready out of the box very quickly – but if you want a bike shop-level build, it will take more time.
Our review sample had a front wheel that was slightly out of true, and it was also not in the fork straight so the brake adjustment was off. The headset was also overly tight, and the free hub was sticking which caused the pedals to spin forwards when the bike was coasting. That free hub issue is almost identical to my experience with sticky free hubs Woom bikes, only the free hub on the Biky was easier to fix with a bit of Dumonde Tech free hub oil on the paws.
Better yet, Biky is already on the issue and they have an all-new free hub design that will be used in upcoming production batches that should solve the problem.
It’s pretty easy to fix the issue yourself on the current Biky free hub, you just have to get to the pawls in order to drop some oil on them. That requires removing the rear wheel, which requires removing the Hebie Chainlooper chain guard. This chain guard completely surrounds the chain and the chainring and cog, so your little ones cannot get fingers, clothing, or anything else caught in the chain. It comes pre-installed but if you need to remove the rear wheels, it’s a pain to remove and reinstall, and since it doesn’t actually mount to the frame, it seems like there is a little added resistance to the drivetrain. But for protection from the chain and moving parts, it’s hard to beat.
All this is to say, it’s pretty easy to get your Biky Bike rolling out of the box. But if you want it to be perfect, or don’t trust yourself around bike tools, take it to a shop and pay them to assemble it for you.
Light Weight Components
At the front end of the bike, a high rise handlebar without a cross beam is used to reduce the weight. Overall, the fit of the handlebar is great – it’s just not the best for mounting bike bags or some baskets to. My daughter has a kids’ bike bag that mounts with straps to the bar, and on this bar, it sags down almost to the lower headset bearing and fights with the front brake cable for position. On bars with a cross beam, it sits up higher, and works better. It’s a small thing, but worth considering.
The Tektro brake levers offer a durable all-metal construction and are reach adjustable with an Allen wrench. The grips, while perfectly adequate, are a basic slip on rubber design. They do have a wide, tiered bar end design which hopefully will keep them from tearing after a few drops. The grips on kids’ bikes take a beating with repeated drops on the ground, so a higher quality grip with a more durable end is a big plus – especially since the wide ends of the grips are there to prevent core samples of your kid when they inevitably crash with the bar into their stomach. So far, these are holding up but we’ll have to see how they fare in the long run.
The pedals also don’t match the premium feel of the rest of the bike, and are a bearing-free design. This results in a pedal that initially stiff to turn. However, it has quickly gotten too loose on one side while the other side feels OK. The pedals still work fine, one is just rattly. Like the freehub issue, Biky founders have already mentioned the plan to switch to a more premium pedal design for the next batch.
However, it’s important to point out that the non-lockon grips, bearing-less pedals, and the unique handlebar all help keep the weight down. It all adds up to help get the weight down to a feathery 14.18lbs. Lighter bikes are easier for kids to ride, which means they’re more fun. Which also means your kid will ride this bike more, and you’ll feel better about spending the money to get a quality bike in the first place (which should also have better resale value when it’s outgrown).
The saddle is a light weight design that uses a fixed position on the seat post, which has a quick release lever for quick adjustments.
No Kickstand, Yet
It’s nice that the Air 20 has downtube mounts for a water bottle cage, and a two-bolt mount for a kickstand on the chain stay. Currently, Biky does not offer a kickstand for the Air 20, but one is in the works. It’s also the same mounting patter as those used on Woom bikes, so if you find one the right length, it should work.
For kids that will be mostly riding around the neighborhood, on paved bike paths, grass fields, or smooth dirt or gravel trails, the slick CST tires used on the Air 20 should be a perfect fit. It’s great to see more and more bikes for kids that offer real mountain bike capabilities, but not everyone needs that.
The Biky Bikes Air 20 offers a premium build but with single-speed durability and simplicity with 20″ wheels. All nit-picking aside, compared to something like the Guardian 20″ bike which has the same $499 retail, the Biky Air 20 is much better equipped, and over 6lbs lighter!
Kid-Approved
My daughter is still five for a few more months, and was previously on an 16″ Woom 3. She had no problem hopping right on the Air 20 and pedaling away, immediately exclaiming that she loved the bike. Even at the lowest seat height, there is plenty of standover height for a child at the lower end of bike sizing. I did roll the bars back slightly and adjust the brake levers in, but that’s all that was required to make it a great fit. The Air 20 is very easy to pedal, stops confidently without brake squeal (something we’ve experienced with other kids bikes that couldn’t be eliminated completely), and looks great.
In the current world of kids’ bikes, it seems like a high quality, really light weight 20″ single speed is a bit of an anomaly. It’s great to see Biky Bikes roll up to fill the void, and it’s a bike we would not hesitate to recommend for an extremely light, durable option under $500.
While the standard retail price is $499 with free shipping, Biky is currently offering the Air 20 for sale at $449 in five different colors. And if you have a smaller child, Biky also offers a 12″ balance bike, as well as 14 and 16″ pedal bikes with the same Air build philosophy.
