Is the Schwinn Elm a Good Girls’ Bike for Your Daughter? Find out in our 2021 Review.

Getting young children outside and exercising is crucial and one way parents can do that easily is by teaching their children to enjoy going out on bike rides. Your children will get excited more easily with a fun bike to ride, and the Schwinn Elm delivers with an awesome paint job and cute front basket. This bicycle does a great job giving both parents and children what they need in a good bicycle.

New riders can learn easily on the Schwinn Elm thanks to the training wheels, saddle handle, and integrated SmartStart Technology. This technology creates a bike designed just for kids with narrower pedals, easier gearing, smaller hand grips, and pedals that are positioned slightly forward. As children learn to ride on this bike the training wheels quickly come off and your little one is on their way.

Key Features of the Schwinn Elm

• Stylish design.
• Easy to pedal.
• Strong steel frame.
• Rear coaster brakes.
• Single brake handle for front caliper brakes.
• Easy adjust seat post and saddle handle.
• Cute front basket included.
• Equipped with a full chain cover.
• Narrow pedal positions to help young riders.
• The weight of the bike is 17.2 lbs.
• Removable training wheels included.

What makes the Schwinn Elm Bike unique from the other kids’ cycles?

The Schwinn company has been making bicycles ever since it was founded in Chicago in 1895. Those learnings have culminated in the company’s exciting new SmartStart technology, specifically designed to get young riders up and riding on their own quickly.

Most young riders have trouble mastering the starting and stopping of their bicycle but this Schwinn Elm bike works to make that easy. The bicycle uses shorter cranks and easier gears to help riders get the bike started, and they also position the pedals slightly forward to help give them more strength on the initial push. Children will feel the difference when trying to launch on their own with this bicycle versus some of the competitors.

Stopping the bicycle is the other major concern for parents and young riders. This bike helps learners by providing both a typical rear coaster brake and also a handlebar mounted caliper brake. With both stopping options available, kids can learn at their own pace while still being able to quickly bring the bike to a complete stop.

The Schwinn Elm bicycle is a great looking bike.

Getting kids excited about riding is crucial and a key component to that is a great looking bike. The Schwinn Elm has a sleek design that will catch a lot of young girls attention. The bike has a steel frame that curves nicely from the front fork down to the seat post and on to the rear wheel. Other kids bikes often have a much more disjointed look, making the Schwinn Elm one of the most attractive bikes in our testing.

The bike builds on its smart design with a great color scheme and accessory set that dresses the bicycle up nicely. Little girls will enjoy the front basket for storing toys, water bottlers, or play things. The decals on the bike are incredibly whimsical and give it a fun girly, summertime style.

Is the Schwinn Elm a good bike?

Yes, a lot of parents and families are very happy with their purchase of the Schwinn Elm. The bike holds up well to daily use and is a great bike for new riders. Children can grow with this bike and quickly advance from just learning how to ride to mastering stopping and starting.

Parents also like that the Schwinn Elm comes with an adjustable seat height so children do not outgrow the bike too quickly. As children grow it is easy to move the seat up and down using a clamp on the seat, which when untightened, allows the seat to be freely adjusted up according to the rider’s needs. The nice thing about the seat adjustment is that no tools are necessary so parents can adjust the seat easily on the fly.

The other special feature that this bike has on it is the brakes. Schwinn does a great job combining both typical types of brakes into one package so that young learners can get experience with stopping without feeling out of control. The bike has a rear coaster brake so all children have to do is pedal backwards and it will apply pressure and stop the wheel from turning. In addition, on the handlebar this bicycle has a single brake lever that children can pull to activate a V caliper brake on the front wheel. Having two kinds of brakes not only improves the kids stopping power it also helps them learn the difference between front and rear wheel brakes.

Is the Schwinn Elm a safe bike for kids learning how to ride?

Parents like to teach their kids how to ride on a Schwinn Elm because it has several safety features, in addition to the strong braking power mentioned above.

This bike has a fully covered chain, courtesy of a guard that runs the length of the bike. This keeps the rider clean and safe from scraping up against the chain while pedaling. Young riders can often pedal haphazardly or have their legs come off the pedals and collide with the chain. This is normal when kids are learning and the chain guard helps keep it from being a problem.

The durable steel frame of the bike can withstand regular abuse from young riders and parents can be confident that it will hold up. Still, the bike is relatively lightweight and carrying it is not difficult.

What size is the Schwinn Elm girls bike and does it fit 3 – 4 year olds?

The bike comes in a couple of different variants for kids of all ages, but young children just learning how to ride will want the 12 inch wheels or the 14 inch wheels. The bigger wheels roll easier so children should always be riding up to the largest wheel that they feel comfortable.

Children that stand 28 – 40 inches tall will be most comfortable on these bikes.

• Best Rider Height: 36cm – 40cm
• Best Age: 3 – 7 years
• Weight: 17.2 Pounds
• Seat to Floor Distance: 7.25 – 10 inches
• Wheel Base: 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

Since the seat height on this bike is easily adjustable parents should be able to accommodate a growing child over several years.

Installation and Assembly is Easy

Schwinn does a great job packaging and shipping this bicycle so that parents do not have a lot of work to do out of the box. Still, as with any assembly some customers have mentioned that it was difficult for them to put the bike together. Parents are responsible for connecting the seat saddle, kickstand, and handlebars out of box.

Some tools are necessary for assembly and parents will want to have a screwdriver, adjustable wrench, and 15mm open ended wrench nearby. The main steps in assembly are attaching the front fork, the front wheel, the saddle, and the pedals. The training wheels are removable and they attach easily with a simple axle nut.

How easy is it to clean and maintain the Schwinn Elm Girls Bike?

The frame on the Schwinn Elm is steel so this bike is extremely durable. This also makes the frame very easy to clean. Parents just need to wash this bike down with a garden hose and wash it with soapy water. The main thing to remember is that since the frame is steel parents should wipe it down dry after washing to help prevent rust.

The chain on this bike should be oiled after you wash the bike to keep it running properly.

What accessories that will look good on the bike.

The most important accessory for parents to buy young riders is always a good quality bike helmet. Another important accessory that parents can purchase for this bike is a light to attach to the handlebars and help with night rides.

Although this bike already has a great girly design, parents might also want to buy handlebar streamers.

What are reasons to not buy the Schwinn Elm bicycle?

Overall most parents were very happy with their purchase of the Schwinn Elm. However as with any product there are a number of issues that customers run into on occasion. When you receive your bike be sure to inspect it carefully and make sure that it has arrived at your door in good condition and with all of the pieces.

Customers who did encounter trouble with this bike tend to either have a problem with the pedals or the chain. Some people encountered pedals that came off the cranks and they were not able to reattach them. Often pedals connect to cranks using a counterclockwise threading so probably some parents who have pedals fall off just can’t figure out how to reconnect them properly. Chain issues are common on all bicycles and parents should be prepared to deal occasionally with a chain that fell off their child’s bike.

These bikes are designed to take a beating from young riders but some parents were surprised that the paint job didn’t hold up better and that after several weeks of riding there were nicks in the paint. Probably the least durable part of the bike is the front basket as it is made out of plastic and unlikely to survive a collision.

Final Verdict

The Bottom Line

Parents can agonize over the best bike for their young riders but ultimately it is most important to find a bike that your child is excited to ride. The Schwinn Elm has a strong styling and great design that catches a lot of little girls attention and encourages them to get out and ride. Accompanied with a cute basket up front and a sturdy steel frame underneath, parents and children can be happy with this choice.

This bike is well built and produced with good attention to the details that can make riding easier on young children. Starting and stopping will come naturally to kids as they spend time on this bike and before long they will be ready to move on to even bigger wheels. Parents can be happy knowing that if properly cared for this book should last years.