STACYC Bike: Complete Guide to Your Kid’s Ear-to-Ear Smile

If you’re brand new to the STACYC bike world, you probably have a lot of questions and want more information before you buy one for your kid.

I know, I was there. I was in that position not long ago.

Maybe you’ve owned a STACYC bike for a bit, but that just opened more questions — how do you do certain things, what aftermarket parts are available, and more.

I also know how that feels. That’s where I am now. My son has had a STACYC bike for a few years and I’ve learned a lot from that process.

I’m here to share that information with you, and make it easy to understand and find any information you need about the STACYC bikes.

In this article, we’ll cover what a STACYC bike is, the different models (STACYC 12, 16, 18, 20, etc.), aftermarket parts (number plates, footpegs, etc.), and more. Let’s dive in.

STACYC Bike

There are a bunch of different models of the STACYC bike, which we’ll cover in the sections below, but from a high level, the STACYC bikes are electric bikes for young children. They are sometimes considered electric balance bikes or electric stability cycles.

The idea behind STACYC bikes was to make the transition from normal balance bikes (without a motor) to a bike with a motor easier and eventually help in the transition to dirt bikes.

The STACYC bike would be an expensive bike to have to use just as a balance bike, but it can be a great way to get started for younger children. That’s how my son started.

I bought him his first STACYC bike when he just turned two. At 2 years old, he wasn’t ready to fully ride the STACYC with the motor on, so we just strode around the house and yard on the bike with the motor off.

I wouldn’t buy the STACYC bike just to use as a balance bike, but I was pretty sure he’d want the motor on soon.

Which, turned out to be correct. After a month or two of striding around without the motor on, he was ready to twist the throttle. Ever since then, he has had a smile ear-to-ear riding his STACYC bike for hours on end.

With the occasional crash here and there, of course.

What really helps kids is that the STACYC bike is so light. Sure, you could put the young kids on a PW50 to learn to ride, as they did back in the day, but those bikes are heavy. Many young kids can’t hold that weight.

My son has been riding a STACYC for over 2 years (he’s 4 now) and he still can’t quite handle the weight of the PW50 yet.

Of course, there are kids who are able to at a younger age, but my little guy is just that — little.

STACYC bikes being lightweight really helped him get the confidence to learn and ride much earlier than he would’ve been able to otherwise.

Today, there are four main models of STACYC bikes: 12 inch, 16 inch, 18 inch, and 20 inch. The STACYC 12 inch model and the STACYC 16 inch model were the first two models, then the 18-inch and 20-inch models came a bit later.

Below we’ll dive into each model of the STACYC bike in detail.

We also recently upgraded our STACYC from the 12 to the 16, you can read all about us upgrading here.

STACYC 12

The STACYC 12 (12eDRIVE) is the smallest bike in the STACYC fleet and one of the original models. This is a great beginner model for a child with little to no experience with riding. It can also double as the non-powered balance bike I mentioned previously until the child is ready for the motor.

This STACYC bike is designed for children between the ages of 3 and 5 who weigh less than 75 pounds and have a 14-inch to 20-inch inseam.

The minimum seat height for the STACYC 12 is 13 inches, but it is adjustable and can go up a bit from that as your child grows.

I mentioned the fact that the STACYC bikes are lightweight earlier. The STACYC 12 weighs just 17 pounds with the battery installed.

The “12” in the model name indicates the wheel size of the STACYC — 12 inches. It has composite wheels with Pneumatic tires.

The STACYC 12 also comes with an aluminum TIG welded frame, steel BMX-style forks, three power modes, BMX chain and freewheel, and thermal protection for the motor and speed controller. The motor in the STACYC 12 is a brushed motor, versus the brushless motors in the 16, 18, and 20-inch models, which I’ll cover below.

The three power modes and corresponding speeds are:

• Training Mode (Slowest): 5 mph
• Standard Mode (Medium): 7 mph
• Advanced (Fastest): 9 mph

STACYC, the company, estimates that the stock battery that comes with the STACYC 12 model gets run times between 30 and 60 minutes. This is very dependent on which power mode the bike is being ridden on, the terrain (hills, flat pavement, etc.), and how much the rider is on the gas.

It’s also estimated that the STACYC battery takes about 30 to 60 minutes to charge.

This STACYC bike comes with a 20Vmax 2Ah battery.

As of today, the STACYC 12 price is $799 on the STACYC website. The H-D IRONe edition of the 12-inch STACYC bike is also $799 (this is the Harley Davidson edition).

STACYC 16

The STACYC 16 (16eDRIVE Brushless) is the next step up in the STACYC fleet after the STACYC 12 and is one of the original models. This is a great model for children who are a little taller and have some experience riding a bike.

This STACYC bike is designed for children between the ages of 5 and 7 who weigh less than 75 pounds and have an 18-inch to 24-inch inseam. (My son just crossed the 18-inch inseam, so I’ll be upgrading him from the STACYC 12 to the STACYC 16 very soon!)

The minimum seat height for the STACYC 16 is about 17 inches, but it is adjustable and can be lifted up to fit your child as they grow.

I mentioned the fact that the STACYC bikes are lightweight earlier. The STACYC 16 weighs just 20 pounds with the battery installed, which is only about 3 pounds more than the STACYC 12.

The “16” in the model name indicates the wheel size of this STACYC bike — 16 inches. Like the 12-inch bike, the 16-inch has composite wheels with Pneumatic tires.

The chassis (frame) of the STACYC 16 is almost identical to that of the STACYC 12, just with bigger wheels. Like the STACYC 12, the STACYC 16 also comes with an aluminum TIG welded frame, steel BMX-style forks, three power modes, BMX chain and freewheel, and thermal protection for the motor and speed controller.

However, a big difference is that the STACYC 16 now comes with a high-output brushless motor, while the STACYC 12 has a brushed motor. The original STACYC 16 model came with a brushed motor like the STACYC 12, but the 16 has been upgraded to a brushless motor.

STACYC says the new brushless motor in the 16-inch bike has 20% more battery and is 10% more efficient than the original STACYC 16 brushed motor.

The STACYC 16 still has three power modes, but the speeds are a bit more than you get with the STACYC 12.

The three power modes and corresponding speeds are:

• Training Mode (Slowest): 5 mph
• Standard Mode (Medium): 7.5 mph (+0.5 mph from the STACYC 12)
• Advanced (Fastest): 13 mph (+4 mph from the STACYC 12)

The run time and the charge time of the STACYC battery are the same as the STACYC 12 above — about 30-60 minutes for both run time and charge time. Of course, this is depending on riding conditions (hilly, flat, etc.) and how much the throttle is held wide open.

This STACYC bike comes with a 20Vmax 4Ah battery.

As of today, the STACYC 16 price is $1,049 on the STACYC website ($250 more than the 12-inch model). The Harley Davidson edition of this 16-inch STACYC bike is the same price.

STACYC 18

After the STACYC 16, the next size STACYC bike is 18 inches — the STACYC 18eDRIVE.

The 12 and 16-inch bikes each only have one model (technically 2 because of the Harley Davidson edition, but the bikes are the same — just different colors, so one model, two editions). Whereas there are two different STACYC 18 models (technically 4 if you include the Harley Davidson editions because there is an HD edition of the two different 18-inch models).

There’s a STACYC 18eDRIVE, then the H-D 18eDRIVE (same as the first bike, just Harley Davidson edition), then the STACYC 18eDRIVE LAUNCH EDITION, and finally, the H-D 18eDRIVE LAUNCH EDITION (again, same as the other launch edition, just with Harley Davidson).

First, I’ll cover the STACYC 18eDRIVE model (and H-D 18eDRIVE), then below I’ll go over the STACYC 18eDRIVE LAUNCH EDITION.

The STACYC 18 bike is designed for children between the ages of 8 and 10 who weigh less than 115 pounds and have a 22-inch to 23-inch inseam.

If you have a child that’s just a bit older than the 8-10 range, or you want to see what’s next for your child, check out our guide to the best dirt bikes for 13 year olds.

Notice that the STACYC 16 is recommended for a kid with an 18-inch to 24-inch inseam, while the STACYC 18 is 22-23 inches for the inseam. Very similar, and even overlapping.

The seat height for the STACYC 18 is about 21 inches, but it is adjustable and can go up from there.

The STACYC 18 is still lightweight compared to a real dirt bike, but it is quite a bit heavier than the 12 and 16-inch models. The STACYC 18 weighs 31 pounds with the battery installed.

Like the older models of STACYC bikes, the “18” in the model name indicates the wheel size — 18 inches. Instead of composite wheels like the 12 and 16-inch bikes, the STACYC 18 has Nylon wheels with sealed bearings and, still, pneumatic tires. The tire size is 18 x 2.4 and they are Innova semi-custom tires.

The STACYC 18 comes with a fully aluminum frame, three power modes, and a BMX chain and freewheel.

However, a big difference in the frame and overall chassis components is that the STACYC 18 comes with 19mm custom flat handlebars and hydraulics front and rear disc brakes. The 12 and 16-inch bikes do not have disc brakes, nor do they have front brakes — they only come with rear brakes — whereas the 18-inch bikes now have front brakes, too.

The STACYC 18 still has three power modes, but the speeds are a bit more than you get with the STACYC 12 and STACYC 16.

The three power modes and corresponding speeds are:

• Training Mode (Slowest): 9 mph (+4 mph from the STACYC 12 and STACYC 16)
• Standard Mode (Medium): 13.5 mph (+6-6.5 mph from the STACYC 12 and STACYC 16)
• Advanced (Fastest): 18 mph (+9 mph from the STACYC 12 and +5 mph from the STACYC 16)

The run time of the STACYC battery in this 18-inch model is similar to that of the previous two models I covered — about 30-45 minute run time, depending on riding conditions and how wide open the throttle is.

The charge time of this battery is a bit longer than the others — estimated to be about 1.5 hours (90 minutes) to charge.

This STACYC bike comes with a 40Vmax 3Ah 21700 battery.

As of today, the STACYC 18 price is $1,999 on the STACYC website ($950 more than the 16-inch model). The Harley Davidson edition of this 18-inch STACYC bike is the same price.

STACYC 18 Launch Edition

This STACYC 18 model, the LAUNCH EDITION, is very similar to the “normal” STACYC 18 model I just covered above. The ages, weight (rider and bike), frame, speeds, handlebars, and wheels are all the same as the non-LAUNCH EDITION bike.

So what are the differences?

The differences are that the LAUNCH EDITION comes with a majority of the frame being white (STACYC calls this the “high-end Launch Edition paint scheme”), Crown Gem tires instead of Innova, and name-brand brakes (Hayes Dominion A2).

The price of the STACYC 18 LAUNCH EDITION is $2,650. That’s $650 more than the “normal” STACYC 18 model, for what I don’t consider to be much difference…

STACYC 20 Inch

The STACYC 20 inch bike only has one model — the LAUNCH EDITION. It doesn’t have a “normal” model like the STACYC 18 does, but the STACYC 20 does have a Harley Davidson edition.

The STACYC 20 inch is designed for children between the ages of 10 and 12 who weigh less than 115 pounds and have a 24-inch to 26-inch inseam.

The seat height for the STACYC 20 is about 23 inches, but like the other STACYC bikes, it is adjustable and can go up from there.

The STACYC 20 weighs 33 pounds with the battery installed.

Like the other models of STACYC bikes, the “20” in the model name indicates the wheel size — 20 inches. Instead of composite wheels like the 12 and 16-inch bikes, the STACYC 20 has Nylon wheels with sealed bearings and, still, pneumatic tires. The tire size is 20 x 2.6 and they are custom Crown Gem tires.

The STACYC 20 comes with a fully aluminum frame, three power modes, a BMX chain and freewheel, 19mm custom handlebars, and Hayes Dominion A2 brakes front and rear — all similar to the STACYC 18.

A big difference is that the STACYC 20 comes with MANITOU J-Unit front forks with 80mm of travel. That means this bike actually has suspension, unlike the other STACYC bike.

The STACYC 20 still has three power modes, but the speeds are a bit more than you get with the STACYC 18 (and of course the 12 and 16-inch models).

The three power modes and corresponding speeds are:

• Training Mode (Slowest): 10 mph
• Standard Mode (Medium): 15 mph
• Advanced (Fastest): 20 mph

The run time of the STACYC battery in this 20-inch model is similar to that of the other STACYC bike — about 30-60 minute run time, depending on riding conditions and how wide open the throttle is.

The charge time of this battery is quite a bit longer than the others — estimated to be about 3 hours (180 minutes) to charge.

This STACYC bike comes with a 40Vmax 6Ah 18650 battery.

As of today, the STACYC 20 LAUNCH EDITION price is $3,100 on the STACYC website ($450 more than the 18-inch LAUNCH EDITION model). The Harley Davidson edition of this STACYC bike is the same price.

KTM STACYC & GasGas STACYC

It’s not surprising that KTM, GasGas, and Husquvarna are the only three major dirt bike brands that have models of the STACYC bike given that those three dirt bike brands are all under one company umbrella.

I’m a bit of a Yamaha fanboy myself, so I wish there was an awesome Yamaha STACYC. It’d be awesome for my son to match my YZ250F, my YZ450F, and his PW50.

That said, both the KTM STACYC and the GasGas STACYC are the same as the bikes I discussed above, just different colors. If you buy the 12-inch KTM STACYC, it’s the same as the STACYC 12 I explained earlier. If you buy the 16-inch GasGas STACYC, it’s also the same as the STACYC 16 above. The same goes for Husquvarna.

There aren’t 18 and 20-inch models of the KTM STACYC or the GasGas STACYC.

Here is the KTM STACYC:

Here is the GasGas STACYC:

STACYC Bike Comparisons

Above in this article, I outlined all of the important information about the different STACYC bikes. But, I do recognize that this was a lot of information and you probably want an easy way to compare the models.

Below is a table comparing all of the STACYC bikes I explained earlier.

*LE stands for LAUNCH EDITION.

STACYC Battery

A lot of people have questions about the STACYC battery. This isn’t all that surprising. If the kids are having a ton of fun on their STACYC bike and the battery dies, that leaves the parent in an un-fun situation.

I’ve been there, and it led me to questions about the STACYC battery too.

The batteries that come with the STACYC aren’t great. The smaller STACYC batteries don’t last very long and ours seemed to get run down pretty quickly, meaning that the quality of the battery deteriorated.

The bigger, newer batteries that come with the STACYC 18 and STACYC 20 seem to be a bit better quality, but they don’t last much longer than the others.

If you’re looking for the best battery solution for your kid’s bike, check out the Stacyc battery adapter. I’ve added this to both of my son’s bikes and it was the best mod we’ve done.

STACYC Graphics

For those who may not be familiar with graphics, STACYC graphics are simple vinyl stickers that cover parts of the STACYC bike to make it look different and the way you want.

Rather than the bikes only coming in black or black/white, depending on the model, you may want blue, green, or even pink.

You could buy the KTM STACYC or GasGas STACYC, if you want those colors, designs, and you can find them in stock somewhere.

If you want something different, you can order STACYC graphics directly from STACYC themselves, or you can purchase custom graphics from many different companies that make real dirt bike graphics.

A few examples of reputable companies you can buy STACYC graphics from are MotoSport, Senge Graphics, and Rival Ink Design Co.

When STACYC bikes first came out, custom graphics wasn’t really an option. No one was making or selling them yet.

Now, because the STACYC bike is so popular, there are many options to choose from when ordering STACYC graphics.

STACYC Number Plate

The same goes for a STACYC number plate. At first, number plates for the STACYC bikes were nowhere to be found. But, nowadays, STACYC the company actually makes one you can buy directly from its website.

You can also find the STACYC number plate at popular online retailers like MotoSport and Chaparral Motorsports (part no. STC-500013).

Homemade STACYC Number Plate

Funny enough, you can actually make a number plate right at home. It doesn’t look as good as the ones you can buy from STACYC, but they get the job done.

How do I know this?

My son entered a STACYC race this past weekend and as part of the race signup process, we were given a paper plate and a zip tie to make a number plate out of.

It worked perfectly.

Simply write the number on the front of the number plate in big, bold numbers using a Sharpie, punch a hole in the top of the plate with a pen, then slide the zip tie through the hole and around the middle of the bars.

Boom, you know have a STACYC number plate.

Here is what my son’s looked like on his STACYC bike:

STACYC Training Wheels

STACYC training wheels are just like training wheels for a regular bike. They help your child balance on a two-wheeled bike as they learn how to balance themselves.

There are two popular sets of STACYC training wheels. One is from Moose Racing, the other is from Hardline Products.

You can find the Moose Racing STACYC training wheels through online retailers like Chaparral Motorsports, but they’re not on Amazon as of this writing.

The Hardline Products STACYC training wheels can be found on Amazon here.

Both of these training wheel sets are similar in price and the products themselves are very similar. You can choose whichever one you’d like.

Now, my question to you is, should you get training wheels for your kid’s STACYC?

My personal opinion is no.

That’s just my opinion — you can, of course, see it differently.

But, STACYC bikes are made as partial balance bikes. As I wrote above in the STACYC 12 section, you can use the STACYC bike without the power on just as you would any other balance bike.

Once the child learns how to balance that way, you can turn the motor on and they’ll very quickly pick it up.

That process should negate the need for training wheels.

I also chose to forego training wheels for my son’s STACYC because I didn’t want him to be reliant on them. I wanted him to be challenged and learn how to do it on his own.

STACYC Foot Pegs

The stock STACYC foot pegs are okay, but they’re a bit small — especially if your kids have big feet. They also don’t have a lot of grip to them. This leads a lot of parents to look for alternative STACYC foot pegs. Myself included.

You can buy the “Extended Footrest kit” from STACYC if the problem for your child is the size or width of the foot pegs. But, like the stock STACYC foot pegs, they don’t have much grip on top. This extended footrest kit can be found on STACYC’s website or through popular online motorsports retailers.

If it’s not just the width that’s a problem, but also the grip (and/or durability), you can buy aluminum STACYC foot pegs on Amazon from Hardline for only a little bit more money than the plastic extended footrest kit. These are the exact STACYC foot pegs I bought for my son’s bike.

They have worked really well for him and the’yre really durable. They’re made out of CNC machined billet aircraft aluminum and provide a lot more traction than the plastic ones do. These STACYC foot pegs are super easy to install, too.

I did have the the nut that holds the foot pegs on fall off once while my son was riding, but it wasn’t a defect of the product — it just vibrated loose. I simply added a bit of low-strength loctite and neither of them have come loose again since.

Not only does my son tell me he loves how his feet feel on them, but he loves how they look. They’re shiny silver and a lot of kids think they look “cool.”

How to change speed on STACYC bike?

In all of the descriptions of the STACYC bikes above, I explained the three different modes that each one has: training mode, standard mode, and advanced mode.

But, how do you change between them?

On the handlebars, just to the left of the throttle, you’ll see three light colors lit up when the bike is on: red, yellow, and green. Red is the training mode (bottom light), yellow is the standard mode (middle light), and green is the advanced mode (top light).

You can use the process below to turn the speed down on a STACYC bike or to make your STACYC go faster.

Here are the 4 steps on how to change speed on STACYC:

1. Turn the STACYC bike off.
2. Twist the throttle wide open and turn the bike on (while holding the throttle wide open still).
3. Once you hear five beeps, you will see all three lights lit up steadily. Let go of the throttle. All of the lights will turn off.
4. Then partially turn the throttle until you see the color light or mode you want to set the bike to. Once you see that, hold the throttle in that position so the color and mode stay selected with the lit-up light. Wait for two beeps and then let go of the throttle.

Here is a video also showing you exactly how to change speed on STACYC:

Frequently Asked Questions About The STACYC Bike