For The Classic Fan, Schwinn Is Unveiling A New Grow-With-Your-Kid Ride — FIRST LOOK

When I was 11, our next-door neighbor was cleaning out her garage when she offered me an old bike. It was a red Schwinn, and while I couldn't tell you the model name, I know that the feeling of freedom it gave me was unmatched. I did so much daydreaming (and a lot of talking to myself) while I rode in circles, and from that moment on, I've always had a bike in my backyard as some form of therapy. Now that I have two little girls, I'm anxious for their first Schwinn, and the new Schwinn Krate EVO is top of my list.

Created for kids ages 3 to 7, the Schwinn Krate EVO is meant to be your child's first bike without all of the overwhelming decisions to make. Schwinn took their legendary Sting-Ray design (it's the one you imagine when you think of the kids on The Sandlot riding to the field) and formatted it for 2020 — but also so kids can grow alongside their bike. The Krate EVO is a standard bike with removable training wheels, but also has a support bar for the banana seat so that you have the perfect spot to put your hands and help guide your new bike-rider. It's labeled as a SmartStart bike so that it can fit your child's proportions and help them grow into a confident bike rider. It also comes in several different colors, which means your kid gets a classic, good-looking bike that they won't be sick of by next Christmas.

And, if I'm being totally honest here, it's the exact kind of bike you want your kids to have. When we bought our 5-year-old her fist bike last year, I had very specific ideas in mind, and none of them included bright cartoon characters emblazoned on every square inch. I wanted classic, I wanted bright and happy, and I wanted it to be a bike that would last her for years. That's how I feel when I see this Krate EVO — a perfect, vintage-inspired ride for your child to get their first taste of freedom.

Available in 11 different colors (I'm partial to the bright yellow myself), the Schwinn Krate EVO will be officially on the market during the holiday season 2020 for $169. No gimmicks or new ultra-trends here — just a classic bike with a banana seat for the kid who needs a way to go. (Plus it looks like the spokes have plenty of room for clipped on baseball cards.)