Bike-life

5 reasons why e-bikes are suitable for kids

Sarah Schwarz

E-biking adults are now part of society’s grand tapestry – a common feature in picture-perfect mountain scenery as well as in our towns and cities. But the brilliance of e-bikes isn't exclusively reserved for grown-ups – kids can also get in on the action.
Do you have a bike-mad child? Perfect – that’s the first hurdle. But we appreciate it is not always the case; here’s where e-bikes work their magic. E-bikes unlock a new sort of leisure time for the whole family. Keep reading to find out what it is exactly that makes an e-bike such a good option for your child too.

1.) A child-specific e-bike

Having a suitable e-bike is fundamental to a successful e-adventure with your child. An e-bike that's designed to meet a child’s needs and abilities will instill them with the necessary confidence and ability to keep the bike under their control. Alongside the e-bike's construction and components, there are other elements that need to be child-specific, including the motor. But what does a child-specific motor look like?

Lightweight: the drive unit, consisting of the motor and battery, needs to be as compact and lightweight as possible so that your child is able to control the bike in every situation. For particularly small or young children, this is even more important.
Sensitivity: children don’t have the same leg strength as adults. As a result, the motor needs to be tuned with finer sensitivity to respond to their pedal stroke.
Easy does it: the power output from the motor needs to be moderate and balanced so it won’t overwhelm your child or catch them off-guard. For this reason, the motor on our woom UP has a delicate, well-considered 55 Newton meter torque, which is ideal for children.

When it comes to safety, two things are key:

Firstly, the motor has to cut off above a certain speed.
Secondly, efficient, powerful disc brakes are a must – your child will be going further and faster with an e-bike.

2.) Higher, further!

Imagine that you have got a family bike ride planned. You have all decided on where to go and the route is full of variety with a great destination. Nice! Except… it is not quite going as planned. You underestimate one of the climbs and its steep gradients make a huge dent in your child’s motivation. They wail: “I can’t do it! It’s too steep! It hurts!” In terms of difficulty, you realise it was a big ask for your child’s ability and fitness. Shame because the route was so perfect otherwise!
It is not easy to create a route that ticks all the boxes for a child-friendly tour – especially not in hilly or mountainous areas, where a certain amount of climbing cannot be avoided. However, e-bikes provide a solution and relegate this problem to the past!

Whether it’s a long bike ride, a biking holiday, or just for day-to-day use, e-bikes open up new perspectives and expand your whole family’s sphere of activity:

Your child conquers mountain stages and climbs even become a source of fun! Kids with advanced skills can work up to riding uphill trails on their e-bike too. Once up high, the landscape changes, offering unforgettable views over the valleys, lakes and other peaks. Then, once you point the bikes back downhill, it’s all about having a good time. For beginners and pros alike, flow and fun take center-stage on the descents.
Progress is faster, so you’ll be able to fit in more fun throughout the day. Imagine the exciting destinations that are now within riding distance on all-day weekend rides?
Bike holidays are all about exploring, all day, every day – aches and pains from exertion are yesterday’s news. Your child will get to explore new locations and landscapes, including awe-inspiring high Alpine environments.
Whether in your town or countryside, e-bikes are a solution for everyday routes that are too far or too steep with a conventional bike. An alternative to car use, e-bikes are a significantly greener, healthier and cost-effective way to move around.

3.) Shared adventures

For parents that ride, nothing beats sharing the love for mountain biking with your kids. But when they’re on a conventional pedal bike, it’s fair to say that their physical capabilities may be a little limited – particularly if you are riding off-road. This is what makes e-bikes such a great leveler; e-bikes are able to equalize the different levels of fitness in the family, so that every adventure can be shared. Just imagine how tough it would be for a child on a standard bike to keep up with experienced parents on e-bikes!

And speaking of adventure, has your child fallen in love with shredding trails? If that's the case, it’s likely that you will have spent a lot of time queueing for gondolas at bike parks. Or perhaps you have had to tow your child up the mountain with their bike hitched to yours? Now imagine how this scenario would work with an e-bike – your adventure-hungry child will be in a position to tackle every uphill with their own knobbly tires before dropping into a cool, grin-inducing descent.

4.) A fit and healthy hobby

It’s no secret that getting regular activity in the outdoors is good for our bodies and helps with your child’s development. However, not all kids are alike and some enjoy partaking in sports more than others. What’s more, games consoles, tablets and the television are the biggest rivals for children's time when it comes to the great outdoors. With so many screens vying for their attention, bikes, unfortunately, might not always be the first choice. This is where you need an exciting alternative that’s just as much (if not more) fun than sitting in front of a screen. E-bikes are the answer, and trust us: your kid won’t need much persuasion. Even with a nominal level of fitness, their inner couch potato will not put up much of a fight against the appeal of an e-bike. With each pedal stroke, their fitness will improve and they will be burning calories while having a great time. Once their interest has been sparked, mountain biking might even become the whole family’s preferred pastime!

5.) More flexibility

One major bonus to e-bikes is their speed – or rather, the decreased ride time. Getting where you want to ride with your child will be quicker, meaning you can choose time slots that suit you best! This means you can head out for an early evening sunset patrol to avoid the midday heat in summer.

And have you noticed the crowds that descend on the beauty spots in the high season? Armed with an e-bike, time is on your side – you can choose to ride with your child once the hikers have come down from the mountain. This gives you the luxury of exploring a quiet mountain and enjoying the day’s final rays of sunshine in peace.

Has your child already tested an e-bike? Have they had their first taste of e-bike-flow? Let us know!