Woom 3 Review

Today I welcome Rebecca of Hike Like a Woman to the blog to share her thoughts on the WOOM 3. We have been riding and loving WOOM bikes for years now and welcome another opinion of them here! You can find the rest of our reviews here. I will also share my my own thoughts at the end of this review! ~Amelia

The Search for the Perfect Bike

Earlier this year my 5-year-old had a problem.

The hill between our house and his school.

What seemed like a small hill to my husband and I was actually a very difficult hill for our child to climb on his bike.

Every time we’d ride to kindergarten the trek up the hill would end in frustration, anger and our child ultimately walking his bike and showing up at school upset.

But the ride down the hill after school made it all worth it.

My husband and I spent hours thinking about the hill, we couldn’t figure out if our child lacked the leg strength to pedal his bike up the hill or if it was just a mental obstacle that we’d have to help him break through.

We certainly didn’t blame his bike.

After all, as soon as he learned to ride a pedal bike just before his 4th birthday we went to our local bike shop and bought what we thought was the best kids’ bike on the market.

Earlier this spring I was offered the chance to test out a Woom 3. I was intrigued but I was skeptical that a new bike would make much difference in the struggles that we were having with “the hill.”

But the Woom 3 arrived and we decided to give it a try.

Initial Thoughts on the WOOM 3

As we unpacked the bike and assembled it in our living room my child’s eyes lit up with excitement.

But, it was the next day as we rode the dreaded hill to kindergarten that the bike was truly put to the test.

Our kindergartener zipped to the top of the hill, pedaling along with a smile on his face. There wasn’t the frustration that we had come to expect and not once did he want to hop off and walk the bike.

What Makes the WOOM 3 Stand Out as an Excellent Kids Bike

At first we thought that the Woom 3 gave him a much needed dose of confidence.

But then I dove in to learn more about Woom and it suddenly clicked to me: To make a child’s bike, that actually fits and is easy for a child to ride, a bike company can’t simply shrink a version of an adult cycle.

That’s what we had purchased for our child. The bike that we thought was a good bike was actually heavy, clunky and simply not adequate for his body shape and size.

Instead Woom has done something different.

They actually looked at the biomechanics of a child’s body and how kids ride to design a bike that would well….work for a frustrated 5-year-old trying to ride up a big hill.

The Pros and Cons of the Woom 3

The Woom 3 is a pretty perfect bike but I do need to honest with this review and say upfront that paying $369.00 is a lot of money to spend on a child’s bike. Woom does offer a few things to help offset this cost such as free shipping, and an upcycle program.

But, like most quality kids gear you get what you pay for, as we learned with my 5-year-old’s previous bicycle and splurging on the oldest on gear that will make it through younger siblings is still my go-to strategy with high ticket outdoor gear like bicycles and skis.

With that being said here’s what we really like about our Woom 3:

• The weight. I think the reason that my child has turned our hill from his enemy to his friend is because the Woom 3 only weighs just over 12 pounds. His other bike weighs almost as much as my bike. No wonder he struggled pedaling it up a hill.
• The V-Break. When I saw that the bike had hand breaks instead of a foot break, the kind where you pedal backwards and stop, I was curious if my child’s hands would be strong enough to operate the hand break and if it would fit his hands and be comfortable for him to use, especially when he is flying down the hill. But Woom thought of that and made sure to design a kid friendly breaking system. The breaks are also different colors to teach him which hand to use to control the front or rear breaks.
• The steering limiter. As a child I wiped out on my bike so many times because I’d veer to one side to the street and then jerk my handlebars back into place, overcorrect, and fall off my bike. Whom has added a small rubber ring connecting the fork to the frame to help children ride in a straight line. While this doesn’t sound like much I’m sure that it’s saved my child a summer of roadrash and skinned knees.
• My 5-year-old says that his favorite things about the bike are the kickstand and the bell and while sometimes listening to his bell for an entire ride can get annoying it is a great safety feature when I turn him loose to ride around the block by himself. Our signal is 3 short bell rings if he needs help. So, something fun for the kids, has actually turned into a safety feature for my family.
• We did appreciate that the Woom was easy to assemble and that it fits on our bike rack, freeing up some valuable trunk space on road trips this summer. Sometimes, it’s the little things that count!

I think it’s safe to say that after such a positive experience with the Woom 3 we are going to save our money this winter so we can invest in the Woom 4 next spring and pass the Woom 3 down to my youngest son.

The Woom 3 has given my child confidence and independence, I can’t say that about a lot of other outdoor gear that we’ve tested and reviewed. I recommend this bike to anyone who has a reluctant little rider. Once you get past the high price you’ll find a quality product that will open up a world of cycling fun to your child.

A few thoughts from Amelia:

Quick Specs:

• 16 inch wheels
• 12.26 pounds
• for kids aged 4-6
• 41-47″
• $369
• Includes kick stand and bell

You’ll notice in this review that Rebecca’s son is on the taller side and will be very ready for a WOOM4 next year. Our P rode the WOOM 3 from age 4-6 and then was ready for gears, and thankfully, finally big enough to handle a 20″ bike. WOOM will tell you to err on the smaller side for kid bikes, just so they are not left to fight with a bike that is a tad too big for them.

In comparison to other 16″ bikes we have tried and used (which is many!), the WOOM 3 still stands out as the leader with a combination of kid-friendly geometry and a lightweight bike, which is key for smaller kids still developing their muscles!

Rebecca Walsh is an outdoor writer, small business owner and podcaster in Laramie Wyoming. She’s the founder of Hike Like A Woman, the owner of Just Trails. When she’s not working you can find her exploring local trails with her husband and two children.

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