Woom Off 6 Bike review - A kid’s bike that inspires confidence

It's probably not a surprise to hear I ride my bike a lot. Riding my bike is what I do to feel at one with the world, to feel connected to my body, and as a way to have fun with my friends. When I found biking it completely turned my life around and gave me direction in a way I'd never had before. If there's anything I would want to pass on to my child, it's cycling. 

The first bike I got my son was when he was so young he could hardly hold it up. Just like I did when I wrote the best kids’ bikes buyers guide, I researched it endlessly. When I found what I thought was perfect, I brought it home and put it together with the frame inverted so the standover height was smaller. We've never looked back. 

Today my son is a lot bigger. I don't pick him up and rock him anymore and his height is now at the top of the growth charts for his age. He doesn't need a low standover height but I still want him to have one of the best kids' bikes available and that has led me to Woom bikes. His primary bike is a Woom Now Cargo bike but he's also had a Woom Off Air and this year, Woom is updating that bike. 

Now that my son and I have spent time testing the latest version of the Woom Off, I'm ready to talk about the details. If you are looking for a new kids bike, keep reading to see if Woom is the right choice for you. 

Design and aesthetics

It's good to start with an understanding of what we are talking about with the Woom Off 6. In short, it's a flat bar aluminium framed mountain bike. There are some details to cover though. 

To start with, you'll want to understand that Woom has six models that are almost all the same. Your first point of distinction is front suspension. If you choose an Off Air model you get a hydraulic air suspension fork with adjustable compression and rebound damping and a lock-out. The amount of travel will change depending on the size of the bike and that is also why there's an additional three bikes to choose from. 

The Off and Off Air come in a 4, 5, and 6 model designation. Although the Woom original, a typical hybrid bike, comes in smaller sizes, the Off starts at 4 with a 20-inch wheel. Like most mountain bikes, the Off is an overall larger bike anyway so I'd imagine Woom thinks a 20-inch wheel is the smallest that makes sense. For bigger kids, you can go up to the 5 with a 24-inch wheel or the 6 with a 26-inch wheel. Personally, my boy still has a few more years before ageing out and that puts him on the small side of the Woom Off 6.

With that understanding of what the Woom Off 6 is, we can dive into the actual details. The frame itself, as already mentioned, is aluminium. Although this is the second generation, bringing with it a new terra coppa colour option, our model sports a carried over black and silver configuration. That means the rear triangle is silver while the main frame is black along with a silver Woom logo on the downtube. 

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The fork is also silver but it's not aluminium, but carbon with a thru-axle. The brakes are Promax hydraulic with a 160mm rotor at the front. In the past that front rotor paired with a smaller rotor out back but one of the changes you'll find is that now there are 160mm rotors at both ends of the bike. 

The wheel connected to the fork is fairly standard for an inexpensive adult bike. The construction is double wall aluminium with 24 spokes and these are Woom specific so there's not much detail about them. What is noteworthy, for a kids bike, is that they are tubeless compatible. Unfortunately the Schwalbe Rocket Ron tyres come paired with a schrader valve tube but you can swap things around at home. On the upside the Rocket Ron tyres are a high quality XC race tyre so there's little need to change them until you have to. 

Although the brakes are Promax, the rest of the 1x groupset uses a mix of SRAM and non-branded components. The crank has 28-teeth and, on the Off 6, is 155 mm in length with no branding. At the rear you'll find a 9-speed 11-36 cassette and a SRAM x5 derailleur giving an easiest gear similar to a 700c bike if it had a 33/44 front/rear gear available. At the handlebar, controls for the shifting also come from SRAM in the form of an x5 trigger shifter. 

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Performance

I desperately wanted to call this bike a flat bar gravel bike. I can't do it though, it's not. The flat bars are 600mm with a 20mm rise and there's a stem you can flip depending on preferred fit. The flat bar, or the big tyres, aren't what defines the status as a mountain bike though. Instead, that falls to the geometry. As soon as you see the small triangle with the kinked top-tube and the long wheel base, with raked out front end, you know it's not a gravel bike regardless of drop-bars or not. 

That's not a problem though. Going without the front suspension saves a little more than 4 lbs /  1.7 kg and it better matches the riding our family does. The long and laid back geometry makes for a super stable, and comfortable bike, and the big tyres mean there's tons of grip. There's no chance my boy is tackling heavily rooted trails, drops, or anything like the southwestern desert in the promo images. Honestly, he'd probably be even happier if I changed the tyres to a narrower gravel tyre but either way, the lighter bike is easier for him to handle. 

The only real off-road we tackle together are gravel roads that parts of the world seem to associate with American style gravel. You could get away with a road bike but now you'd use a gravel bike. His Woom Off is all about control not big feature performance but that's also what it excels at. What's nice about that is that it applies to both versions of the bike. If your family is out there shredding single track, you are still going to appreciate the fit and stability Woom imbues the Off with. That starts with the handlebars that fit my boy perfectly and it continues with the brake lever he has no trouble reaching. It's even relevant to things like the low amount of pressure it takes to shift or strength of the brakes. 

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One of the best features though is the kink in the top tube. The most obvious advantage, which Woom mentions, is that it lowers stand over height but it also applies to a unique challenge of kids bikes. Since most parents buy kids’ bikes roughly every three years, they rarely fit perfectly. At the end, there is a year where it's a little too small, earlier there is a year where it's perfect, and in the beginning you have a year when it's a little too big. The kink in the top tube means the first year you can drop the saddle down lower with the easy to adjust quick release collar. The year after, when it fits perfectly, you might want to add a dropper to the 27.2 seatpost. Even if you don't though, that kink will mean more exposed seat tube and the passive suspension that comes with it. As your child grows the effect will only be exaggerated. 

You also never need to worry about the bike lasting three years. My boy isn't crazy hard on bikes but he does always seem to drop them and Woom obviously understands this. The ends of the handle bar grips have hard plastic in the spot they are mostly to hit and if they really look bad, you can swap them easily enough. I do wish they'd also included a shield for the derailleur but it's on my short list of changes to make as he continues to enjoy the bike. 

Aside from that shield, we've already made a couple of small changes. Just like adults, my boy has a saddle that he prefers. Although Woom sizes the included saddle specifically for kids, and includes protection for dropping the bike on the edges, my boy likes a softer saddle and we've found him one. I've also swapped the pedals to Look Trail Grip Pedals you can read about in the best flat road bike pedals buyers guide. The last change I made wasn’t to the actual bike but it did make a big difference. Instead of his normal minimal shoes, he now rides in Stamp Street Fabio shoes. They pair perfectly with the Look pedals and are flexible and sticky. Although he loves minimal shoes most of the time, they weren’t working for riding a bike. The Stamp Street Fabio made a big difference. 

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Verdict

This isn't where you generally come to read about mountain bikes. Not only that but most of the changes my boy requested for his bike work to tame down the off-road capabilities of the Woom Off 6. The reason is because there are so few options available for kids bikes that are this good. Every time I've ever had my kid on a Woom bike the thing that comes to the forefront is the stability and ease of control. 

The headline features of Woom bikes are always the components but that's not what makes them great for us. I know there are kids out there that need the massive tyres and dropper post compatibility but that doesn't matter much to us. I just want to get my kid off the streets and on a bike he can enjoy. The 160mm hydraulic disc brakes, plus thru-axles, never rub and always stop without needing much pressure. Having a lightweight frame and all the components matched to his size helps the whole bike feel like it should. The gearing is helpful for that too. 

More than any of that though, it's the geometry that we love about Woom. Whether he's riding his Woom now on the road or the Woom Off on gravel roads, he feels comfortable enough that we can chat while cruising along. That's what makes Woom bikes, and the Woom Off in particular, great. 

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In the face of that, the negatives seem like nitpicks. They are but you should also know that the brand isn't completely perfect. The chainstay protector started looking great but is now peeling after spending time in a hot garage, the derailleur needs a protector, and both getting the seat angle right and setting up yet another bike tubeless is a hassle. Nothing major but little hassles that stand in the face of the price. 

As far as the price though, there is some consolation. It's hardly outrageous compared to the competition at this level but more than that, you'll get it back. Woom bikes are so sought after that there are Facebook groups dedicated only to buying and selling this one brand of kids bikes. They hold up to abuse and they hold their value, pass one down through a couple kids then you can sell it for almost what you paid. You might need to replace a grip or two, maybe even a derailleur if you don't add protection, but otherwise these are bikes that stand the test of time.  

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