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TECH NEWS
Steve Peat launches Zum Zum balance bike on Kickstarter
Downhill mountain bike world champion Steve Peat is supporting the next generation of champions by getting involved with the launch of the Zum Zum balance bike, which has just gone live on Kickstarter and is seeking $50,000 of funding to become a reality.
Balance bikes have become incredibly popular over the years. The Zum Zum is made from birch plywood and features just three parts, but the most novel feature is the natural suspension in the unique frame design. This, the company claims, makes it easier to use on rough outdoor roads and “protects the child's spine" when riding on bumpy paths.
The tyres are non-marking pneumatic rubber tyres so it can be used indoors. It has a padded seat and rubber grips. Zum Zum say the balance bike is ideal for children as young as 18 months and can be adjusted to size, both the height of the frame and the wheelbase can be increased. It will cater children up to 4-years-old. There are two wheelsizes available as well, 10 or 12in. The Zum Zum balance bike has been designed to be light, and it weighs a claimed 3.4kg (7.5lb)
The Zum Zum inventors have incorporated a NFC (Near Field Communication) tag into the handlebars that allows you to identify the balance bike from your smartphone. Each bike is also finished with Steve Peat’s engraved signature.
You can pledge your support from as little as $5, but if you want one of the first 500 bikes produced you need to pledge $149. Go take a closer look hre www.kickstarter.com/projects/1283642724/zumzum-the-coolest-balance-bike-...
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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10 comments
Looking at the Kickstarter page, the Zum Zum offers only 4cm of frame adjustment. To be fair, there is an option to get another 3cm, but that involves fitting new wheels!
The balance bike my kids used offered 12 cm of adjustment, and they made use of the full range before they moved on to pedal cycles. It also had a minimum frame height that was 3cm less than the Zum Zum. Minimum frame height is typically the limiting factor for young children learning to use balance bikes, and 3cm makes a big difference at 2 years old.
I can't see what the Zum Zum is offering that existing balance bikes don't do already, or do much better. They don't seem to be able to muster very convincing features on their web page. Suggesting that ".. hitting rocks or riding on gravel [without our suspension] can seriously damage the spine of a still developing child..." is simply nonsense.
"...we have built in NFC passport tag in steering wheel allowing to see the imformation[sic] about the owner and warranty on your phone..." Or you could just stick a label on the bike.
I don't think my kids would have been particulary impressed with the "laser engraved signature of Steve Peat" either!
It would be a great project, only if it wasn't a stolen design from brumbrum.me
Shamefull really.
www.facebook.com/BrumBrumBikes
Not negative, _practical_ comments.
Exactly - I criticised the design because I studied mechanical engineering and as a cyclist as well, I know a thing or two about weight distribution and wheelbase issues, and how those affect handling and steering.
As another post also pointed out, there's no proper height adjustment for the seat, so the child will quickly grow out of it. As a former engineer, I can seen exactly how the design could be improved to deal with the weight distribution and wheelbase issue, as well as to provide seat adjustment, and it wouldn't add a great deal to the cost.
The system it has for extending the wheelbase as the child grows will offset the rearward weight distribution, but will also steepen the steering angle. The additional height gain for the seat will be very small.
The balance bike my kids rode (which is still in the loft) had a saddle that could be adjusted for height. Children grow pretty quickly in size between the ages of two and four, which is when you'd expect them to be riding a balance bike. It is a crowded market now and there are better products around. I don't see the point in being positive about a product that has such obvious flaws.
If Steve Peat wants to contact me, I'm more than happy to explain how to improve the design at minimal cost for the product. But I'd expect a consultancy fee.
I'm always amazed by the negativity of the comments on here. I'm sure some of the basic criticisms have been considered. I think it looks ace. Like riding one of those Ikea chairs. Maybe they should think about doing them in adult sizes, I'd be at the front of the queue.
"that's rubbish" is a negative comment. "that's rubbish because XYZ" is constructive criticism. Not everyone expects someone else to do their thinking for them.
Something else that bugs me about this is the marketing, specifically the stuff about preventing spinal injuries. Are balance bike related spinal injuries even a concern? I'd suggest this is nonsense to try and justify the design. Lack of suspension is not the barrier to children riding on rough tracks, the barrier is that it is difficult and just not much fun for small wheels and small legs. If you're encouraging a 3 year old to ride somewhere where they might seriously injure themselves then you need a word with yourself.
Flaw 1 - seat height adjustability looks limited, like you have to remove the wheels and put them in different slots to change the height perhaps. It's strange that they've put kids on bikes that are clearly too small for them in the video
Flaw 2 - who is going to want to sit on a flat, square edged seat like that for more than a few minutes? Not you or I, not your child.
Flaw 3 - top tube looks designed to teach the rider the pain of crushing their plums in a dismount at an early age.
Just looks like it's trying too hard to be unique.
The seat position looks very far to the rear so I'm curious about the weight distribution and short wheelbase and how it handles compared with other balance bikes. My kids seemed to get by fine without a suspension seat on the balance bike they had when they were little. It's a nice concept but I'm curious how it'll sell. The market is quite congested now.
For a moment I thought that was a balance bike with drop handlebars, that would be cool.
But seriously, wont a porky kid bottom out the suspension on bumps, bringing the bike to a sudden and unexpected stop?
I'm surprised that children that young and inexperienced would be riding territory bad enough to cause spinal injury. Given the already-established market for balance bikes, this seems more like a solution looking for a unique problem to solve.