Raising kids can be hard. But it's also pretty rewarding! You think my wife and I would be pros at this kid thing by now, but somehow we are still trying to figure this whole parent business out. We have 4 kids with the oldest being 19 and the youngest 8yrs old. I know, I know. We're old, but that doesn't mean we are slowing down anytime soon. 40 is the new 30 right?! One of the things that makes parenting hard for us is we like to do things outside like mountain biking, snowboarding, camping, fishing, etc. This is a strain in a lot of ways. Mentally, physically, materially, etc.
In this article, I want to focus on the material aspect of child rearing. Here is an equation for all you educated folks. 2 parents + 4 kids = a lot of gear. And a lot of gear means a lot of money. I have come to realize that there are certain things you can go cheap on but bikes is not one of those things. Sure, I still want good value for the bikes I am buying, but that is totally different than cheap. My oldest kids first bike was a little 16" wheel huffy from the local department store, which was fine because it was really all we could afford at the time, so it had to be fine. But that's all that bike really was. Fine. The huffy had wheels and pedals and a coaster brake. It had horrible geometry that caused speed wobbles and sat too high off the ground which meant you had to lower the seat all the way down and even then my son couldn't touch his feet to the ground even though it was the correct size bike for his age. This was the bike he learned how to ride on too. And it didn't come easy. Lots of falls and frustration happened before he finally started confidently pedaling around the neighborhood on his own. Mind you this is 2008. My second son was born in 08' and by the time he was about 18 months old the Strider balance bike was gaining some popularity. We picked one up for him not knowing how quickly he would have the balance down and would be able to easily move to a pedal bike. His first pedal bike was the old Huffy. It's all we had at the time and it's all we thought he needed. He was able to make it work but it wasn't without some awkwardness. He made the Huffy work for a couple years. In 2015 I had a Commencal Meta AM hardtail, and at that time I noticed they had some kids specific bikes that looked pretty rad. We ended up getting my son a 20" Commencal Ramones when he was about 6 years old if I remember right. As soon as he got on the bike, I instantly saw how much better he fit on it, and how much better the geometry was than the Huffy.
Sure it was a bit more money than my first kids department store bike but the way it was built was far better in so many ways! He was super confident riding the Ramones from the first few pedals. He had a couple good years on the little Commencal until he wore it out and finally rode it into the ground. Literally. He took a couple hard falls to the face at the bike park and that is when I started having my little ones ride with full faces when they were younger.
When it came time for him to get a new bike I had started doing some kids mountain bike reviews for Two Wheeling Tots. I had reviewed a couple different bikes and then Natalie at Two Wheeling Tots messaged me asking if I could do some testing on a 24" bike called the Prevelo Zulu Four. I checked out the Prevelo Bikes
Website and was quickly impressed with how cool their bikes looked. They were a bit more expensive than the bikes my kids had been riding up to that point, but I could see there was more going on here with these bikes than most bikes for kids on the market at that time. Looking at the geometry charts and parts spec I could tell these bikes were special. It was refreshing to see some pretty updated, modern geo on a kids mountain bike. When my son first threw a leg over the Zulu he was quickly at one with it. He was charging hard and wasn't hesitant or timid at all.
Little details like kid sized brake levers, saddle and other touch points had been thought out. Lightweight frame and other parts, and confidence inspiring geometry like a bit longer wheelbase and low standover and bottom bracket. Just a slack enough head angle and shorter chainstays to make it easier to move the bike around. They even thought of the right Q factor for little legs. He was having more fun on this bike than all the others he had been on before and it was visible. This was creating something I could not put a price on. That something was a real love and passion for riding bikes! For me that means a lot! I was giving my kids something they could benefit from for the rest of their lives.
As my third kid was getting older I knew it was going to be a Zulu for him too. Same story here. Riding his Prevelo he was gaining confidence and skills super quick. He was having more fun than ever and falling in love with riding bikes. He was on the Prevelo Zulu Three. At 6 years old he was out riding real trails with his older brother and having a blast!
Next up in need for a real bike was our baby girl. There wasn't really a question of what bike we were wanting to pick up for her. We put her on the little 14" Prevelo Zulu One that she absolutely loved! There isn't a lot of things cooler than a 14" bike with knobby tires and disc brakes! She quickly outgrew that bike and we moved her on to the 16" Prevelo Zulu Two and She just outgrew the Zulu Three that was her brothers.
She has now outgrown the 20" Zulu Three. This spring she will need to move to a 24" bike in which we will be trying to pick up the newer model of the Zulu Four to review here in the coming months.
A lot of bike brands have been stepping up their game in the category of kids bikes but Prevelo has been keeping up. There are some brands out there focusing on more Gravity oriented groms like Commencal, but Prevelo keeps providing a phenomenal bike for general riding with their Alpha line and overall trail riding with the Zulu's. They have added a dirt jumper line as well with the new Bravo series. They have also added a 26" bike now for the bigger kids in the Alpha and Zulu lineup.
To wrap it up, here are the top reasons that keep me coming back to Prevelo.
Value. Prevelo provides a smart build spec with super quality frames for an affordable price.
Modern Geometry - Prevelo continues to improve upon forward thinking geometry that creates confidence in kids which equals fun.
They keep the geo and features throughout the entire size range. You know you are getting the same experience from the smallest to the largest sizes.
They look cool.
The owners are amazing people with a passion for riding bikes with their own kids and its nice to know you are supporting real people.
I hear parents make comments all the time like, "there is no way I would spend that kind of money on a kids bike!" This comment often comes from the dad with the $10,000 bike too. But I am always telling these moms and dads to spend a little more on their kids bikes and it will yield tangible ROI that you will keep on seeing for years to come!
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