E-bikes for children in the test: Please don't get upset - putting your children on an electric bike can definitely make sense. After all, mom and dad ride with support, and a little extra boost can't hurt in everyday life or when doing MTB sports. Velomotion looked at five very different models.
E-bikes have long been mainstream, and it would never occur to anyone to say anything against them. Anyone who has been dealing with the topic since the beginning twelve or fifteen years ago knows that things were different - “lazy cyclists” and “AOK choppers” say hello. And now there's a new excitement: electric bikes for children.
Part of the mobility transition: e-bikes for children
Children on an e-bike? instead of now looking for reasons to be against it – too expensive; After all, they are supposed to move, etc. - you can also look at the facts quite soberly: individual mobility is currently changing fundamentally, more and more people are on two wheels and currently every second new bike is an e-bike. Leisure cycling is also booming – non-motorized gravel bike, with support on bike tours and trips as well as off-road sports with the E-MTB.
And there are children everywhere. The very little ones sit in the Cargo Bike, the older ones are required to pedal themselves on the way to school and in their free time. And if mom and dad want to cycle through the nearby low mountain ranges on their (e-)MTBs, of course the little ones have to come with them.
This already indicates that e-bikes can be a good thing for children. If the parents use motorized vehicles, the little ones have no chance. And at the latest when child trailers or Cargo Bike have been exhausted, you have to think about how family mobility can continue to function.
Children's e-bikes are also useful in everyday life
Of course, the additional motor can also be useful for kids who travel alone. In the city or in the lowlands, everyday journeys can be easily covered with a conventional bike - all the easier if it is a modern, sporty bike. However, in hilly to mountainous areas, the walk to the football field in the neighboring village can be a strain - and the mom/dad taxi says hello. The network of almost unused rural roads is perfect for safely cycling distances of a few kilometers. The pioneer in children's e-bikes is Switzerland, where the advantages of electric bikes were recognized very early on.
Safer with a throttled engine
What does an e-bike have to be able to do to be suitable for children - and what does a child have to be able to do in order to be allowed to ride an e-bike? Depending on the intended use, it's not the worst thing if the bike is limited to around 20 km/h. Younger children are often cognitively overwhelmed by traffic, and it is known that the speed of e-bikes is often underestimated by other road users. So slowing down the kids is a sensible precautionary measure.
In sport – i.e. on the E-MTB – this is a minor aspect. When cycling downhill you reach a higher speed anyway, and when going uphill you rarely push the drive up to top speed. Given the lower body weight, the drive doesn't have to be super powerful - the main thing is that the torque is high enough to push effectively even on steep sections.
Especially with E-MTBs, optimal usability is important, which means, for example, that the motor control buttons should be easily accessible. What applies to conventional children's bikes in terms of ergonomics and sitting posture is also relevant for small e-bikes: a more upright posture is recommended so that the young riders can have a good view of the road or trail. Last but not least, e-bikes for children should be as light as possible, which is an important factor for handling.
The five children's e-bikes in the Velomotion test can all be assigned to the e-MTB spectrum and are sometimes more, sometimes less suitable for everyday use. It is interesting that each manufacturer uses a different drive system, and the five models also differ significantly in other ways. Not least in the price, which is always a hot topic when it comes to children's bikes. But that’s no longer really exciting either…
Here you can find our five children's e-bike test reports:
Woom Up 5 in the test: Lightweight children's e-MTB with very good features
Test Woom Up 5: When the children's bike experts build an e-MTB, the result is, as expected, something light. With a regulated Fazua motor, it is child-friendly and equipped with high-quality components and first-class add-on parts, as is typical for Woom. The drive is convincing and only falls slightly behind in direct comparison with others. Woom approaches the children's e-bike from a different side than […]
Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids in the test: Light E-MTB for young bikers
Test Specialized Turbo Levo SL Kids: What happens when you mount a “Light E-MTB” motor on a 24-inch bike? Specialized has tried it out and has created a children's e-bike based on its new, lightweight motor that impresses in every respect. And if you compare the Levo SL Kids with correspondingly motorized models for adults, the […]
KTM Mini Me SX 24 in the test: E-race bike for kids with an innovative motor
Test KTM Mini Me SX 24: The Austrian sports brand transplanted the Bosch Performance SX, which was only introduced in summer 2023, to the children's MTB and scored a direct hit. Around the compact unit, a super-light E-MTB for youngsters is created that ignites the turbo uphill and also appeals with good features and an attractive price. Smaller, lighter, more child-friendly: […]
Bulls Evo Twenty4 in the test: All-round e-MTB for kids
Test Bulls Evo Twenty4: With Bosch Active Line Plus and lighting system, the Bulls is in the border area between an e-MTB and an e-everyday bike. This is a coherent concept, especially for children, and the 24-inch bike is also appealing in other ways. At Bulls, getting started with e-bike life is extremely affordable at just 2.399 euros. However, you can also add 200 euros and […]
Giant Talon E+ Jr. 24 in the test: Driving fun and thrust with simple technology
Test Giant Talon E+ Jr. 24: at a current price of under 2.000 euros, Giant offers a functional E-MTB for children whose appeal lies in the simple but well-functioning technology. The Talon's rear engine is surprisingly powerful, and the classic, simple look is also pleasing. When it comes to e-MTBs for children, Giant has an equally [...]