Traditional woom or the woom NOW?
This is the question most parents will be asking...My hunch is the woom NOW was born out of European cities where there is amazing bicycle commuting infrastructure. Places like Copenhagen and Amsterdam come to mind where you see car separated bike lanes and you feel safe as a parent letting kids commute to school, soccer practice or Grandmas. Europe is many years ahead of North America but some communities are getting on board with dedicated cycling paths. If you live in a town/neighbourhood that has safe cycling commuting and they carry bags for school and activiites, the woom NOW may be the bike for your kiddo. And if you and your kids do a lot bike-packing adventures, the NOW is definitely the bike for your child.
The geometry of the NOW is true to most woom bikes. A nice low bottom bracket for stability is really great when the kids are carrying a heavy back pack or sporting equipment. The frame has a huge amount of space in the front triangle which means you could purchase a large frame bag if you really needed some carrying space (it comes with a small mesh frame bag). You can even mount a rear rack for panniers.
A front frame mounted rack allows for nice/safe stable riding characteristics with the weight down low. The wheelbase is kept normal unlike a long-tail cargo bike so the handling remains very manoeuvrable, making it a great kids' commuter bike or more niche bike-packing bike.
Drivetrain
There is plenty of range in the 8 spd 11-32 cassette (11-34 T for NOW 6) to get the kids where they need to be. Loaded up with cargo, climbing hills will be more challenging but let's be honest...kids are not going to grunt up a long sustained climb loaded or not.
We are fans of the microshift line BUT this twist shifter is not a good spec, especially in the smaller models. This is a poor performing grip shift that really has no place on premium bikes.
Microshift makes a low torque 7 spd shifter that would have been much better and I would take less range for an easy pull shifter any day. I eventually just swapped in an 8 spd trigger shifter as it was too big an issue for my 8 year old on the NOW 5. I suspect it was a part shortage choice as the regular wooms use a sram x4 grip shifter and they work great. In sum, plan to swap the shifter for the really young kids if you are considering this bike.
Crankset
Fantastic short length cranks with low q factors across the range and 28T front narrow wide chainring to keep the chain from coming off.
Wheels/Tires
The 2.0/2.15 inch Big Apple tires are a stand out. I have these tires on my electric cargo bike and they are amazing. Low rolling resistance with decent grip and added stability of the wide casing. If bike packing was more your goal, you can easily fit some knobby tires on for off-roading.
Brakes
The Promax hydraulic brakes performed great for this bike. The Levers have a reach adjust and the rear calipers are nicely mounted in the frame to protect from damage. It's nice to have the extra power when loaded with this bike. Disc brakes really are superior and the kids benefit greatly from them in this case. Do note that dependent on availability, some bikes ship with CSTAR brakes which, in our experience, are plagued with air in the system problems. They constantly need bleeding and are a pain in the arse. Make sure to get the Promax brakes.
Touch points
As with all woom bikes, the child touch points are dialed. Nice small diameter ergonomic grips for longer rides, anit-slip pedals and comfy age specific seats.
Grip Bell
The bar mounted grip bell is quick to ring and really nicely integrated into the handle bar.
Dynamo powered LED lights
Not needing a battery, this is a well thought out system as you can just leave them on so kiddo never needs to remember a power switch. They have a standby function where they remain lit if stopped and the positioning of both front and rear are never obstructed by the rack or rear fender.
Fenders
Really nice robust fenders both front and back. These really make the bike more comfortable for riding in wet conditions and are a must on any commuter bike. The integration of the lights are also well thought out.
Mid-mount Kickstand
It's great they placed the kickstand mid bike. This is necessary when loaded to increase stability an insure the bike does not tip over. The rear mounted kickstands like on the traditional wooms wouldn't cut it.
Frame Bag
The small frame bag is a nice touch as you can't just throw small items in the front rack. A nice magnetic closure insures everything stays where it should.
Rack
Central to the bike is the front rack. With a 22 lb max carrying capacity, the advantage to a traditional rear rack (40 lb capacity) is not max load weight but how the bike rides when loaded. Rear racks can feel floppy side to side for the kids as the mass is high above the rear full sized wheel.
The smaller front wheel and frame mounted front rack drops the load weight low which leads to a more stable ride. Yes, a milk crate zap strapped to a rear rack may do the trick but for kids who commute to school or activities often, this purpose-built front rack is a nice solution. As mentioned, you will need a back pack or similar sized bag in order to secure kiddo's belongings with the integrated straps. You just can't throw in a basketball like you can with a milk crate.
Nice touches include the rack folding up when not in use and the 2 mounts to hold either water bottle cages or folding locks (sold separately). The design of the rack also limits the height of the load which makes sure steering is not impaired. The dimensions of the rack are 10.3” x 12.4” x 14.7”
We just ordered a Woom Now. Since our 12 year old daughter has to carry backpacks that sometimes exceed 30 lbs, the alternative to the Woom Now would not be a regular bike with a rack, but a bike with a trailer
At 30 lbs you are exceeding the rack carrying capacity on the woom now. The regular woom can fit panier rack with 40 lb capaciy.
The NOW is truly a unique bike that includes a lot of little details . Thanks for sharing this great blog post