The Austrian brand Woom have released their first kids’ eMTB in the form of the Woom UP 6. How much sense does a motor make on a kids’ bike? Can the Woom UP cut a convincing figure on the trails and be appealing enough to distract your kids from game consoles and screens? Find out in our first ride review!

Woom UP 6 | 16.5 kg | € 2,999 | Manufacturer’s website

Woom took the plunge at EUROBIKE 2019 and presented the first ever motorised kids’ eMTB (read more here). Its newest progeny is called the UP, which does what it says on the tin to help with uphills as well as longer tours. If your family rides have been limited to short distances and small ascents, or you’ve had to cart along a trailer as a backup for your tired little monster, we have some good news for you – the Woom UP 6 makes that a thing of the past. Longer rides and even significant ascending are now a realistic possibility. Let’s be honest: long trips along dull tow paths don’t excite anyone anymore. It’s the ability to ascend significant distances that will put a smile on your kids’ (and of course your own) faces, awakening their passion for biking.

Forest and action instead of cycle paths and monotony. It’s not just the sun shining. Your kids’ eyes are too!
Test rider Freddy: 13 years old, 158 cm tall

Woom UP 6 in detail

Woom have made use of their cumulative kids’ bike know-how to develop UP 6 into a lightweight and sporty aluminium bike with intuitive handling that rolls on 26″ wheels. The lightweight FAZUA motor was specifically selected, as maximum power just isn’t the most significant criterion for a kids’ bike. Instead, lower weight and smooth power delivery are of increased importance. In all honest, who wants to see their young teens accelerate to 25 km/h within seconds just before they fly around the next corner?

The UP 6 has both a removable battery and motor. Taking out this unit makes the bike a whole 3.3 kg lighter. The optional battery cover weighs around 500 g, but makes it possible to use the space in the down tube as a storage compartment.

Visually appealing, the UP has a two-tone finish. The silver paint of the rear end is mirrored in the cranks, fork and bars resulting in an appealing finish that won’t just find favour with kids. The 250 Wh battery is neatly integrated into the down tube and combined with the internally routed cables, the bike has a clean and tidy look.

Nice and clean. The cables are routed through the frame without rattling and are neatly organised at the cockpit.

Woom UP 6 components

Both the Woom UP 6 and the smaller UP 5 are equipped with a SRAM NX 11-speed drivetrain. As well as the 150 mm cranks (130 mm for the UP 5) that are specced specifically for shorter legs, the brake levers and silicon grips are also dimensioned for smaller hands. The concept works perfectly for the UP 5 (for kids from 128 to 145 cm tall). However, some riders who end up on the UP 6 (140 to 164 cm) might be better off with standard components and could even consider a full-fledged XS or S eMTB instead.

SRAM NX 11-speed groupset with an 11–42 t cassette …
… and 28 t chainring. Why no 12-speed groupset for tired legs?
Even the shortest fingers will happily reach the child-specific brake levers and the wide 680 mm bars provide your little dwarves with complete control.

Fork RST 90 mm (UP 5: 80 mm)
Motor/Battery FAZUA Evation 250 Wh
Groupset SRAM NX 1 x 11, 28 t
Cassette SRAM NX 11–42 t
Brakes Promax, hydraulic 160/140 mm
Seat post aluminium 27.2 mm, hydraulic seat post with external wiring possible
Stem aluminium 50 mm
Bar aluminium 680 mm (UP 5: 600 mm)
Wheelset Woom DISCO TEC double chamber aluminium rim (100 x 15 / 135 x 12 mm)
Tires Schwalbe Rocket Ron 26″ x 2.35″ (UP 5: 24″ x 2.35″)
Weight 16.5 kg (UP 5 claimed weight: 15.3 kg)
Weight limit 80 kg (Rider and luggage)
Price € 2,999 (UP 5: € 2,890)
Availability Mid 2020 online or through a dealer

Size UP 5 UP 6
Top tube 531 mm 572 mm
Head angle 66° 68°
Seat angle 67° 70°
Wheelbase 992 mm 1,055 mm
Reach 313 mm 364 mm
Stack 556 mm 605 mm
Cockpit height 890 mm 950 mm
min. saddle height 715 mm 785 mm
max. saddle height 850 mm 950 mm

Admittedly, the € 2,999 price tag seems a little high for an E-hardtail. For € 100 less, you can get the full-suspension Ben-E-Bike (read more here) instead. However, consider the countless hours of fun you’ll have as a family in the woods and that premium quickly feels less significant. It’s worth bearing in mind that the demand and hence production of kids’ ebikes is still limited. We think there will be a lot changing here in the next few years!

The 250 Wh battery offers about half that of a conventional ‘grown-up’ ebike but as always, range will be dependent on a number of factors including the rider weight, terrain and assistance mode used. However, in most cases, it’s not the battery capacity that will be the limiting factor for your rides but the enthusiasm of your young ones. Normal half-day tours that you’d usually only tackle with your older kids are now no problem at all.

Lots of tire clearance, even for 2.35″ rubber

Woom UP 6 first ride review

Adjust the saddle, turn on the motor and off you go! The FAZUA Evation motor pushes the bike steadily forwards and for kids that are on an ebike for the first time, it’ll be a great experience! Finally they can keep up with the grown ups and don’t have to trail behind. The combination of the SRAM NX 11–42 t cassette and 28 t chainring is sufficient for most situations. However, on very steep climbs, the range is too narrow to be able to climb easily, even with assistance of the 250 W FAZUA motor and the increased support of the new 2.0 firmware update (read more here). A 12-speed groupset would have been a great option for long and steep ramps.

FAZUA’s 2.0 firmware makes the motor a lot more powerful, meaning it can keep up with the “bigger” Bosch-style eMTBs.

Swap the forest tracks for flowing singletrail and the UP feels precise and easy to control. For smaller loops, or to completely exhaust your kids, you can also remove the battery and motor from the bike. That leaves the bike more light footed and agile, riding pretty much like a standard, analog hardtail. The RST fork is easy to tune for lighter riders and offers great performance on smoother trails. You’ll be surprised just how quick your kids get at riding! The Promax brakes offer reliable braking power, with no problems at all during the course of our test.

On flowing singletrail, the Woom UP 6 feels completely at home and will magic a grin onto any face.
The Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires roll quickly, though they are a little limited on grip.

Occasionally, when out of the saddle, the left knee can come into contact with the FAZUA touch pad on the top tube, changing assistance modes accidentally. The FAZUA Toolbox app is available to download for free from the FAZUA website and allows you to tune the sensitivity of the touch display, stopping it from reacting to the lightest touch. A further disadvantage of the position of the remote is that it makes assistance mode changes while riding on the trail difficult. To access the display, you’ll need to ride momentarily one-handed, which inevitably lead to less control over the bike.

The touchscreen remote is sleekly integrated into the top tube, but you might change assistance modes by accident while riding. Unfortunately, you also have to take on hand off the bars while riding to use it.

As the trails get more demanding with larger rocks and roots, the Woom UP quickly reaches its limits. 90 mm travel up front and 0 mm at the rear aren’t exactly intended for the ultimate downhill performance… The UP 6 is a great bike for beginners, long rides and uphills. However, when your kids want to ride a little adventurously, a lightweight fully like the Ben-E-Bike (read more here) makes a lot more sense. That said, small jumps and smooth landings are still possible and the bike is completely happy riding pump tracks. It almost feels like a dirt jumper here!

Smaller, manicured jumps with smooth landings are a lot of fun with the Woom UP 6

Woom UP 6 summary

The new Woom UP 6 is a great entry into the kids’ eMTB category. The bike performs convincingly on easy singletrails and will give your family the chance to head out for longer rides together. The components are largely child-friendly, though we would have wished for 12, instead of 11, gears. The FAZUA motor is perfect for the demands and weight of smaller riders – tired legs and frustrated kids will be a thing of the past with the Woom UP 6!

Further information on the UP 6 will be available from June 3, 2020 at woombikes.com


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Words: Photos: Robin Schmitt