First Impressions Woom’s Baby Balance Bike

Kids Bike Search

200 bikes match

For most families, a first ride-on is a simple purchase: something bright, plastic and cheap enough that you will not mind when it gets left out in the rain.

So when woom - a brand better known for producing some of the most highly regarded children's bikes available - launches a ride-on at £160, it is a fair question to ask what, exactly, you are paying for?

The woom WOW is aimed at children from as young as nine months old. It sits somewhere between a traditional ride-on toy and a proper balance bike: stable enough to stand by itself, light enough for a toddler to handle, and designed with enough genuine engineering behind it to support early balance and coordination rather than simply keep a child occupied.

We sent it out to one-year-old Indy and his family to find out whether the premium price tag is justified, or whether a fraction of that money would do the same job just as well.

woom WOW key data:

Price - £160.00
Weight - 2.7kg
Inside leg range - Min 26cm
Rider height range - 70 to 100cm
Age range - 9 months to 3 years
Colours - Pop peach, dreamy sky (blue) and soft sprout (green)

Pros - Cleverly engineered first ride-on that genuinely supports early balance and coordination, with clever design details throughout, to help the youngest riders start their cycling journey.
Cons - The premium price tag will give many parents pause, and for those not interested in a quick transition to a two wheeled bike, a simpler ride-on may do a similar job at much lower cost.

Buy Now

woom WOW scores:

Quality - 5/5 - Premium build throughout. Feels like a miniature bike rather than a toy, and has held up well to daily use across a wide range of surfaces.

Weight - 4/5 - At 2.7kg it is heavier than basic plastic ride-ons, but this is deliberate: the lower centre of gravity aids stability.

Value for money - 4/5 - Excellent quality and genuine developmental benefit, but at £160 it is a significant outlay. Definitely worth it for cycling families; harder to justify if just being used occasionally around the house

Resale value - 4/5 – As a brand new product it's too early to confirm, but woom's reputation and build quality means this should hold its value well second-hand, which goes some way to offsetting the initial cost

Final verdict - The woom WOW is a genuinely impressive first ride-on that delivers real developmental benefit for young cyclists. It is not cheap, but for families who love cycling, it is a worthy investment.

Find out more about the Cycle Sprog review process

About our reviewer

Indy was 13 months old when the woom WOW arrived, and already something of a cycling enthusiast: he had been riding in a Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Evo seat on his parents' bikes since he was nine months old.

Both parents mountain bike regularly, so getting Indy onto two wheels independently as early as possible was always the plan.

He had already been using a four-wheeled balance bike as a walking aid before the WOW arrived - he was, as his mum Katie puts it, “riding before he could walk properly, not taking his first unaided steps until 15 months”.

At 21 months, he is now 80cm tall with a 28cm inside leg, and is still using the woom WOW daily as he has yet to outgrow it.

woom brand overview

woom is an Austrian brand with a well-earned reputation for producing some of the best children's bikes available. Their philosophy has always been to design bikes around how children actually move, rather than simply scaling down adult bikes. Every detail - geometry, weight, component sizing - is considered with the child riding it in mind.

Cycle Sprog has reviewed several woom bikes over the years, including the woom Original 3, the woom 3 Automagic, the woom OFF 4, the woom OFF AIR 5 and the woom NOW 5.

Each has impressed us.

The woom WOW pushes that design thinking right back to the very beginning of a child's cycling journey. Whether that feels like an exciting opportunity or an expensive indulgence will depend very much on your family - and that is exactly what this review is here to help you decide.

First impressions of the woom WOW

The woom WOW makes a strong first impression. The build quality is immediately apparent -this does not look or feel like a toy.

The lines are clean, the finish is excellent, and the whole bike has the kind of considered simplicity that woom is known for.

Setup of the woom WOW requires nothing more than straightening the front wheel. There are no tools needed and no complicated assembly. It is ready to ride in minutes.

Katie's reaction on first seeing it was "you can tell a lot of thought has gone into the design."

Indy's reaction was equally clear. He went straight over to it, clocked Buddy - the small soft toy that velcros to the frame - and grabbed the handlebars.

Then he got on and fell off!

Which is, in fairness, pretty much the expected response with a 13 month old!

Buddy is a small touch but a good one. At 13 months, having a friendly companion along for the ride makes the whole experience feel more like an adventure. When Indy falls off, he picks Buddy up and brings him to Katie to be put back on. "Uh oh," he says, every time.

Woom WOW specifications

The WOW's design is built around one central idea: give a toddler the experience of riding a real bike, not pushing a toy. Several features work together to deliver this.

The self-balancing design uses a low centre of gravity to help young riders find their feet. Like a real bike, it will still tip over if leaned too far - this is intentional, teaching children the genuine dynamics of balance rather than giving them a false sense of security. The slightly higher weight compared to basic plastic ride-ons contributes to this stability rather than working against it.

The steering damper keeps the front wheel from folding sharply underneath a toddler who has not yet developed the reflexes to correct it.

The saddle on the woom WOW is long and gently sloped, giving toddlers flexibility in their riding position. There is also a small hole beneath the seat that is more useful than it sounds: Katie used to help pick Indy and the WOW up when crossing a road or navigating a tricky spot.

The tyres are solid EVA foam rather than inflatable - no punctures, ever. They are quiet and smooth on hard floors, and have proven capable on a much wider range of surfaces than you might expect.

The frame and components are designed with repairability and longevity in mind, which matters at this price point. This is a bike that should last through its full age range and still have second-hand value at the end of it.

Riding the woom WOW

It took Indy a couple of months to really take to the WOW.

Initially he couldn’t quite get his feet flat on the floor, plus the colder winter weather made outdoor use tricky as he cannot hold the handlebars comfortably with gloves on.

This meant that in the early weeks, he kept returning to his more familiar four-wheeled bike.

The transition happened when the family started taking the woom WOW instead of the four-wheeler for outdoor rides. On smoother surfaces with more space to move, everything clicked.

"It rolled so much smoother," says Katie, "so he found it much more comfortable and really got the hang of it and fell over less outside as he could go in straighter lines."

Since then, Indy has ridden the WOW on hard indoor floors, grass, gravelled tarmac, gravel paths, and a dirt pump track.

The solid EVA tyres have handled all of it without complaint. The tread markings have worn away with use, which Katie noted, but grip has not been affected.

What is most striking in Katie's account is how quickly Indy's riding developed once he found his confidence.

At 21 months, he lifts his feet and freewheels downhill. He scoots with one leg on gentle gradients. He leans the bike into turns rather than lifting the front wheel and dragging the back around, which is how he used to corner on his four-wheeled bike.

These are real cycling skills, and should stand him in good stead when he progresses to a balance bike and then a pedal bike.

"With the woom WOW it is much smoother than his previous four-wheeler as he can lean it to turn like you would on a full size bike," Katie says. "He didn't need to lift this bike."

The self-centering handlebars played a part in this. They reduce the chance of the front wheel turning sharply and destabilising a young rider, giving toddlers the space to focus on balance and movement rather than constantly correcting their steering.

The bike has been used both indoors and out, every single day. For shorter indoor rides, Indy uses it as a circuit around the living room. For outdoor sessions, he will happily ride for an hour before tiring, and has covered around 2km in a single outing. On one occasion, he got so excited going downhill that Katie found herself running behind him holding his hood!

His current favourite manoeuvre is what he calls a "Wheelie" - lifting the front wheel over objects he has placed around the house. He also has a ramp in the garden. (He watched a trials bike show and has drawn his own conclusions about what a bike is for!)

The one minor frustration Katie flagged is that if Indy falls and the handlebars twist to an extreme angle, he cannot always free them himself. It does not happen often, and it has not put him off.

When the bike is not in use, the handlebars click sideways against the frame, making it noticeably easier to carry.

In practice, Katie found this useful beyond just carrying - the WOW fits neatly under a pushchair or can be hooked over the pushchair handlebars, which makes it much more practical for families who are out and about with a toddler who may want to switch between riding and being pushed.

Overall verdict: is the woom WOW worth £160?

The honest answer is: it depends on your family.

If cycling is a big part of your life - if your child already rides with you, if you are planning to progress them through balance bikes and beyond, if you want something that behaves like a real bike from the very first ride - then the woom WOW is excellent.

It is well made, genuinely developmental, and capable on a much wider range of surfaces than its age range might suggest. At 21 months, Indy is still riding it daily and has yet to outgrow it.

If cycling is less central to your family, a simpler ride-on at a fraction of the price will probably do a similar job for a child at this age.

The woom WOW's advantages - the low centre of gravity, the steering damper, the bike-like handling - are most meaningful when a child is being brought along on a cycling journey rather than simply kept entertained in the living room.

Katie said she probably would not have bought the WOW without trying it first. That is exactly why the Cycle Sprog review process exists. Having read this, you now have a much better sense of whether it is right for your child than you would from a product page alone.

What we can say with confidence is that the quality is there, the development benefits are real, and if you buy one and look after it, you will be able to sell it on when your child moves on to their next bike.

Buy Now

woom WOW review: is this premium ride-on worth £160?