Review
We have to start with a bit of a confession. While my child had a ton of fun on bikes this summer – especially while out bikepacking – he was a bit burnt out on ‘regular’ riding. Mountain biking, riding around the neighbourhood, going to the pumptrack and BMX track… he wasn’t into it. I figured that, like anything with children, it was just the usual ebbs and flows of interest, phases, and that maybe he’d pick it back up.
It turns out part of this was probably my fault. But in my defence, these things sneak up on you; when you see a kid every day, it’s hard to notice how much they’ve grown. The changes day-to-day are small. You don’t necessarily notice your kid looks like a bear on a tricycle until you have the clarity of hindsight. However, what you may notice (or what I should have noticed) is that your child’s interest in bicycles is waning. Is this solely because of fitment issues? Probably not, but if your bike doesn’t fit, you’re not going to be as excited to ride it – even if you don’t know that’s because it is too small. After all, you’re four, and you don’t know what you don’t know.
So while we’ll never know how much of A’s temporary disinterest in biking was due to the waxing and waning of interests that are par for the course of growing and how much was because it’s annoying to be on a bike that doesn’t fit, I assure you, hopping on one that does fit has rekindled his enjoyment of being on two wheels.
It was immediately apparent as we left the garage and hit the alleyway that the 16″ wheeled Prevelo Zulu Two fit him well. I’d been so lackadaisical in the move up from 14″ wheels that we’d skipped the awkward phase inevitable with kids’ sporting equipment, where the new thing requires a “You’ll grow into it” caveat.
About the Zulu Two
Prevelo is a relatively new kids’ bike-focused brand out of California focused on “making bikes for kids that are as confidence-inspiring, easy, and fun to ride as possible.” To that end, one of the key features across the lineup is low standover and bottom bracket heights, the thesis being that a low center of gravity helps young riders feel comfortable and in control as they build the skills that help them progress. Prevelo makes a wide variety of bikes, from urban/all-purpose (Alpha Series) to mountain (Zulu Series) to tiny dirt jumpers (Bravo Series) and the full gamut from 12″ to 26″. Front suspension is an option from 16″ up, and with simplicity and weight in mind, they’re all hardtails built from aluminum.
If you stick with Prevelo, as we have, you’ll go numerically, starting at the 14″ Zulu One with the Zulu Two as a step up at 16″. While at a glance this may look very similar to the A’s previous Zulu One (it’s even the same color, after all), there have been some key updates to the Zulu One and Two that are worth going over.
There are two versions of the Zulu Two available: one with a suspension fork and one without. We went rigid to save weight.
Balance-Tec
The most interesting aspect of the Zulu Two is ‘Balance-Tec’, which enables a painless removal of the drivetrain to convert into a strider-style balance bike. This enables ham-fisted…er… inexperienced parents lacking in tools or know-how to make the conversion. It’s a conversion I’ve also done on several friends’ kids’ bikes – while it’s a relatively straightforward affair to pop cranks, bottom bracket, and chain off, this requires specialized tools. It’s massively easier to use a couple of Allen keys to accomplish the same task, and Prevelo sells some neat little studs ($19) that attach to the bottom bracket spindle to protect small ankles, keep debris out of the assembly, and provide foot rests. Overall, the system is clever, and seems like a win if your kid is just starting out on their two-wheeled adventure, because balance bikes are better than training wheels.
![prevelo-zulu-one-1[1]](http://nsmb.com/media/images/prevelo-zulu-one-11.width-1920.png)
Both the Prevelo Zulu One and Zulu Two come equipped with Balance-Tec.
![zulu-balance-mode-0[1]](http://nsmb.com/media/images/zulu-balance-mode-01.width-1920.png)
Small pegs attach in place of the cranks, and the whole operation takes 3 minutes with a couple of Allen keys. It’s clever.
Components
There’s not a ton to talk about on a kids’ single speed, but the drivetrain bears a closer look; it’s also clever. As much as I dislike the microdrive setup with a 9t driver on the rear of my Dadcountry EVIL Faction II, it makes great sense here. The 10t rear driver allows a small 18t front chainring, greatly improving ground clearance and breakover angle. This drivetrain was protected with a cover, but we removed it.
Otherwise, spec is similar to the Zulu One, but everything is a bit larger. The house-brand Heir components are kid-sized; everything from crank length to bar and grip diameter are diminutive. The wheels roll on sealed bearings, and in an upgrade over its predecessor, the axles tighten up with Allen keys. The Heir branded saddle has a huge range of vertical adjustment – Prevelo calls this ‘Thu-tube’ – due to the long seatpost and seattube that’s open at the bottom. The Tektro hydralic brakes clamp 140mm rotors, traction is provided by some 16×2.2 Kenda Booster tires.
Sliding dropouts enable appropriate chain tensioning, and that small black piece on the chainstay pops out to remove the chain for balance mode.
The adorable 18t front ring gives ample ground clearance under the low bottom bracket. 95mm cranks are size-appropriate, with a narrow q-factor. The ‘golden pedals’ remain his favourite feature.
The suspension-corrected fork looks a bit odd, but I prioritized losing weight over the cool factor of suspension.
He was quick to adapt to the Tektro brakes, and they’ve been good. Eventually, I will get some shims so his tiny-hand-friendly Maguras fit on the 19mm OD tiny-hand-friendly Heir handlebars.
Conclusions
A and I had very few gripes with the Zulu One mkI he rode, the biggest was its weight. This is always a challenge with the smallest kids’ bikes. The body-mass to bike-mass ratio is hard to fully wrap your head around; it was roughly equivalent to me wrestling around an 85-pound bike when he started on it. The Zulu Two mkII, even with its bigger wheels, weighs almost exactly what the Zulu One weighed. This is a big win, as A has grown in mass significantly, and the ratio is much improved. Couple this with his rekindled interest in riding, and his skills and strength are growing rapidly (the same cannot be said for me, sadly).
The Kenda Booster tires are new to us, and down around 4.5PSI have been giving good traction in the PNW winter; he’s (temporarily I’m sure) outgrown the desire to do the biggest skids possible, so even the rear tire is holding up well.
If you can’t ride, just walk. It’s something we work on, going up and down hills if strength, skill, or confidence are lacking, it’s always ok to get off and walk. Keep in mind your kid may be trying to push a bike that’s half their body weight; sometimes they need a hand.
We’re back to terrorizing the neighbourhood.
Taking the long way home from kindergarten.
“Why do we have to go through the dark woods?”
“Because there are no cars here.”
Overall, there is a suite of clever features and well-thought-out designs on the Zulu Two that differentiate it from other similarly-sized bikes on the market; kids’ bikes sure aren’t what they used to be. While the $700 price tag isn’t the cheapest, kids’ bikes retain good value on the used market, and I have confidence the Zulu Two will stand up to all the abuse that more than one five-year-old can throw at it. If you’re amortizing this cost over the balance-bike period, it makes even more sense.
We’ll check back in when it’s time to jump up all the way to 20″. Dad has promised to do his best to make sure it’s not months overdue this time.
Prevelo Zulu Two – 699 USD
This was funnier to watch than it was to do, apparently. He found the humor later, albeit begrudgingly.
Fisher Price: My First Bobsled Lap.
It’s easy to motivate to ride home when the weather is like this.
But A has learned that the pouring rain can be just as entertaining. Does anyone have good kids’ winter riding glove suggestions?
Elder millennial, size medium.
Reformed downhiller, now rides all the bikes.