Electric bikes are fun and you probably know this already, if you’ve given one a decent chance, with an open mind. Balance bikes, on the other hand, not so much – so why not slap a motor on one and bring the fun to the kids as well?
If you ever found yourself lying in bed at night, thinking of new ways in which you could stress more over your kids’ safety and wellbeing, you probably never thought of this: an electric balance bike. Balance bikes are the first step towards a regular, pedal bike, meant to teach a toddler as young as 2 how to ride. It’s a transition bike, without a doubt, and comes with a very short lifespan because of it.
That said, if you slap a mid-drive motor on it, your kid will want to ride it longer. Spanish bike maker Mondraker has done the unthinkable by motorizing a kids’ bike: the Grommy, introduced last month, is an electric balance bike that is now available for order.
Available in two sizes (12-inch / 30.4-cm for kids aged 3 to 5, and 16-inch / 40.6-cm for kids aged 5 to 8), each Grommy comes with three different ride modes, with different speeds. The Balance mode is the slowest, topping 8.1 kph (5 mph), followed by Fun mode at 12.1 kph (7.5 mph) and the more extreme Advanced mode, with a top speed of 17.7 kph (11 mph). Control of the bike is possible through a hand throttle and hand brake.
The Grommy is powered by a 250-watt brushless mid-drive motor and a 4-Ah battery with an autonomy of 60 minutes. That might not sound like a lot, but for a kid, it should be enough. As a plus, achieving a full charge also takes an hour, which is enough time for a snack and hydration, before he or she hits the road again.
Pricing for this fat-tire, motorized balance bikes is not cheap. One unit costs €749, which is roughly $878 at today’s exchange rate, but can you really put a price on suddenly becoming the raddest (and most irresponsible, quite likely, in the eyes of many) parent in the neighborhood?
Jokes (and some safety concerns) aside, the Grommy looks like a lot of fun. It’s being marketed as “the bike you wish you had when you were young” and, truly, no better description for it comes to mind.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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