The adage of never working with children or animals couldn't be truer in this case. After three months of testing the Prevelo Alpha Zero balance bike, all my three-year-old has to say is, “It's fast because it's red like Lightning McQueen.” Lightning McQueen is a character from the Disney film, Cars, for the uninitiated. For most toddlers, this is likely all they would want to know, but let me reassure you parents, there is more to this little bike.
Prevelo is a high-quality children's bike brand based in California. It’s born out of the experience of one man - Jacob Rheuban - teaching his kids to ride bikes. After observing his kids getting faster, falling off and getting back up, Rheuban decided he wanted to inspire more confidence in his kids to want to ride more and push themselves. His approach was to put geometry first, something that is often forgotten in the pursuit of low weight, rolling resistance, and aesthetics.
My own background is in product management; having once worked on the Hoy kids' bikes team and put significant time into a kids' e-bike project at another job, I was interested in putting Prevelo's approach to the test.
So, given my son is already very proficient on his second-hand Vitus Smoothy balance bike, I thought it would be a good test to see how he adapted to the geometry - more on how it differs, later - if he learned to use a brake, and, of course, if a red bike really was faster than a blue one.
Construction
Prevelo's geometry first approach centres around having a very low bottom bracket, tall stack, steeper seat tube and slacker head angle than most kids' bikes have. If all of that sounds like gobbledygook, what matters is that these features are designed to result in children feeling more grounded, with a centred weight distribution, which ultimately increases stability for young riders looking to progress their skills.
The Alpha Zero uses a custom 6061 aluminium frame and fork, which keeps the weight low at just 3.5 kg/7.5 lbs. It’s fitted with a plethora of high-quality kit including WTB tyres, an aluminium V-brake actuated by a short-reach brake lever and a comfy kid-sized saddle. Most notable is the one-piece aluminium bar and stem, which measures 390mm wide and features a smaller-than-normal bar diameter of 19mm, designed to help small hands get a good grip.
The internal cabling routing of the rear brake cable is a nice touch and a nod to high-end adult bikes but it isn’t there just for the aesthetic. It is one of a few features Prevelo designers have incorporated to keep kids safe. It does a great job of keeping the cable out of harm’s way, along with the rounded-off axle bolt heads, flanged grips and of course that rear brake, a feature rarely seen on bikes of this size.
The Zero claims to support riders from around 1 ½ years and up, with inseams from 30cm/12.5” to 42cm/16.5”. For reference, my three-year-old who is very much ready for a pedal bike and is diligently waiting to see if Santa will bring him one, is 105cm/41” with an inseam at 40cm/16” and is maxing out the saddle height. The much lower bottom bracket height of the Alpha Zero is the cause of this and would make it ideal for younger or smaller kids than him. As for colour options, it’s offered in red, blue, silver and pink.
Specification
Unboxing and Assembling
I’m aware that not all parents are as mechanically inclined as I am, so you can rest assured that the Prevelo arrives with little to no assembly required. Once unboxed, it is as simple as turning the bars, tightening the stem and fitting the front wheel. All the Allen keys you need are provided. Disappointingly the lever reach wasn’t set for small hands. That meant I had to adjust the brake lever position and the brake actuation to compensate for this. It is a small job and most bike shops shouldn’t charge much or take long for this service if needed.
The Ride
Firstly, most of what I am about to say is based on observation of my son’s riding style. Naturally, I have not been able to ride the bike and he isn’t able to articulate the handling characteristics. From my observations, I believe the geometry of the Prevelo has grown his confidence and kick-started his understanding of how to handle a bike. As I mentioned, my son is three years old and has been scooting around on a balance bike since he was about 18 months old, able to ride most of the local pump tracks.
I quickly noticed he was leaning the Alpha Zero a lot more than his existing bike. Considering there is very minimal difference in geometries between the two, I can only attribute this to the Prevelo being slightly lower and having a shorter wheelbase by 20mm. This, from my perspective, appeared to give him the feeling of being more in control, most noticeable in the big tight berms at the new Hove pump track, where he would normally look a touch scared or struggle to hold a line. Compare that to now and that fear has been replaced with smiles, exhilaration and more accuracy. The trade-off was he struggled to carry speed out of the corners to get up and over the next set of rollers.
If your child doesn’t yet ride pump tracks how does what I am saying translate to riding to the nursery run or along bike paths and tracks? As I mentioned, my overwhelming observation was how much more in control he seemed with the Prevelo, whether this was on said pump track, or passing people and stopping at roads when using it on the streets. Watching him carve from left to right like a skier along the seafront, bolt off at high speed, then slow to a near crawl with perfect balance to wait for me is a joy to watch.
Some of this is certainly down to the addition of the rear brake. His current balance bike isn’t equipped with one and as his speed has increased and he’s gained more confidence, he was definitely crashing more often. I am not 100% sure how much he uses it or how effective it is but, I can certainly see him pulling it. At the very least it is allowing him to modulate his speed enough to give him the confidence he is in control.
Having him learn how to use a brake was one of the big reasons we wanted to test the Alpha Zero. With a pedal bike on the horizon, I was hoping this would be the ideal middle ground, where he could isolate the skills of balancing, braking and then pedalling. At the very least he has learned that big skids are fun and a great trick to impress your friends with. I apologise in advance to the guys at Prevelo who may have to replace the rear tyre on return.
This leads me to my only real niggle with the Alpha and that’s the design of the single-arm chainstay. After a few rides, I noticed that my son had scuffed the rear brake and chainstay a couple of times, resulting in a frayed cable. It was clear he had been hitting it with his foot when scooting. I found that swapping the V-brake pad washers around sat the brake arms inside the chainstay, which mostly solved this issue. After a few tumbles, I noticed where the drop-out is welded to the single-arm chainstay, the weld protrudes a fair bit, resulting in quite a lot of scratching and damage to the paint. Kids' bikes get damaged, that is a given. However, considering the high-quality finish of the Alpha Zero and its cost as a potential hand-me-down bike, it is a shame that the inevitable damage is largely due to this design.
Value and conclusions
At $239 or around £190 (based on exchange at the point of writing) this puts the Prevelo Alpha Zero firmly in the premium balance bike market and up against the likes of the Early Rider Charger at £199, the Woom 1 at $249/£229 and the big brand challenger from Specialized, the Hotwalk at $225. It is considerably more expensive than the most comparable bike to my son's Vitus Smoothy, the Hornet Airo 12” at £139.
Given well-known kids' bike brands, Early Rider and Woom, will inevitably have better resale value and the comparable build quality of his Vitus, which was originally only £89.99, I think the Prevelo sits in a bit of a no-man's land. The Hornit Airo is cheaper and claims to be lighter, while the Woom One and Early Rider Charger offer premium specifications. If cost or resale value is a major consideration I would opt for one of the ones mentioned or look for a second-hand Isla, Frog or Vitus like I did.
However, the Prevelo offers far more than the specifications list mentions and its focus on geometry, which could inspire kids to ride more and long after a balance bike, it is hard to put a price on. I think the positive experiences my son has had with the Prevelo have played a huge part in his continued enthusiasm to ride even when I haven’t been able to join him due to a knee injury.
At the time of publication, the Alpha Zero is not available via the UK distributor Windwave, but you can order directly from Prevelo you may however incur import charges. I have contacted Prevelo/Windwave to see if this might change in the future.
