The Mondraker Grommy is a balance bike with a motor, twist-grip throttle and shredder feeling, leaving us to question whether the kid will develop a love for mountain bikes or motocross bikes. It’s available with 12″ or 16″ tires and Mondraker recommend it for children aged from 3 to 8 years.
You can get an overview of the 11 exciting concepts here: kids bike buyer’s guide – 11 exciting concepts at a glance
At first, the Mondraker seems like quite a heavy balance with an aluminium frame and lots of plastic. But if you twist the right hand grip, a 250 watt electric motor springs into action and propels your offspring at speeds of up to 17 km/h. In Germany, the vehicle is therefore legally regarded as a moped and, in theory, may only be ridden with a registration plate and driver’s license from the age of 15. To be honest, we don’t see the added value of a balance bike with a motor, even if you don’t care about violating the rules or you own a large private property. That said, our test session with the boys and girls from the local kindergarten showed that they found it easier to operate the twist-grip throttle than we thought and they had a lot of fun racing around!
Both Grammy’s reflect the look of the adult Mondraker mountain bikes but not their functionality. The plastic covers of the motor are loose and the footrests aren’t securely fitted to the frame either. We also have to ask ourselves how appropriate the twist-grip throttle of the Mondraker really is for children. A quick test with a wooden stick in the spokes and brake rotor confirmed our worries. Of course, the Grommy can be a lot of fun but kids could also end up losing a couple of their digits unless they’re under constant adult supervision. On top of that, the brakes are too weak for the bike’s shredding capabilities.
Moms and dads who are trying to raise a future MX champion will probably love the Grommy. If Mondraker’s aim was to make a balance bike that reflects the spirit of their mountain bikes by adding a motor with a twist-grip throttle and too much plastic, they’ve missed the mark. A wannabe shredder.
The Grommy has little in common with a bicycle. To go, simply twist the grip.
The battery of the Grommy looks like it came from a cordless drill and is housed inside the front triangle.
Caution is advised here. The Grommy doesn’t have a cut-off switch and if a kid’s finger gets in here, blood and tears will follow.
Tops
- kids find it easy to operate the twist-grip throttle
- motorbike feeling
Flops
- underpowered brakes
- poor finishing quality
- throttle is delayed
- heavy
Find more information here: “mondraker.com
11 exciting concepts at a glance
You can get an overview of this comparison test here: kids bike buyer’s guide – 11 exciting concepts at a glance.
All kids bikes in this group test: Tout Terrain Singletrailer Trailer (Click for review) | Shotgun Pro MTB child seat (Click for review) | Leg&go balance bike (Click for review) | Mondraker Grommy-E-balance bike | Early Rider Hellion 16-kids bike (Click for review) | Woom OFF 5- / OFF AIR 5 kids bike(Click for review) | Woom UP 5 kids ebike (Click for review) | Ben-E-Bike TWENTYFOUR-SIX E-POWER FS kids mountain bike (Click for review) | SCOTT Ransom 600 kids mountain bike (Click for review) | VPACE MORITZ26 kids mountain bike (Click for review) | YT JEFFSY PRIMUS 24 kids mountain bike (Click for review)
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Words: Moritz Geisreiter, Peter Walker, Felix Stix Photos: Peter Walker, Daniel Geiger
