With the holidays around the corner I wanted to put this one out there. A few years ago we were at the international motorcycle show in Long Beach Ca. I like to take the kids to car shows and bike shows. It gives them an appreciation of the custom market and fosters their creativity.
The kids and I were checking out the latest electric motorcycles for their age ranges. We came across the Stacyc booth and they let the kids demo their bikes. Lily had already been familiar with riding a balance bike so she was able to push with her feet. Josh was brand new to bikes still. Lily had never used a throttle to control her speed and was a little reluctant to try it.
A few minutes of trying it and Lily was literally running circles around everyone. Josh was trying to figure out the throttle. It took him a few but he took to it pretty quickly. The kids had so much fun riding the bikes that we ended up buying one at the show.
Thank god the drive home was so short because that’s all they would talk about. I am no stranger to spending time in a car with kids but a little variety in conversation is a welcome change once in a while. Once we got home I was instantly bombarded with requests to set it up.
Unboxing the Bike
Pulling it out of the box can be a bit challenging. It was remarkably well packaged. For those of you who are looking to order one online, do not fear. The packaging is solid and it should easily hold up against the onslaught of disgruntled shippers.
It popped out of the box and required minor setup. It needed the handlebars straightened and set, the front wheel to be mounted, and the foot board to be mounted. Total setup time was roughly 10-15 minutes. The battery is basically the same as a cordless drill. Plug it into the charger and let it do its thing. I would highly recommend getting an extra battery for hot swapping them to extend ride time.
Into the Wild
The kids loved it. They took turns riding up and down the street. I made sure to show them how the brake works and we spent some time doing small drills to see who could control the braking the best. I have always found that if you want to teach something to ANYONE, make it fun. Pretty soon they both knew how to ride and stop.
Stacyc Throttle modes
The bike has 3 different throttle settings to control the top speed. They are easily colored coded in red/yellow/green so you can quickly identify them. Changing the settings is a minor process of flipping the switch and pinning the throttle wide open for a moment and then adjusting it to the proper color. Easy enough to do for a parent or well educated child but difficult enough to keep the beginners from inadvertently changing it.
Bike Performance
It does great in grass and dirt as well. Lily loved riding it to and from the park. We did encounter an issue where a fuse would keep blowing on the bike. I had to open up the case and locate a 40 amp fuse to replace it. Eventually I tore the bike apart trying to find out why it was blowing the fuse. I found out later that lily was riding it in a princess dress and it got snagged on the rear wheel. It sucked in a section of her dress and was adding drag to the drive gear. This was likely causing it to overheat and draw too much current to the point where it would blow the fuse.
Manufacturer Support
I reached out to the company about the problem and they offered several solutions. None of them ultimately cured the problem and I ended up soldering in a connector and replaced the 40 amp fuse with a 40 amp circuit breaker. It eventually became too easy to blow the breaker as well so I reached back out to the company. They sent me a brand new bike for free and even paid the return shipping for the old one. I love the fact that there are still companies out there that stand behind their products and help the customer out.
Maintenance and Care
There are very few moving parts on an electric motor. This helps cut down on maintenance. Josh really loved cleaning his “motorcycle” anytime I was in the garage cleaning mine. It became sort of a ritual where we would hang out and clean our bikes together. The funny thing about kids is they just want to spend time with you doing whatever it is you do. It can be tough as a parent to take that step back and let them join in on those mundane tasks.
The Test of Time
We have now had this bike for a few years. It has been an extremely reliable machine and handles the abuse of both of my older kids. It not only taught them how to use a functional throttle but it also taught them how to balance on a bike before they ever rode one. They never used training wheels. They went straight from a balance bike to the Stacyc and then to their current bikes. If you want to give your kids a head start on riding a bicycle and have been debating on going electric, I highly recommend the Stacyc bikes.
Purchasing
You can purchase directly from the Stacyc website. Alternatively, you can purchase the limited edition KTM model in orange on amazon for a similar price.
