Hardtail mountain bikes are where most of us get our start. If you have fond memories of your first forays into mountain biking on a hardtail, then you’re most likely here to research one for your kiddo.
There are only a few brands that build kid-specific 26-inch mountain bikes, and Prevelo is one of them. The Prevelo Zulu Five is a fantastic option, designed and built by a company that keeps kids the center of everything they do.
The first mountain bike we ever put our son on was the Zulu Three. We have come a long way from 20” wheels and so has the Zulu since then.
The ride quality and thoughtful design of the Zulu Five provides a stable, reliable, mountain bike for kids who aren’t quite yet ready for an adult-sized bike.
Our 11-year-old has been testing out the new Prevelo Zulu Five for a while now. He was previously on the older version of the Zulu Five, but Prevelo recently released a new, updated model. The new bike is FANTASTIC and our kiddo has been loving using it for trail riding and cross-country NICA racing.
In fact, we loved the Prevelo Zulu so much that we included it in our list of the best 26 inch mountain bikes.
Review Summary and Rankings
- Durable build, can handle abuse
- Easy to set up tubeless
- Quality in-house HEIR components
- Hydraulic disc brakes perform flawlessly
- Modern frame geometry
- Internal routing for a dropper
Cons:
- Pivotal saddle can’t be swapped
SCORING:
- Frame – 9/10
- Componentry – 8/10
- Ride Quality – 10/10
- Weight – 10/10
- Geometry – 10/10
- Customer Service – 10/10
- Aesthetics – 10/10
OVERALL RANKING: 67/70 or 95%
Price: $1,399
Video Review
2024 Updates
The Zulu Five still provides a stable, reliable ride for kids who aren’t quite ready for an adult-sized bike, but the new version has been significantly enhanced. The most exciting update is the lighter weight—now just 23.3 lbs—making it one of the lightest options in its class. Our son noticed the difference immediately; he felt more confident and less fatigued on longer rides.
The biggest game-changer, though, is the new RST First 100 mm air fork. This fork offers a significant improvement in performance over the previous Spinner 300 fork, with smoother travel and better responsiveness, especially on technical terrain.
The new fork made a huge difference in our son’s enjoyment—he’s been confidently hammering technical trails with it, which wasn’t the case before. It’s the same fork featured on the Woom 6 OFF Air but with slightly more travel (100mm vs. 90mm), giving it a narrow edge in handling rough terrain.
The Prevelo Zulu Five Frame
Trail riding is rough on equipment, and there is no way around it. It’s honestly a big part of why I love mountain biking. Rocks, jumps, and varying conditions all wear on parts. Prevelo understands this and has designed mountain bikes just for kids that are durable, capable, and ready to pound out the miles.
A 6061 butted aluminum frame with a low bottom bracket and slack head and seat tubes makes for one rowdy ride. The Zulu Five frame is a responsive, comfortable climber that leads one up the mountain with a great balance of comfort and traction. It’s big enough that even I (as a full-sized adult) could test it, and I was impressed with how it handled my test runs on my home ramp.
The frame’s geometry has stayed the same and continues to be a standout feature: a headtube angle of 66 degrees and a seat tube angle of 74 degrees, with a wheelbase of 41.7 inches (1061mm) and chainstays of 16.3 inches (415mm). The short chainstays keep the rear wheel close to the seat tube, offering a nimble, playful ride that will have your kid loving wheelies and riding the back wheel hard.
The one issue we did have with the frame is that the paint on the rear triangle has chipped at the chainstay–rather significantly! I’d recommend using protective tape on both sides of the seat and chain stays to prevent this. (Prevelo also offered up that they will be adding a chainstay protector in the future) so this will become a moot point).
How it Rides
We have been tested the older model of the Zulu Five for about a year and the new model of the bike for a few months now. Both bikes have held up to the rigors of bikepacking, dirt jumping, and general trail riding.
While our kiddo got plenty of use out of the older model, the updated version has upped his interest in the bike thanks to the higher-quality fork and lighter weight. He was using his Woom 6 for cross-country practice with his NICA team but has largely replaced it now with the new Zulu.
With tubeless setup, pedals, water bottle cage, and dropper post his new Zulu weighs in at right around 27 pounds. This is light enough, and it feels sporty enough, that he’s even been racing it. In fact, he made his first NICA podium on this bike.
While bikepacking, it was a quick, reliable steed that saw several miles in the backcountry of Idaho with water crossings, rough wash-board roads, singletrack and everything in between. The fork has a compression setting that acts as a lockout and that works well with an extra load on the handlebars.
General trail riding has been great on this bike. The slack headtube makes for a playful downhill experience and climbing to get there is right on point. The seat tube angle keeps the rider’s weight right over the bottom bracket where it should be. I could clearly see my son had a comfortable pedaling cadence and felt stable on the descents.
Dirt jumping is also fun on the bike, although he certainly gets more air on the Prevelo Bravo dirt jumper.
Mixed Feelings About the New Seatpost and Saddle
One new addition that didn’t win us over was the new pivotal seatpost and saddle. While the pivotal saddle reduces the minimum seat height, making the bike more accessible for smaller kids, our son didn’t find it particularly comfortable. The other issue with a pivotal saddle is that it’s integrated with the seatpost, so if you want to change saddle, you have to replace the whole seatpost too.
We quickly swapped it out for a dropper post (thanks to the bike’s internal routing) and an Ergon saddle, which was a much better fit for our son’s riding style and comfort needs.
Upgraded, Tubeless Compatible Wheels
The updated Zulu Five features new HEIR wheels, which are tubeless-compatible and come with sealed cartridge hubs and thru-axles that engage quickly and spin smoothly. The hubs even make that satisfying, high-end noise that riders love.
The Kenda Booster 2.2″ tires are fast-rolling, cross-country oriented tires are also tubeless ready.
Setting this rim/tire combo up tubeless was a mixed experience—while the rear tire seated immediately, the front wheel took hours of effort to get right. So, while the new wheels are a great upgrade, be prepared for some patience during setup.
Prevelo Zulu Five Brakes
Prevelo has specced Tektro M281 hydraulic disc brakes and they have worked flawlessly. The reach on the levers is adjustable via a 2mm Allen key.
The calipers bite down on 160 mm rotor up front (140 mm in the rear) and provide plenty of braking power for little riders. In addition, running smaller brakes keeps weight and cost down.
Prevelo Zulu Five Drivetrain
The 10 speed Microshift Advent X drivetrain is often found on a lot of kid’s bikes these days. Not only is the drivetrain choice a cost-effective approach, but it works great and keeps the bike moving consistently.
We’ve only had a few issues with this shifter/derailleur combo, and know that it is a reliable component for the price. The clutch lever did break off, but it still operates without it.
The gear ratio is an 11 to 48 tooth combo paired with a 30 tooth chainring. This wide range of gears, makes the Zulu Five a more capable climber than the Woom 6, for example, and is something our kiddo has really appreciated.
Assorted HEIR Components
Driving the 28 tooth chainring and drivetrain are house branded 152mm Heir cranks. The thoughtful design of components that fit a 10- to 12-year-old are one of our favorite features of Prevelo bikes.
The 680 mm Heir handlebar paired with a 35 mm Heir stem are two other parts that add to the comfort of a kid sized steed and Prevelo has done a great job on the design of these components.
The Competition
As our kids increase in size it becomes easier to find bikes that fit them. I wish I could afford an extra small Pivot for my son, but that is not the case for us. He will have to wait while I save my pennies.
Luckily, there are a few companies like Prevelo out there providing affordable, kid sized mountain bikes that can take a beating and come back for more. Prevelo also provides outstanding customer service and their passion for this niche of the industry is exemplified in their products and service.
As mentioned above, there are a few competitors out there like the Woom Off and the Spawn Yama Jama. Not many others take the time to source kid sized cranks, bars, grips, etc.
Compared to the Woom 6 OFF Air, the Prevelo is slightly lighter (it’s also a couple hundred bucks more). Both bikes have the same fork, although the Zulu has an additional 10mm of travel. The Zulu is a little smaller. I prefer the cable routing on the Zulu as well. I do think the paint quality is higher on the Woom, as is the drivetrain (SRAM vs Microshift). That said, the gearing on the Zulu is better suited for climbing. Both are cross-country oriented.
There are more notable differences between the Zulu Five and the Spawn Yama Jama 26. The Yama Jama is more trail oriented, with more travel, wider tires, and wider bars. It’s also heavier, and more expensive.
How We Tested And Scored The Bike
We are changing up how we review equipment to quantify each review and provide a better comparison between products. The criteria we will be using for bikes consists of a scale of 1 to 10 for the frame quality, component and build quality, ride quality, weight, child appropriate geometry, customer service and aesthetics. Hopefully we can maintain some consistency from our old format of reviews and hope to see a positive response from our audience with the new ranking.
Our new ranking system has placed the Prevelo Zulu Five at a 98% and that is a great score. The only real markdown was a 8/10 for components and that was due to some of the mid-range components like the Microshift drivetrain and Tektro brakes.
The bike also lost a point for paint quality. You wouldn’t expect to see as much (or any) chipping as we have after only a few months of riding.
In terms of the weight, geometry, and aesthetics, the bike shines (as do all of the Prevelo bikes). We also gave the bike a 10/10 for customer service, as Prevelo is top of the game in this area.
Our primary tester was our son, who helped give input on the ride quality and these scores. He’s put significant time in on the bike, and we’ll continue to update the review in the future as he logs more miles and hours as well.
The Run Out: I Wish They Made Bikes Like This When I Was A Kid
As our son has grown and with the updated version, he has chosen to ride the Zulu Five more and more. I like watching him grow into a new bike. It’s fun to see him re-learn a corner or successfully clear a jump and beam with happiness. Bikes provide that. What more could we want from our adventures with our little ones?
The Prevelo Zulu Five is a versatile hardtail that will fit most 10- to 12-year-olds and even some small adults. I really do wish there was a Prevelo in my size. I would be on it in a heartbeat. Being able to tackle everything from dirt jumps and trail riding to long days bikepacking has been a game changer for my son’s riding and viewpoint of bikes in his world.
More Stuff You Might Enjoy
- Best Kids Mountain Bikes
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- 10 Best Kids Bike Helmets For Your Child
About Us
The Rascals are a family of three. Kristen (mom), Blair (dad), and Parker (kiddo). We started Rascal Rides when Parker was born and we didn’t want to give up our passion for biking. As we learned, we shared. Over the years, we’ve tested hundreds of kids bikes, helmets, bike trailers, and more.
Kristen is a USA Cycling certified coach and loves to share her passion for biking with other families. Blair is a bike geek, mechanic, and mountain bike junkie. Parker is our resident tester and inspiration.
If you see us out on the trail, make sure to say hi!
Thank you for great review. I am currently debating between the Spawn Yama Jama 24 and Zulu 4. The Spawn actually comes in slightly less expensive because I live in Canada (about $150 CAD). Would you recommend this one over the Yama Jama?
Agh, it’s always tough choosing between great bikes! A couple things to consider. The new Zulu is lighter than the Yama Jama which could be a deciding factor if your kiddo is petite or you do a lot of climbing. The YJ has a lower standover height (measure your kiddos inseam). Other than that, these two are really similar. You won’t be disappointed with either.