What's the purpose behind each part of our bike?
Stability – the frame
Each woom frame is made of lightweight, high-quality aluminium tubing. That gives it the necessary stability and keeps the weight down to a minimum.
Front wheel mount and shock absorption – the fork
The fork connects the front wheel with the frame and serves as the mount for other components, such as the stem and the front brake.
The carbon fork (woom OFF) and the air suspension fork (woom OFF AIR and woom UP) provide shock absorption.
Steering – the handlebars
The position and shape of the handlebars encourage the rider to adopt a good, sustainable riding posture. The handlebars are also the mount for the grips and other components (brake levers, trigger shifter, bell, reflector, etc.)
Shock absorption and grip – the tyres
The tyres have to bear the weight of the bike, the rider and any additional load. The greater the weight, the higher the tyre pressure should be. The permissible pressure range is specified on the tyre. Observe the notes in the user handbook for your woom bike!
Stopping – the brakes
The woom ORIGINAL 1 has a rim brake on the front wheel. Upwards from the woom ORIGINAL 1 PLUS, our bikes come with standard rim brakes on the front and rear wheel. When you pull on the brake levers, the brake pads press against the braking surface of the rim, thus slowing the wheel.
The woom OFF, woom OFF AIR, woom UP and woom NOW have hydraulic disc brakes on both the front wheel and rear wheel. When the brakes are applied, the brake pads press against the disc brake rotors attached to the hubs, which slows the wheel. For more on the topic of braking, see this article.
Motion – the chain and the gears
The cranks connect the pedals with the bottom bracket. The chainring attached to the right crank transfers the drive force through the chain to the rear wheel. One or more sprockets of various sizes are mounted to the rear wheel (together they are called a cassette). That is also where the derailleur is located (excluding the woom ORIGINAL 1 to woom ORIGINAL 3 models). The derailleur guides and shifts the chain onto a different sized sprocket. This changes the gear ratio.
- When the chain is on a small sprocket on your cassette, you're in what's called a 'high gear'. This makes pedalling harder because of the resistance, but it means the bike covers more distance per pedal revolution.
- When the chain is on a large sprocket on your cassette, this is called a 'low gear'. Riding in a low gear means less resistance while pedalling but the bike covers a shorter distance per pedal revolution.