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Two Wheel Tots - 20" Cleary Bikes Owl Review

Cleary Bikes Owl 20" - Two Wheel Tots Review

Review


The Cleary Owl is the perfect bike for aggressive young riders who want to ride fast, do tricks, go off-road, and also just cruise around the neighborhood. Built for performance and built to last, this 20″ single-speed bike is a worthy investment for kids who love to adventure on two wheels.

Performance

I was nervous that our tester wouldn’t want to ride the Cleary Owl because the last bike he tested was the Islabikes CNOC 20″, which is a truly exceptional bike. My worries couldn’t have been farther from reality.  Our tester fell in love with the Owl pretty much immediately, asking to ride the “fun bike” when requesting to go on a rides with me. His very eloquent summation of why he loved the Cleary more than other bikes was, “You can do so much more fun tricks on the Owl!”

Our tester was confident and daring on the Owl in a way I’ve never seen him on a bike. The Owl was lightweight enough for our tester to maneuver easily, but also substantial and sturdy enough to give him a feeling of security and confidence. What resulted was one joyous ride after another as he left the paved trails to ride through the grass, dirt, ditches, rocks, and hills.

Three images side by side of a 6-year-old boy riding the Cleary Owl 20" bike. Going over a rock, going over a curb, and off-roading in a dirt ditch.

Size

Seat Height

The ideal fit for the Cleary Owl is for kids with an inseam of 19″ – 23″.

In the images below, the picture on the left shows our tester with a 21.5″ inseam who is correctly positioned on the bike with his tip toes touching the ground. Because a 20″ bike is most likely a child’s 2nd or 3rd pedal bike, they should be positioned in this way to gain maximum leverage on the pedals. They do NOT need to be able to fully touch the ground with their feet flat.

The second picture illustrates the same child with the seat height lowered to its minimum height.  As you can see, his feet are touching the ground and his legs are bent, indicating plenty of room for a child with an inseam several inches less than his.

The last picture shows our 8-year-old tester with a 23.5″ inseam.  With the seat set at its maximum height, she is approaching being too tall, with her heels almost able to touch the ground. Based on her size, she would be fine riding this bike for a few months, but this wouldn’t be the right size of bike to purchase for her at this point.

Child’s Inseam to Seat Height Comparison

Comparison of seat height versus the inseam of the child rider. 6-year-old with 21.5" inseam fits the Cleary Owl perfectly, while his 8-year-old sister with 23.5" inseam is almost too tall for the bike.

Weight

Weighing in at 19 pounds, the Owl is one of the lightest 20″ bikes on the market.  While not as lightweight as the 15 lb. high-end CNOC 20″, it seemed that those few extra pounds actually helped our tester feel more stable and confident in doing tricks and going off-road.

Tires

The Owl’s 20″ tires are 1.95″ wide (compared to the CNOC below at 1.4″), which makes the tires heavier, but better for off-roading. (The tires below are both 20″ in diameter – the angle is producing an optical illusion for the overall size, but the width is accurate.)

Side by side comparison of tire width of Islabikes CNOC 20" and Cleary Owl. The Owl's tires are over 0.5" thicker.

Geometry

The Cleary Owl was obviously designed by a company dedicated to kids’ bikes. The overall design and all of the bike’s components are perfectly suited for a child rider to be comfortable, adventurous, and ride efficiently. Cleary’s website claims, “expert bike geometry centers the weight between the rider’s hands and seat, which creates a stable, quick-handling bike.” We couldn’t agree more!

Two side by side images of 6-year-old boy riding the Cleary owl on grass and dirt.

Handlebars

A lot of kids’ bikes are designed with high handlebars that push a child into an upright position. While an upright position (when combined with a long wheelbase for stability) is great for young riders on 14″ and 16″ bikes who are still learning to balance and pedal, it’s not ideal for older, more experienced riders. By the time a rider is on a 20″ bike, they should be confident enough with balancing a bike that they would benefit from a slightly more aggressive, leaned forward position that better allows them to shift their weight while riding. This also lowers their overall center of gravity for better balance.

While an upright position often seems more natural to young riders, it actually raises their center of gravity and decreases their ability to balance. In addition to pushing a child more upright, higher handlebars also prevent kids from properly extending their arms which can lead to twitchy steering. On the Cleary Owl, the handlebars placed lower on the body help lower the center-of-gravity for better balance, and allow for better arm extension, leading to better overall control of the bike. The handlebars are positioned similarly to the high-end Islabikes CNOC 20″.

The Owl’s Lower Handlebars Allow for Better Control of the Bike

Four different 20" kids' bikes with different handlebar heights, in order from highest handlebars, to lowest. Dynacraft Throttle, Specialized Hotrock, Islabikes CNOC 20", and Cleary Owl.

Rider’s Position on Bike

As mentioned above, the low handlebars of the Cleary Owl create a more “aggressive” body position as compared to most 16″ bikes that your child has probably been riding. (This is because 20″ bikes are designed for more experienced riders.) This body position, along with the Owl’s wider tires, is perfectly suited for more adventurous riding like off-roading and trail excursions, or simply doing tricks around the neighborhood or at a bike park. It’s also great for paved trails, but don’t be surprised if your kid wants to leave the pavement and venture off for something a bit more exciting.

The Owl’s q-factor (width between the pedals of the bike) is actually wider than other bikes like the high-end CNOC. This widens a child’s “base”, which Cleary did intentionally to give more advanced riders a wider stance, making the Owl more stable for aggressive riding.

If your child isn’t interested in being adventurous on his bike, he’ll still find plenty of enjoyment on the Cleary Owl.  It actually positions the rider in a slightly more upright position than the CNOC 20″, which timid riders tend to find more comfortable. If you’re interested in an even more upright position, you also might want to look at bikes like ByK E-450. (See the yellow lines in the images below.) Keep in mind that while the Owl may be more aggressive than most 16″ bikes, we wouldn’t technically classify it as an aggressive bike in the 20″ category. Most 20″ geared bikes have a much more aggressive body position.

Cleary Owl Has a Moderately Leaned Forward Body Position

Three 20" kids' bikes ranging from most upright body position for the rider, to the most leaned forward. In order, ByK E-350, Cleary Owl, and Islabikes CNOC 20".

In additional to handlebar position, the height of the bottom bracket of the bike also affects the rider’s body position and comfort. As you can see below (yellow arrows), the bottom bracket of the Cleary Owl is much lower than cheap bikes like Huffy, and top kids’ bikes found at bike shops, like the Specialized Hotrock. It’s even lower than the very high-end Islabikes CNOC 20″. In the Islabikes comparison (3rd image below), you can see that not only is the Owl’s bottom bracket slightly lower that the CNOC’s, but its crank arm is also a little bit longer.

A lower bottom bracket (and/or longer crank arm) allows for better leg extension by providing a lower limit to the bottom stroke of the pedals. Better leg extension means it’s easier for a child to pedal because they get better leverage on the pedals with every stroke. The lower bottom bracket also lowers the child’s center of balance on the bike which contributes to the Owl’s superior rider control and stability.

Lower Bottom Bracket on Cleary Owl = Easier pedaling, Control, and Stability

Comparing the bottom bracket of the Cleary Owl to Huffy, Specialized Hotrock, and Islabikes CNOC 20", with the Cleary Owl having a lower bottom bracket than all three.

Brakes

The Cleary Owl features dual hand brakes (Tektro V-brakes), which is a seriously nice feature for a 20″ bike. Once adjusted properly, they are easy to reach, easy to engage for kids’ hands, and can stop on a dime. The bike we received did require minor but important adjustments to the brakes before they worked properly.

Out of the box (see left image below), the brake lever was set at a much farther distance from the handlebar grip than was comfortable for our 6-year-old tester. Luckily, the levers were able to be easily adjusted to fit his hands perfectly. (See middle image.) The bigger issue was that we had to adjust the tension of the front and rear brake cables so that the bike braked with enough force when the levers were engaged. The brake cables were too slack for the barrel adjusters (silver knobs below) to make any significant difference, so we actually had to tighten the tension of the cable where it attaches to the brake arm. If you’re knowledgeable about bikes, this will be a minor inconvenience,  but the average parent may need the help of a bike shop or a YouTube video.

Dual Hand Brakes May Need Adjustments Made

Wide brake lever reach out of the box, but the brake lever can be adjusted to make the reach more narrow.

Two words of general caution. First, this will most likely be your child’s first experience with dual hand brakes. Be sure to help them understand how to properly brake with two brakes – NEVER with the left hand only. Second, because these are quality brakes, they work really well.  Have your child test out the brakes while walking next to the bike and then while riding at slow speeds to understand the brakes’ strength.   Because they don’t require a lot of force to activate, kids who are used to lower-end brakes will often “over brake” and come to a stop much more quickly than they expected.

Gearing (Gain Ratio)

Easy to get started pedaling, and easy to maintain momentum (even on hills!), the Cleary Owl is geared ideally for pretty much every situation our 6-year-old tester found himself in. From going up and down moderate hills, to off-roading on grassy and uneven dirt terrain, the single-geared Owl was a dream. The only area our tester had trouble with was steep dirt hills, but hey, this isn’t a mountain bike! If, however, your child will regularly be tackling steeper hills, you should definitely look into geared bikes (like the WOOM4 or Islabikes BEINN 20″), which are much more suited for hilly riding.

With a gain ratio of 3.37, the Owl won’t gain as much speed on flat rides as bikes like the CNOC with a higher gain ratio (3.98). This, however, is in exchange for the benefits mentioned above. Single-geared bikes can’t have it all, and one gain ratio isn’t necessarily better than another – it all depends on how your child will use the bike.

Gearing on the Owl is Ideal for Various Terrains and Inclines

6-year-old riding the Cleary Owl down a grassy hill, up a paved hill, and doing a trick on a paved path.

Ease of Assembly

I am a HUUUUGE fan of the Cleary Owl, but I was a little disappointed at its ease of assembly – mostly because the website says that the bike comes 90% assembled and that there’s just five easy steps to finish it up. This wasn’t our experience.  There’s a cute video on Cleary’s site that oversimplifies the process a bit and leaves out a few important details. Even if you prefer video instructions like I do, be sure to read the instruction book that comes with the bike to get the FULL instructions.

In full disclosure, I’m not awesome at assembling bikes, but even if I were, there were some slightly complicated additional adjustments that would be hard for the average parent to make – the brakes, as already mentioned, but also the chain ring.  Assembly isn’t supposed to require any adjustment of the rear wheel, but after putting the bike together, the chain ring was sagging and our tester wasn’t able to pedal and really get anywhere.  The fix was to remove the rear wheel and re-position its axle farther back on the frame to eliminate the slack in the chain.

All of this said, no bike is perfect and I would absolutely go through this minor hassle again because the Cleary Owl is that awesome to ride. Also, Cleary Bikes is dedicated to customer service, so if you do run into any issues with assembly you can give them a call at (844) 543-2453.

Bottom Line

For adventurous kids who love to tackle new terrains and tricks, the Cleary Owl is one of our very favorite bikes. Easy to maneuver and just plain fun to ride, you won’t regret your investment in this well-designed, high-quality kid’s bike. And just as importantly, your kid will looooove you for it!