Bestrider Pump Pro 20: Stock Condition

It's new bike day! Today, let's check out a new kids bike. As mentioned in the blog page, the Bestrider Pump Pro 20 is a 20 inch kids bike, which will replace the smaller Bestrider Pump Pro 16.

As what I did previously for the Pump Pro 16, I ordered the full bike, as it is not available in just the frameset. In any case, it is always good to see how everything was assembled on the full bike, before disassembling it for modifications.

Ordered from Taobao, shipped from China to Singapore. Lots of colours to choose from!

Fresh out of the box! Well packed with protection at all the right spots.

Assembly was pretty straightforward for me, since I have built so many bikes before. Just have to remove all the packaging, install the wheels, adjust the stem, then put on the handlebar.

I did not bother to tune or adjust the shifting or the brakes, since it was not going to be ridden in its stock condition. It was just to see how everything looks as a full bike, before it gets disassembled for modifications.

Claimed weight is 7.8 kg for the Pro version (which I got), while the Standard version is 8.5 kg. The difference is down to a lighter crankset, wheelset and tires. Later on, let's see if this is accurate or not.

Full specifications of the Bestrider Pump Pro 20, Standard vs Pro.

Bestrider Pump Pro 20 assembled! The handlebar looks ridiculously high.

Bike frame design looks similar to the 16 inch version, just bigger.

Riser handlebars on a tall head tube puts the handlebar very high up.

Model number clearly shown on the top tube

Bestrider brand name labelled on the down tube

Love the high quality paint job with metallic paint!

Bestrider logo at the front of the head tube.

Made with 6061 aluminium

Full length grips, with short reach Tektro brake levers. Very important for small kids hands.

Super short stem! Using a 31.8 mm diameter clamp for the handlebar.

Comes with the Shimano Altus SL-M310 8 speed shifters.

20 inch wheels with a 20 spoke front wheel.

Kenda Small Block Eight tires, which are knobbly tires for light off-road. Stock inner tube uses Schrader valves.

Claimed tire width is 20 x 1.75", or 47-406.

Max tire pressure for this tire is 65 PSI.

Stock 8 speed drivetrain!

MTB style 4-arm crankset, with a hollow spindle, very nice!

Simple but elegantly designed crank arms. These are shorter ones for kids.

Uses a Hollowtech bottom bracket to match the crankset.

Narrow wide chain rings! Very useful to prevent chain drop, without using a chain guard.

YBN 8 speed chain

Shimano Acera RD-M360 8 speed rear derailleur. Affordable and reliable.

11-32T 8 speed cassette. Can't tell if it is a Shimano cassette or not.

Tektro V-brakes on the front. There is a huge gap between the tire and the fork crown, not sure why.

Also Tektro V-brakes at the rear.

At the rear of the frame, there are IS disc brake mounts, which is surprising. Means you can install disc brakes at the rear if you have a matching disc brake compatible rear wheel.

Includes a lightweight kickstand, fixed to a dedicated mounting point.

Kids-sized saddle installed on the suspension seat post. I wonder who thought that a heavy suspension seat post would be good for a kids bike?

Saddle mounts directly to the seat post, with no adjustment possible. Lightweight, but unable to adjust to fit the rider well.

The stock saddle and seat post combination is pretty bad, with a non-adjustable saddle and heavy suspension seat post that is pointless in my opinion. Which is exactly why I changed them out on the previous Bestrider Pump Pro 16.

What I like about the stock setup on this bike:

1) Short reach Tektro brake levers

2) 4-arm crankset with hollow spindle

3) Narrow wide chain ring

What I dislike about the stock setup on this bike:

1) Heavy and pointless suspension seat post

2) Non-adjustable saddle design

3) High handlebar position

Luckily, all the parts that I dislike can be modified or removed, so it is not an issue. Check out the rest of the bike modifications on this page.

LTWOO eRX Groupset: Front and Rear Derailleurs

Continuing from the previous post, where I showed the shifters and brake calipers of the LTWOO eRX groupset, here are the rest of the components.

Front derailleur is 140 grams, quite a bit more than 111 grams of the Ultegra Di2 front derailleur.

Similar linkage design as Shimano Di2 front derailleurs

Inner view, looks the same as Shimano Di2 front derailleurs.

I find that the corners of the motor housing look quite sharp, perhaps they can be rounded off a bit more.

LTWOO eRX 12 speed rear derailleur. Looks pretty good!

Also uses a similar link design as Shimano Shadow rear derailleurs.

Looks very much like Shimano Di2 rear derailleurs

Here is the port for connecting the electric wire. There is a little notch in the connector to ensure alignment.

Limit screws located at the bottom, both stop against the inner link.

Resin moulded Plate Member with visible fibres in the material, and covered with a clear coat.

Looks like a carbon outer plate on the cage?

Inside view, showing the relatively long cage with an aluminium inner plate.

Weighs 289 grams, a bit more than the Ultegra R8170 version. Can't complain given the price difference.

Other than the components, the groupset also includes the electronic parts required to link up everything. This LTWOO eRX system is semi-wireless, similar to Shimano. The shifters communicate wirelessly with the rear derailleur, while the battery powers both the front and rear derailleurs via wires.

Battery, charging cable, and two electric wires.

Charging cable which has a proprietary connector to the rear derailleur charging port, and is powered by a standard USB port.

Two ports available at the bottom of the battery, to be connected to the front and rear derailleur.

Two electric wires of 90 cm and 120 cm, for the front and rear derailleurs.

I did not assemble the LTWOO eRX groupset on any of my bikes, as I did not think it was better than the Ultegra Di2 groupset that I already have. After this study, I sold the groupset as I had no more use for it.

LTWOO eRX Groupset: Shifters and Brakes

Nowadays, most mid and high end road bikes are equipped with hydraulic brakes as well as electronic shifting. The most common component brands are Shimano with Di2, and SRAM with AXS. Campagnolo has EPS, but it is rarely found because it is so expensive.

There are a few brands which are trying to carve out a slice of the market share for themselves, and one of them is LTWOO. They have been making flat handlebar mechanical shifters for a few years, and now they have decided to release a groupset with electronic shifting and hydraulic braking. This is quite impressive as there are many technical challenges with this kind of system.

As always, I'm curious and decided to order a set for myself to check it out.

LTWOO eRX groupset, with all the components inside this big box.

Nice packaging! Using recyclable pulp tray as well, unlike SRAM's rear derailleur or cassette packaging.

This LTWOO groupset is not a complete groupset, as it does not include the crankset, cassette or chain. It is designed as a 2x12 speed groupset, so you need to find your own 12 speed crankset, cassette and chain. 

One side of the shifter weighs 224 grams, which is heavier than Shimano Ultegra R8170 at 192 grams per side.

The Dura-Ace R9270 shifters are even lighter at 176 grams. Different price point though.

Shifters have a tall hood, and a design very similar to the Campagnolo Ekar shifters.

Connecting bolt already fixed onto the shifter.

The ergonomics of the shifters are very important, as you will be holding on to it nearly all the time. It has to be comfortable to hold, feel secure, and allow you to operate the brakes and shifting easily.

Let's compare the LTWOO eRX shifter with the Shimano Dura-Ace R9270 shifter side by side.

LTWOO shifter has an outline that is similar to Campagnolo and SRAM shifters. However, it has 2 separate shifting buttons like Shimano.

LTWOO shifter has a kinked brake lever to offset the finger contact point outwards, while the Dura-Ace/Ultegra shifters use a 10 degree tilt instead. The hole on the LTWOO brake lever is for reach adjustment.

LTWOO rubber hood has a texture that is similar to SRAM. The difference in shape and size does not look like much, but you can feel the difference when gripping the shifters.

Rear view, with the hose connection located at a similar place.

Comparing the two shift buttons on the brake lever.

Shimano brake lever is almost entirely straight, and also has bigger shift buttons.

This partial groupset also comes with hydraulic brake calipers, let's see if it has anything special.

These brake calipers look to be of the Post Mount type, and not Flat Mount.

The groupset includes some adapters, which are confusing, as they look different from what I usually see.

Luckily I managed to find the assembly manual which makes everything clearer.

The brake calipers look like Post Mount, but they are not. They are neither Flat Mount nor Post Mount! The hole to hole pitch is 70 mm, which is Flat Mount, but you can't mount them directly onto the fork. In the manual above you can see that an adapter is required regardless of rotor size.

Starting with the front caliper, you will need either the 140 or 160 mm adapter, to mount these LTWOO brake calipers to a Flat Mount fork. It is unique because you need to mount the front brake caliper to the Flat Mount of the fork, using a Post Mount style of adapter and bolts. This is completely different to how Shimano Flat Mount is done, where the bolts are threaded into the brake caliper itself.

As for the rear, it looks like a combination of Post Mount and Flat Mount. The brake caliper has to be mounted to the adapter, Post Mount style. Then, the brake caliper + adapter is assembled to the bike using Flat Mount style.

Lots of long and short bolts are provided to cater for different rotor sizes, adapters, and frame dimensions.

Unique brake pad design, with those curved fins.

Plain rear side, nothing to see here.

Do you like this style of brake pad fins? I wonder about the compatibility to other brake pads.

Front caliper with hose and hydraulic oil weighs 167 grams. A bit heavy as it does not include the adapter yet.

Weight of rear brake caliper with hydraulic oil, without adapters.

There is a small insert at the end of the hydraulic hose, which allows you to use an inner cable cast head to pull the hose through during internal routing. Same as what I saw on the Campagnolo Ekar.

Includes its own Connecting Inserts and Olives, as well as Connecting Bolts. Not sure whether the olives are similar to those from another brand though.

Mineral oil is included!

The LTWOO eRX shifters look OK to me, but the brake calipers are a bit weird due to the adapter design. In the next post, let's take a look at the front and rear derailleurs.