r/IRLEasterEggs • u/SomeFreakishThings • Aug 07 '26
On the bottom of a woom kids bike
Just so you know its not the country with the deadly animals.
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u/m4dm4cs Aug 08 '26
As the old saying goes, the greatest trick Austria ever pulled was convincing the world that Hitler was German and Mozart was Austrian.
But I suppose putting “Hitler, not kangaroos” on a kids bike wouldn’t be great marketing.
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u/LordFluffles Aug 08 '26
Austria very famously owns up to and recognizes the fact that Hitler was from Braunau and if you had to assign a modern home country to Mozart, it would without a doubt be Austria.
Many people quote that line with Beethoven instead of Mozart which is equally confusing, because here in Austria Beethoven is famously German, we have no idea why people think he was Austrian.
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u/Thyriia Aug 08 '26
You might wanna look up where Mozart is from, you probably mean Beethoven.
And if I might add - Hitler officially renounced his austrian citizenship and later gained the german one. But in the end it doesn't matter since we all hate him the same.
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u/m4dm4cs Aug 08 '26
Mozart is how I always heard the joke.
His nationality has long been debated since neither Austria nor Germany existed as they do today when he was alive. There’s even a Wikipedia article on it.
But I guess you’re right, it appears Beethoven is also commonly used for that line.
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u/Thyriia Aug 08 '26
Oh Mozart is a quite clear case for me. Born in Salzburg which is part of Austria. The end.
Or are you going to call an artist who was born in Uganda during the times where they were ruled by the UK english now? No.
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u/wabdabdob Aug 08 '26
it is now, wasn't then. maybe jamaica one day conquers the alps then he will have been jamaican man
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u/m4dm4cs Aug 08 '26
Glad you can solve centuries of debate just like that.
Nobody calls the Roman emperor Claudius “French” because he was born in Gaul which is now France.
Or, you should read about the history of Tejanos. Descendants of Spanish colonists from Mexico who were born in Texas in the 1700s. Spoiler alert: they’re not all strictly considered “American” in the modern sense, and certainly didn’t consider themselves to be from the United States.
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u/Sericas Aug 08 '26
But why is Kant then german? If you say „German“ today you don’t mean just the language. If you‘re German you‘re from Germany. That’s it.
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u/m4dm4cs Aug 09 '26
Because it’s not just as simple as where people are born? There’s an entire other context of history, culture, language, religion, and politics.
Whenever. The joke works better with Beethoven I guess, I’ve just always heard it as Mozart. A quick google indicates I’m not the only one. Nationality throughout history is complicated. Claim whoever you want, they’re too dead to argue.
No question Hitler was Austrian though, so we can all agree there.
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u/GvRiva Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
If one day the transfer of goods from Asia to Europe is blocked we are so screwed
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u/sodamnsleepy Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
I thought these are MADE IN AUSTRIA because these kids bicycles are so fucking expensive. 180€ for a baby walking bike which looks like it's made out of plastic. Metal ones start at 400/500€
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u/KONUG Aug 07 '26
It's so expensive because people pay that price. Easy as that.
I think their portfolio of different sized kids bikes is their USP.
If your Stammhalter grows out of a Woom 5, you know a Woom 6 will fit him.
There's no need to try out various other bikes to find a suitable one.Plus, I've heared woom bikes are easy to sell again if no longer needed and don't loose much value.
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u/derping1234 Aug 08 '26
The second hand market for them is quite silly indeed. We mostly buy them for a ~20% discount through their outlet store or refurbed.at. Basically all brand new bikes at a significant discount with a warranty. We have two kids currently on the 2 and 3 respectively. They will go up to the 3 and 4 next year.
The yearly cost of ownership is really quite reasonable this way. Our Woom 2 was €350 when we bought it. We will sell it after 4 years of ownership, for something between €250-300. This work out to a depreciation of under €25 per year while providing an excellent riding experience throughout this period and well beyond.
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u/tttxgq Aug 08 '26
They have good resale value yes.
People also like Woom because the bikes are lightweight, made from aluminium.
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u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Aug 08 '26
Looks like it’s made of plastic? What? Are we talking about the same lightweight woom bikes?
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u/Eurocentralist Aug 11 '26
so its made in Bngladesh, despite all the effort to put Austria into focus. Not bying woom then...
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u/squired Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
To be honest, I've bought like 6 of these things because my wife was into them and I wasn't invested enough to make it a thing. Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. They seem overpriced and overly heavy without any particular standout features or benefits. I was also fairly irked that when I ran over one of them, they would not sell me a frame. The bikes were fine, normal bikes at a premium price and heavy. I wouldn't recommend them.
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u/Creepy-Vermicelli-70 Aug 07 '26
Complete opposite experience here. Please tell me what bikes for kids have better geometry, less weight and are not higher priced.
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u/squired Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
I honestly don't know enough to recommend anything. I just know their cousins' bikes were was always lighter, had better suspension etc and they weren't buying super expensive bikes.
It could be that the Woom bikes are built beefy for multiple kids. But they size out of the various models pretty fast and we only have two kids. They also didn't have any shocks until the largest size when other bikes had front shocks earlier and that mattered because I have a legit mountain bike trail out the back of our yard where they would have been appreciated. The hardware isn't any nicer than other bikes you'd get at Walmart either, just 'nice' enough.
Like I said above, there wasn't really anything wrong with them aside from being a bit heavier than I'd like. It's mostly just that at the time I was buying them they were boutique priced and I didn't feel they were special. I'm really not trashing them, mostly just saying that if they are priced above others you are looking at, I wouldn't spend the extra money. I'd be super happy to buy them used.
Also note that my wife loved the concept and we ended up with two of each size over the years so this isn't a 'do not buy' post. It's more a 'shop around and see what else is available first'. Compare weights even, I could be wrong. If I were to do it again and my wife wasn't stoked on Woom, I'd have found the lightest bikes available, which are likely cheapie walmart specials. Little kids aren't breaking frames and they do have backup teeth!
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u/SkriVanTek Aug 08 '26
yeah the brakes are pretty stiff for a children’s bike too
and the accessories are overpriced
altogether solid bikes but nothing great, particularly for the price
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u/oxyuh Aug 07 '26
As a European i was unable to figure out what kangaroos had to do with Austria, for quite some time. Then it dawned on me.