Frog bikes have only been going for just over two years but they are fast becoming the go-to brand for parents wanting to buy a quality bike for their kids. Last week they launched their new Union Jack bikes at Lea Valley Velodrome, fronted by Olympic champion Joanna Rowsell whose signature features on the frames. And they are soon to begin manufacturing their frames from a factory in Wales.
Joanna Rowsell launches Frog's Union Jack Range
The range starts with balance bikes but goes all the way up to their hybrid models. The new branding is attractive and kids will love the Union Jack paintwork on the forks.
We recently bought five hybrids for a primary school cycle club and have found them to be perfect for the 8-10 year old bracket that make up the club’s members. They’re reasonably light, have quality components and are easy to manoeuvre. They also remain robust and hardy machines that have survived being bundled into the school shed at the end of sessions by kids who aren’t known for taking the greatest care for school equipment!
Last year, Master Ride Velo, aged 10, was lucky enough to get his very first road bike and it was a Frog with Team Sky livery on display at De Ver Cycles that stole his heart. The guys at De Ver did an excellent job sizing him up and Zac felt very grown up in the professional fitting room. There’s room for growth and we hope that by extending the stem we can get at least couple of years’ use out of it before he needs an upgrade. It’s not exactly on the cheap side for a kid’s bike, but I reckon the resale value should be pretty high, given Frog’s excellent reputation.
In the meantime we’ve found it to be a really great first road bike that looks absolutely stunning. He got to grips with the new way of changing the 9 gears very quickly as well as using pedals with toe clips. It’s really light for a kids bike (only 8.8 kg) and comes with both road and cyclocross tyres and the wheels are quick release. Rather than just taking an adult design and shrinking it to fit a child, its design fits the geometry of a child’s build very well with narrow and short-drop specific handlebars. It also has brake levers attached to the top of the handlebars as well as to the drops, meaning that Zac could gradually adjust to a new riding position.
Zac tries out his Frog road bike in Richmond Park
We started him on the road circuit at Lea Valley Velodrome one half term on a quiet day when there were only half a dozen or so other riders. It was an excellent place for him to gain confidence without worrying about traffic. Since then we’ve graduated to Richmond Park where he’s learnt more road and traffic awareness. He can tackle some of the climbs pretty well and going downhill he’s fearless hitting some pretty high speeds down Sawyers Hill with absolute confidence and stability. It’s fantastic for me too to be able to share my passion for road riding with my young son!
But don’t just take my word for it. “It’s such a cool bike. I love it!” says Zac. “I feel really confident going downhill and I can keep up with Dad on the hills.” Well, these days, that’s not such a big deal to be honest! But, yes, the Frog road bike definitely gets the thumbs up from Ride Velo. Highly recommended.
