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TECH NEWS
Frog Bikes to launch three kids’ road bikes
Frog Bikes will launch three road bikes designed for children aged 6-14 this summer. These models will add to the existing range of balance bikes, mountain bikes and hybrids.
The two larger bikes, the Frog Road 67 and the Frog Road 70, are each built around 6061 heat treated aluminium alloy frames and forks. They use 1 1/8in headsets and have internal cable routing.
The wheels on both models use quick-release sealed hubs, with a 9-speed freehub at the back. The rims are deep-section alloy with machined braking surfaces, and they’re laced up with Frog’s signature green spokes. Interestingly, the bikes come supplied with two sets of Kenda tyres: road and cyclocross – there’s plenty of frame and fork spacing for fitting wider rubber.
The Road 67’s wheels are 24in and it comes with a 9-speed gear setup that’s operated via short-reach Microshift levers. The single chainring is 34-tooth and the cranks are 127mm. The brakes are Tektro Oryx cantis with ancillary levers on the top section of the drop handlebar.
Complete with Wellgo R090 small pedals, the Road 67 weighs 8.8kg (19.4lb) according to Frog, and it’s priced at £425.
The Road 70 is larger, coming with 26in wheels. Size apart, the frame and fork are very similar those of the Road 67, as are the wheels, tyres, brakes and handlebar. This model, though, comes with a 140mm double chainset with 42-tooth and 34-tooth chainrings. The pedals are still Wellgo R090s but they’re medium sized rather than small.
The Road 70 weighs 9.3kg (20.5lb) according to Frog, and it costs £450.
The smallest bike in the range is the Frog Road 58 (yes, they all look very similar) which comes with 20in wheels and has a 9-speed Microshift gear system. The cranks are just 114mm and the single chainring is 34-tooth.
Frog say that the Road 58 weighs 8.2kg (18lb), and it is priced at £400.
The three new bikes will be available in June. For more information go to www.frogbikes.com.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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12 comments
A double chainring if properly used is just fine. Sometimes the gaps between the ratios on the cassette can be a bit wide for little legs. I appreciate what Islabikes have done for the children's market, but my daughter has been quite capable of working out how to manage her gears on her double chainring bike since the age of seven. She has a BH 24" which incidentally only requires the smallest gear to be locked out for U8 let alone U10. Generally, a bit of competition in a market leads to innovation, I await Isla's response in terms of further improving the quality and use ability of children's bikes.
Personally I love what Frog Bikes are doing - there needs to be competition in this sector (Isla Bikes shouldn't have a monopoly) to give more choice and drive prices down a bit.
One of my children has an Isla, one a Frog. Nothing else out there is comparable for weight, fit and function. They are worth the premium and have good resale value - Islas almost fetch the same price as new on eBay...
Frog may be "me too" but it doesn't mean that they don't have to put R&D into their frames and spend a lot of time with suppliers getting it right. I also like the fact that they are available through LBSs rather than Isla's direct-only approach.
Rainman - good luck finding a 4kg child's road bike for £400! The frame would have to be made from paper as pretty much all of the other components are going to be the same weight as on adult bikes: a groupset is a groupset... 26" wheels aren't much lighter than 700c etc etc. BTW a 12 year old will weigh about 40kg, not 20Kg.
I would agree that worrying about BC rules shouldn't be their concern. It's a small part of the target market and those folk can replace a chainring and remove the inner if they need to for about £20.
It isn't that small an audience seeing the number of children at the circuit races I go along to with my kids. Flip, there is a lot of them these days!
But whether you are racing or not, there is no way a young rider should be pushing the size of gear a double gives. They only need a single ring up front, with the benefit of saving weight too. Plus most young riders can't handle the lever throw needed to change from the small to the big ring, and they will stay in the inner ring. Makes the double pointless.
I see the Hoy bikes released today have a double on a 24" wheel bike. To me it's lazy speccing all round by the manufacturers. A lot less hassle to pick a double and a shifter set, than spec a single ring, a right hand shifter and a left hand brake lever.
Eh up Pauldmorgan! I said nothing of 4kg, price, nor the weight of a 12 year old!
Previous comments are fairly negative. Personally I think its great there's a company out there concentrating solely on children's cycling. They do a lot of research from what I hear. And let's face it, to get an adult bike weighing 8kg you have to spend approx £1200. You gonna spend that on a kid who's just getting into racing?
Frog weights are approx the same as Isla bikes but the bikes are a available in my local store and are a fraction of the price. Bought a hybrid 52 for my some and threw some 20" conti MTB tyres on it and he flies around Swinley.
Gonna take him to some Summer Cross races this year. He's about the right size for the new 24" road bike which comes with CX tyres.
Just to add. Gearing is only worth mentioning if the child races! And to be honest, pretty much every race I've had the privilege of attending I've had to lock off gears for at least 50% of the kids.
Frogs aim here is for the normal families, maybe just getting into racing........
Well done Frog!
I agree, it is great there is another manufacturer out there making kids bikes. It pushes other companies to develop their ranges and its win-win. I think the comments are born of high expectations rather than being negative. Especially when a company seem to do a lot of research. The expectation is the product will be spot on.
Gear restrictions are there to ensure a level playing field in age categories. But they are also there to stop children pushing too big a gear and damaging their bodies. That applies outside of racing too, which is why I can't believe a child focused company like Frog has specced a double chainset. A child fitting that bike won't need the big ring, and if they use it they face potentially damaging their body over a long period. So why have it on there in the first place, causing confusion and adding weight?
Yes, Isla has been selling properly designed kids' bikes since 2006. At that time everyone else was happy to flog your 8 year old a 13kg bike made from scaffold poles with suspension fork, heavy action adult brake levers and a triple chainset (with adult length cranks).
Frog don't have to do anything like the research they would have done 10 years ago because Ms Rowntree has done it for them. Do you work for Frog?
A fraction? Eh? You need to go to Specsavers.
Frog Road 67: £425. Luath 24: £400
Frog Road 70: £450. Luath 26: £400
Complete rubbish.
I am glad other companies are finally selling decent bikes for children, competition is always a good thing.
People who moan about the cost of a decent child's bike forget that it costs just as much to make these as an adult bike. A good bike is infinitely better value than computer games, consoles, smartphones and iPads. I earn less than many people but my kids get great bikes every 2 or 3 years. It is not just a toy, they are expected to treat their bikes with respect.
Look like MTB 's with drop bars to me.
Proper one here.... Made I the UK. http://www.glasgowfixedgear.com/discussion/4234/primary-school-project-b...
Possibly heavier than the frog though.
no no no frog bikes! You've made some heaps of crap here! I wouldn't subject a 6 year old to an 8.2kg bike! How much does a 6 year old weigh? Around 20kg? It would be like me (at 80kg) riding a 30kg bike!
Good luck finding a super light kids bike. The class leaders are Islabikes and all their drop barred bikes weigh more than 9kg.
it's just me, but PX offers a better bike..
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FBBATJUNIOR/battaglin-junior-alloy-road-bike
Most kids cannot easily use the microshift shifters (they require quite a force to operate, and the levers are cannot be reached that easily..)
Miche offers a crankset option for the aspiring young riders.
Bizarre of Frog to spec the Road 70 with a double chainset. Any child fitting that bike won't be able to use the big ring due to BC gear restrictions. The equivalent Luath 26 comes with a single ring up front for just that reason.
Frog also claim the 70 is suitable for up to age 14! I can't see many children over the age of 10 riding that. If it's a similar size to the Luath then there is no way most 14 year olds would ride one. In fact my tall 7.5yr old daughter is already riding a Luath 26.