When you find a bike your child wants to ride you know you’re on to a winner. Anything which encourages children to get outdoors and to keep fit is, in my book, worth its weight in gold! For kids who already love cycling, like my eight year old daughter, finding a bike that makes it easy and enjoyable just adds to their enthusiasm. Wrap all that up into a nice little bundle, adding fantastic build quality and decent components on a bike that really fits them and then you know their enthusiasm is unlikely to wane. Allow me to introduce you to the Frog road 67 bike.
Frog bikes are a small British company new to the UK junior cycling market and in my view a great alternative to Isla bikes. Don’t get me wrong, Isla bikes are excellent and deserve their reputation but the market has been crying out for a true competitor.
Regular readers will know that Miss OCG was fairly late to learning to ride a bike at nearly seven years old. She was inspired after seeing Katie Archibald and Laura Trott cycling in the Nottingham Milk race in May 2014 and the very next day was determined to crack it. Since then, cycling is one of her favourite things to do. Frog saw this post about Miss OCG’s enthusiasm for cycling and asked if she would be willing to try out the Frog road 67 bike. She nearly burst with excitement and then again when she saw the bike had arrived!
The Frog road 67 bike was one of the bikes we considered in depth when we were deciding which first junior road bike to invest in for Miss OCG. Sadly, at that time, she was only seven and whilst she’s tall for her age she was just in between the two frame sizes meaning the Frog road 67 bike was too big and the one below would have lasted her only a couple of months. So, we opted for the Forme Formeula from Derby based Forme and we have no regrets. It’s a brilliant bike which is serving her well. And it’s given us a good base from which to review the Frog road 67 bike.
The perfect size for ages 8-12 years
At eight, she now fits the Frog road 67 bike perfectly and it will make an excellent first road bike for any enthusiastic junior cyclist. This all-aluminium road and cross-bike (CX) is suitable for riders with a minimum inside leg of 67cm so it will fit most children around 8-12 years old.
What’s great about buying a bike from a brand like Frog bikes is that they really know how to design a bike for a child! And if you want your child to enjoy the experience this really is key. You know yourself, if you’re not comfortable on your two wheels then they will very quickly stay in the garage and you’ll find as many excuses as possible to leave your ride sitting in there gathering cobwebs.
Frog bikes have ensured that the design of their bikes fit a child’s frame. There’s no compromise, unlike with other cheaper brands who literally take an adults bike and shrink it without thought to the actual geometry of a child’s body. The Frog road 67 bike has narrow and short-drop child-specific handlebars which mean that your child’s arms are not too far apart and feel natural, and the Frog road 67 (unlike the Forme Formeula) has brake levers fitted to the top of the handlebars as well as the drop bars. This is a great addition for increasing the confidence of young riders making that first transition to bikes with dropped handlebars.
Here’s the technical bits for you.
The Frog Road 67 bike has the following components:
• A crank length of 127mm with 34T chain-ring
• 9 speed gears
• Quick release sealed hubs front and rear with a 9 speed rear hub
• Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes for road and CX use, so plenty of clearance for mud getting in between the brakes and the wheels.
• It also comes supplied with two sets of tyres: Kenda road tyres and a set of Kenda cyclocross tyres for dealing with fields and plenty of mud. Or if you’re little cyclist in not into cyclocross, these are also perfect if you’re just wanting a bit of extra tyre width and grip to increase confidence.
• 24″ wheels
• And it weighs only 8.8kg – making moving it around and lifting it over any obstacles so much easier for young cyclists and for parents trying to get it in and out of the car! For me, this is where lots of brands fall down, so this gets a big thumbs up from the OCG family HQ.
It’s available in black, red, white and Team Sky colours. No sickly sweet or gimicky children’s designs. Frog bikes are junior bikes for kids who love cycling and want to be just their cycling enthusiastic parents! They’re great quality and lightweight.
From a parent’s perspective
Watching Miss OCG ride this bike was a pleasure. It was very obvious she felt safe and secure with the braking system. She was up and down some hills faster than I’ve seen her go before and she looked very comfortable with the frame geometry. The only issue she had was with the pedals. The bike comes fitted with pedal straps. She’s not ridden with these before and she felt concerned about being able to get her feet in and out of them safely. For the review period, we actually swapped these across to standard flat pedals and she was away without any problems whatsoever and felt much safer. The gear changing lever system was easy for her to understand and made for smooth transitions for dealing with hilly terrain.
It’s not a cheap bike for a child, I can’t pretend that it is, but when you look at the serious competition out there, none of them are. The Frog road 67 bike retails at £425. As I’ve said above, it’s a really good quality bike, it’s aesthetically pleasing, lightweight and easy to handle and it will really allow their cycling to develop. We’re yet to see what happens with the second hand prices for Frog bikes but I imagine it will hold a decent value on the second hand market. Quality bikes are always in demand.
Don’t just take my word for it. Here is Miss OCG talking about her cycling experience riding the Frog 67 road bike.
*The Frog Road 67 bike was loaned to us by Frog Bikes for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own. Thanks to Miss OCG for taking part in this review!
Thank you for this review. My son’s bike are too small and we are starting to think about his next one. The Frog road 67 looks like a good choice which we will definitely check out.
Orli recently posted…How not to go to London
Hi Orli, I’m glad you found the review useful. 🙂
I have heard such great things about Frog bikes – and love that they are a British company too. It seems like they are so passionate about cycling and the results are impressive – Miss OCG seems extremely happy (love the video – she seems convinced!)
Thanks Sarah, yes, Miss OCG really enjoyed her time on it! I’d heard great things about Frog bikes too so it was really nice to get the opportunity to see if they live up to everything we’d been hearing. And I think the answer is yes! I think Frog are going to have a real impact on the British junior cycling market.
I love the fact it’s a road and cross bike as we go on a lot of trails and at this time of year a road bike is no good for a whole day’s cycling. It’s a really small market at the moment so it’s good to see it expanding.
Ness @ JibberJabberUK recently posted…Finance Fridays – Christmas Home Insurance
Absolutely Ness. We found it handled muddy trails and fields really well. It’s a great all round bike which will really allow your child’s cycling to grow.
That is one fab bike and she looks amazing on it – go girl!
Jen recently posted…Melting Snowmen cookies – cooking with kids
She had such a great time riding it. I think when you find a great bike that fits, confidence goes through the roof because it feels so safe.
The bike looks great, I have been checking out bikes as a mum of two I still could not ride a bike so took adult bike classes this summer and learnt. It’s never too late.
Nayna Kanabar recently posted…Christmassy Apple and Mixed Berry Jam and the ThermoCook
Yay! That’s brilliant to hear, Nayna! I hope you’re really enjoying cycling. 🙂
Thanks for sharing this – I’m considering a new bike for my 10 year old this CHristmas so this is great x
Cass@frugalfamily recently posted…Five Frugal things I’ve done this week to save money {27th November 2015}….
This bike looks brilliant – I have never heard of Frog Bikes, I will have a look 🙂 Kaz x
Ickle Pickle recently posted…Magical Lapland UK
Definitely worth taking a closer look. They do a whole range of bikes for all ages!
I am itching to get all mine on bikes – Eliza is getting her first for her birthday in January
kara recently posted…Project 365 2015 – Week 48
Hope your daughter has a great birthday and loves her first bike! Frog do some great first bikes too. Also very light and easy to handle.
I haven’t heard of Frog bikes beofre but theu look and sounds awesome! My five year old has just started asking for a bike with pedals so think we might take the plunge this christmas. x
Lori recently posted…A SIMPLE WINTER PLUM TART RECIPE
It’s definitely worth having a look at their first bike range, Lori. So light and easy to use. My four year has been riding one and has never once complained of being tired (review to follow). So much easier on little legs and if needed, you can buy a stabiliser set.
What a great bike. I love that it’s a road bike designed for 8-12 year olds. Is a fun and beneficial idea for young adults to help get them into exercise.
what a great bike to use 😀
Ninajcat recently posted…Christmas Morning Frittata