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Frog has since rocketed with around 1800 retailers worldwide, and earned numerous awards for innovation and design.
All Frog bikes are designed with little ones in mind, to ensure kids feel confident when riding from day one. To achieve this, Frog works in partnership with sports scientists at Brunel University to create the best bike geometries for a range of rider heights. The lightweight design of Frog bikes allows riders to balance, pedal and stop with ultimate control, giving them confidence to cycle more often and progress through the range of models Frog offers, eventually leading them on to adult sized frames.
Sold only through independent retailers, Frog's aim is for local bike shops to support their local community, and ultimately get kids learning to ride earlier and more often, leading to a healthy, happy lifestyle and building positive lifelong habits.
Here at Wildside we stock all Frog Bikes ranging from kids' first balance bikes to MTB bikes. Each Frog bike is identified by a number - Frog 44 for example - which is equivalent to the inside leg measurement of the rider. This helps determine what Frog is the most appropriate size. To view the official size guide please click 'here', where you'll find a link to their super-handy sizing app too!
The balance bike is where a child's cycling life begins. The Frog Tadpole balance bike is effectively a toddler's bike without pedals, and helps a child to develop the necessary balance to cycle. A popular and effective alternative to using training wheels.
TADPOLE MINI: £250.00 - 10" WHEEL / 18 MONTHS+ / 3.46kg
TADPOLE: £260.00 - 12" WHEEL / 2-3YO / 4.17kg
TADPOLE PLUS: £265.00 - 14" WHEEL / 3-4YO / 4.18KG
The Frog First Pedal bike is the best bike for early balance bike graduates, helping them to build confidence in their cycling abilities. It can also act as a balance bike for a taller child by simply removing the pedals.
FROG 40: £415.00 - 14" WHEEL / 3-4YO / 6.46KG
FROG 44: £425.00 - 16" WHEEL / 4-5YO / 6.39KG
FROG 47: £430.00 - 18" WHEEL / 4-6YO / 6.75KG
The Frog Hybrid Bike is our perfect 'all-rounder' kids' bike. It is the ideal multi-purpose bike for boys and girls that want to cycle in multiple disciplines, from forest trails to riding to school. All models have quality 8-speed transmissions, to introduce them to the concept of changing gear.
FROG 53: £480.00 - 20" WHEEL / 5-6YO / 8.15KG
FROG 62: £500.00 - 24" WHEEL / 8-10YO / 9.25KG
FROG 69: £510.00 - 26" WHEEL / 10-12YO / 9.98KG
FROG 73: £525.00 - 26" WHEEL / 12-14YO / 9.75KG
FROG 78: £535.00 - 26" WHEEL / 13+YO / 10KG
Frog's amazingly priced kids' and junior road bikes will help your child increase their distance, speed and confidence with a super lightweight frame, child specific short-drop handlebars and auxiliary brake levers. Perfect for road racing, cyclocross and triathlon, and complete with mudguards for all-weather performance. In common with all Frog Bikes, componentry is high quality and wouldn't be out of place on an adult bike; a refreshing change form many junior bikes, which all too often are built with cheap "disposable" components.
FROG ROAD 58: £645.00 - 20" WHEEL / 6-7YO / 8.2KG
FROG ROAD 67: £670.00 - 24" WHEEL / 8-12YO / 8.8KG
FROG ROAD 70: £720.00 - 26" WHEEL / 11-14YO / 9.3KG
Frog Mountain Bikes are part of our Push The Limits range for older children. These MTBs are the perfect multi terrain bikes for off-road cycling. With junior specific components, including a tailored suspension fork for lighter riders, these mountain bikes provide a smoother ride for any junior.
FROG MTB 62: £835.00 - 24" WHEEL / 8-10YO / 11.3KG
FROG MTB 69: £845.00 - 26" WHEEL / 10-12YO / 11.4KG
FROG MTB 72: £855.00 - 26" WHEEL / 13+YO / 11.5KG
To see all Frog bikes on our website please click 'here' Alternatively pop in for more details on sizes, colours and stock levels.
With your child now a master of bike handling and balance, the next step forward is to teach them about bike gears. Having this knowledge will help them to maintain a comfortable speed whilst pedalling, depending on the terrain and gradient.
Having bike gears is not an indication of how fast the bike will go, but about the efficiency of the bike in different situations. Switching gears can make light work of hills, rough terrain and even descents, and knowing when to switch up or down a gear will make cycling for your child much easier.
This is what the experts say:
Using the gears on your bicycle makes pedalling easier. The low gears help you pedal up big hills, and the high gears will help you ride back down.
The gear levers on your handlebar change the gear on your bike; the left lever changes your front gears (if you have them), and the right lever changes your rear gears. Most children’s bikes just have rear gears and a right lever to make it easier for them to learn.
Understanding the gears is a core cycling technique.
Developing the skill of changing gear in the right place and at the right time takes time and experience to learn.
For a given speed, spinning the pedals quickly is said to be in a low (easier) gear than a rider who is pedalling more slowly in a high (harder) gear.
1. Pedal at a rate that best suits you and the terrain - a slightly faster-pedalling rate is best
2. Look ahead at where you are going, not down at the gears
3. Maintain a smooth pedalling technique, releasing pressure slightly on the pedals as you change gear
4. Stay seated
5. Shift through one gear at a time maintaining approximately the same rhythm
1. First of all, show your child how to use the shifters and explain you can only change gear when pedalling. Show that changing the gears whilst stationary won’t do anything
2. Then lift the back wheel off the ground, pedal the bike by hand and show them how to change gear
3. If it’s a grip shift teach your child how to twist forward for harder or twist back for easier. On shifters teach them it’s the big thumb for easy and little finger hard. (For more information on the difference between grip (twist) and trigger shifters, read the gear section on this blog: Kids Bike Buying Guide
4. Set the bike up in a middle/easy gear and forget about what number gear they’re in, keep watching how they are going, if you think they need a harder or easier gear just say “1 click easy/harder” and so on. This will get them used to changing gear
5. Once they are confident doing this and have been doing it a while the next step is changing gears to the numbers i.e gear. Explain 1 is a low gear and super easy to get up hills and highest gear i.e 10 is the hardest to go really fast down or on flat ground
6. Show them the numbers on the shifter. Whilst riding instead of saying easy or hard, start telling them what number to go to - go to number 3, number 4 and so on, move up or down one gear at a time
7. Good practice is finding a slight slope and showing them they need the easier gears to get up and the harder gears to get down, get them to try different harder gears going up and easier gears down to help them realise what gears they need to be in and how it affects their legs
Persevere with it, praise them every time they do it, it won’t happen overnight!
It's taken me a while to get my head around gears! It's difficult to explain, and also difficult to get your head around when someone's trying to explain it to you! But once you get it; you just do it automatically without thinking about it!
For me, the biggest thing was remembering to shift back into an easier gear BEFORE you stop, hit a steep hill, or just after you've had to brake hard, so always thinking ahead and being prepared, that way you ride much smoother! So get out there and practice! Enjoy!!
Teaching a child to ride a bicycle not only provides them with a lifelong skill but also inspires confidence and independence while having a whole lot of fun! One of the most valuable and essential cycling lessons you can teach a child is speed control. As exhilarating as it is to roll down hills and race friends to the park, teaching a child how to use their brakes properly will enable them to slow down and come to a controlled stop when needed.
A Bicycle brake has two parts; the lever, which sits on the handlebar, and the brake calliper, which slows down the wheel to bring it to a stop. Some brake callipers slow the bike down by clamping onto the wheel rim; these are called v-brakes or rim brakes. In comparison, brake callipers that slow the bicycle down by clamping onto a metal disc are called disc-brakes.
A majority of bikes will have two brakes, one on the front and one on the back wheel. The rule of thumb is that the back brake is for speed control and slowing down, while the front brake is for stopping.
When the brake lever is pulled, it activates the brake calliper, which clamps down on the wheel rim or disc with brake pads. These replaceable brake pads help slow down the wheels' speed and bring the rider to a complete stop.
Unlike gear shifters which have a push-and-click action to change gear, brake levers need gentle squeezing. The same speed and pressure applied to the brake lever apply to the wheels, so you don't want to pull too hard or fast; otherwise, you'll come to a very sudden stop!
Being comfortable to use the brakes to slow down and come to a complete stop can take a little practice. The first thing to consider is hand positioning. When riding a bike, it's common practice to rest the index finger on the brake lever; this is called 'covering the brakes'. When using the brake levers, a child should only need to use their index fingers and not their whole hand, as this can cause a loss of balance. With a child covering the brakes as they ride, they are stable to maintain balance and speed control.
Find a quiet area away from traffic to practise braking skills. To slow down and come to a controlled stop, begin applying the back brake for slowing down before gently applying the front brake to come to a complete stop. (In the UK we ride with the back brake on the left-hand side and the front on the right-hand side. This is the same in Japan and Australia too. But most other countries ride with the brakes set up the other way around, so the back brake is on the right-hand side and the front on the left).
Have the child begin pedalling at a slow and steady pace, then have them gently squeeze the back brake to see how that feels for them.
Then repeat this time, gently using the front brake only and seeing what difference they feel. It's important to note that pulling on the front brake lever too quickly will abruptly stop the front wheel from turning, which can propel the rider forward - this is the number one cause of going over the handlebars, which is why it's recommended to use both brakes!
It's important to note that if it's raining or the road is wet, take extra care when braking. However, with practice, a child will be able to brake, slow down and come to a controlled stop with confidence. For further support with teaching a child to ride a bike independently, and with confidence, contact our friends at Bikeability at www.bikeability.org.uk who will be happy to assist.
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