Frog Bikes – a stylish new brand of lightweight bikes for children
What would make a couple with a young family decide to create a new kids’ bike company? Aren’t there lots of kids’ bikes on the market already? Isn’t there a recession on?
Well, Jerry and Shelley Lawson had two young kids, and lots of friends with young kids. And they had a garage full of super-lightweight adult bikes (mostly in Jerry’s size), and realised that most cycling parents want their children to enjoy cycling as much as they do. It’s a perfect family activity after all, but much less fun when the shorter members of the party are complaining that their legs hurt and they need a push up the hills.
So the ambition was born, over lunch in the village pub, to create a high-quality all aluminium bike for kids, and to make it super-light. Jerry scoured the Far East for a manufacturer who would make superb aluminium frames in smaller sizes, and he combined these with the best branded components: Tektro brakes with small handles, easy-twist Shimano gears, shorter cranks, softer handlebar grips – all the while trying to keep the weight down as far as possible.
Meanwhile Shelley (whose marketing background had been very much in the background since the kids arrived) started to create the brand to support the bikes – and Frog began to take shape. Why “Frog”? Well, quite simply it’s a name that makes people smile! It’s highly visual, memorable, and seems to appeal to both boys and girls without being too young or patronising.
When the first prototype bikes arrived from the factories, the couple’s children, Oscar and Emily, were very keen to put them through their paces – as were their friends. They loved taking the bikes to the park with local photographer-friend Jo Scott, and quickly got the hang of posing for the cameras. Frog has become a large part of family life of course, and the kids come along to trade fairs and race events and will hand out leaflets and chat to anyone who shows a passing interest. In fact, at break-time Oscar’s school friends have helped him create posters to advertise the benefits of Frog!
The very popular spotty Frog 55
And it’s not just the kids’ friends who have been keen to help. Jerry and Shelley are lucky that many of their cycling friends have the skills that every new business needs: a lawyer, a book-keeper, a graphic designer, and even a biomechanics lecturer have all have lent their services since the beginning.
It seems parents have long been looking for an affordable and lightweight bike for the kids that’s as well specc’d as their own, and the funky colours and spots make them an instant hit with the kids. It was an exciting day when the family was visiting friends in Wimbledon and spotted a boy cycling towards them on a Frog bike. Now every time they walk past a bike rack, Emily scours it for a Frog bike – and hopes that one day all the bikes will be Frogs!
Take a look at all the great Frog Bikes we stock at The Little Bike Company – all our bike descriptions come with a handy inside leg measurement so you can buy a bike online for your child with confidence that you have the right size.