Frog 61

Everything about the Frog 61 is created for young cyclists from the geometry, the FrogFit gear shifters, easy-to-reach brake levers and the patented Frog crank arms. It's no wonder that it fitted our reviewers so well and left them with a riding experience that was massively confidence boosting and most importantly, fun.

One of the things that Frog focuses on is child-specific frame geometry – it's shaped to suit the physiology of children as they grow, rather than just being an adult's bike that's shrunk. That is what makes them so much fun to ride for kids.

The Frog 61 is designed for 8-10-year-olds, with a recommended inside leg of 57cm to 74cm (the Hybrid range runs from the Frog 53 to the Frog 78, and overall covers ages five to 13+).

My son Charlie and my daughter Isla spent many hours each on the Frog 61, and enjoyed it immensely. In fact, they have had quite a busy time of it lately, reviewing Boardman's JNR hybrid bikes in 24in and 26in wheel sizes,  plus the 24in Vitus Energie 24 Kids CX.

Actually, the most I got out of them about the Frog is that is had the most comfortable saddle and bar grips, but that's much the same kind of thing as when I ask, 'What did you do at school today?' every afternoon and get the reply: 'Nothing.' The way I look at it, if they're laughing and giggling, they're enjoying the bike. At nine and ten they don't care too much about geometry, compliance or lateral stiffness, but there was a lot of laughing and giggling.

They visibly had fun on it whether we were out on the back lanes for a ten-mile ride, meandering through the woods, or at the local park rolling over the pump track.

They both looked totally relaxed on it, and on technical parts (like the pump track) the geometry was obviously giving good balance and control to the rider. This was especially noticeable with the youngest, Isla, as she doesn't quite have the do-or-die bravado that Charlie has at times.

The heavily sloped top tube gives a low stand over height should they need to put a foot down, while the long wheelbase brings a confident feeling of stability.

With its short stem the Frog 61 keeps its riders quite upright, and spreads their weight evenly across the bike. That's ideal, as my kids don't tend to move in the saddle whether they are climbing or descending. Being balanced in this way seems to keep the steering quite neutral, even with that short stem, so when trying out new terrain or picking up speed my test pilots remained unflustered and calm as they looked ahead.

With its lightly-treaded tyres the Frog is happy to be ridden off-road as well as on, and even on loose sections of gravel or mud the bike remained stable and easy to control.

At 9.3kg it's light too, especially as that's for the complete build you see here. That may sound heavy compared to an adult's bike, but the Frog 61 definitely doesn't feel it. My kids have ridden various cheap steel bicycle-shaped-objects over the years, and they really are heavy – and that has a big impact on a child's enjoyment. If they can hop a bike up and down a kerb it gives them a bit of freedom, and it's the same when riding in the woods. Things like tree roots and ruts are no longer a hindrance.

The key point about the Frog is that it just works from a riding point of view. As long as it suits the corresponding leg size of your child, it will fit them like a dream, and they'll get so much fun out of it.

Frame and fork

The Frog uses heat-treated 6061 grade aluminium alloy for the frame and fork, which is great to see for this kind of price, and finish it in a range of six colours. The paint is super tough and highly durable; exactly what you want on a bike that is going to find itself rubber side up on a regular basis.

It's designed for V-brakes, so the wheels are running standard quick releases for retention, and you get a good selection of mounting points for accessories like water bottles on the down tube or full mudguards front and rear (these are even included).

You get a quick release seatclamp which helps adjustment mid-ride, and all of the cable routing runs externally for ease of fettling at home. It's actually quite a cool way to be able to show your child a bit of maintenance, too.

The bottom bracket is a standard threaded affair, and is a square taper design, which is again easy to swap with a few simple tools should the need arise.

Spec

The Frog uses some mix-and-match kit designed to suit children's hands and body shape. The shifters are youth-specific for easy control over the two thumb shifters under the flat, 500mm wide aluminium handlebar.

They run the eight-speed gears, which comprise an 11-32t cassette and a 32t chainring that's hidden behind a chain protector. Frog's website says the rear mech is Microshift, although the mech on our review bike was Shimano Altus.

The groupset worked really well, with light shifting and a good spread of gears for little legs when it comes to climbing.

The brakes are from Tektro – linear-pull 837 AL model calipers with JL510 levers – and suit small hands. Even with just two fingers they will haul the bike up quickly and controllably.

The saddle is Frog's own, and as my kids said, it's very comfortable.

The wheels feature Quando sealed hubs and 24in aluminium rims, and are laced together with 28 spokes. The build was strong enough for plenty of abuse, and I had no problems with either the front or rear running out of true.

The tyres are Kenda K1047 in a 1.5in width. The slightly knobbly 'small block' tread rolls fine on the road and works offroad primarily on dry surfaces, although they work okay on softer surfaces too. Puncture resistance seems fine, and we didn't have any issues.

Full mudguards are included, as are the pedals. In the accessories box you also get reflectors, paint plasters and frame protection stickers.

Value

The price for the 61 is £515. That may sound expensive against kids' bikes you can pick up from the big stores, but unlike those the design here is bespoke, the quality is excellent and the resale value of the Frog stays high. It's also not the most expensive thing out there – the Vitus Energie 24 Kids CX mentioned above, for instance is £599.99.

However, Vitus also does the 24 Kids Bike with flat bars for £329.99, or a 24+ version with much larger tyres and a frame designed for trail riding for £409.99.

The 24in Boardman JNR is £380, while the 26in version is £420.

Overall

It's a bit pricier than many we've reviewed recently, but the all-round package is very good indeed. The design and components are very well thought out – the finished product is a bike that gives a child a lot of fun and confidence.

Verdict

Awesome kid-friendly geometry and components paired to a high-quality frameset – it's a really fun ride