What is a ten-year-old doing on an adult bike?

Several manufacturers are competing on the market with (usable) bikes for children. When the young and wild get a little older and the search for a mountain bike for teenagers begins, the choice is slim. The British manufacturer Frog is now taking on teenagers - and building these bikes with some useful features.

An adult bike in size XS for an eight- or ten-year-old? According to children's bike specialist Frog, that's not a good idea. That's why Frog is building three bikes - the MTB 62, the MTB 69 and the MTB 72 - which are adapted for ages 8-10, 10-12 and 12-14 respectively.

Each bike has an air suspension fork on board, which should respond well and dampen impacts efficiently despite the low air pressure due to the low rider weight. It is also worth noting that the suspension forks have a lockout and, in particular, an adjustable rebound and compression stage.

The crank lengths are also customized to the anatomical dimensions of these age groups. For the bikes with 24 and 26 inch wheels, the scales remain between 11.3 and 11.5 kg - an acceptable value for having fun on the road. One way to achieve these weights is to cut back on the gearing: with 9 gears, this is not too wide-ranging, but naturally saves weight thanks to the single chainring.

www.frogbikes.ch