INDUSTRY INSIDERS
Tracking the progression and ideas behind some of the more innovative kids’ bike brands
Black Mountain Bikes is a team of designers, engineers and mad-keen cyclists that realised that when it came to children’s bikes there was a major issue… kids grow and their bikes don’t! We wanted a bike that would fit a rapidly growing child for at least two years.
Getting the correct fit is vital when a child is learning to ride – not only the frame size, but also the gearing. It needs to be easy to pedal at the beginning, then progress to a higher gear as the child gets stronger.
I started Black Mountain Bikes because I became really frustrated with what was available on the market. The initial idea came about back in 2010, after I’d bought my then five-year-old son a pretty terrible bike. I have a background in motorsport engineering, so decided that I could do a better job. In between the day job, I set to work making prototypes out of an eBay job-lot of old kids’ bikes and steel tubes, which were test-ridden by my kids.
We’ve totally revolutionised kids’ bike design by designing for growing young riders, not just miniaturising an adult’s bike. We’ve ditched the traditional diamond-shaped frame that you see on most children’s bikes and have created a super-lightweight bike that starts out as a balance bike (Mode 1), then you swap out the balance seat tube for our pedal seat tube, which is supplied with the bike. This turns the bike into a small pedal bike (Mode 2). You then move a few bolts around and the bike grows into a large pedal bike (Mode 3). The bikes really are three bikes in one. When you swap between the small and large pedal modes, the gearing also changes. We have a pretty ingenious rear hub that allows you to switch between two gears as you change size. It’s a two-stage belt-drive system – a world first. You have to watch lots of kids on lots of bikes to see what’s important. They’re unlikely to be able to tell you. We get all the boring stuff right and hope they like the colours!
Feedback from kids is fundamental to our existence and design philosophy. When teaching my kids to ride balance bikes and pedal bikes, I observed all the stages and phases of rider development, and noted all the issues and shortcomings of the bikes they were using. I then set about designing a kids’ bike that was 100 per cent based around the growing, developing rider.
I think kids need more safe places to ride. Our local trail centre at the Forest of Dean is a great example. It has family trails, skills loops, a pump track and then all the ‘grown up’ forest loops and downhill tracks. There’s a clear and obvious route of progression there. It would be great to see more kids’ riding clubs, like the FoD’s Little Fodders group, in parks in towns and cities too.
The best way to keep kids interested in riding is to get out there with them. Keep it fun, keep it light. Don’t drag them around a 10-mile hilly loop if you know they aren’t going to enjoy it.
“the transition from a balance bike to pedalling is vital – which is why our bike converts from a balance bike to a pedal bike”