Here we chat with Karen Gee, the Founder of family cycling website, Cycle Sprog, about how things got started.
Tell us about yourself
I’m the co-founder and co-owner of Cycle Sprog, the family cycling website.
My husband Chris and I have two teenage sons, the original Cycle Sprogs. As we live in Kendal, just on the edge of the Lake District, we’re blessed with amazing road, gravel and mountain biking, but also lots of hills. I love all three types of riding, but in more recent years have been mainly riding my road bike because it is less hassle getting ready and cleaning up afterwards.
Professionally, I began my career as an IT developer in the insurance industry and later moved into a project management role. I set up Cycle Sprog alongside this career, but over the years, it started to take up increasing amounts of my time until it became clear I needed to stop trying to do everything myself and build a team to allow the business to reach its full potential.
I’m also an active travel campaigner and am currently one of the local representatives of the Bicycle Mayor of Cumbria.
Cycle Sprog has become a go-to resource for families. Could you share the journey that led you to create this platform?
My parents weren’t cyclists, so after the obligatory tiny bike on which I learnt to pedal, I didn’t ride again until I was about 14, when I asked for money for Christmas and birthdays to fund my first bicycle.
Once I experienced the joy and freedom that the bike gave me, I was hooked! For years, I rode for both transport and leisure, but when I became a mum, I had no idea that you could cycle with a little one, probably because I’d never seen anyone doing it.
I carried on cycling as a form of exercise (even taking up triathlons during my maternity leave to prove I was more than just “mummy”), but always left my son at home during these me-times. One day, a friend, who had been a keen long-distance cyclist before we met at post-natal class, excitedly turned up at my house with her daughter in their brand-new rear bike seat. That moment changed my life forever. Chris and I immediately bought a similar seat, which allowed us to cycle all our local journeys and get out for two-wheeled adventures as a family at weekends.
When we had our second child, we were determined to keep riding and discovered that double trailers existed. However, we soon learnt that kids keep growing and that you must keep on upgrading!
At this time, there was very little information on the internet about cycling with young children, and product ranges were limited. One night, I was searching for (and failing to find) a pair of tiny winter cycling gloves for my youngest son.
I turned to Chris and said, “There really needs to be a website for busy parents like me who just want to know what kit they need, and where to buy it”. He, very unhelpfully, said, “Well, why don’t you set one up then?” My response isn’t printable, but I strongly reminded him that I had a stressful job, two children under the age of 5, and I didn’t know anything about cycling with kids, and I just wanted someone else to do it!
However, the seed of the idea was sown, and it was clear no one else was going to suddenly write the website I wanted. I decided to start documenting what we were learning about equipment for pulling and carrying kids to help the next set of parents coming along.
Chris and I spent about 6 months writing our initial content and getting the website set up before pressing the publish button on Cycle Sprog on 14th May 2012. Initially, it was just my mum reading what we were writing, but over time, we started to attract like-minded cycling parents, and it just kept on growing.
I thought we’d stop when the boys were both able to pedal unaided, but then I discovered the challenges of choosing kids’ bikes, and it was clear we needed to carry on.
Incredibly, Cycle Sprog became a teenager earlier this year. Over the past thirteen years, we’ve grown from a small blog to the trusted voice for parents wanting honest, jargon-free information about kids’ bikes and family cycling equipment, along with practical advice and inspiring stories about cycling with children of all ages and abilities.
Cycle Sprog team
What are some of the most common misconceptions or challenges you see parents facing when trying to get their kids involved in cycling?
Thankfully, parents are now much more aware that you can cycle with young children. Even so, the early years of parenthood are tough, expensive and often pass in a blur. Many parents will struggle with understanding what equipment they need and how to get started. Once Cycle Sprog has explained the various options – either via our online guides, masterclasses or live events – we usually find parents who are confident cyclists are keen to get their set-up sorted and start sharing their love of cycling with their new family. It’s a bit harder to convince those who weren’t regular cyclists before to invest, which is why rental schemes and family cycling libraries are such a good idea.
When it comes to kids’ bikes, it’s still frustrating how many parents still don’t understand the benefits of a lightweight, well-designed child’s bike. It breaks my heart when someone tells me their child doesn’t enjoy cycling and they’re not going to bother buying them the next size bike.
I always discover that the unfortunate child has been struggling on a heavy toy bike that they can barely lift or move (often with stabilisers). I never get bored of receiving emails from parents telling me that when they invest in a lightweight bike, they suddenly pedal off into the distance and can’t stop riding!
Cycle Sprog reviews a wide range of children’s bikes and cycling gear. From your perspective, what are some key features or innovations that manufacturers should be focusing on to better serve the needs of young cyclists and their families?
One thing I’ve noticed after over a decade in and around the cycling industry is that, for some manufacturers, meaningful improvements to their junior ranges – or even the decision to launch them – often only happen when someone in a position of influence becomes a parent themselves and suddenly sees the untapped potential.
We therefore see most innovation coming from specialist suppliers who are obsessed with understanding the challenges of cycling with children, such as the disruption that happens after each growth spurt (and the inevitable costs involved in upgrading equipment).
To get more families and kids cycling, especially when the parents aren’t already regular riders, the industry needs to tackle concerns around safety, cost, complexity and lack of mechanical know-how. I’m always very excited to see products and services that address those pain points.
Reducing jargon, making kit easier to test-ride and purchase, and ensuring it’s simple to use, maintain and service are all crucial steps in encouraging families to start – and keep – cycling, whether for leisure or everyday transport.
Beyond product reviews, Cycle Sprog also focuses on inspiring families to cycle. What role do you believe the cycling industry can play in promoting a culture of cycling as a family and making it more accessible to a wider audience?
Even if your business doesn’t sell products aimed at families or children, it’s worth remembering that today’s children are tomorrow’s adults – and customers.
Encouraging children to cycle now helps nurture a lifelong love of riding, while also ensuring a robust future for the cycling industry. You don’t need to be a family-focused brand to effect change, and actions like sponsoring your local junior cycle club, teaching kids to maintain their bikes, or funding a school bike shed can all deliver benefits that pass down through generations.
Those with junior and family-focused products have a crucial role to play in normalising family cycling and making it feel both aspirational and accessible. A key part of this is representation – you can’t be what you don’t see.
If we want more children and families to view cycling as a natural part of life, we need to see more marketing and media campaigns that reflect real families riding together, in all their diversity.
If you can make a time-poor parent’s life simpler and tell them which product will suit their needs and exactly how to use it, they’ll buy it! Parents don’t have time to be researching for hours and understanding the complex world of compatibility – solve their problems for them, they’ll buy and tell all their parent friends you were helpful!
It’s also worth noting that many purchasing decisions within families are driven by mothers.
We know that existing cyclists are more likely to buy when they become parents, so if the cycling industry wants guaranteed future customers, they need to be encouraging more girls and young women to see cycling as something that’s for them now, before they become the mums of the future.
Cycle Sprog Kids Bike Search
How has your background in IT and project management influenced your approach to building and managing Cycle Sprog, and what advice would you give to others in the cycling industry looking to effectively leverage their own digital platforms?
Thankfully, my background in IT wasn’t highly relevant, as I used to code large mainframes for an insurance company, which is a million miles away from the technology involved in running a website about kids’ bikes! I therefore rely on external expertise to build and support our platforms, which frees me up to work on strategy and content. Had it been otherwise, I’d probably have got bogged down in the coding and never built Cycle Sprog to what it is today.
However, my IT background does come in useful when we’re assessing options for a new solution or having to re-platform from one supplier to another. One lesson I’ve learnt is that the nirvana of a one-size-fits-all tech solution that runs your entire business for you doesn’t exist, and instead, it’s the connections between the different platforms that are important.
The role of a project manager is a bit like that of an orchestra’s conductor – you need to get all the members of the project team working together to deliver the whole.
As a small business owner, especially in the early days, you find yourself not only as the conductor, but also composing the music, playing all the instruments, selling the tickets, showing the audience to their seats and clearing up afterwards! That’s why collaborations and partnerships have been so important over the years, as has been building up the Cycle Sprog team.
Realising I need help on something and finding the right person to assist has been crucial, but I’m sure I’m not the first entrepreneur to find it hard to let go of something that you’ve poured so many years of your life into. My fabulous team does a great job of reminding me to delegate and trust!
From your perspective, what are some of the emerging trends in the children’s cycling market that businesses should be paying attention to?
Cargo bikes continue to grow in popularity, and in some parts of the UK, with decent infrastructure and a strong cycling culture, there’s a move beyond the early adopters towards cargo bikes being seen as a viable alternative to daily car journeys. Products and services will be required to support this growing trend.
One recent development that the rest of the cycle industry could learn from is the new MIK HD system, which is making it much easier to fit a rear bike seat and other accessories with a single click and is compatible across brands. Could standardising things to make it easier for the customer to understand, retailers to sell, and mechanics to maintain ever be a way forward for the wider cycling industry?
Building Cycle Sprog as an independent publisher, what role has industry support played in your journey? What does it mean to you, and what’s the importance of getting industry support as a small publisher in the cycling space?
Over the years, we have built many strong relationships, especially with other businesses which have parents as their core customer base. We’re all passionate about getting more kids onto bikes, so support each other as our businesses evolve.
Because Cycle Sprog is trusted by parents to recommend cycling products, and we love geeking out over new kit, it’s a win-win situation!
We also try to do our bit to support others and run a networking event called “Lunch Time with Cycle Sprog” to support individuals who either work or volunteer to get more kids and families cycling. It’s great to see people making connections, gaining inspiration and learning new skills.
However, there’s no denying that life as a small independent publisher is very tough, especially at the moment, and I really appreciate those in the cycling industry who realise the value in nurturing the next generation of cyclists and support us either through investing their marketing budget with us or spreading the word about what we do.
