Bay-designed kids' bikes ready to roll

A NELSON Mandela Bay bicycle designer has branched out to create cycles for children, growing the business's footprint throughout South Africa.

The makers of well-known Port Elizabeth-designed Momsen Bikes, Two Wheels Trading, recently launched a new children's range of bicycles, which was designed, developed and tested in the city.

Muna Bikes marketing manager Evan Rothman said conceptualising for the alloy and steel bicycles took more than two years in planning, and to source the right suppliers in China to build them to the design specifications.

"They are quality bikes which are made to last, designed right here in the city.

"Muna means 'first'in Filipino, because it is meant to be a kid's first real bicycle," Rothman said.

The Muna Bikes warehouse in Greenbushes is stacked with the colourful boxes of the cycles, with different designs for boys and girls, destined for selected bike shops across the country.

A few orders will go to shops in other southern African countries and some had been shipped to the United States, Muna Bikes general manager Morne Knoetze said.

"We basically identified a gap in the market for decent, good quality push bikes for children. The bike is lightweight and nippy, and will not easily rust," Knoetze said.

The design of one of the cycles, the Pinkie, was inspired by Two Wheels Trading director Victor Momsen's daughter, Mia.

Two Wheel Trading is in Newton Park and distributes the Momsen Bike range to independent bicycle shops in South Africa. Last year it started exporting the Momsen bicycle frames to the US.