Loving this thread guys!! Just a quick question regarding the Isla wheels….. What are they like weight wise? I’ve been looking for some new wheels for my lads Core24.

Rear is 960g.

Dialled holeshot in short currently stashed in the loft

Gonna go 24″ then 26″ with it. Maybe respray – 130mm revs and crests etc.

I have been toying with the idea of finding a smaller 26/24″ frame rather than buying a kids specific one for my eldest’s next bike build, my only concern is reach, how does the holeshot measure up Vs something like a hotrock or blast 24 (both popular choices these days) or indeed an Isla?

Well, the Holeshot short is 21.5″ top tube c2c. His cannondale is 19″ and I would say it’s long for a 7 year old.

Not sure how the creig 24 measures up but I bet it’s near 18.5-19″. The holeshot is going to be a few years away yet – maybe 10 or 11th birthday. Thinking about it, the frame size is so small on the holeshot that we’ll probably just go straight to 26″ as long as he can cope with the reach.

I think on balance I probably will go for a kids specific frame, she’s almost 8 and no giant, I reckon she’ll maybe be on the 20″ wheels for another 8-10 months, but trying to stretch her to fit an XS adults frame will only put her off.

Cheers…

Cheers for that Rich_s….their roughly the same weight as his stock wheels so I will save his money to put towards a new build 26″.

Yeah, you can see why islabike’s sizing works so well – you can easily persuade yourself that they ‘need’ a new bike every year. He’s about right on his beinn small right now, so a beinn large would be worth considering. Except if we did that, he’d need to be on a 24 within another year… etc etc.

Bugger that. I remember being squeezed onto a Grifter waaaay before my time and having it for years. Kids of today, don’t know they’re born, etc

Looks great!

Gotta say it’s a bitch to wheelie (had to ride it to get the brakes bedded in!)

Yep the chain stays are super long … [430mm which is the same as my medium 27.5]

I’d Leave the 140s (I think they are about 142 in reality) for ages yet… quite probably until he outgrows the bike…
my nipper is just 130cm tall now and still running 140mm on his shortened Zee and it looks like he’ll need a longer seatpost for XC way before he needs longer cranks. They actually just seem to be about right at his current 130cm (4’3″) .. you can see on the picture how your lads knees are really high and the saddle slammed.

You will get the saddle up higher on the 140’s ..without him feeling stretched out .. buy a cheap QR seat clamp (Evans do their own 27.2) then his knees won’t be so high and he’ll also be much better positioned for climbing.

I think on balance I probably will go for a kids specific frame, she’s almost 8 and no giant, I reckon she’ll maybe be on the 20″ wheels for another 8-10 months, but trying to stretch her to fit an XS adults frame will only put her off.

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Last weekend I tried my 130cm (4’3″) on an adult XS and he’s miles away…I’d hoped to maybe jump with a bit of a compromise so he could get Fulll suspension for trail and occasional downhill uplift weekends before he was ideally suited but it wasn’t even close.