my 8 yr old is growing out of his Islabikes Beinn 20 large and his wee bro’ has his beady eyes on it 😛

so I am deliberating between these 2 :

http://www.cubecycles.co.uk/cube_en/kid-bikes/cube-team-kid-260-2011.html

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn26.html

any experience of the Cube ? We have 2 Islabikes already, so know how good they are. The Cube will look nicer to an 8 yr old, has a good spec, is a bit cheaper…..but, 2.4kg heavier, which is a lot for a wee guy. Also will have a higher standover due fork, but will hopefully get him a sit on one in a shop…

Think you’re right about the weight there, the Cube is only 600g lighter than my Fritzz!

That’s quiet a jump from a 20″ wheel to 26″

My 10 yr old girl has just made the move from a Beinn 24 to a 26″ MTB. Thought about Islabikes, but then spent a bit less on a second hand Cannondale in small.

If you’re keen on him getting on 26″ wheels look out some of the 14″ MTB’s in the second hand market.

Hi Nik – yeah, I have though of 2nd hand, but the Islabikes has short cranks, short reach levers etc. I actually sat him on the 26 small at Glentress a few months ago and size was almost fine, so should fit by this spring

I’m in a similar position, kid growing out of Beinn 20 with another boy growing in to it. Didn’t consider the cube but the specialized hotrock 24″ and one of the Scotts were on the list. Think I may stick with the Islabike although it lacks essential street cred.

I got my son a Cube260 for his 9th birthday as an upgrade from a Ridgeback MX20, even though I’m fairly committed to Islabikes. It is fairly heavy, but no more so than other non-Islabike kids cycles, and its got upgradeable features like disk mounts etc. He didn’t want the Beinn 26 and there’s no point in getting them something they don’t like.

It’s good him having a bike with directly swappable parts and tyres with one of my bikes – he has a selection of road and off-road tyres for it simply because they are the ones I have lying around. Crudcatchers also can be shared between us.

Luckily he loves it – we’ve done Cannock Chase a few times on it and plan to take a trip to Cwmcarn soon.

Hope this helps

Funny, I have exactly the same issue, going from Beinn 20 for 8 year old (turning 9). Decided last night to go for the Cube, but the 24″ wheel version for now. As much as I like Islabikes, once you get above 20″ wheel they really lose out in the style stakes IMO.

Looks pretty good I reckon. Better with the stem flipped and dropped and some flat bars and micro bar ends put on 😉 Might have to lose the reflectors too…..

My 9 year old has had a Bein small for a year now, and he immediatly rode a hell of a lot further than he did on his heavy old 24″ Raleigh thing. The frame is a nice piece of kit, the gearing suits him as well as everything else you mention size wise.

Have put some old sus forks on, riser bars from the spares bin and may consider a triple in the future, I reckon it is going to last a lot longer than his previous bikes.

Other thing about Isla’s to consider is the re-sale value.

If he is just going to ride XC then go with the isla bike, my sond distance riding went backwards when he jumped up to a heavy bike. The isla bikes are light.

Islabikes don’t help themselves by putting photos with slicks on the website. As soon as you get the Contis on they look fine.
I was wondering about getting some 24″ sus forks this year to go on the Beinn 24, but they all tend to be a bit jumpy and heavy at that size.

If I had a 8 yr old lad he’d be on a race BMX, pure and simple.

Went down to the track the other day to practice on my new cruiser and some of the young lads were excellent – really good skills. Give them another 5 years and they’ll be absolutely cracking riders.

Agree with AlexSimon

Jessie’s new Islabike Beinn by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

We looked at something for my 9 (nearly 10) year old daughter to move onto from a 254in spesh hardrock. This is significantly lighter, better spread of gear s and has many nice touches for kids.

She loves it, and Isla talked us out of the suspension forked one because of the weight. We’ll be doing the FODCA trail as soon as it dries out and I don’t expect the bike to be holding her back!

My son has just turned 10, and he has now got a beinn 26, we went to islabikes to get him fitted up properly, and he loves it, his confidence is alot better on the bike, and he rides along for miles happy now, and finds it alot easier.
Only draw back is the standard tires, but he soon claimed a pair of ralphs i wasnt using, and now thinks he would like a suspension fork!

funny – I was just about decided on the Cube till I saw those last few posts…..Alex – it’s the red with knobblies we’d be going for, that one looks great in the snow 🙂 – looking at the pics side by side it even ‘looks lighter’ than the Cube.

Missus also pointed out that the Cube is maybe a bit blingy looking if he out in the street with his mates and might get the wrong attention.

grrrrrr decisions !

What about Scott Scale 24″??? I got one for my girl and its a great little bike

What about Scott Scale 24″???

I reckon he is tall enough for a 26 now and doing that will have more compatability with wheels, tyres etc

If that was me a XS frame would be fine, I cant wait until she’s big enough for a XS frame, At least it opens up most bikes… So I can buy more bike bits…WOOHOO

Thanks for all the advice.

got him a shop demo on a Cube for sat afternoon, will see how it fits and weight feels – 29 pounds though vs the Islabike at 24….

i’d go for the isla bikes he’s better off on a lighter bike. it has 26 inch wheels so you can improve it with your old kit and the option to fit a sus fork is there if you want/need it.

well, had a look at the Cube, he fits on it ok, and absolutley loves it. It is pretty heavy though, so still undecided………

…+1 for Spesh Hardrocks.
My son had a 20″ and a 24″ – both were great. Thrashed but still looked great and never let us down (plus good residuals!)! 😀

At that age 24″ wheels would be better.

My son had the Trek 220 at 8 (which we still have), and at 12 is still on 24″ wheels (Norco FS and Dr Jekell 4x bike – although both have 26″ air forks on).

tbh its just an extra tube in the camelbak.

I also spent a fair bit of cash just knocking weight off all his bikes, with my hand-me-downs and good ‘buys’.

Thnaks all. Beinn 26 small just ordered 😛

Good plan 🙂

Alex – it was those snow pics of yours that sold him on it !!!

cheers

Glad to have been of service 🙂 My daughter loves hers and is bugging me constantly to get out. We’ve been getting very muddy! Looking forward to it drying up a bit, so we can have our first dad/daughter trip around the Freeminers (was FODCA) trail in the spring.

Hope your lad enjoys it as much!