Thinking of getting my daughter one for Xmas. Before I splash the cash should I check out any alternatives.

Have to say I like the look of this bike but it will need a raid on her savings account as well.

seem to get nothing but rave reviews and the fitting service (if your localish) is supposed to be well worth it, though may spoil any surprise.
Recommended them to my m8 and he's off there this saturday with his daughter.
Couple of useful thread linked to the tags above.

There is a load of reviews in I think this months what mountain bike. Islabikes came out on top with if i remember right scott coming second, wasn't my mag so can't refer to it. If she like her cycling then Isla bikes is the way to go IMO have a cnoc 16 for my little un absolutly fantastic.

we have 2 benins 24 and 26 inch wheels and our friends have the cnoc asbolutley great light and tough great service and helpful, our friend kids are both on real bikes no stabilisers at 3 and flying along

Isla Bikes – no alternative hold the value too for selling on eBay when the nipper outgrows alternatively they will px. Quality does not come cheap.

Isla bikes quality child friendly bikes with excellent resale values. I guarantee you will have no problem selling one on e bay when your daughter has grown out of it. I have bought and sold 3 now and always done very well when selling on.

Another vote for Isla Bikes here. Awesome!

Yep. Islabikes are fabulous.

Got my son a ridgeback MX20 which was 'best of the rest', but only coz I'd not heard of Isla when I bought it.

My son has a Beinn. Really nice bike.

Before that he had a Gary Fisher which is also worth a look. Not as light but well designed.

Went over there a few weeks ago. Great service, they even have a little test track out back. Really helpful & enthusiastic staff. Not cheap but the afore mentioned resale values mean they should work out cheaper in the long run. Had looked at £105 Raleigh jobbie for my eldest, but the Cnoc 16 was half the weight & £30 more. Got the younger one a Rothan also, to get him started. Hadnt intended to, but as soon as we walked in he was smitten. Was an expensive afternoon…!!!

Got a cnoc14 in September for the wee man's 3rd birthday. He's been on an 'early rider' like-a-bike since 2 and has just started peddling on his own on the cnoc…

Can't fault the islabike quality. I have no idea how old ours is – got it on Ebay for about 2/3 of the new price. It'll do kiddo #2 as well..

Got a Rothan when my daughter was 2.5yo, she was going well on it in no time at all. Moved onto the Cnoc 14 when she was 3.5yo and able to fit it with the seat at the lowest setting. She took off on it quite quickly by herself and I still have a chuckle to myself when people do a double take and ask where the stabilisers are. Well worth the money and my next daughter is just starting out on the Rothan and it still looks like new.

I don't think I've ever seen a negative post about Islabikes on here.

Not the cheapest, but great value for what you get.

On the Cnoc14, did a 1km ride at 3year 4 months, having started on the Rothan. Nice kit, well thought out and just look at what the did with Tektro as a kid's V-brake lever – lovely.

We've had 7 in our household – one still being used, & the others gathering dust. One got ridden to destruction by my eldest. Top bikes, but am expecting a discount on my next purchase! 🙂

OK, so here's a negative post on Islabikes……

Their tiny bikes are the best around, and I've just picked up a Rothan for my youngest.

But – the bigger bikes just LOOK rubbish to me. I know they are light and well made, but they look "geeky".
For bigger bikes I settled for Giant, or Specialized as they are about the same weight and function but look much better.

Once the wheels get to 26, surely it's better to buy second hand off the classifieds and get a proper MTB? – Just picked up a mint Commencal for my eldest for 200 notes.

It is surely important for the kids to want to be seen on the bikes and not be left with "suspension envy" of the halfords crap their friends have.

Oh, and before anyone says I am by no means a bike snob, and for me I definately go for funcion and price over looks.

For bigger bikes I settled for Giant, or Specialized as they are about the same weight and function but look much better

From this month's WMB

* Specialized P1 AM: 31.1 pounds
* GT Outpost 24: 31.3 pounds
* Trek 4300 Disc: 31.1 pounds

* Islabike Beinn 26: 22.9 pounds – AND the cheapest on test.

No contest on the weight front. A bike that weighs as much as a pretty heavy adults bike is going to put kids off, surely? Also, the suspension forks on many 'kids' bikes are sprung for adults and so largely useless when a kid is riding them. Also IMHO, kids should learn to ride rigid before moving on to suspension.

The only negative I've ever heard about Islabikes – and this is hearsay – is that if you put your own suspension forks on them, they won't honour the frame warranty.

DoctorRad – I'm not going to enter into an arguement as I know there are many die hard Islabikes fans.

I would not consider any of the above mentioned bikes in the test as a reasonable alternative to the islabikes.
If you read my post I said get second hand off the classifieds.

I got a Commencal normal for 200 notes that has lightly sprung forks and weighs about 26 pounds although I've not put it on the scales.

For 24 inch wheels I got a Spec hotrock that has forks sprung for a 10 yr old, and my daughter comfortably bottoms them out a couple of times a ride.

I agree with the rigid for learning comment, but by the time mine got to 24 inch wheels and above they were doing trail centre blue routes and wanting to learn how to do drop-offs, etc. At this stage rigids are not really suitable (for my kids anyway).

Chris….Isla does a 26" kids bike with good suspension forks

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/creig26.html

Won best kids bike last year in WMBike I think…..you get what you pay for.

Just bought another Beinn 20 for my middle un, his older brother just loves his Islabike…..mgets uch more bike envy than any Halfords over-done tat, not least from the other dads! SRAM gears "just like Dad's"….they love that.

@chriswilk – fair points all, sounds like your kids are more confident and able than my super-tall 7-year-old stepson who's just gone up to a 24" wheeled Islabike and is loving it.

Our two kids (just under 2, and 3 1/2 at the time) got a Rothan and Cnoc last Christmas- initally the youngest was put out because his didn't have pedals, and we had a lot of scrapping for a while. Subsequently his older sister has discovered that her Cnoc won't go anywhere near the same places as the Rothan due to the one gear limitation and her strength- she's pretty restricted in muddy stuff, slopes etc- where the boy can stay on and 'walk' the bike, she has to get off and drag the bike up- or rather I do. So now we have fighting over the balance bike… I'm going to have to take the cranks off the cnoc I think. Don't underestimate the power of the Rothan.
Best feature of the bikes imo though is the durability- they're the same as adult bikes in this regard, nothing broken after a year of behaviour like this..

+1 for Islabikes.

I've just bought my neice a Beinn for her birthday and she loves it. Her older brother has a a Halfords special with all the useless suspension tat. Both children are under no illusion which one is the better bike.

We hired a 26" Beinn for my lad at Glentress. Had the good sus and disc brakes etc. He loved it and I was going to get him one for Xmas until I discovered it was a £600 bike!

Thanks for all the comment and based on that I've ordered her the Beinn 26" small. If service on the phone is anything to go by we will be very happy.

I've just bought the little lady her first bike from them. A rothan. The quality of it is fantastic. Given the alternatives at the same price, there is just no comparison. A quality piece of kit!

I just wish they did 20" bikes with decent suspension. We had to get something else as the rigid fork wasnt really suited to the riding my son is doing.

vinnyeh – My three and a half year old also struggles to push the huge 32:18 gearing on his Cnoc 14. Which is why I shall be at my local bike shop getting a 20T freewheel fitted tomorrow. You can pick them up from £5-10 new if you don't mind low quality – and seeing as he'll have got the strength to push the 18T by summer that'll be going back on soon.
Relatively cheap and quick – worth a try if their struggling

I don't think you can go too wrong with Isla Bikes. My son has had a Cnoc 14 for about a year now, he has ridden it loads and it has has really not needed any maintenance, it is a quality bike.

igm, I know what you mean about the gearing, my son definitely struggled with it when he first got it, although he does seem to spin it out fairly easily too.

The only thing I have changed is the tyres. The standard ones where a bit too slick and he seemed to be struggling for grip when it go a bot slippy.

He is flying now:

good info here, my daughter, Isla, is 10 months, cant wait to get her first namesake bike 🙂