I am over here in the states and its hard to find real world feedback as distribution here is relatively new. here is my question….

my twin boys are 8. one child measures 127cm tall and 59cm inseam, the other child measures 129cm tall and 61cm inseam.

we have pretty rocky terrain here in the texas hill country. can get technical with large rock gardens, steep climbs, and rocky descents. the boys love it but their current bikes are holding them back.

looking at the islabike beinn 24 but want to make sure that its the right siz for them. i have seen the size charts and i cant help but think that they are really close to the minimum for the 26 small beinn, but given our terrain perhaps the smaller bike will be better for them. really just looking for some feedback here regarding how these bikes fit. i have read somewhere that they run a bit small and can be sized up but all of the 26″ bikes i have seen for kids look too big for my 8 yr olds.

thanks for the help!

My kids have had a few islabikes. Your kids sound a little small for the 26. If you want to ride them off road properly they will find them very unwieldy. The 26 will be sized more like a hybrid than a mountain bike, fine if you stick to non technical riding. I got my 8 yr old an orbea mx team with 24″ wheels which he can ride hard and jump well. The Isla 24″ bike sizes up smaller than most brands equivalent wheel size.

we have had loads of Islabikes. Youngest son is also 8, and quite tall at around 132. We sold his Islabike 24 a few weeks ago and put him onto his brother’s 26 small. The 24 was still ok, but he fits the 26 well, with about 10cm of seatpost out. He prefers the 26 as it rolls better on bumpy stuff. He isnt stretched out at all on it.

Here is the 8 yr old a few months ago, height probs 130, on his 24 :

Cheers

thanks for the response…that 24 looks so little compared to other 24’s i have seen. do you have a pic of your 8 yr old riding the 26? honestly i have been looking for a picture of exactly that to get a idea of scale.

thanks!

My daughter is 7 and she went from the Beinn 20 straight to the 26 small. 24 a waste of time IMO. 26 will last her for ages. I don’t have her to hand to get measurements but I’d not bother with the 24 if I was you.

Here’s a video of her riding it last weekend.

hi, I dont have a pic of the 8 yr old on the bigger one, but here’s his brother, who is 11 and 145cm on the 26. The seatpost is at it’s maximum extension.

He is now too big for it, hence it going to the 8 yr old.

here, though is the now 11 yr old, a week after his 8th birthday, on the 26 having just got it. I’d say he was about 125 – 130cm tall at that time

looks like your 8 yr old is managing that bike pretty well.

just curious, how wide of a mtb tire can fit in the 26 small? islabike is stating 1.95 but others have reported using 2.1

just curious, how wide of a mtb tire can fit in the 26 small? islabike is stating 1.95 but others have reported using 2.1

I think a 2.1 would be too tight. Ours has a set of 1.8 Fire XC Pro’s which are ideal. Also have some slicks and small block 8’s

ajc,

i have also been looking at the orbea. that may be a better option as it is sized a bit larger and will be more nimble on our trails.

hmmm, I’m surprised by those pics of fairly small kids managing the 26 so well. My son’s mate had a 26″ Beinn earlier this year. He was 9 and pretty tall for his age. The 26″ Beinn was categorically too big for mountain biking for him. Even with the thinnish tyres.

^^^ mine is on a 26 small and its ideal for him at 8 and a bit and 132 cm heigtht. You can see from the last pic though that older boy, at aged 8 and a day or so, and probably 5cm shorter, had post right down. Handling fine on trail centre blue type stuff and bumpier singletrack.

Here’s eldest, who as I say is average height for age, at age 9.5, on 26 small :

The orbea with Ali fork is a really nice bike and comes with deore 10 speed. Isla bike mountain bike for kids your age has 24″ wheels, it’s just the bein that has 26″ wheels. If I get round to it I’ll post some pics of my 7yr old clearing table tops on his orbea. There is no way he could ride like that on a 26″ wheeled bike.

It seems Isla have stopped selling the 24″ mountain bike, I think it was the Craig. No surprise as it was the best part of £700.

I’ve got 2.1 Smallblock 8s on my son’s Bienn 24 if that helps the tyre size debate.

how does the bienn do with the MTB tires on rough rocky terrain in general?

i know alot of people say that front suspension doesnt work well for kids and is not really needed.

i am also considering the trek 24 superfly disc. reasonably light at 26lb but a nice package.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/collections/kids/superfly_24_disc/

any thoughts?

how does the bienn do with the MTB tires on rough rocky terrain in general?

Well our eldest (8) gets round Dalby (blue and selected red bits) ok on the 2.1s with very low pressures – think fat bike.

But I wouldn’t take him to the Alps on it.

i know alot of people say that front suspension doesnt work well for kids and is not really needed.

I got him a Stinky 2-4 second hand on here for the Alps and to be fair the stock coil suspension on it didn’t really work at his weight. Swapped some Reba air forks on to it (basically at atmospheric pressure with the rebound wound right off) and found a secondhand RP2 for £50. I’ll keep the stock suspension for when he gets bigger.

i am also considering the trek 24 superfly disc. reasonably light at 26lb but a nice package.

The Stinky (36lbs as stock) is 29lbs in big three Alpine mode with air suspension and a couple of upgrades, so 26lbs isn’t that light for a hardtail. – but probably respectable. Fork is not spectacular but OK, but a triple chainset is probably overkill for a child – 1x is far simpler for a child to get their head round. 11-36 1×10 would probably be my choice if I was buying from scratch, but wide ratio 1×7 would be fine.

1) I can say with confidence he needed the suspension in Les Gets but not in Dalby.
2) Suspension can work for children, but it needs to be decent suspension and probably better than comes on most children’s bikes.
3) if you want similar performance to your bike, you’re probably going to have to spend more on an 8 year old’s bike than your own – lightness and low friction counts and costs. But bargin bins (children need odd sizes compared to adults) and secondhand (children grow out of things fast) are your friends. And if you have two children who’ll use it in turn spending wisely on quality is probably worth it.

well, i really appreciate all the info! you brits are some fine folks. i have pulled the trigger on the new giant xtc sl 24

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/xtc.sl.jr.24/18806/76255/

has some nice parts….hydraulic disc brakes, air suspension with lockout, decent drivetrain, trigger shifters. probably room to improve for sure down the line but got 15% off and went ahead with it. dealer weighed it at 27lbs.

the more i thought about it the more i realize that lots of our trails are pretty hairy and my kids are really liking the “big drops”. i think this is going to be a killer bike for them.

thanks again y’all! (had to throw in some texas lingo at least once)

Go 1×8 knock a pound off the weight. Remember to shorten the chain

^^^seems difficult to find a 1x crankset with short cranks…..any suggestions?

Well the inexpensive option is just remove the unnecessary rings – combined with front mech, cables shifters and the shorter chain required you will save around a pound maybe more.

More expensive option? Well XO carbon DH cranks are available (often remaindered) in 165mm…

Others have used BMX cranks which you can get in some very short lengths – mainly you’ll be glad to know in the States.

glad you got sdorted, nice looking bike. Without wanting to be negative, it is pretty heavy, 6 pounds over the Islabike 26, but I’m sure they’ll get used to it.

Its very hard to beat Islabikes on the weight advantage. Our eldest has grown out of his 26 as mentioned earlier and it’s been a real challenge to get him next stage of bike, at a decent weight and not silly price. I do now have for him, tucked away awaiting Christmas morning unveiling, as 2015 Cube Acid 27.5 though 🙂

i am curious as to your thoughts about the tradeoff of weight savings vs lower gearing on climbs. we have a good bit of short steep sections on our trails. the middle ring on the giant is 32t and the cassette is 11-34 9 speed.

would i want to modify the cassette to get a lower gear out of it? honestly i think when my kids are in the thick of it they will struggle to find the right gear quickly enough. the 1x setup seems like something that they will have more success with but its some of the climbs i worry about.

You are right. They will struggle on climbs with 1×9, though you might put a 30t middle ring on to help (not common but available), but depending on age / aptitude they won’t master the 3x bit of the 3×9 and they’ll still struggle on climbs. In the meantime 1×9 is lighter and easier for a child to handle.
If they’re already confident with gears, try the 3×9.

interesting question. 32 x 34 on a 27 pound kids bike ? My Soul is 2×10 with lowest being 34 x 36, so much the same gearing and the bike is 26 pounds. I can get up most stuff but I’m fairly fit and 12.5 stone 🙂 for kids though it’s not so much about the gearing as they dont IMO really have the endurance to puff away in a low gear sitting down. I find that the best way to get mine up steep stuff is to get them out the saddle, and try a countdown from 10, on basis that by zero they are at the top, or off walking…

Agreed – with one proviso.

They have more endurance than they realise. You can normally talk them up stuff (literally) that they refuse to believe they can ride.

It seems Isla have stopped selling the 24″ mountain bike, I think it was the Craig. No surprise as it was the best part of £700.

Damn, does that mean the second hand value will be through the floor?

Or alternatively through the roof. Anyone wanna buy a boutique almost unique Islabike?

igm,

what about adding a 36 or 38 cog to the cassette?

Smaller chainring is normally cheaper and due to the reduced number of links on chain you need lighter.

It you want extra gearing range the bigger sprocket on the cassette is the way to go though.

Don’t over think it though. See how they do with the stock bike and take it from there one change at a time.

You can normally talk them up stuff (literally) that they refuse to believe they can ride.

indeed, very much agree with that, I tend to sit behind and coax loudly – have seen that get them past folk on some quite steep things as long as not too long an effort required.