[Closed] Islabikes - are they really worth the money?

Here you go, Last weeks thread on that exact subject

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/am-i-an-idot-spending-for-an-isla-bike

But to summarise. Yes they are.

Some quotes from [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-balance-bike-or-other-wheeled-contraption-for-my-two-year-old ]my favourite thread on this subject[/url]:

hora - Member
Decathlon- £29. I built it and it is good quality. I really really don't understand why anyone would pay £100 for a first bicycle, its chattering-classes madness

hora - Member
Sorry I think the Decathlon bike is well made. I don't buy into the milking the chattering classes ethos.

hora - Member
I don't beleive in expensive toys for kids. his Dad has expensive toys

...

hora - Member
Ok Im man enough to admit that I was wrong. You get what you pay for and the Decathlon bike is junk.

The collar holding the bars constantly loosens so the bars are always off centre. Nice safety issue there, one refund and and Isla please.

😀

Basically yes they are lovely - though I'm not sure I'd buy one from new myself. I'm very much in favour of other suckers taking the factory-fresh hit for kids stuff - give me a shout when it is on Classifieds in 3 years 😀

I'm in the same position. A 2010 Beinn20 small I was watching in ebay just sold for £230, and I'll get 2 kids use out of one, so I think we're going to go new. We've already had a Rothan and a Cnoc14, and looking at competitors to the Beinn 20, you pay nearly as much (£250ish) for a cube or specialized which are 2kg heavier.

Given my 7 year old nephew's hard tail weighs more than my FS (and his forks may as well be rigid for all they move + I'd rather watch x-factor than try and adjust the cheap disc brakes on it) then yeah I'd say an Islabike is worth it if the kid is going to be using it a lot and as has been said elsewhere the resale value is good so TCO isn't as far off supermarket bikes as the purchase price may have you believe

Islabikes way too expensive secondhand -- our girl's Spesh Hot Rock 20" - £105 for an immaculate secondhand one off Gumtree.

Islabikes way too expensive secondhand

But you'll probably get back exactly what you pay when you sell it on as "secondhand" once you're done with it.

^ This. We bought a Beinn 26 from here for £150, and eldest OAB has ridden the socks off it, and I have been asked a few times if/when I sell can I call people...

[img] [/img]

Bought at great expense, £600, new for my lad 3 years ago... weighs 26lbs which was great and somewhat less that the hardrocks he'd be on since he was 4 years old. He has ridden Welsh and Scottish trail centres on it and lots of great days out... his riding has come on a treat and we have fantastic memories connected to riding... sold it for £400 a month ago so very happy with that... went a bit over budget on the replacement but hey...

Whether it is a kids bike or an adults a good bike is one that gets ridden and enjoyed... an expensive one sits in the garage doing nowt.

If you can afford the outlay then the quality and residual values make it a fairly shrewd buy > £325 new and get 4/5 years and two sprogs use out of it and then sell if for £200 if they keep it nice is only £65 per sprog!

If cash is not so fluid then if you go for a Trek, Giant, Ridgeback or Dawes then you can buy excellent quality secondhand that is 90% as good as an Islabike for 20% of the cost. And you should be able to sell if for near as what you paid for it as they don't get much cheaper if they are still working ok.

Was out with my lads on Saturday, (one on a beinn 24 and one on a 20 small,) riding lumps and bumps. The 24 knocks the spots of the Spec' Hardrock(?) 24 that his mate was on - cost the same money new.

Definitely.

Top tip: also get a spare inner-tube and mech-hanger too.

My wife and I spend so much on our own bikes that £300 for a whole brand new bicycle seems ok. Resale value is also a big factor: if i spent £300 on an adult sized bike, or just say a suspension fork, how much of it do you think I'd get back after a couple of years? Next size up islabike for our 6 year old already looks like much more of a bargain now we are aware of what we will be able to sell his current one for.

That said, the hotrock is pretty good too, as are the trek kids bike with (apparently patented) extra holes in the cranks to make them shorter/longer, but I could take or leave the "suspension" forks they come with, and I wish someone would make trigger shifters for 6 speed as all the kids our children ride with seem to dislike their gripshift.

Had bought Islabikes - Rothan / Cnoc 14 for my little ones but considered the uphike in price on their Beinn 20 to be a step too far also combined with their charging of delivery / change of tyres etc; justified by lighter weight and blah blah.
Went for a Spech Hotrock for my 6 year olds birthday instead, £200 in the sales, the bike is still lightweight compared to its peers 10kg, and rides great, sloping top tube and 40mm of travel make him feel like a proper mountain biker. Riding rooty, muddy local singletrack the tyres aren't ideal so an easy swap out for an amazing first off road bike.
The major plus with the Isla was that we sold his Cnoc 14 for £150 after two and a half years use 🙂

When my kid was 5, our friends moved into a new house. In the garden was a 20" wheeled Raleigh bike. They gave it to us, I cleaned it up and gave it to my kid.
He blimmin loved it. I'm sure it wasn't as light as an Isla, but what would he have gained by me chucking £300 on a bike he would grow out of in 2 years max? I dunno!
Here he is racin on it. See how he leaves those fancy Islabike tarts in his dust?
[IMG] [/IMG]

[edit] I've still got it hanging in my garage if anyone wants it!

both my kids had Beinns which were excellent - good resale value and nice and light but when it came to 26inch wheel time I found better value with a couple of 14inch Konas - took the heavy fork and wheels off, sold them and used the proceeds to buy some s/h Marzocchi Marathons and lighter wheels

Definitely worth it, build quality and ease of use for your child are unmatched. We have three children - older daughter and twin boys, so one always gets passed down to another child. My daughter uses her bikes extensively, but still even after a couple of year’s hard use the bikes are in great condition with sensible cleaning and (But minimal) maintenance.

As said earlier an expensive bike is one that is bought and never used… By that measure my daughters in particular are the cheapest bikes imaginable!

No

[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5036/5842545393_933a6f32b5.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5036/5842545393_933a6f32b5.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/37621241@N05/5842545393/ ]fin 2010 - mai2011 162[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/37621241@N05/ ]ianvincent[/url], on Flickr

I brought my nippers for £250 direct from Island then sold it 2 and a half years later for £290 on ebay. Says it all really.

How did you manage that ian?

The only other Islabike I've seen in that state was driven into a low bridge on a roof rack.

[i]Says it all really.[/i]

Yeah, there's some right idiots using eBay! 😉

Some quotes from my favourite thread on this subject:

give me a shout when it is on Classifieds in 3 years

What do you want Graham? I've got one just up the valley from you (Luath 26) 🙂

What do you want Graham?

Nothing yet 😀 My lil'un is still on her Rothan at the mo (only 2.5yo)

But I'm very happy with it and she'll be graduating up the Islabikes range, unless some serious competitors arrive in the market.

Have to concur with most parents on here. Yes they're expensive but I think they are worth every penny!

I have 5yr old twin boys and both have the cnoc and they love them. The braking and handling have really inspired confidence (once they stopped going over the handlebars every time they threw the anchors on)and they love going out on their bikes.

Both of them did 7 miles on their bikes yesterday which I don't think is bad for their age and we're off to Dalby on them on Sunday to do the green trail.

Couple that in with the fact we're not going to lose much on them when it comes to resale (both of them have been reserved by friends with younger kids) then I think they're pretty good value for money really.

How did you manage that ian?
The only other Islabike I've seen in that state was driven into a low bridge on a roof

6 yr old messing around on his bike, nothing ott.

WTF? Manufacturing fault you think?
No way it should fail like that from normal use. Did you contact them?

Agree with most of the replies here. My 5 yr old daughter as a Beinn and its been excellent. The major plus, which is perhaps more important for girls than boys, is the low weight, which has allowed her to gain confidence, improve handling, and not cry when the bike lands on top of her.

You get what you pay for. With an Islabike you get it in spades.

Anyone who thinks they're too expensive should try being 6 or 7 and riding one of those very heavy scaffold pipe jobs with so-called suspension, crap brakes, too-big brake levers, dead-feeling wheels and tyres, 24 gears etc. I bought a Raleigh Krush 20" for my daughter as a stop-gap before her brother grew out of his Beinn and it was shit. My kids have loved and looked after their Islabikes, each time we've sold one we have barely lost anything on it and the customer service is second to none.

It surprises me that people who are happy to spend a good wodge on their cars, bikes, computer games, phones etc yet grudge paying a realistic price for a bicycle simply because it's smaller. Designing and building wheels, frames and components properly costs money whether it's adult or child sized.

Santa arrived early.

[img] [/img]

All I had to do was pop one wheel and the pedals on... and the threads were already greased 8)

I've not taken a picture (in case Ms North finds it on my phone), but one of these arrived yesterday.

[img] [/img]

Bought a CNOC14 for my nephew for Christmas. I'm sure his mother would go spare if she knew how much it cost but I can't wait to see him bombing about on it!

Good man RJ.

The simple truth is that a decent kids bike pretty much costs the same as a decent adult bike, and based on how often folk on here seem to swap theirs, they probably last longer 🙂

My son graduated from a heavy 20" Raleigh thru a 24" Trek (which is currently been borrowed by a riding buddy for his daughter) to a 24" Norco and now a 26" HT.

The Trek is getting on for 6 years old, and has loads of life left in it.

Messiah good choice.

Santa should be delivering the same to me today (Well MMjnr). God knows where I'm going to hide it! 😀

MM

I 'could' have a Rothan for sale toinght - seems like I've been let down by the guy who wanted it earlier this week. Anybody interested can look at my for sale ad and drop me a line.

S l o w l y getting our 2 year old onto her Rothan.

Seemed only fair that she got a new one as Mummy and Daddy buy new bikes occasionally... 🙂

The more I see her "riding" the bike the more I realise how damn well designed it is. She likes the fact its shiny purple - no evidence but I do think the fact that its new does make it more attractive, and hence more likely to use it (which is the point really, bikes being important to us as a family..)

2p worth ends

TM

We paid £240 for Gti Junior's Bheinn and got about 4 years of use out of it. We have just sold it in excellent working order to a family with four young kids for £200. Each of their kids will get more enjoyment and then I expect they will sell it on.

What Junior liked about it was the ride; it was fantastically easy to ride and control on or off road.

We've had 2 now and the 'cost to own' is very good due to the high resale value. They really are good, simple bikes that are well suited to kids.

Note, 'proud dad moment coming up' - my youngest even got his pic on the front of the Islabike Gallery (Fraser) the other month, he was well chuffed with that!

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/gallery/gallery.html

Definately recommended.

Some quotes from my favourite thread on this subject:

Thanks for incorrectly quoting me.

Hora Jnr test rode a STRIDER and a Isla- he FLEW on a Strider. Hence we bought it.

Its a question of how comfortable/fit etc first then resale value. To STW'ers it seems to be resale value first....

What will his secondbike be? Don't know but it'll live outside the house as I don't want a kids bike cluttering the hallway etc.

My six year old has had an isla bike since he was 3.
Starting with Cnoc 14 and now the benin 20"
Both bought from new, with the Cnoc sold at £20 under retail price.

They are worth it, if you are going to go out on rides with you LO. If they stay in the garage all year round waiting for a nice day, then yes they are expensive.
For us the Pound per play ratio makes the Isla bike one of the best value 'toys' we have bought.

Interesting when he has ridden his mates 'supermarket' bikes he has struggled on some of them, due to weight, or set up. he also pointed out that ones brakes was broken as he couldn't cover it or 'feather it' like he could on his bike.
Also another mate who was not getting on riding his halfords bike, just couldn't peddle it, tried the Isal bike and lo and behold he was up and ridng round the garden in about 5 minutes.

Our CNOC 16 did our oldest boy proud, has been well used by our youngest lad and will be absolutely fine for number 3 son when he is old enough - they are proper bikes and last. Well worth the money. I'm now looking at the new Creig 24 for our oldest next year, looks like a great bike.

After umming and ahhing over which 20 inch bike to get for the eldest we went for this, Orbea MX20 Team
[img] [/img]
I think it looks pimp in it's JS Special Black & Gold - it's pretty light (alu forks, decent wheels etc) and has a trigger shifter, much better than grip shift. It also has proper sized tyres (small block 8's). Should be a ripper!

acjim - that looks very nice, bling-a-ling!

Thanks for incorrectly quoting me.

? Maybe my cut-n-paste is broken because they were all direct quotes from the original thread, but apologies if you feel it was taken out of context, it was just a bit of light teasing. It's not often you see someone change their tune on here, never mind admit to it so graciously.

Had the same dilemna for my girl's 7th birthday. It's alright justifying it by how much one would pay for a decent adult bike but there's not a 7 year old in the world that treats their bike with the same respect and care I do. Yes Islabikes are fantastic and probably worth every penny but this 7 year old is getting a hotrock for her birthday and I'm absolutely certain she'll enjoy riding it just as much as any bike that cost 2 or 3 times more.

Pha, light bikes for kids. I rebuilt my 1984 Ammaco BMX, popped it on the scales, 27.5lbs. Rode it everywhere when I was a sprog MTFU kids 😉

Interesting, the 20" Isla bike is 10lbs lighter !

I've bought all Isla bikes for my Daughter Isla, they are great quality, but I have bought them all second hand.

Striker and puch?

What ages were they aimed at?

Another Isla fan here.
Bought my boys beinn 20 small knowing he would outgrow it in a season.
I'm now looking for a 24.
You can basically buy 2nd hand and sell on for the same price.
Cheapest bike you'll ever run.
(looking for £180 for the 20'' if anyone interested).

Isla bikes seem pretty tough to me, they managed Mountain Mayhem ok:

[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/7428603552_13fa1b3c33.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5323/7428603552_13fa1b3c33.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/7428603552/ ]Isla Bikes at Mountain Mayhem[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr

We have had a couple of Islabikes. Firstly a Cnoc 14 which my son outgrew, and my daughter is now riding. And also a Benin 20 that I bought 2nd hand a couple of years ago. I think the quality of the bikes is great, despite a lot of rough treatment the bike are still in great condition.

I am currently building my son up a 24" wheeled bike, on a Kona frame. It is surprisingly difficult to find decent quality lightweight components in kids sizes. I think it will end up lighter and slightly cheaper than the equivalent Islabike, but that is mainly to lots of internet searching for parts, and making use of spare bits I had in the shed.

Rothan, Cnoc and Beinn 20 to date (and Beinn 24 coming soon), all brilliant and head and shoulders above the competition. Rothan and Cnoc both were sold locally for not much less than we paid for them. Isla puts so much effort into the designs and cares passionately about kids riding bikes, and it's a real pleasure to deal with them.

There's nothing wrong with choosing cheap(er) bikes, but we have a Ridgeback MX20 and Raleigh Krush 20" girl's bike in the garage, both picked up for naff-all, and the differences are striking.

It's funny how people who plonk a load of cash on bikes, gear, cars, smartphones etc get sniffy about spending £200-300 on a top quality bike for their kids.

I have a Cnoc 16 hidden in my bike bag upstairs, waiting to present it to my 5 year old at the weekend. It's a fantastic thing, I cannot wait to give it to him.

Yes it's worth it
Resale values are appropriately high too.
And Isla buys her one speed parts from me so she is utterly awesome.

Yes worth it. Used everyday on the school runs and off road for fun. Proper parts on them, so all easily serviceable. Light and everything fits well. Recommended.

The single speed bits on our Cnoc have rusted...

My boy batters his Cnoc 16 pretty hard now he's got the hang of it, and it's holding up well. No adjustments or repairs really required so far, the only real damage has been to the saddle which got a bit bent out of shape when the bike got dropped awkwardly (by me). Overall I'm impressed with it, good bit of kit.

Anyone put their kids on one of the Luath road/cyclocross bikes?

I'd be interested to hear opinions about them (for 10/11 year olds)

Liking the balace bike.

Can't wait to see the boy bomb around on one in about, er 150 weeks time

Anyone put their kids on one of the Luath road/cyclocross bikes?

One of the kids at the event me and mini-aracer went to yesterday with Tracy Moseley and Liam Killeen* was on one (well it was an Islabike road bike, I presume they don't make another one). I'll ask his mum next time I see her, probably sometime in the next month.

*I've been waiting for an opportunity to name drop 🙂