you’ll resell for £300 easy if it still looks nice(ish) and those you sell it to will get almost all their money back. That makes it a bargain. Especially as the bikes are so well built and set up your kids will be able to ride it safely and get into cycling. On second thoughts buy some cheap bike, it’ll ensure you are not buying further bikes till the kiddy can afford there own.

I am seriously impressed with my youngest lad’s Pinnacle (ok it’s 16″) It is so light and well put together. When he needs a new bike, I will definitely be looking at them again.

We had the same dilema and moved fron Isla to a Frog 62. You will not regret it the Frog is every bit as good and resales on ebay are strong

From my experience of smaller Islas they are better than the competition in terms of smaller components and lighter weight. However I am minded to suggest that a £4K mtb is not going to be demonstrably better than a £2.8k bike.

I think a lot of their appeal is based on how smug the parents want to feel as they lift them out of the boot of the Q7. Good luck to them if they can sell them.

Other excellent bikes are available for less. My kids started on Islas but are now on Ridgebacks and Carerras. When the time comes to sell them on we won’t lose any money.

If you spend £280 at Wheelbase they are doing six months 0% you can add a lock or something to get over the minimum value.

The big thing for me was my lad was riding the 24″ Isla at age 6.5. Most companies aim their 24″ wheel frame sizes at 8-9 year olds.

I should be getting a secondhand 20″ islabike tomorrow for my 5 year old. Was really tempted by the frog 52 but the minimum standover height was much bigger than the (small) bienn 20.

I certainly don’t drive a Q7, I don’t give a monkeys about what I pull out the boot…I just love the fact my daughter loves her bike, enjoys ridding it and finds it easy to ride.

I’ve found the Islabike to be great, after two years still like new, not a single issue and I’ll be surprised if it ends up costing me £25 for the privilege as the new price has gone up £50.

She saw Isla & frog she like the Pink of the Isla, I think the none metallic on the frog was the deal breaker for her.

I think Isla must be struggling with economies of scale. When I last compared Frog to Isla (for my sisters kids) Frog came out much better. I guess as they are selling in loads of bike shops they are buying parts in bigger volume. They were trading on proper sized parts for small hands and legs. But now the same parts can be bought off ebay for half the price.

Isla look overpriced and dated now. I’d go with Frog, or another decent make. Just swap any bits you don’t like and sell them on.

My sister ignored all my advice and bought a Bobbins bike. it weighs a tonne and is basically pig iron in farrow & ball. But “it looks posh”….

Bought my first Islabike for £90 off the bay, son ragged it mercilessly in the local woods for a couple of years, daughter then rode it until she too outgrew it. Just sold it for £120. 😀

You don’t need a degree in economics to see that they make sense, certainly with the smaller sized bikes.

My little lad is on his 3rd Frog, he had a tadpole (scoot bike) to begin with, then a Frog 43 Team Sky and now has a Frog 48. Personally I think they’re great, well built, good components, great paint finish and boy proof.

Yeah but the weights are incomparable.
Have you picked up a Ramones 16?

Argles-Gazost to Lourdes and back. Then on to the end of the path and back to Argles he then cycled around the campsite for a few hours. We stopped for 10 minutes in Lourdes and 10 minutes to take some photos at the end of the trail. I should have said without struggling

photos

My son is nearly 5 on 16in early rider, wondering to wait and jump to 24in or get a 20inch?

20″

Would you say the same for shoes 😉 A 4″ increase in children’s bikes is a good gradation 12-14-20-24 works very well.

doh typo sorry I meant 16″. I’ve seen kids grow out of 14″ bikes far to quickly Even with a LOT of Princess appeal and sparkly handlebar streamers – now that was a deal clincher for my niece 😀

My Daughter got a Specialized Hotrock 24″ from her Grandad at Xmas & loves it. What was even better is that it was an exhire from the Bike Revolution guys in Lossiemouth. Only cost £150 max.