Islabikes

What are peoples thoughts on these bikes? They seem to hold their value really well, especially the Cnoc 14 and 16. I just got a Cnoc 14 second hand for £100 which seems to be a bit of a bargain, it is one of the newer ones with the fork angled into the drop-out.

Seems really well make and one of the first things my 4 year old daughter did was pick it up and say "look I can lift it myself".

The only negative thing I have noticed it the chain guard seems to cause quite a bit of friction on the drivechain. It seems that's just they way it's designed.

Has anyone tried any of the larger Islabikes?

Best in class.

Personally prefer the frog range of bikes, but islabikes are a close 2nd and both are miles ahead of the majority of kids bikes

They are best in class in my view - apart from the light weight they use components specially sized for small hands - this gives braking that works for example. Over the years we have got through 5 as the kids have grown up. They used them daily for cycling to school.

Some we have resold after a couple of years for exactly what we paid for them.

If the chain guard is rubbing it needs adjustment!

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I'd agree that Islabikes were the class leaders and for most they're still a great bike, with great residual value. (So cost of ownership is very low. )

However, they're no longer the only game in town, frog have a similar range and perhaps surprisingly the new Pinnacle range from Evans is awesome.

Finally, the Ridgeback Dimension is s good childs bike and has a quill stem which allows for more flexibility in set up.

Unless you're buying used or live near Ludlow, islabike are only available on line while the others are all likely to be available locally.

hamster":1g1iipjt said:

They are best in class in my view - apart from the light weight they use components specially sized for small hands - this gives braking that works for example. Over the years we have got through 5 as the kids have grown up. They used them daily for cycling to school.

Some we have resold after a couple of years for exactly what we paid for them.

If the chain guard is rubbing it needs adjustment!

Click to expand...

100% agree. Been discussed on here before. Its free kids cycling as you get back what you paid or often a bit more, if its looked after.

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My daughters have Beinn 20S and Beinn 24 bikes. They like them a lot and the bikes are of good quality & reasonably light as well. I checked out many different bikes like Kubikes from Germany that are very light and of course the new Canyon kids' bikes. However, my daughter loved her Beinn 20S so much that she wanted to have a similar but only larger and the younger daughter inherited big sis' bike...

when my son switched from his 24 Merida Dakar to a 26 Islabike Beninn he was smiling from ear to ear, as that bike suited him perfectly: gearing, weight, brakes - everything was perfect and made for kids. His younger sister take over the bike from him and was also very happy with it. In the end I sold it with ease for a fair ammount of money.

When my kids would be into racing - that would be the bikes for it

http://www.federleicht-bike.at/index.ph ... 6er-custom

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A mate has the Cnoc 20 for his kid and it's an epic little bike,my nephew also has the 16 - he is 6 but a midget so will probably go from that onto a geared 20" bike at Xmas.

Both my mate and my brother couldn't say a bad word about either bike.

My little one is a big 5 year old but he's never liked the bike,always preferred his scooter. I picked up one of the 20" wheeled kids SS bikes from decathlon (racing boy 300 I think) and for 85 quid im really, really impressed with it.

It's lighter than the Halfords junk in a similar size which is the main thing and because of his size he will probably be onto a 24" bike in the next 18 months so I figured I'll buy him this to get him cycling properly (which he now loves!) and then maybe measure him up for a geared 24" wheel next July when it's his 7th birthday.

I was looking at the marin kids bikes last weekend and they seemed to be alright and a similar price to the isla offerings. Didn't see a weight though to compare them.