Are Islabikes worth the money?

seven stars

I know they get great reviews, but Islabikes are pricey - especially with the current conversion rate and the £40 shipping charge. Are they really worth it? I'd love to get a Beinn 20 small for our young lad, but it's working out at €350. I could get this Cube for way less (around €220 I think).

Is it worth forking out the extra cash? Any alternative recommendations for a 5 year old?

Plastik

The Beinn is nearly 2kg lighter, which is a lot for a 5 year old! I wish I had known about Islabikes the last time I was buying my guy his bike. It's very heavy, he still tanks away on it though!

Zen0

I think so. I got a Beinn 20 large for 9 year old girl this Christmas. She is small and slim and the weight of her previous bike was ridiculous (weighed as much as my commuter). The Beinn is the lightest I have come across, and is qreally well thought out in terms of design for a child. We are fortunate in that we have another girl two years younger, so I expect to get a lot of use from the bike. After that I hope to sell it to help fund the next one (the OH thinks we're gonna give it away, but it would be a sin to give it to somebody who didn't make proper use of it).

BostonB

I like the colour of that cube. But you can't argue with the weight difference.

Lumen

Yes

Caroline_ie

OP - Here is a great alternative.

smacl

Plastik wrote: »

The Beinn is nearly 2kg lighter, which is a lot for a 5 year old!

It is indeed. Makes you wonder where the weight is coming from and why other manufacturers seem so behind Islabikes. One difference between the two bikes is the tyres, with the cube using 20x2" knobblies, and the Islabike on 20x1.35" semi-slicks. A quick scan of the CRC 20" tyre selection shows tyres ranging from about 350g to 900g, with weights not given for many tyres. I'm guessing something as simple as changing tyres could go quite a way towards bridging the 1.7kg gap (8.8kg versus 10.5kg), at a cost of much less than €100.

Lumen

This is the lightest kids bike I know of.

http://www.harobikes.com/bmx/bikes/race-series/2012_micro_mini

6.5kg with Tioga Surefoot Compact pedals. Possibly even more expensive than the Islabike and less versatile (no gears, mudguards or fat tyre options) but weight weenieism takes no prisoners, and it is very fast :pac:

manwithaplan

My 7 year old son has a Beinn 20 and it's great. It's hard to get him to use the gears though - he seems happy enough just leaving it in fifth (there's 7 gears) and getting out of the saddle when he needs to.

We live on a busy enough road so he doesn't get to mess around on bikes with his mates to any great extent. This limits his cycling to riding to the park or shops with myself or my wife. As a result, I sometimes wonder whether the expense was justified but I found the options to be very limited if I wanted anything half decent. Nearly everything was a BMX or mock MTB.

My son is the second of four so the bike will be handed down. The resale value seems to hold up well enough too and Islabikes take them as trade-ins as you move up through the sizes. On balance, I'd say go for it.

seven stars

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'd be snapping up the Islabike if it was more affordable, but I'm having difficulty justifying the massive cost to herself (in the current climate, one income family, etc etc).

Cheers for the tyres info smacl. On the weight issue, I also think the Cube frame is slightly larger. So I'm guessing it wouldn't be quite as good a fit to begin with, but it'd likely last longer.

seven stars

Caroline_ie wrote: »

OP - Here is a great alternative.

I had considered that alright, but even a 2nd hand one from the UK looks like it'll work out expensive enough. There's the cost and hassle of arranging delivery, and also the fact that it's for a birthday present, so I'd rather get something new if I'm spending a few hundred on it. Having said that, if I could get a 2nd hand Islabike *really* cheap, I'd do that and get him something else for his birthday.

I suppose it's a good sign that they hold their resale value though.

seven stars

manwithaplan wrote: »

My 7 year old son has a Beinn 20 and it's great. It's hard to get him to use the gears though - he seems happy enough just leaving it in fifth (there's 7 gears) and getting out of the saddle when he needs to.

We live on a busy enough road so he doesn't get to mess around on bikes with his mates to any great extent. This limits his cycling to riding to the park or shops with myself or my wife. As a result, I sometimes wonder whether the expense was justified but I found the options to be very limited if I wanted anything half decent. Nearly everything was a BMX or mock MTB.

My son is the second of four so the bike will be handed down. The resale value seems to hold up well enough too and Islabikes take them as trade-ins as you move up through the sizes. On balance, I'd say go for it.

Does he have the small version or the large? I'm wondering how many years he'd be likely to get out of it. The bike we buy won't be handed down either (if all goes to plan).

I know what you mean about the gears as well - our 9 year old still doesn't use his gears properly, but I don't suppose there's any harm having them.

manwithaplan

He has the large - he got it around his 7th birthday last August. I measured his height and inside leg and he just made the suggested cut-off for the large. He managed it fine and is comfortable on our short spins. I would say there's plenty of seat post hidden and he should get a good run out of it. The bars can stay at their current height and I'll have him riding in Cancellara position before you know it!

cdaly_

manwithaplan wrote: »

My 7 year old son has a Beinn 20 and it's great. It's hard to get him to use the gears though - he seems happy enough just leaving it in fifth (there's 7 gears) and getting out of the saddle when he needs to.

We live on a busy enough road so he doesn't get to mess around on bikes with his mates to any great extent. This limits his cycling to riding to the park or shops with myself or my wife.

Get him cycling to school. He'll build the road sense there and will be going solo in a year or so...

Keep_Her_Lit

Recently got a Beinn 24 for one of my young fellas. Pricey indeed but it's a gorgeous little bike.

Sick of buying monstrously heavy BSO's with crap frames/wheels/components for the kids; and they still cost a fairly tidy sum.

By comparison, the Beinn exudes quality - proper wheels, with freehub and decent SRAM rear derailleur. Bars, stem, seatpost, saddle, brakes all look like miniature versions of those on a reasonable quality adults bike.

We thought long and hard about the investment too but if you can stretch to it, I don't think you or your son will be disappointed when it arrives.

manwithaplan

cdaly_ wrote: »

Get him cycling to school. He'll build the road sense there and will be going solo in a year or so...

I would like to but my wife has four of them to bring and cycling isn't really practical. In fairness she generally walks to school with them so it's not a chauffeur job. I would cycle up with him and his sister on days I don't need to get to work early but I wouldn't be doing the collection so that's a problem. There's also shared collection arrangements with other parents and other complicating stuff.

When we cycle together, they always ride on the road and their road sense is improving. Cycling solo to school, as you say, will be an option in another year or two.

Dizraeligears

Another +1 for the Beinn 20.Got my young fella a large at xmas 2 years ago,hes 8 now and will get another year or so from it.Wayyy better than nearly anything in the shops...

quenching

I've bought 3 Islabikes in the last few years as children grew out of them and I can't see me buying anything else for as long as the decision is mine to make and I have the means to do so. They are excellent quality and hold their value well, much better than any other kids bike I can think off. I too looked at the Cube but the weight difference was too great and the quality not as high.

seven stars

I have to hand it to ye - you're a persuasive bunch. I'm now in the process of ordering the Beinn 20 Small. It'll be beans for dinner for the rest of the year, but at least the nipper will have a decent bike.

MichealD

My 10 year old son is now starting his 3rd year on this http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/luath24.html Isla bike. Will probably run out of seat tube this summer and would have no hesitation buying another Isla to replace it. The bike is like new and I'd hope to get at least half the cost back seeling it after 3 years.

Great, simple, lightweight bikes.