islabikes alternative

Ryder

Hi. Got the Cnoc 16 for my daughter about a year ago. Great bike but she's almost outgrown it.

Time to upgrade for her 6th birthday next month. The Benin 20 is the next bike up but it's almost 500 euro. Any cheaper alternative or is best just to stick with the islabikes?

Thanks

Alek

Have you seen Frog Bikes? Very similar quality and design, a bit cheaper and available locally.

ted1

Ridgebacks do good quality alu frames in kids bikes for a more realistic price
http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bike/dimension-20-purple-metallic
My daughter has a smaller one but I am tempted to get her this as a upgrade

REBELSAFC

Have a look at this thread from a few months back:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=97809243

deckyv

Hi I got a orbea mx20 for my daughter who is five and she is going on 4 to 5 mile spins with me .gearing is low enough for her to get up short little pulls.really would recommend buying one for there kids.price was 299 euros

Ryder

Thanks. Saw the ridgeback locally in dublin yesterday. Front suspension and overall a nice bike but did seem reasonably heavy.
Will try and get out to Joe Daly and see the Frog bike at the weekend. 20 inch frame for a 6 year old. Could I expect 4 years out of that size or would anyone go a bit bigger?

martyc5674

Got the 20" Beinn for my young lad about 18 months ago.He is since november 7(he is quite small small for his age...)
He got it when he was not far off 6.
His younger sister will take it off him either this summer or next so will be looking at an upgrade then...I dont think youd get 4 years out of it to be honest but chances are she is too small for a 24" wheeled bike.
Isla do a beinn 20 large but they are pretty rare...same bike just a 1" bigger seat tube i think.
Thing is with the isla you will get most of your money back guaranteed.
There is one for sale currently on adverts.ie worth a look

Ryath

Posted this in another thread

Ryath wrote: »

I'm looking for my own daughter too who is nearly 8. Pretty much set on the 24"Orbea mx team She currently has a 20" Frog which has been very good and she probably would get another year out of but her younger sister needs it. One thing I don't like is the twist shift gears which she has never really got the hang of. The newer frogs have thumb shifters and so do the orbeas. It's one thing I don't like on the ilsa bikes and most kids bikes come with grip shifts.

She's had a good spin around the car park on a Orbea mx 24 xc which has suspension forks. It belonged to the 10/11 year old son of the owner of the LBS who's been down the Black 1 trail in Bike Park Ireland on it! She was well able to manage though I will cut down the bars a bit. It was for sale but I’d prefer to buy new. I don't think she'll ever need the suspension she's just too cautious which is why I'm leaning to the dearer model with aluminium forks which is 1.6kg lighter. It also can take disc brakes which I may be mad enough to upgrade to down the line. Her younger sister I'd though is quite the daredevil so suspension may be of more benefit to her.

The gears on the orbeas are step up spec wise from the equivalent isla and frog bikes though I have read some comments the brakes on them are poor. It would be pretty cheap though to upgrade them. Our frog bike has tektra v’s which seem pretty decent. The orbea mx 24 team is a little heavier at 9.9 kg, about a kilo more than an isla and 0.7kg more than the frog. Still way lighter than most kids bike. Think the orbeas look nicer too.
.
If you want to build but it’s a road bike frame,

I’m sort of tempted to get this has another 25% off at the minute. Wheels would be problem, probably would have to source 24” rims and build them. Short crankset and narrow handlebars will add to the cost too. Don’t know if it’s worth it could be more than the cost of prebuilt one need to do the sums. My daughter is also probably a few years of being able to manage drops and STI levers though and may need a 26” or even be ready for 700c wheel by then.