Moving on from Islabikes

[FWIW]

Our boys have always had Islabikes, by far the best kids bikes IMO and actually quite cheap as they hold their value so well.

Anyway, number one son has just about outgrown his crieg 26 which is the biggest size of Islabikes MTB so I guess a small adult mtb is next.

I’m bewildered by the choice; what would you recommend that will match the quality of the Islabikes?

Edited by FWIW on Monday 4th November 13:15

[gazza285]

An Islabike Beinn 29?

First thing, what is your budget?

[FWIW]

gazza285 said:

An Islabike Beinn 29?
First thing, what is your budget?

The Beinn is a hybrid isn’t it? We’d prefer a hard tail mtb.
Budget is flexible - ideally I’d like to find something secondhand in mint condition for around £500.

[Welsh Pirate]

I really like the Halfords Carrera range of bikes. They are pretty reasonable quality, but nice and cheap should your kids turn into teenage bike destroyers...

Something like this: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/... ?

Pointless info: Isla Rowntree (founder of Islabikes) used to be involved in specifying many Carrera bikes many years ago.

[FWIW]

Welsh Pirate said:

I really like the Halfords Carrera range of bikes. They are pretty reasonable quality, but nice and cheap should your kids turn into teenage bike destroyers...

Something like this: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/... ?

Pointless info: Isla Rowntree (founder of Islabikes) used to be involved in specifying many Carrera bikes many years ago.

Thanks
One of their friends has one of those, I felt that it was really a BSO in comparison to the Isla - not surprising given it’s about one third of the price!

[Welsh Pirate]

I think much of the price variation is down to the high production numbers of the Carrera, the number of custom parts on Islabikes and the fact that they are assembled in this country as opposed to China.

I used to be a full time bike mechanic and the Carrera bikes were always pretty decent for the money IMHO, especially compared to the supermarket junk.

One step up from Carrera are the Voodoo range: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bi...

These are also pretty decent for the money and have nicer kit on them.

BTW, I'm not employed or paid by Halfords, just real world experience of having serviced a fair few of them

Anyway, good luck with the search (I wish my dad was willing to spend that sort of money on a bike when I was a lad!)!

[FWIW]

Welsh Pirate said:

I think much of the price variation is down to the high production numbers of the Carrera, the number of custom parts on Islabikes and the fact that they are assembled in this country as opposed to China.

I used to be a full time bike mechanic and the Carrera bikes were always pretty decent for the money IMHO, especially compared to the supermarket junk.

One step up from Carrera are the Voodoo range: https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bi...

These are also pretty decent for the money and have nicer kit on them.

BTW, I'm not employed or paid by Halfords, just real world experience of having serviced a fair few of them

Anyway, good luck with the search (I wish my dad was willing to spend that sort of money on a bike when I was a lad!)!

Really appreciate your advice, thanks. My wife has a Carrera and I agree that they’re great vfm.
I must admit I have an aversion to mechanical discs so I’m immediately put off by any bike that has them - would rather have conventional rim brakes.
Will have a look at Voodoo, thanks again.

[C0ffin D0dger]

Forget Halfords crud perhaps with the exception of Boardman stuff.

Look at the established mountain bike brands like Cube, Specialized, Whyte, Trek etc. Find a decent bike shop, go and have a look round and get some advice.

[Bill]

I got my son a Voodoo Bizango as the next step, so far it seems very well made and he's really chuffed with it. My only concern was the 29" wheels, but it seems fine.

[Cheib]

I got my son a small adult Whyte MTB to replace his Isla. Not cheap but a great bike and will last several years. Bought from Local bike shop who were excellent. We live in an area where there are a lot of trails so it’s getting used.

[FWIW]

C0ffin D0dger said:

Forget Halfords crud perhaps with the exception of Boardman stuff.

Look at the established mountain bike brands like Cube, Specialized, Whyte, Trek etc. Find a decent bike shop, go and have a look round and get some advice.

I hear what you’re saying and this is why I’m asking.
We had a specialized hotrock and it a pile of crap compared to the Islas!
The Boardmans are on the radar, thanks.
I’m very wary of falling for a 20kg BSO ‘cos the kids think it looks cool. I know from experience, how much more the enjoy riding a quality bike.

[In the sticks]

Both my children have ‘moved up’ to whyte 405’s. One new, one second hand(bikes not children). Bloody good bikes ( have had 6 Islabikes). The downside being that the boys both had a better bike than me. The upside being that I ‘had’ to buy something better 😀

[FWIW]

In the sticks said:

Both my children have ‘moved up’ to whyte 405’s. One new, one second hand(bikes not children). Bloody good bikes ( have had 6 Islabikes). The downside being that the boys both had a better bike than me. The upside being that I ‘had’ to buy something better ??

Haha! The Creig 26 is definitely better than my own (now vintage) Kona Kahuna!!
405 looks perfect (if I can find a good second hand one) but I’m confused about the sizing. Is it bigger than the Creig 26?

[velocgee]

I believe the Creig and 405 are the same sizing (13" frames)

I think you'd be looking at a Whyte 800 series compacts.

[FWIW]

velocgee said:

I believe the Creig and 405 are the same sizing (13" frames)

I think you'd be looking at a Whyte 800 series compacts.

Thanks for that, they look ideal 👍🏼

[moonigan]

I built my son a 27.5 hardtail using a Cube frame, rock shox reba forks, stans crest wheels, shimano SLX brakes, shifter and mech and islabike cranks and its a seriously light bike, probably less than 10KG. The reason I went for the islabike cranks is because it was difficult to find a decent crank in a length less than 170mm and the islabike crank is around 158mm which is perfect for kids. Even some of the major brands put big cranks onto kids bikes.

We built it together and it was a great experience for him to ride the bike he help put together from a box full of bits in the garage.

[Cheib]

FWIW said:

velocgee said:

I believe the Creig and 405 are the same sizing (13" frames)

I think you'd be looking at a Whyte 800 series compacts.

Thanks for that, they look ideal ????

My 11yr old son’s Whyte is a small adult hard tail....narrowed the bars slightly but everything else is fine.

[moonigan]

Cheib said:

My 11yr old son’s Whyte is a small adult hard tail....narrowed the bars slightly but everything else is fine.

Whyte are a perfect example of putting the same size crank across the size range. The 800 series compact for example has a size range 145cm-175cm but has a 170mm crank across the range. A 170mm crank is great for kids/adults at the top end of that range not so great for the ones at the other end. This is what stands Islabikes out from the rest as they put different size cranks on the bike.

https://kidsracing.co.uk/blogs/bikes/kids-bike-com...

P

[FWIW]

Just to close this off, I found a virtually unused Whyte 806 (small) at half rrp on eBay. It’s a quality piece of kit and beautifully made. FWIW Jnr is chuffed to bits.

Many thanks for the advice!

[Bill]

That's a find and a half!