islabike worth the extra?

tobamory

I got this Mines 5 and just riding without stablizers

http://www.cube.eu/en/bikes/kids/kid-160/kid-160-girl/

I got a good deal on it 150

theslowone

Since starting this thread in 2011: Update
In the end we opted for an Islabike (cnoc 16 large) and as suspected it has been excellent, my son was riding by himself within about an hour! We are now upgrading to a bein. Just a point regarding the residual value of these bikes, We have posted the original bike on ebay and already we have bids upto £140 (not bad for a bike 2 years old that cost £170 new). I have also had a message from someone in Belgium who has said that he is willing to pay £200 plus postage as they can't get them in Belgium. I am a little dubious about this though using the rule that if somthing seems to good to be true it usualy is. My point is that we decided to go with Isla in the hope that we could get some money back later and it seems to be working (although I have been very strict about looking after it).

maddog 2

Anyone who values good design will understand how good the Islabike range is. Very impressive.

The Islabike range is head and shoulders above the rest IMO. People may scoff at the price but the resale value is so high that the actual cost of ownership is no greater than other options. My girls have been on various Islabikes (cnoc14, 16, beinn 20, 24) since they were four years old and I'll continue to buy them as they grow. Good company and well designed bikes.

Kermit Power

I'm currently awaiting delivery of a Beinn 26 Large for my daughter's 11th birthday next week. Yes, £350 is a lot of money for a kid's bike, but they're selling on Ebay for £250 - 300 once you add on shipping, so it just didn't seem worth buying second hand.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, but which I think is a real benefit of Islabikes is the Unisex colour schemes. My daughter chose blue, but neither that nor red would've been a problem for handing down to her two younger brothers. The same definitely can't be said of the Spesh it's replacing!!!

bikeboff

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

bompington

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

Not exactly doubting your story, but as "pedals falling off Islabikes" is not a commonly reported problem, to have it on two different bikes - what are the odds of that happening? "To lose one pedal may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both begins to look like carelessness".

bikeboff

Funny how that has happened with two Islabikes, then, but not with my other seven bikes (yes, keen, eh?) that I've had for more than a decade. That's why it does indeed seem unfortunate.

baudman

So was the fault with the crank? The thread in the crank? The pedal? Or how tight the pedal was attached?

Mike Healey

bikeboff wrote:

Funny how that has happened with two Islabikes, then, but not with my other seven bikes (yes, keen, eh?) that I've had for more than a decade. That's why it does indeed seem unfortunate.

Obviously, I'm not commenting on your problems, but the only ones we've had with ours, which we lend out every week throughout the year for sessions and for races, have been simple wear and tear and occasional minor mishaps thro' poor gear changing, etc.

Daz555

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

What was wrong with the cranks?

bikeboff

The threads on the right-hand cranks were stripped both times, by the pedals. I don't want to be unfair to Islabikes, but it does seem strange to me that I've had exactly the same problem twice. I took great care to make sure the pedal was fitted properly, especially after the first problem, and I regularly change pedals on my other bikes without any issues at all.

I feel miffed at having to pay for replacement cranks twice, but at least Islabikes are sending me a matching left crank without further charge once I pointed out the new one is incompatible (the angle of the spindle attachment has rotated). So there has been a design change.

I hope no-one else will suffer these problems, and perhaps they were peculiar to these two bikes, but in the spirit of sharing it seems reasonable to have pointed them out.

poah

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

sale of goods act stipulates that within the first 6 months they have to prove that its not a manufacturing problem.

bompington

POAH wrote:

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

sale of goods act stipulates that within the first 6 months they have to prove that its not a manufacturing problem.

Is that right? I may find that useful... my own crank problem

poah

bompington wrote:

POAH wrote:

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

sale of goods act stipulates that within the first 6 months they have to prove that its not a manufacturing problem.

Is that right? I may find that useful... my own crank problem

yes also within the first 6 months you can either ask for a refund, repair or replacement unless the repair is more than the cost of the item in which case the seller will give you a refund.

bompington

POAH wrote:

bompington wrote:

POAH wrote:

bikeboff wrote:

I've had problems with both Islabikes that I bought for my children. Both of them have had pedals falling off, mid-ride. Islabikes won't accept there is a manufacturing problem, so I've had to pay for replacement cranks - twice. Not impressed with their customer service.

sale of goods act stipulates that within the first 6 months they have to prove that its not a manufacturing problem.

Is that right? I may find that useful... my own crank problem

yes also within the first 6 months you can either ask for a refund, repair or replacement unless the repair is more than the cost of the item in which case the seller will give you a refund.

Thanks for the advice. And BTW, bikeboff , I rather think I owe you an apology for my somewhat sceptical response...

boyse7en

gkerr4 wrote:

Don't get me wrong, i think that islabikes are great bikes, but they just seem to have gotten a bit carried away with the prices in recent times. I was shocked to see that the beinn20 is now £265 with delivery!! - wow - it was £169 in december 09 when we bought it!

Sorry for the thread resurrection, but looking for a bike for my soon-to-be-six-year-old and the Beinn 20 was top of my list, but it is now £329! Does it still make sense?

I'm down in deepest Devon, and so far no secondhand ones have come up with 100 miles of here.

paulintheforest

What you have to think about is whether they will retain the second hand values to keep the cost of ownership reasonable, rather than the initial cash outlay. I'm soon to sell a Cnoc 16 that cost £165 in 2010 and it looks like I'll get anything between £130 and £180 for it as the new ones are about £230. I'm in a similar quandary though on the next bike. My Daughter's Beinn 20 large is ready for my son, but he's ready for a new bike now and too small for the large. I'm watching Ebay but they are going for about £260 or so. If I get one for that then I should get similar for it when it's finished with. Also look at the age of the bikes, black ones are pre 2010 and are still fetching similar money to one or two year old ones. Condition and age doesn't seem to have too much impact on resale value.

andrewc3142

Islabikes are very good, we are on our 3rd between the 2 oldest kids. Well thought out, e.g. child-friendly brake levers, and aren't the massive weight of most child bikes.

But not perfect. The Wellgo pedals are really only good enough to say it has some when sold, and IMO should be an immediate upgrade to some decent flats or spds (depending on your kid and what it will be used for). The Wellgo spds we had fitted from new on the previous one broke after about 2 months and were replaced with some Shimano spds I had lying around.

On the last one we bought, a Luath 700, the wheels were terrible, which wasn't the case with the previous two (which had been very much used, for school, trips, touring hols in France, etc). I had to true them several times after only a month or so and then a spoke broke on the rear. Not worth rebuilding (and being factory ones doubt they could be anyway). Replaced them with some Shimano 501s, £70 on Wiggle.

A couple of other niggles: the pedal was bent on delivery and scratched the crank arm (replacement sent without any quibbles) and the bolts on the chainset were very loose, to the point rattling around after one ride. Both easy to fix, but perhaps not for someone who doesn't do their own wrenching.

All sorted and my kid still loves it and uses it every day, but I do have a niggling concern that their QC is slipping. I hope I'm wrong since they are very good kids' bikes.

daniel_owen_uk

Have to say my limited experience has been excellent.

Managed to get a cheap CNOC 16 for the littlest (used forum on here), she learnt to ride on it, loved it, very light weight and unisex enough to pass on to her younger brother when she was finished. Dropped it on Ebay when they both outgrew it and actually made more money than what I paid!

Bought a new Beinn 20 and that is a great bike too, very light and perfect for the little one.