Islabikes Price Rise Dismay

halfmanhalfsnookermachine

I have been looking to get my son a new Islabike for Xmas, as he has outgrown his Cnoc 14. Two days ago they were warning people to order before the end of Sep 12 to guarantee delivery for Xmas due to unprecedented demand post the TDF and Olympics. I have just gone to their website and that message has gone. However, they have suddenly increased the price of a Beinn 20 Large by £50 - it is now £299, plus £30 postage for a bike for six year old.

The cycnic in me says this is the company 'taking advantage' of the current market. I would like to know what has prompted a 20% price rise overnight.

Congratulations Islabikes, you have succeeded in alienating one of your loyal customers (i have bought two bikes from you) and priced me out of the market. I will ring you tomorrow for an explanation, but I'm not holding my breath. This is not the Olympic legacy I was expecting!

arthur_scrimshaw

As you say it's worth a call. You don't know the price pressures they may have been under and may have been holding off increasing prices and suffering ever diminishing margins for some time? 20% does seem a big hike though, although market forces and all that.......

Mike Healey

The real price rise over the life of the bike is about £10, given that people report getting up to 90% of the original price back after about 12/18 months. Don't know where they're made but sterling's purchasing power has fallen against many of the far Eastern economies over the last year or so.

halfmanhalfsnookermachine

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

As you say it's worth a call. You don't know the price pressures they may have been under and may have been holding off increasing prices and suffering ever diminishing margins for some time? 20% does seem a big hike though, although market forces and all that.......

Fair point Arthur, and I am all for supporting British business, but they will be pricing themselves out of the market if they are not careful. The bikes are manufactured abroad and assembled in the UK. Its just the timing and I would much rather they put an explanation on the website about what has forced their hand. I have seen their price rises befor and they have only been around 10%. I remain sceptical but will let evryone now what they say tomorrow.

APIII

In general terms Chinese labour inflation and shipping container rates have increased around 10% this year for our company (not cycling related). You have to pass the cost on or you lose money, simple as that.

apreading

Mike Healey wrote:

...people report getting up to 90% of the original price back after about 12/18 months...

Honestly, I dont believe this unless in exceptional circumstances when someone bought before a price hike or found an idiot to sell it to.

Why would someone buy a used bike for £270 that they could get new for £300 with warranty, no wear and tear, no scratches and a known history. It just wouldnt be worth saving £30 for that.

I guess someone who bought yesterday for £250 new might be able to get £225 back next year if the new price by then is £300 because perhaps a £75 would be worth saving to the next buyer. This is the only circumstance when I could believe someone got 90% back but is a one-off circumstance, albeit one that might help the OP if he can buy tomorrow at yesterday's pre-increase price.

Daz555

halfmanhalfsnookermachine wrote:

Congratulations Islabikes, you have succeeded in alienating one of your loyal customers (i have bought two bikes from you) and priced me out of the market. I will ring you tomorrow for an explanation, but I'm not holding my breath. This is not the Olympic legacy I was expecting!

£300 notes is way way too much - in fact I think the whole Islabikes range has gone from "reassuringly expensive" to "bloody stupid". The balance bike alone is 130 notes! Bloody hell.

Take your money elsewhere. Some to consider (all a bit heavier than the Islabikes though):

Ridgeback MX20
Specialized Hotrock 20
Felt Q20R
Cube Kid 200
Giant XTC 2 Junior Lite

halfmanhalfsnookermachine

Daz555 wrote:

£300 notes is way way too much - in fact I think the whole Islabikes range has gone from "reassuringly expensive" to "bloody stupid". The balance bike alone is 130 notes! Bloody hell.

Daz I agree, I rang them this morning; apparently they have made the bike 1.2kg lighter and tweaked the frame geometry, and there is now no delivery charge, so it is effectively £38 more expensive that the old model.

The bottom line is its still a £300 bike for a six year old and I am not sure that the weight saving is required - the old bike was still excellent - I have friends with them who have kept them for years and let various children use them.

I suppose market forces will decide if they are a good buy or not especially post the Olympics bubble bursting, whenever that happens.

tiredofwhiners

but they will be pricing themselves out of the market if they are not careful.

Possibly. Possibly not.

I'd tend to believe the company knows what its doing than a member of the public that objects to paying more (which is a normal reaction).

Its called market pricing and are probably already close to capacity so have done the right thing and made sure they get every penny out of the remaining sales.

Tom Butcher

In the last couple of years they've been getting popular in primary school bike sheds as well as dominating the youth cyclocross races up to about 12 years old when most seem to go for a small adult bike rather than one of the bigger islas.

The upside to it all is there are a number of competitors coming into the kids cross market now. Kona have started making their Jake 24 again - albeit over priced and over geared (though in some ways better than the Isla equivalent) and Moda and I think some other company (Genesis ??) have a small drop bar cross bike too. Be good to think a similar thing will happen in more mainstream bikes with companies seeing their appeal and making lighter simpler bikes for young kids to ride rather than mini mountain bikes that weigh several times what my own bike does.

halfmanhalfsnookermachine

halfmanhalfsnookermachine wrote:

I'd tend to believe the company knows what its doing than a member of the public that objects to paying more (which is a normal reaction).

You may well be correct. I found out about Islabikes from a friend; they don't particularly advertise, they only go to three cycle shows a year and you can only buy direct from them. They sell on word of mouth, great reviews and internet chat like bike radr and Mumsnet. I have personally recommended them to various people who have since bought a bike from them. But, if the prices start to become too prohibitive, I would have trouble justifying them to friends in future, especially if their competitors catch up.

petemadoc

Both my kids have Isla bikes and I've now bought 4 and sold 2. Each time I sold one I did get close to 90% of the initial value and I had people messaging me for days after the sale.

I really like their bikes, makes a real change to find bikes fit for purpose.

I too have noticed the price hikes. I don't object to them because they cost what they cost, supply and demand, cost of materials, exchange rates etc etc ... I don't have to buy them... But I will because I know I can sell the last one to fund the new purchase and in the end it will cost less than buying a cheapo £80 bike from Tesco.

I do find it hard to understand why they are so expensive when they are effectively a direct seller. If they were selling them through bike shops as is the norm then they would cost 30% more.

They are a small business, so the scales are smaller I guess and they do put a lot of thought into the design.

Every year bikes seem to get more expensive and have downgraded parts at the same time. Just the way it is.

davieb

I was going to buy a Cnoc 14 for my son but £200 is beyond what im prepared to pay now. My eldest daughter is almost due an upgrade in which case my youngest daughter would have been getting her Beinn 24 and she's have been on to a beinn 26 large. Any manufacturer had to be careful with price rises especially in "todays climate" I'm certainly not well off but don't mind spending money on quality bikes for my children, but like anyone else im feeling the pinch and there comes a point where you have to say enough's enough.

Disappointed but or will make him just as happy.

the_cyclist_of_catan

Second-hand prices remain very high, though, and can easily believe the 90% stories, judging by recent eBay auctions I've been watching.

Bobbinogs

I've also been watching them on ebay and have been really surprised at how much they hold their value. I was looking at a Beinn 26 large for my daughter but ended up buying a small adult sized Trek off ebay instead as that was a lot cheaper.

p1tse

davieb wrote:

I was going to buy a Cnoc 14 for my son but £200 is beyond what im prepared to pay now. My eldest daughter is almost due an upgrade in which case my youngest daughter would have been getting her Beinn 24 and she's have been on to a beinn 26 large. Any manufacturer had to be careful with price rises especially in "todays climate" I'm certainly not well off but don't mind spending money on quality bikes for my children, but like anyone else im feeling the pinch and there comes a point where you have to say enough's enough.

Disappointed but or will make him just as happy.

Does anyone know the geometry/size and weight of these vs cnoc 14 as my 3yr old son sat on these in store and seemed quite heavy and big

Mike Healey

All I can say about them, apart from my personal opinion as to their value for money - bear in mind that I don't have any kids to keep supplied - is that the demand from our youngsters on Saturday mornings is beginning to outweigh our stock of 23, ranging from Cnoc14 to Luath 700 large. Borrowing has often been followed by parental gritting of teeth and credit card.

Mind you, the post-Olympic bounce has pushed our attendance up from an average of 38/39 to an average of about 75 over the last 5 weeks :shock:

pabosotf

Well I bit the bullet yesterday and ordered a Beinn 20 large. It was more that I really wanted to pay for a childs bike but she will be well told that it has to be looked after After the supermarket cheap bikes, most of the other good quality bikes I looked at did not seem that significantly cheaper than the Islabike, and they were all quite a bit heavier, certainly percentage wise anyway. As mentioned delivery was free now which helps a bit with the increase. My daughter is very small framed and lightweight herself so I am hoping she will get the benefit of the light bike and I want to encourage her to get outdoors and exercise. There was a large advert recommending ordering the bike in September for Christmas delivery, so I got a shock when I was told it would be delivered next week :shock: which I obviously didn't want, as I don't want to store it for 3 months!! so maybe the price rise has affected their sales after all. I think they still have some stock of the old models at the old price, so for anyone who does not want to stretch to the new price it would be worth a call but they did not have the 20" large available.