Islabike Beinn 20 alternatives?

daveb99

I'm looking for a new bike for my daughter, who will be 7 in 4 weeks time.

I was initially considering either the Frog 55 (£255) or Islabikes Beinn 20 (£329) but I'm not sure exactly how much cycling we will do, we're still doing up our house and I'm not going to let them roam on the streets on their bikes yet - in other words it will be organised rides with me accompanying them.

I know with an Islabike, I could expect to get back around £180 plus, 2-3 years later when I sell it, so it's the best bet from a resale point of view, but what about other alternatives?

I appreciate they will all be heavier - but given the fairly limited riding we will do, what other options are there, that aren't stupidly heavy?

I know most of their bikes are in a different league, but I can get about 23% off prices at Halfords, so could pick up a Carrera Luna Girls bike for about £155:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/k ... 4--20#tab3

I know it weighs 13.5kg. I need to work out how much value I would place in my daughter having a much lighter bike (like the 8kg Islabike) for an occasional ride.

What other options are there? To me, unless I can pick something up around the £150 mark, I may as well get the Frog, or stretch to an Islabike.

Any help, advice or experience would be much appreciated..

bompington

I don't really know much about the Frog. But having seen how easily (not to mention joyously) Bompetta got on her new Beinn 20 on her fifth birthday and rode off - including the pretty steep hill we live on - I wouldn't buy anything else. This is the third Isla we've had in the family and I reckon they're worth every penny.

bruce225

My 7 year old girl rides a Luna/Blast(boys version but looks unisex) and where doing 6/7 miles down the canals and light tracks with no problems at all, she loves it and the position wise she looks good, had to do a bit of tampering with the Gripshift to make it easier for her.

Plus we picked her's up on Gumtree for £50(immaculate condition) plenty on there on Ebay around that price plus then if she didn't ride it it wasn't a drain on our finacial resources as much.

daveb99

Thanks for the replies. I've managed to find a very nice lightly used Islabike Beinn 20 locally, which I am collecting tomorrow. It looks immaculate in the photos - and it has been in a proper cyclist family (like many Islabikes I guess). I figured the light weight would help my daughter to build her confidence with learning to ride properly, as it's a step up in bike size at the same time.