Islabike Beinn 20 vs Hoy Bonaly 20
skiffy
Posts: 84
My 5y/o is long overdue a bike to replace his Early Rider Belter 16 but we've holding out until Christmas. The plan was to get the Beinn 20 with off road tyres but I've seen the Hoy Bonaly 20 on evans cycles which looks pretty decent, and is a out £65 cheaper (after Islabikes charge you extra for decent tyres).
Does anyone have any thoughts on the comparisons between these two?
Isla is a 7sp grip shift whereas the Hoy is a 6sp thumb shift. Cranks on the hoy maybe look quite short.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the comparisons between these two?
Isla is a 7sp grip shift whereas the Hoy is a 6sp thumb shift. Cranks on the hoy maybe look quite short.
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Comments
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So I still haven't bought a bike for my son and really need to get a move on. The reason being I'm tossing up whether to go for a 24" bike. I've measured him and he's on the verge of that size bracket. He's a tall 5 y/o, 125.5cm with an inside leg of 55.5cm. So a 20" really isn't going to last him that long. A friend of mine has sent me a photo of his similarly lanky 5y/o on his Beinn 20 and it almost looks small.
I still want no more than a 1x8 drive train and don't want suspension. So it was between the Isla Beinn 20 Large or the Beinn 24 (at £400! plus extra for a tyre upgrade). But then I saw this....
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/Product/Default.aspx?pc=1&pt=9&pg=12915
That looks really good, it's a 1.3kg heavier than the Isla but ticks all the boxes and over £100 cheaper. What do people think? Anyone else gone big early? I'd be tempted to swap the riser bars for flat given he's only just tall enough for it. I expect that a 24" bit be a little cumbersome to start with, and I'd be worried about him being able to put a foot down whilst also having a comfortable pedalling position given the BB height.0 -
For a lot of youngsters the grip shift is very hard to operate so thumb shifters would be better, however not so sure on 6 speed. Have a look at Frogbike 55 they are nearly as light as the Islabikes comes with 8 speed thumb shifters and 2 set's of tyres on newer stock.
Are you sure that's the right way around? I understood (and found with my own children) that it was STI shifters that they couldn't move with just thumbs and a grip shift was much easier because they were using their whole hand/forearm. As I said, I understood that's why a lot of children's bikes were specified with G/S and not thumbies.Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
For a lot of youngsters the grip shift is very hard to operate so thumb shifters would be better, however not so sure on 6 speed. Have a look at Frogbike 55 they are nearly as light as the Islabikes comes with 8 speed thumb shifters and 2 set's of tyres on newer stock.
Are you sure that's the right way around? I understood (and found with my own children) that it was STI shifters that they couldn't move with just thumbs and a grip shift was much easier because they were using their whole hand/forearm. As I said, I understood that's why a lot of children's bikes were specified with G/S and not thumbies.
That's my experience as well ? I think the problem comes with either poor design on cheaper bikes or poor maintenance making the twist grip very stiff to operate. The one on the 24'' giant (sat opposite me) works like a Swiss watch0 -
So I still haven't bought a bike for my son and really need to get a move on. The reason being I'm tossing up whether to go for a 24" bike. I've measured him and he's on the verge of that size bracket. He's a tall 5 y/o, 125.5cm with an inside leg of 55.5cm. So a 20" really isn't going to last him that long. A friend of mine has sent me a photo of his similarly lanky 5y/o on his Beinn 20 and it almost looks small.
I still want no more than a 1x8 drive train and don't want suspension. So it was between the Isla Beinn 20 Large or the Beinn 24 (at £400! plus extra for a tyre upgrade). But then I saw this....
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/Product/Default.aspx?pc=1&pt=9&pg=12915
That looks really good, it's a 1.3kg heavier than the Isla but ticks all the boxes and over £100 cheaper. What do people think? Anyone else gone big early? I'd be tempted to swap the riser bars for flat given he's only just tall enough for it. I expect that a 24" bit be a little cumbersome to start with, and I'd be worried about him being able to put a foot down whilst also having a comfortable pedalling position given the BB height.
Given a normal rate of growth, kids bikes fit them for about 6 months, so you either have to pick if you want the 6 months of ideal use to be at the beginning, the middle or the end of ownership,
Buying big seems a sensible option, but if he has a year ( or two) of struggling before he can use it properly, it may be false economy, you want a size that is perhaps a LITTLE big that will fit him in say 3 months but doesn't cause to many problems immediately. then 9 months from now it will be a little Small. You cant really expect to get much more than 12 months reasonable fit riding out of them.
To assess fit, Set the seat for correct peddling , then you want the seat slightly above the height of the handle bars so they are putting a % of their weight on the front, not the common sit up and beg, bars about noise height you see. (Which is what you will most likely get if you buy a 24'' Try putting a pair of ape hangers on yours and see if you like it)) If that looks a bit small, that's OK its how it rides that important0 -
What about the 24" Bonaly?
Really quite light and no nasty twist grip!0 -
What about the 24" Bonaly?
Really quite light and no nasty twist grip!
I've bought him the Beinn 20 Large in Green with off road tyres. Might get a couple of years max out of it but it'll have 2 more children to serve before we're done with it! Spent Saturday night covering it in copter tape! The twist grip shift seems pretty good actually, very smooth easy to move. Seems like a very nice bike. Will see how it goes on Christmas Day!0
