New bike for daughter

[531colin]

…..."Shimano STI short reach with Tektro junior top mount brake levers" apparently.

Yeah....that tells me that Islabikes think there is an issue to address.....it doesn't tell me unequivocally that any particular child will be able to operate the things easily.
however, I have remembered something which might actually be useful.....
One of the joys of the old CTC York Rally was the Islabikes stand, which was surrounded by a swarm of kids with huge grins riding the Islabikes round and round on the grass. Assuming they still do that at York or elsewhere, I would happily spend a day going somewhere to let my kids have a decent try on a few bikes....its a pretty sure way of finding out what they really like.
(as an aside, the Hoy bike that somebody linked had a really short reach handlebar.....it looked really like it was just there for something to bolt the brake lever onto, and you held the brake lever, not the bar. I don't know if the Hoy bikes have similar reduced size controls to Islabikes….)

[thirdcrank]

You can visit Islabikes HQ for a fitting / test ride and I see they have a programme of events around the country during the year, although the last for 2018 has now gone

https://www.islabikes.co.uk/test-ride/

[thelawnet]

Evans have some rigid hybrid options:

Neon - mudgear/pannier mounta, 28c tyres, v-brakes, max 40c.

Neon 1 https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ne ... e-EV275569 42x11-34t 8-speed Acera gearing, 9.7kg £300

Neon 2 - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ne ... e-EV275570 50/34 11-32t 8-speed Claris gearing, 10.2kg 360

Or:

Lithium 4 - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-li ... e-EV275579 44/32/22 11-34 9-speed Alivio gear, Shimano hydro brakes, 11.3kg, 42c tyres, £400

Probably the Neon 1 is sufficient.

[Bonefishblues]

Yes, it is

[pjclinch]

When my daughter was about that age she had her eyes on an Isla Luath because of the super-cool "curly handlebars" and generally Go Faster vibe. When she subsequently tried drops on a track bike she was considerably less enamoured of them (despite doing enough track to take part in a youth omnium), and has been happy on flats or flats and bar-ends on her "normal" bike ever since. Unless she'll be racing it I'd be inclined to discourage a road bike.

While I take the point that the gears etc. on a Beinn aren't exactly Dura Ace, you can't really compare them to "entry level" until you've seen what that really means on a BSO

Pete.

[thelawnet]

While I take the point that the gears etc. on a Beinn aren't exactly Dura Ace, you can't really compare them to "entry level" until you've seen what that really means on a BSO

Well depends on your definition of entry-level I suppose. I just took a look at my wife's Tourney-equipped thing, Tourney TX derailleur/Ezfire 8-speed brake/shifter, some generic Tetkro v-brakes, they haven't had too much love, but the gears are just fine, but the brakes are horrid things. I've got some 8-speed Alivio shifters lying around, and I've ordered some Alivio brakes & levers so I'll ditch the Ezfires. I've ordered some stainless brake & shifter cables from Decathlon & new brake housing. The derailleurs are just fine so doesn't seem to be any reason to touch those.

Islabikes use entry-level components, there's no Deore-level kit anywhere I think.

[alexnharvey]

I've been tracking secondhand islabikes prices closely as I'm looking for a beinn 20 small for my son. It appears that they are finally starting to drop a little. This is probably due to increased competition from Hoy and others.

[thirdcrank]

Children growing quickly isn't just a matter of bike sizes. I don't think anybody buys 11 yo children adult-size clothing and shoes to be grown into (unless they are already grown to adult size.) They can ignore big top gears but struggle or walk if the bottom gears are too high. At least with the current fashion for smallish frames with a big seat tube, there is a certain amount of waggle room. I've read plenty from CJ about the problems which can be caused by people with shorter legs using 170mm cranks.

[Bonefishblues]

I've been tracking secondhand islabikes prices closely as I'm looking for a beinn 20 small for my son. It appears that they are finally starting to drop a little. This is probably due to increased competition from Hoy and others.

I have a sense that Isla have over-extended themselves recently in the face of competition which is increasingly copying the essence of their designs.

They have dropped their Pro range, and are selling off remaining stock, and they are closing/have closed their N American operation, based out of Portland.

They are still the premier brand, but there are now plenty of alternatives.

Successively, my daughter has had a Scoot, Isla, Marin, Frog, and is now on a Genesis, which rather illustrates the point.

[thelawnet]

Evans have some rigid hybrid options:

Neon - mudgear/pannier mounta, 28c tyres, v-brakes, max 40c.

Neon 1 https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ne ... e-EV275569 42x11-34t 8-speed Acera gearing, 9.7kg £300

Neon 2 - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ne ... e-EV275570 50/34 11-32t 8-speed Claris gearing, 10.2kg 360

Or:

Lithium 4 - https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-li ... e-EV275579 44/32/22 11-34 9-speed Alivio gear, Shimano hydro brakes, 11.3kg, 42c tyres, £400

Probably the Neon 1 is sufficient.

So just went to Evans to look at the sizing, and ask about trade-in policy (answer: sorry, no dice, you need a scrap bike to ge tthe money off). The Neon 1 has unfortunately sold out since I posted. Oops. Otherwise the M is too big from a reach point of view. The S is fine. But I then dropped my daughter off at her friend's house and I was struck by the size of her friend, and though 'hmm, she could outgrow this quite quickly'

She wasn't keen on a road bike.

Edit: just snapped up an 'ex-display' Neon 1 on Ebay from Evans for £207 delivered, after 10% off Ebay promotion, so quite happy with that! They also have a Lithium 3, which is same as the Lithium 4 (42c tyres, hydraulic disc brakes), but with 3x8 speed, rather than 3x9speed, for the same price. Theoretically 'more bike', but not sure if it's useful. Big difference between 28c and 42c tyres though? Perhaps I should get both & try them out.

[thelawnet]

The bike arrived, apparently new and unridden. No pedals so I called up Evans and they said they would send some or I could collect some in store which I did.

It is very light compared to the typical mtb-like hybrid with front suspension that you find in this price range. 28mm tyres are much nicer than 23mm ones.

The rear derailleur is a bit clunky when it shifts though that might be partly her technique. She was skidding because of the v brakes being far more than powerful enough for someone of her weight, but now is working on technique to avoid that.

The bike was supplied with quite a nice pedal wrench and multitool, about £10 worth of free tools which is good for the price paid.

[pwa]

It looks like a very nice bike, much better than anything I was riding before the age of about 25.