Islabikes calling it a day

[pigman]

Sad state of affairs

https://www.islabikes.co.uk/pages/cease-of-sale.

If you want one, buy while stocks exist

[Link edited by moderator to remove Facebook tracker.]

[slowster]

Also mentioned on the 'Cycle Retail in Meltdown' thread - viewtopic.php?p=1804990#p1804990

Islabikes is a rather special niche bike manufacturer, and I think it might be useful for it to have this separate thread for questions and information relevant specifically to Islabikes and owners of their bikes, and to use the 'Cycle Retail in Meltdown' thread for more general discussion of the state of the cycle industry.

[UpWrong]

Gosh, sad news. Must be hard to get the sales volume in niche markets, and to compete with the giants in the more mainstream.

[slowster]

Are the grips and/or derailleur hangers and other spares listed on their website unique to Islabikes, or are they standard models/dimensions which can be bought elsewhere?

It would be a shame if in future bikes that still have many years' useful life in them cannot be fixed due to a particular proprietary spare no longer being available.

[pjclinch]

Are the grips and/or derailleur hangers and other spares listed on their website unique to Islabikes, or are they standard models/dimensions which can be bought elsewhere?

It would be a shame if in future bikes that still have many years' useful life in them cannot be fixed due to a particular proprietary spare no longer being available.

Things like derailleur hangers would be, I'd think/guess, standard. Where Isla stuff was more bespoke it was so it fitted children/small bikes where standard stuff didn't, e.g. brake levers, pannier racks.

My kids each had a Bein 20L and then a Beinn 26L, the bikes were a pleasure to work on and nothing about them was obviously too weird to fix without sourcing from the company.

And while it's a crying shame Islabikes are saying goodbye, they'll leave a lasting impression because there's now more than one option for getting decent kids bikes with sanely sized componentry.

Pete.

[AndyK]

Are the grips and/or derailleur hangers and other spares listed on their website unique to Islabikes, or are they standard models/dimensions which can be bought elsewhere?

It would be a shame if in future bikes that still have many years' useful life in them cannot be fixed due to a particular proprietary spare no longer being available.

Things like derailleur hangers would be, I'd think/guess, standard. Where Isla stuff was more bespoke it was so it fitted children/small bikes where standard stuff didn't, e.g. brake levers, pannier racks.

My kids each had a Bein 20L and then a Beinn 26L, the bikes were a pleasure to work on and nothing about them was obviously too weird to fix without sourcing from the company.

And while it's a crying shame Islabikes are saying goodbye, they'll leave a lasting impression because there's now more than one option for getting decent kids bikes with sanely sized componentry.

Pete.

I was working on a customer's Beiin 29 (the grown-up version) the other week. It had Islabikes' own special "easy tyre removal" wheels with a rim that is supposedly made specially for them to thweir own design, and a hub that had an Islabikes colour flash on it but no other brand markings at all. It needed a new freehub. The freehub looks a bit like a particular SRAM freehub (and Islabikes use a lot of SRAM parts) but freehubs are a compatibility minefield. So I phoned up Islabikes who conceded that it might be an OEM part from Formula, but no details beyond that. But "we still have a few left in the warehouse" so they sold me one (at, I have to say, a somewhat inflated price if it's what I think it is).

It would be a nice gesture if, before they close the doors for good, they could list where they got their more unusual parts from. I think the short-reach brake components are mostly available off-the-shelf from Tektro, but I suspect the easy-off rims might become unavailable. Not so sure that the mech hangers are standard items either: if I owned an Islabike I'd be buying a spare hanger now, just in case.

[pigman]

There are eBay shops selling literally hundreds of mech hangers . They show a picture of each and state the names of manufacturers who have adopted the design
I thought I was screwed when my non-mainstream bike's hanger got bent, but it was quite easy to match up.

[Bonefishblues]

In the era of 3D printing I very much doubt even non-standard parts' breakage is too much of an issue.

[slowster]

If I owned an Isla Bikes child's model bike, especially one made for very young children, I would not assume that spares would be available or easily made to order. A quick look at their website suggests the bars are narrower diameter than standard, with correspondingly narrower diameter grips. Handlebars cannot realistically be made by 3D printing, and nor would I assume the grips could. The grips are probably moulded rubber and made very cheaply in bulk. The plastics used for 3D printing may be far less suitable for grips, and relatively expensive if made to order.

The important point is that while Isla Bikes is still trading, it will be much easier to collate information about what parts are non-standard/proprietary, because if necesary Isla Bikes can be contacted to ask about specific parts. It will be much more difficult to get that information once they have closed.

[PH]

The important point is that while Isla Bikes is still trading, it will be much easier to collate information about what parts are non-standard/proprietary, because if necesary Isla Bikes can be contacted to ask about specific parts.

Isla Rowntree has a huge interest is sustainability, I doubt there's anything you could think of regards preserving their bikes longevity that they haven't already considered.

[Pinhead]

Sad state of affairs

https://www.islabikes.co.uk/pages/cease-of-sale.

If you want one, buy while stocks exist

[Link edited by moderator to remove Facebook tracker.]

Just don't expect a guarantee if it goes wrong if they go bust especially electric

[Pinhead]

In the era of 3D printing I very much doubt even non-standard parts' breakage is too much of an issue.

Hmmm plastic hangers !

[Bonefishblues]

In the era of 3D printing I very much doubt even non-standard parts' breakage is too much of an issue.

Hmmm plastic hangers !

I'd use (as in print in) metal for preference.

[pwa]

We have two Luaths in our garage, both now much modified with different saddles, stems, chainsets and wheels. I haven't needed to look at mech hangers yet, but in other regards the framesets are just normal items and take normal parts. When we first had the bikes, from new, I thought the components with bearings (bottom brackets, hubs, headsets) were cheap, poorly sealed items and I wasn't impressed. So I wasn't as uncritical of Islabikes as some.

[st599_uk]

In the era of 3D printing I very much doubt even non-standard parts' breakage is too much of an issue.

Hmmm plastic hangers !

Why would you 3D print the hanger in plastic? Even Reynolds of tubing fame use 3D printing now for stainless BB assemblies.