Islabikes vs Hoy - What do you think?

[Anonymous]

I hope I'm posting this in the right section. Apologies if not!

I am after picking your brains / thoughts / experiences with 24" kids bikes.

Our son is on the cusp of growing out of his current bike so am putting some thought into his next ride.

He's currently got the Islabike Bienn 20 small, which to be fair has been an excellent bike but he's simply outgrown it (far to quickly for my wallet) so it's decision time as to what's coming next.

I've narrowed things down to the Islabike Bienn 24 (currently in No1 spot on the shopping list), however the Hoy Bonaly 24 has been attracting my attention as a viable alternative.

Costs sit in favour of the Hoy at £320 from evans cycles, versus £399 for the Bienn direct from Islabike. There seems to be little in it in terms of spec, weight etc and both have kid specific components which is crucial.

Have any of your little bairns got these bikes? If so I'd be interested to hear what you think....oh and by all means throw in any alternatives......

Many thanks.

 

[hamster]

Bought a Beinn 24 about 5 years ago, done two sons for the daily ride to school plus some tours and all the usual weekend stuff. The only thing it has needed is a chain and some brake blocks. Judging from the way prices have gone, I reckon I'll get my money back on resale.

 

[andyz]

Re:

Islabike Creig was the best 24" kids bike ever made. Try and find a second hand one, although they are rather pricey! Sadly, they don't list them any more.

 

[Anonymous]

Re:

I did wonder why they don't sell the Creig any more. Will be visiting them on Friday so will ask the question.

RST do a 24" air fork which could be an option if we wanted to smooth the front out, but thinking rigid to start with. Check out bike discount.de.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

I have the 24 about 2years now, while he doesn't ride much it easy to use and just works. Hubs could be better but then cost need cutting somewhere.

Not seen the hoy or frog or cube or.. many other isla style kids bikes.

Customise dome mag21 or simialr if you want air forks and some cool stuffing. On my to-do list, but he'll have grown out of it before I get around to it ;-)

Shame my youngest cannot use these bikes, but his cost far far more for him. Islabikes are dirt cheap in comparison.

I had (still have) a beinn 20L and its just a big wheeled version of that.
I'm thinking of bigger tyres for it for off-road, but not needed them so far.

 

[THEFALLGUY]

We have a 24 inch isla bike ben thing. Its was used by my older two kids and is still going strong for their younger brother.
If you swap the oem bars and stem out for a 50mm thomson stem and some risers it gives the kids a more stable ride off road when they get bigger

 

[Anonymous]

Re:

Thanks All,

Seems the sway is towards the Isla Bikes. Not surprising really and confirms my initial thoughts.

Before I go parting with my hard earned cash, has anyone got any experience with the Hoy?

Cheers.

 

[Sketchyxup]

Re:

I love the cannondale range of kids bikes but they dont seem to bring the full range into the uk?

http://www.cannondale.com/nam_en/2015/b ... atte-black

They do a 'Trail' version with suspension too in 24" flavor.

 

[Anonymous]

Re:

Hi All,

As we're coming up to Christmas I wanted to bring my thread to a close and let you know what I ended up purchasing.

In the end neither the Islabike or Hoy won through. I wanted to like the Islabike, but there is something about the current range that just didn't quite persuade me to justify spending top dollar. Spec wise, you can't go wrong but the look? Is it the lack of bold decals, perhaps?

It's down to personal preference I suppose, however the bike I ended up purchasing for our son is the Orbea MX Team 24. It really is a great little bike and I would certainly recommend it to others looking to purchase a 24 for their kids this Christmas. It's well specced (has upgrade potential with disc mounts!), has better gearing (big granny ring), plus trigger shifters rather than twist grips. Only down side I can see is that it's a tad heavier than the equivalent Islabike but the difference is small and in my view the "better" gearing negates that anyway.

From a kids point of view, our boy thought it looked more like Dads bike. The look certainly moves away from the kids bike appearance of the Islabike, to look more like a "proper" mountain bike. I think this is a good thing as in 12 months time he'll be happier riding something that has a more mature look to it.

Anyway - there you go. Hope it helps anyone looking to purchase a new bike for their (not so) little one's this Christmas. The Orbea is well worth putting on the list for consideration.......Islabike watch out - there's some new kids (bikes) on the block!!

 

[M-Power]

Bought a Beinn 24 about 5 years ago, done two sons for the daily ride to school plus some tours and all the usual weekend stuff. The only thing it has needed is a chain and some brake blocks. Judging from the way prices have gone, I reckon I'll get my money back on resale.

If you buy a good cond used one and junior looks after it, you should get all your money back come resale. Hard to argue with a free bike really.