Author Topic: Islabikes Second?  (Read 24985 times)

clarion

  • Tyke
Islabikes Second?
« on: 20 March, 2012, 04:32:36 pm »
Astonishing.  Apparently, The Independent, in listing the top ten kids' bikes, put the Ridgeback 24 (a good bike, it has to be said) above the Islabikes Beinn! :o

http://www.bikebiz.com//news/read/ridgeback-comes-out-top-in-independent-s-top-10-children-s-bikes
Getting there...

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #1 on: 20 March, 2012, 04:49:04 pm »
Blimey !

What were the criteria ?

The Beinn takes some beating.
Rust never sleeps

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #2 on: 20 March, 2012, 04:52:59 pm »
I get the impression that the position in a lot of the Independent's Top 10 or 50 lists may depend on how much advertising revenue or other kickbacks the manufacturer provides rather than merit. It probably explains why they have items like scarves costing £300 and other such nonsense.
It didn't look at all like that in the photographs

eck

  • Gonna ride my bike until I get home...
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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #3 on: 20 March, 2012, 05:12:58 pm »
I was doing some cycle instructor training today in a school in Aberdeenshire: among the kids' bikes parked there happened to be a Beinn. The trainees, mostly teachers, were amazed at how elegant, light and simple it was compared with the usual BSOs at most schools. It helped to reinforce my point that full-suss triple-chainring mountain-bikey lookey-likeys weren't the best machines for kids to learn to ride on. So, that's eight converts to Islabikes.  :thumbsup:

When buying a bike, you can have light; you can have strong; you can have cheap.
You can have any two, but you can never have all three.  ;)
It's a bit weird, but actually quite wonderful.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #4 on: 20 March, 2012, 05:32:21 pm »
I was at a BC session in a local school last week - they were using fixed-gear Islabikes (w/ cross tyres) on the school's grass running track. Seemed perfect for the job  :thumbsup:
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #5 on: 20 March, 2012, 05:45:24 pm »
I get the impression that the position in a lot of the Independent's Top 10 or 50 lists may depend on how much advertising revenue or other kickbacks the manufacturer provides rather than merit. It probably explains why they have items like scarves costing £300 and other such nonsense.
Well, I was going to ask how much the Indie was bunged to put the Ridgeback top but was worried for RZ's financial future..
Rust never sleeps

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #6 on: 20 March, 2012, 05:49:04 pm »
And we have a Ridgeback Mx24 we scored off Freecycle. It is a good bike and it is better suited to really bumpy tracks than a Beinn, but overall the Beinn is a far more finessed rig which holds its value unbelievably well. The Mx 24 is overkill for (I would guess) about 90% of kids.
Rust never sleeps

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #7 on: 22 March, 2012, 08:53:37 pm »
Made a mistake (don't ask) with my son's Christmas present and bought him a BSO which he doesn't get on with. Decided to get him another Islabike but he's "not too keen on the stickers" :facepalm: Are they lacquered over or are they easy to remove?

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #8 on: 23 March, 2012, 12:05:12 pm »
Made a mistake (don't ask) with my son's Christmas present and bought him a BSO which he doesn't get on with. Decided to get him another Islabike but he's "not too keen on the stickers" :facepalm: Are they lacquered over or are they easy to remove?

To answer my own question they're not removable

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #9 on: 30 March, 2012, 06:12:20 pm »
Made a mistake (don't ask) with my son's Christmas present and bought him a BSO which he doesn't get on with. Decided to get him another Islabike but he's "not too keen on the stickers" :facepalm: Are they lacquered over or are they easy to remove?

To answer my own question they're not removable
Maybe you cover them? What about stickers or reflective tape?
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #10 on: 30 March, 2012, 06:27:33 pm »
That's the plan :). Insulating tape FTW

jane

  • Mad pie-hating female
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #11 on: 30 March, 2012, 06:31:37 pm »
We have a bike rack at school stuffed with heavy, clumsy, cheap kids bikes equipped with components made of cheese.  Most of our families are not wealthy, by any means, the school is on a tower block estate in North Peckham and don't have the kind of cash to stump up for an Islabike. They scrape together 50 quid (often less, believe it or not) and trek down to the big superstores on the OKR.    The only decent bikes in the rack  are a Cnoc and a Luath belonging to children from a couple of the very few  middle class families in our school community, who are employed in jobs that pay  enough to fund the more expensive initial outlay.  They last much longer, however, and these families, who are friends outside school, have got a kind of club going, whereby they pass these bikes around as various children grow out of them and into the larger models.  I wouldn't be surprised if,  over time,  they save money compared to the poorer families, as the Islabikes will outlast the cheaper bikes by years.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #12 on: 30 March, 2012, 06:55:08 pm »
It's the same with a lot of things where the poor are sold short.
Getting there...

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #13 on: 30 March, 2012, 07:03:16 pm »
I'm not claiming we were poor, but my dad kept me-n-sis in reasonable 2nd-hand bikes for very little money very effectively. [This is probably how he saved enough money for the Bentley].
We never had the 'glamour' brands of the era (Choppers, Burners etc ...  :D )
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

jane

  • Mad pie-hating female
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #14 on: 30 March, 2012, 07:15:55 pm »
I didn't have a first hand bike till I was 46 years old (do I hear the Four Yorkshiremen chuntering away in the background?)  We seemed to have a store of solid old BSO's as kids,  which older relatives, who had bike knowledge, helped us keep vaguely roadworthy.  Trouble, is the cheap bikes of which I speak now, are never going to last long enough to be second hand.  And those families who buy them,  are not going to get access to any decent secondhand bike that's cheaper than those nasty new ones.  As Clarion pointed out, it's a common trap that the poor get stuck in.  Can't afford the initial outlay for anything of enough quality to last.  So end up over a lifetime paying far more than those with more money pay out for stuff.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #15 on: 30 March, 2012, 09:21:55 pm »
Ah, but the growing economy depends upon cheap rubbish that falls to bits and is replaced by more cheap rubbish that falls to bits.
The loss of humanity I could live with.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #16 on: 31 March, 2012, 07:51:30 am »
Expensive rubbish, by extension, does even more for the economy.  So huzzah for Gove and Maude!
Getting there...

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #17 on: 31 March, 2012, 08:34:28 am »
...
Trouble, is the cheap bikes of which I speak now, are never going to last long enough to be second hand.  And those families who buy them,  are not going to get access to any decent secondhand bike that's cheaper than those nasty new ones.  As Clarion pointed out, it's a common trap that the poor get stuck in.  Can't afford the initial outlay for anything of enough quality to last.  So end up over a lifetime paying far more than those with more money pay out for stuff.
Oh sure, I understand the problem. What I was trying to say was:
anyone can buy a good 2nd hand bike. In your scenario the "rich" and their club have made it a lot easier for themselves, but I doubt that they have a total monopoly on good used bikes.

[OT: A better example of a monopoly that excludes the poor would be land/house ownership. Now that really is a problem in modern Britain! ]
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

David Martin

  • Thats Dr Oi You thankyouverymuch
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #18 on: 05 September, 2012, 10:52:47 pm »
Ever tried finding a second hand Islabike? And one at BSO prices will be rare as hens teeth.
"By creating we think. By living we learn" - Patrick Geddes

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #19 on: 06 September, 2012, 11:07:03 am »
Secondhand bikes for kids generally tend to be only BSOs, and even those are not plentiful.

I'm not sure I've ever seen an Islabike and I don't know the Ridgeback, but I have seen some Trek kids' bikes and they look pretty good. They're the only ones I've seen that are designed to grow with the child - adjustable cranks and stems. They also come with stands, which could be pretty useful as children are always hopping on and off bikes to ride and play, though they may not get used - much easier just to drop a bike on the ground! - and they don't seem so gadget-laden as many other bikes. The biggest problem with just about all kids bikes is that they are laden down with stuff that looks bling but only adds weight and fail-ability. Small kids don't really need gears let alone teleforks, and as for rear suspension  :o
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #20 on: 06 September, 2012, 11:09:58 am »
Ever tried finding a second hand Islabike? And one at BSO prices will be rare as hens teeth.
There are 19 currently available on eBay, but they're unlikely to go for BSO prices. There again, they hold their value well, so if you can make the initial outlay, in the long run it will be cheaper than a series of landfill-destined BSOs.
Rust never sleeps

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #21 on: 06 February, 2013, 03:35:57 pm »
Have to say they are smart bikes. We were lucky enough to get our daughter a Beinn which will be passed on to younger daughter later. She's just grown out of the first one so are replacing it with, erm, another Beinn!
Both myself an my partner said 'I wish they made bikes for adults!' when we first saw it and now they do!!. Beautiful machines.

robgul

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Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #22 on: 07 February, 2013, 05:31:19 pm »
I just bought a CNOC 16" for our grandson who'll be 4 next week  ... 3 years old as new condition for about 65% of new cost - and that's a bargain from what seems to go on ebay (it came with stabilisers (unused) and a spare set of tyres)

Very, very impressed with Islabikes - well worth the extra cost over the mass-market stuff.

Plan is that I "manage the fleet" for grandchildren - at present we have 2 x Pashley Pickle traditional trikes, 1 x balance bike (not a Rothan still pretty good) - and they get passed on as when.

Rob

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #23 on: 07 February, 2013, 06:04:09 pm »
I have a similar job description, good innit! ;)

Re: Islabikes Second?
« Reply #24 on: 11 February, 2013, 12:06:52 pm »
The new Bienn or Chris Junior has arrived. There was a delay in their delivery so was sweating a bit that it wouldn't arrive for Junior's birthday. Gave them a ring on Tuesday to check it was in, they told me about the delay, dispatched on Wednesday, arrived Friday and put it together last night for birthday this morning!

Not only are they good bikes but have excellent customer service as well. :thumbsup: