Bike for 7 year old

[herecomesthsun]

My son needs a new bike - he is getting lots of other bits as well, but I think this would be a good main present.

Advice welcomed- he has learned to ride on his ridgeback but has outgrown it now, I am wondering about an islabike vs a Dawes.

He is nearly 8 and is 130cm tall with a 22" or 56cm inside leg.

DS has had 2 ridgeback bikes and they are great.

My dcs first Isla bike was used extensively by both of them and then sold on, it was in very good mechanical condition but had scratches, sold it for a £100 less than what I paid for it, so if you can afford the upfront cost it is actually cheaper than a Halfords bike. No other bike gets the same crazy bidding on e bay.

7yo DS had a ridgeback originally but for the last 2 bikes we've gone Specilized and they have been fab. We had them recommended by a professional MBiking friend as he had them for his kids and I'd highly recommend again.
We considered an Islabike as the cousins had them but was put off by being unable to try him on one, it seemed an awful lot of money to spend and rely on measurements especially as our DS is a bit of a funny shape (long body short legs) whereas with a bit of searching we found a shop in our wider area that had the specialized to try.

We have had Specialized for 4-6 and 7-9 (two bikes passed along 2/3rd DC), eldest had a Giant for 9th birthday. All have been great. Considered Islabikes but these have been fab and if you or DC's are bothered, IMO they look cooler, more like adult mountain bikes.

Sorry...cooler and a bit tougher - as we go on tracks/trails in the mountains quite a lot, this seemed like an advantage .

We live on the Dorset/Hampshire borders too & ordered an Islabike Beinn over the phone. They were really helpful - ds size at age 6 would have got 1 season out of the smaller size as he was between sizes at the time of ordering. That was 18 months ago and I think we've still got another year of use to go with it.

We went for an Islabike as I'd seen lots being ridden in the New Forest and everyone I'd spoken to loved them. We're a convert too - it's so, so light that ds could lift it on to the bike rack himself from the beginning, he's got loads of confidence from riding it and now cycles really well, both on local roads and cycle tracks.

And of course, it was bought as we know we'll sell it on at some point with little depreciation in value. Very good buy for us.