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Original poster

Isla bike or frog ?

38 replies

cheminotte · 08/05/2015 21:34

Time for a new bike for ds1. He's had a cnoc 16 and a Benin20. The next one is Benin 24 and its £399!
When we got him the last one 2 1/2 years ago there were no viable alternatives, has that changed. The frog equivalent is less than £200 and about 1kg heavier. He will be 8 and will happily cycle 10 miles.
Bikes do get passed down to ds2 so need to be sturdy.

OP posts:
CMOTDibbler · 08/05/2015 21:39

I'd still go for the Isla - you'll get a lot of your money back selling it on which you won't with the Frog. I also think that the gears and brakes are better sized on the Benin.

My ds is just about to turn 9, and is happily cycling 30 miles on his Luath 26 now

5madthings · 08/05/2015 21:45

Have you looked at the hoy bikes? They are pretty good as well and dawes and trek have some nice ones as well.

Original poster
cheminotte · 08/05/2015 21:56

Dibbler I've seen the resale argument before but we will be giving the cnoc 16 away to a cousin when ds2 outgrows it so no return there and its possible we'll continue to do that. We are also terrible at reselling stuff generally. 30 miles is impressive! I expect ds1 could manage more but we are limited by how far ds2 can do.
Is the 30 miles on road presumably?

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Original poster
cheminotte · 08/05/2015 21:57

Not heard of hoy bikes 5madthings - I'll take a look.

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CMOTDibbler · 08/05/2015 22:11

Yes, he likes going off road too, though I'm less keen.

We don't have anyone to pass things on to, so it never crosses my mind - we sold ds's Luath 24 for £170 quid after one fb post in the Islabike sale group, and we'd bought it third hand. All owners had ridden, and dropped it hard, but apart from paint scratches it was great.

5madthings · 08/05/2015 23:00

Felt are good bikes as well.

It depends how important re sale is and how much use it will get. We buy good bikes as we can pass them down and the madthings ride on and off road so we have to factor that in.

Dd has a Cnoc, Ds4 has a hoy bike and we are really impressed with it, ds3 has trek and ds2 has felt. The market for kids bike is opening up a bit more now it seems. Previously if you wanted a good bike it was only isla bikes but there is Def more choice now.

Original poster
cheminotte · 10/05/2015 08:47

5madthings Just looked at Felt. Their 24" kids mountain bike weighs 12kg vs Isla's version 9.46kg. That's too big a difference for me. We ride mostly off road at the moment but hope to progress to on road a bit more.

Dibbler - off topic but how long has your DS been riding on roads? How did you accompany him so you felt he was safe?

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Toyotayamaha · 10/05/2015 08:54

We love our frog bike. It's dc's first proper bike, light, agile but stable too. Absolutely love it and liked that I was able to view before buying.

Original poster
cheminotte · 10/05/2015 09:29

Looked at hoy bikes now. Lightweight only 9kg but no quick release wheels which we need for transport so they are off the list too.

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BikeRunSki · 10/05/2015 11:12

I am a big fan of Islabikes fur all the usual weight, quality and resale reasons. Not sure about Frog, they seem fairly heavy for the price. Decathlon bikes are excellent for less-than-isla budgets.

Original poster
cheminotte · 10/05/2015 15:51

Thanks Toyota
thanks too BikeRunSki - your username alone gives me confidence.

Pretty much decided on islabike now. Have decided to lend cnoc 16 rather than give, so we can resell in a few years when it is outgrown

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5madthings · 10/05/2015 16:09

Are you sure re quick release, I just checked Ds4's one and it has them.

BikeRunSki · 10/05/2015 18:15

DH is good buddies with the guy who runs our local bike shop (they ride together, and race against each other). He's a Frog dealer. He says that when people come in for a kids bike and have looked at Islabikes, nothing else compares.

UniS · 10/05/2015 18:36

DS now has one of each, a luath island and a frog 73... So based on our experience....

The bikes are different, but not massively so. DS has grown out of his beinn24 , no 2nd hand beinn 26 being advertised for sensible prices . Took a look at frog, the 2014 spec is a lot better than the earlier spec, went to bike shop to try the boy for size on both frog potentials, the 69 and the 73 , as the 69 was possibly too big based on leg length and frog guidelines. In the end he fits the 73, and not with saddle at lowest!
So, just like islabikes, frog size guide is not perfect. Unlike Isla you can try a frog in a bike shop.
The better spec 2014 frogs are not coming through secondhand yet. But if you plan on buying new and want a light weight hybrid there is little to chose between the two bar colours and price.
DS will use the frog for school run and cyclocross/ mountain biking. He is a slightly taller than average 9 yr old with long legs and short reach. We have changed the frog saddle for a harder one he prefers and swapped the plastic pedals off for metal MTB ones. Have lowered the handlebars too, lots of spacers supplied so this was easy. He likes quite an aggressive racer like riding position. As set up by the shop it was a bit sit up n beg.

Original poster
cheminotte · 11/05/2015 07:06

5madthings - I'm going on DP's say so tbh. I'm doing a first look then getting him to review the technical spec.

Thanks for that UniS - your DS must be pretty tall. DS1 will be 8 and is only just at the minimum height and inside leg for Benin 24. Our local bike shop does sell frog so I will go and look at one in person. DP is concerned that the extra kilo will make a difference and the gear setup is not as good. DS is slim built. Looking at eBay last night Benin24s are going for £300 or nearly.

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UniS · 11/05/2015 08:13

The pre 2014 frog has a worse gear set up than the current spec or the beinn. DS was served very well by his beinn 24 winning or podium place in numerous MTB and CX races. The bike fitted him perfectly and he could chuck it round the trails.
I take the height guides with a large pinch of salt. DS measures as a 67cm inside leg, but fits the frog 73....

UniS · 11/05/2015 08:14

Cheminotte, where about are you? Waiting to hear if family member wants the beinn, but if they don't, we will have one to sell.

Original poster
cheminotte · 11/05/2015 18:51

I'm in the Midlands UniS

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UniS · 11/05/2015 19:51

Quite some way from us.

Original poster
cheminotte · 11/05/2015 20:07

Never mind. Thanks for the idea.

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Original poster
cheminotte · 13/05/2015 15:47

Just been to see frog at bike shop. No frog 62 in stock so looked at frog 55. Apparently it would be that one anyway as his inside leg measurement is under 62. Frame size looked really long. Felt a bit heavier than current Isla cnoc 20. Will have to go with ds1 himself and send DP I think.

OP posts:
drycoughssuck · 13/05/2015 16:08

Have you looked at reviews or asked for advice on bikeradar?

Original poster
cheminotte · 14/05/2015 14:28

Hi dry cough - yes I found some old threads. The main argument was the resale value of islabikes on top of them being so light and designed FOR kids rather than being scaled down adult bikes. Looks like DS1 is between sizes on frog and they have no info on maximum inside leg so hard to work out how long it would fit him. He's at the very bottom of the size for isla's cnoc 24 so should have 2 years from it. Has had 2 1/2 years from current one.

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CMOTDibbler · 14/05/2015 14:56

When we went to Islabikes for ds's latest bike, they told us that they design such that children shouldn't have to go from one size to the next - most will miss out a model each time.

Its a lovely day out to Ludlow if you book a fitting, and they were super nice.

aprilshowersbringmayflowers · 14/05/2015 14:58

ok, so we had exactly this dilemma at Christmas. We'd had Islas up to this point, and had just decided to go for another (gritting teeth at price) when we found the frog.

I found NOTHING that really weighed the one against the other. Yes, the resale on Islas is amazing, but there are more and more of them around every year, and inevitably as a result the second hand value will fall (we found this with a P&T buggy that ended up selling second hand for less than we'd expected when we bought it). There are still few frogs about, so the second hand value is anybody's guess.
Leaving that aside, basically the frog is WAY cheaper, and DS has been delighted with it.

Gears good, brakes excellent. He's just 8 (got when he was 7); can ride well/long distances (35 miles when just 5), but life isn't allowing us to do that at the moment. He's fast on it: it's not a bike for pavements.
I really recommend the frog, we're very glad we went for it.