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Islabikes galore!

2/5/2015

13 Comments

 

Big Brother was such a great sport when Little Brother got his "new" Islabike. He politely asked if he could try out the handbrakes so he could practice, too. It was pretty funny seeing them riding the same size bikes around. Thanks to some very generous and amazing grandparents, Big Brother was able to get the Beinn 20 large from Islabikes.

I ordered the bike Tuesday and it arrived today, Thursday. It took me about 5 minutes to put the front wheel on and thread in the pedals but then I had to walk the bike over to our friend's house to tighten them down with a pedal wrench.

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I packed both bikes onto the Bullitt for school pickup and surprised the big guy. He knew right away that it was a bike for him, despite not having been told it had been ordered. When I asked how he knew, he simply said "I knew you wouldn't bring Little Brother's bike and not mine!"

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After a few minutes of testing it out, we headed out to pick up the Little. The Beinn is a bit on the large side for BB. To be totally honest, the size chart has him barely at the Beinn Small size. I decided to make the extra leap because BIg Brother had tried both the Small and Large from friends and was able to try both sizes and he could ride them fairly equally.

BB's a little shaky with the starts and stops but great as he's riding along. He's getting used to leaning over to the side a bit more than before and using both handbrakes instead of a coaster. I haven't taught him how to get into power pedal position wth just one leg, yet, but he's only ridden the bike two miles so far, we have time for that. He was able to shift up to higher gears but not able to pull the grip shift back toward him for lower gears. We'll need to get some parking lot drills in soon.

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Sadly, Islabikes was out of their racks for the next few months, which was one of the main reasons for upgrading him in the first place. I was hoping to take him camping soon and letting him carry some of the gear. For now, he'll just be getting used to the bike with his own weight.

The bike is outfitted with the kickstand but I plan on adding fenders, the rack, panniers, and a side-loading bottle cage. It'll be a real touring bike in no time.

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Little Brother didn't quite have the same heartfelt response to his brother's new bike and had a meltdown over not having a kickstand on his bike. Once he calmed down, we had a lovely ride back home with two happy boys on great bikes.

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13 Comments
Melissa
2/5/2015 12:20:29 pm

Super-exciting. I'm sure he'll adjust to the bigger size in no time. Not to encourage appeasement, but have you considered getting a rear axle kickstand for the 16"? They're only $10-12.

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Elle
2/6/2015 12:47:34 am

That would actually be great! Kickstands are the best. Do you know what size would fit the CNOC 16"?

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Melissa
2/6/2015 01:21:22 am

I'm pretty sure this one would work:
http://www.amazon.com/Wald-MFG-KS-Axle-24-Mount-Kickstand/dp/B003WOMLVW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1EKG55RF31HVFHF116S1#customerReviews

If you don't have Amazon Prime, I'd be happy to order it for you.

Melissa | HerGreenLife link
2/9/2015 04:20:30 am

Really wish I lived somewhere where I had a chance of finding a pre-loved Isla for my little guy!

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Elle Bustamante
2/9/2015 06:22:07 am

We're selling our 16" with coaster brakes now :) How far away are you?

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Melissa | HerGreenLife link
2/9/2015 10:47:26 pm

Elle, that would be great, but we're in Missouri. Not sure it would be worth it to ship it, so unless you know anyone planning a road trip to the Midwest . . . . Are both your boys on 20" then? Or do you have a non-coaster 16"?

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Elle
2/10/2015 03:54:59 am

Probably not worth shipping, sadly! We got a 16" without coaster brakes so we're selling the 16" with coaster brakes. The Big got a 20". Islabikes are such great bikes! They are pricey though. I justify it because we use them for transportation and I want the boys to love bikes as much as I do. I wouldn't ride a clunker so why would I make them? That's not everyone's point of view but it works for us. I've heard that Interurban bikes are pretty good and so are Cleary.

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Daniela
5/3/2015 07:15:42 am

Hi, they look so great on their bikes. Really seem to be enjoying it.


in 2 weeks time my son turns 5 and i've pretty much decided this is the bike. But cannot decide on size. How old is your younger son?

I was recommended to go for the smaller cnoc 14, as he. Is o. The lower limit for cnoc 16, but i' m still not convinced.

Many thanks!

And enjoy the bikes :)

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Elle Steele
5/4/2015 06:10:34 am

In my experience, their size chart is on the small side. My big guy is 6.5 and small for his age but because of his riding ability, I moved him up a size early. He's on the Beinn large and doing just fine on it. I recognize that the smaller bike might have fit him better but it's just so temporary that I decided to stretch it for him. He'll fit better on the large in a few months. If your kiddo can ride and is comfortable with putting just part of his foot on the ground instead of a flat foot down, you could probably get away with the 16". My 4yo is about average for his age and riding the 16".

Either way, these bikes are wonderful!

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Daniela
5/5/2015 08:35:27 am

Yay! I got him the cnoc16! Places the order today. Looking so much forward to receiving it.

Thanks so much for replying!

Just a bit unhappy about his choice of color, i so much wanted the red... Buut he went with the green... Haha... I guess i will have to get a red one for myself...

Elle Bustamante
5/7/2015 12:29:09 pm

Ooo, we can't get other colors here (although LB got a blue one used that had been brought over from UK). In the U.S., you can get red or now pink. Green sounds nice!

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Daniela
5/24/2015 08:16:45 am

Just a few words to share how impressed we are with the isñabikes.my 5 yr old who was only getting his old bike out for a ride after much persuassion, is now in love with biking. I just can't believe how much he likes it. He asks every day if we go biking again. It took 3 days. The first two he didn't want the pedals on just used it as a balance bike. The third day i pushed him. I put the pedals on, despite a very unhappy child. I held him for 10 seconds and off he went. It was so easy for him. I was so excited. Thanks for the reviews and recommendations!

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Elle Steele
5/27/2015 01:32:00 am

Wonderful! So glad to hear it! It really makes a difference to have a lightweight, comfortable, well-fitting bike.

Reply



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