Happy Birthday, Big Brother & Welcome Isla Bike!

The original Tiny Helmet.

For Big Brother's 5th birthday, we decided to get him something pretty special--his very own well-built bicycle. We're big fans of quality bicycles and really believe that a solid, high-quality bike is a sound investment. With the bicycle education program that I work with, I see some of the bikes that kids ride (or at least try) to ride on and it's shocking how terrible they are! No wonder kids don't want to ride more often. I can't imagine riding a horribly fitting bike with clunky components that barely work. Yet, that's what most kids have to settle with. Of course, for many children, riding a bike is a rare occurrence, not a main form of transportation. We decided that if we wanted our kids to love biking as much as we do, we need to give them the same opportunities to have something that they will love to ride and that fits them well. 

A brief history of Big Brother's riding experience: he started out in a single Chariot trailer, followed with a double when his brother came along. Once we got the Mundo, he was a much more involved passenger. His first "real" bike was his Strider where he learned to tear up the sidewalk. 

Strider!

Around 4, we decided he was ready for pedals. He borrowed a super heavy 12" bike from friends, a Performance brand bike we called the Ice Cream Bike. He learned pretty quickly once he was on this bike because it was small enough for him to feel comfortable. However, it also weighed about 30 pounds and the fenders kept breaking off and lodging in the wheels. 

Ice Cream bike.

He quickly outgrew the Ice Cream Bike so we moved him up to the 16" Specialized Hot Rod that I had picked up at a garage sale for $10. It was a bit challenging at first but he figured it out quickly and grew to love his Fire Bike. We had to get the grips replaced because they melted off and the rear wheel had to be pulled back because the chain kept falling off and getting jammed. There was no chain guard for his pants. 

Even Storm Troopers ride bikes to school.

As he's gotten more comfortable riding and gotten better riding in the street, I realized that his skills were being hindered by the Fire Bike's terrible geometry. The crank arms were too short for him to get a full leg extension, even though he was on tiptoes when stopped. The extremely high raiser bars were awful for his stability. The cockpit of the bike was really short and wasn't going to give him much growing room. It seems like bike manufacturers just find "kid-sized" parts and slap them together without any regard to the actual end product. 

But then we found Isla Bikes! They have a US distributer in Portland, OR where we were planning on going around Big Brother's birthday anyway so we set up an appointment to test out the CNOC 16. Sadly, Big Brother got sick while we were in Portland so Little Brother helped me check out the bikes instead. 

The pro balance biker.

Yikes! This is the CNOC 14 and Little Brother was just about able to fit!

Tim had been really great about answering all my questions beforehand via email so I was pretty sure we were going to be heading home with a bike. The only thing that bothered me about the bikes is that the 16" US version has to be converted to a rear coaster brake instead of the two handbrakes that are shown on the website. They do this to comply with old US standards that were put in place because children's hands were too small to grip brake levers on crappy kid bikes. Isla Bikes have proportional brake levers that are easy to use and fit a child's hands but they still have to follow the rules. Big Brother's never used handbrakes so it's probably a good way to transition him over to better brakes but I'd still rather have him be able to use a freewheel for efficient pedal position when he stops, as well as being able to enjoy the better braking system of rim brakes. 

However, the second I walked into the showroom, I knew we were going to be getting an Isla Bike. Tim was a great help and explained the sizing and features of the bikes, as well as all the options. Big Brother would fit on the CNOC 16 and we could outfit it with fenders for year-round riding. This bike didn't fit a kickstand, bottle cages, or a rack, though. Tim assumed that he'd be able to fit this bike for about 1.5-2 years, as the bikes are made proportionally to children's rapid growth. Isla Bikes wants to ensure your child's comfort and appropriately sized bike. Their bikes are sized 1 year old+, 2 year old+, 3 year old+, etc but designed to overlap so you can skip a bike once your child has outgrown their current ride. The next bike Big Brother should fit is the Beinn 20 Large which has rim brakes, 7 speeds, and can be fully customized with all the awesome goodies like kickstands, racks, fenders, and bottle cages. It can even be kitted out as a hybrid, mountain, or road bike. 

Tim said the bike would be ready for us to pick up on our way home the next day and as long as it fit in the car (if it didn't, G'ampa would be taking the train back) Big Brother would have his new bike!  

On Wednesday, we were heading home and surprised Big Brother by taking him into Isla. He was so excited and agreed that he'd be happy to take the bike home. He also tried to take home the demo helmet but finally decided he'd part with it and just keep the CNOC. Tim taught him how to use the front brake and let him zoom around the bike box course. 

Yep! Looks good!

Getting the low-down.

Zoom!

Now that Big Brother's been able to ride the CNOC a few times at home, the biggest change I can see is how fast he is! I have to work to keep up! The 5 pound difference is pretty extreme when you're only 38 pounds to begin with. I think he's already ready to raise the seat up (which does make me think he won't last the full 2 years with the bike). Because he's such a good rider, I don't think Tim realized he'd already be comfortable with less of his foot on the ground. It's a good thing that the bikes have such a high resale value, although Isla Bikes also has a buy-back program that is usually good for up to 30% of the bike's original cost. It will be interesting to see if this bike gets passed down to Little Brother as he just about fits the CNOC 14 and will certainly be ready for it by his next birthday in April. 

The happy boy on his first real ride.

Big Brother's new bike accessories that he got from his aunt and grandma for his birthday. Thanks!

The difference between these two bikes is amazing! Besides the geometry, the quality of components is impressive on the Isla Bike. Every detail has been well thought out and perfectly scaled to fit a small rider. I'd imagine the best comparison is the new women's bikes that actually take women's specific proportions into account, instead of just getting a small men's bike and painting it pink. I'm really proud that Big Brother now has a real bike that he'll be able to ride happily and hopefully won't think we're torturing him by not owning a car.