[Closed] Isla Beinn 20 or Frog 55

I have no opinion on the Frog but my daughter (age 6) gets on with the gripshift just fine on her Beinn.

I was looking at these for my daughter, who's 5 early next year, but now I'm leaning towards the Specialized Riprock 20.

does the specialized still have a coaster brake on these?

The Riprock has discs and plus tyres - it looks fun!

My kids have got Frog's so a vote for them from me. Not the only game in town, but great bikes easily stand upto any other option in terms of price and quality.

In fact my younger daughter has grown out of her 55 so I'll need to get her onto a bigger one, so if you finally decide on a Frog then give me a shout. Hers is in very good nick - only minor signs of normal wear and tear and in Purple!

Hey would have to be in Red, but thanks anyway.

My frog 48 has been great but just trying to decide on the better gears.

Had a look at the Specialized Riprock 20 looks too much extras for 5.5year old suspension fork, front disks, maybe next one up after this

Vitus 20?

to be honest I am between the Isla and the Frog, just as I have had them before and they have done the job. With the resell value and the fact his little brother will get use, and they use them most weekends to cycle when out with dog I dont mind the costs.

Its the two different gears I am trying to gauge which is best

Ok, 6 y/o has duck to watered the thumb shifters. Vitus came up very similar to the frog so we went with that. It has to do 3 kids, so resale is out the window... it will have had a hammering!

my daughter struggled with the gripshift on the frog so as I'm passing it down to her brother I've fitted a 7 spd trigger shifter instead - I'll see how he fares with that and report back.

We've got Isla, Frog and Specialized kids bikes - the Isla probably has the edge in nice-ness but the Frog is also a very good kids bike. The spec is also a nice bike but yes, too much unnecessary stuff and I would ditch the sprung fork if I could, already converted it to 1x as the chainset weighed a ton and kids don't really need triples.

It's boringly often quoted about resale value on Isla bikes but that's because its true, we might even make a small profit on ours since it was bought 2nd hand at a good price.

Both of my two struggled with gripshift so maybe see if he can use gripshift before you make a decision (take him into halfords and let him try a few bikes maybe).

Hey

Yeah the resale thing is in a lot of posts, but is equally true of Frog. I paid £200 for my frog 48 just before it was hiked up to £250 and they are selling for £180 2nd hand so even if I get £150 its only cost me £50 for a great bike over 18 months

I have read mixed reviews on the gripshift but does seem to be a lot of people saying thumb shifter is better or altered their Isla, makes me wonder why Isla done this

not sure I would get to see an Isla with gripshift before xmas as there online, but woudl be great, might ask around his school

I wish Islabikes made a more MTB 20" bike - I know I'd lose less money if I bought another Isla but I think my daughter will have a lot more fun with more grip and better bump absorption from the 2.8" tyres on the Specialized. But that's because the best places for safe riding around us have lots of fairly techy rooty twisty singletrack, which isn't the case everywhere!

Had to make a similar decision recently. After having two Isla bikes already I decided the Beinn was ridiculously priced, so started looking at the Frog ... which looks a good bike, I then came across the Vitus 20 which has a near identical spec to the Frog but was far, far cheaper.

In the end I went for the Vitus and think it was the best decision. Great bike for the money, spend some of the money I'd saved from buying the Frog and bought some SKS mudguards and changed the bar to a light alloy flat bar, changed the loose ball headset for a FSA sealed bearing one. And I reckon I still saved over £100.

Just looked and the Vitus is now down to £149!! I thought it was already a bargain when I got it for £180.

[url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-twenty-kids-bike/ ]http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vitus-twenty-kids-bike/[/url]

yeah the Isla MTB dont start until 24" but at £799 thats a lot of money, I'd defo opt for a frog or specialized at this stage for sure

But for this age just now defo between the frog 55 and beinn 20

On the shifter front I've fitted 7spd rapid fire to both my kids bikes. Shifters cost under a tenner each. Replaced grip shift on one and a broken integrated shimano brake thimbshifter on the other.

Jnr FD is on a Frog 55

I’ve changed the bars from the flat narrow ones to ful on risers. It’s transformed how he rides the bike. It’s also got proper off road tyres too.

He will have out grown it early spring I think !

In the same position, my boy's well out grown his Cnoc 14.

Isla and Frog, are on list of posentials, i'll add the wiggle bit too.

Going to try a few for size this weekend. Has any had a wiggins bike, looks good value?

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/kids-bikes/wiggins-chartres-junior-bike-20-wheel

As other have said - Frog and Isla are both nice bikes, but you do notice the price difference in the details. They're only little things but they do add up - like the nipples on our Frog Road 55 rusting, compared to shiny many-year-old nipples on our Islabikes. If you're going to get picky then the geometry is better on the Islas too - the back end is a bit long on the Frog in comparison - and the Frog is nearly a kilo heavier. That's what an extra 80 quid does for you.

Orbea look interesting as an alternative - disks and 9speed for the same price as the Beinn 20, plus better off-road tyres from the off: https://www.orbea.com/gb-en/bicycles/mx-20-team-disc-18

Got two islabikes beinn 20s forsake in Manc. 90 quid ono for t5he cheap one. 200 for the other

so whats the general opinion on the gears, suppose it comes down the the child, i don't think he will have trouble changing the gears on the grip shift as seems to be a issue with some kids but who knows, just looking for general opinion

Isla grip shift

Frog thumb leavers

razorrazoo do you have isla and changed the gears is that what you mean?

Given that Jonathan has been brave and honest enough to go against the STW Frog owners norm and admit some deficiencies of his family's Frog against an Isla, I will do the same...

Gripshifts on Islas are a thing of evil. My younger son has a nightmare with them. (his brother had no problem at all.)

Written as purchaser of no less than 5 new islabikes and 1 second hand one.

No idea why they persist in using them

we've 2 Frog 55's, one trigger and one the previous year model when they were still using gripshift. Both kids struggled for a while to get enough strength to change down, either by trigger or gripshift, (changing up with the spring was easy), but now my son uses his trigger shifter fine, and my daughter uses her gripshift fine. You're probably over thinking it to be honest

I agree this is a little overthinking but its more to get an idea of what is better overall.

To be honest I doubt he will get the hang of gears or even use them for another 6 months either way

As others have said, a rapidfire shifter is only a few quid so it's easy to convert. Might need new grips as well

I changed the 7spd gripshift on our old Beinn 20 to XT 9spd triggers (obviously that also involved buidling a new wheel!). An improvement, but still a fairly stiff shift for little hands.

Now the gripshift on the Pro Series Beinn we've had on test is a different kettle of fish altogether - that a 10spd GX shift running on a 9spd block and it's one of the nicest lightest shifting setups you could find - the rider has had no problems shifting and he's finally properly anticipating changes and moving up and down gears freely. You get what you way for I guess. I've not had a play with the recent spec shifters on the normal Beinns though - they may be better now (most stuff is!)

Either way cheap derailleurs can have stiff springs, and cheap shifters can have a lot of friction. I've seen both grip and triggers be difficulty for small hands to work, so I don't think either is a magic bullet. Without significant upgrades the best you can do is optimise the cabling to be as low friction as possible. I used tail ends of Gore cable kits for ages, but I seem to have run out of those now!

I’ve got 2 Frog 55 bikes, fitted with shimano revoshift (light operation) one red the other Children in Need spotty both very good condition, fitted with stands from new so both bikes virtually spotless. Located west of Glasgow if interested

I do like specialized bikes for myself and having a look about after the recommendation of the riprock 20...what about the hotrock 20?

Cant seem to find any weight info on the hotrock 20 tho?

Not sure if you get the Trek Superfly 20 over in the UK.

We had an Isla scoot, then cnoc14 before but being in the US, the Isla cost more than the Trek and looked less racy. Similar on spec also with a gripshift.

Bought another Isla for the 2yo and the cnoc is waiting for him.

Biggest problem is letting a kid out on an expensive bike even down the road to a mates house. And bike-tag is the game of the devil, everyone else on Wal-Mart bmx. All I can see is the shiny rear mech living dangerously.

Anyone any experience with the Specialized hotrock range?

Also read a post about the orbea mx20 look good also nothing about weight tho

Weight was always low with the Isla and frog which is great for his age

He cycles mostly on bumpy paths where we take the dog

I've been looking today and I am going to rule out a specialized at this stage, I am going to go with either of the 3 below, the 2 original ones I mentioned and a new one in the mix HOY Bonaly 20

Slightly confused on something the Frog is 20" wheels 11" frame same as Isla, Hoy says 20" wheels and 20" frame?

HOY Bonaly 20

ISLA Bienn 20

FROG 55

Can look at the Hoy in Evenscycle, the Frog in Edinburgh bike co-op although have a frog 48 already, so just need to source someone with the Isla locally to have a look at it

Took the boy to Evans today Tried the hoy and pinnacle, then went to halfords to have a go on the Wiggins.

Wiggins won the day as it was red (ISH) and Santa's tight;)

My 5 year old grandson has a Frog 52 and got on fine with the trigger shifters from the start, no problems at all.

Can anyone explain the frame sizes frog and Isla 11” hot 20” but these bikes are all in the same category?

Not me, I've just looked at there size guide, my boy is right at the bottom so I was 50/50 if a 20 was going to be too big for him but all 3 he tried today he could put his feet ( well toes) on the ground which made up my mine that 20 is right. The Wiggins was acutall a bit smaller than the other too.
Good luck, my advice is go try a few out.

Frog 55 means inside leg 55cm

Sorry what I mean is why are the frog and Isla 11” frame and the hoy 20” when these are comparable bikes 20” wheels

I know the 55 is the inside leg

razorrazoo do you have isla and changed the gears is that what you mean?

Yep, just changed the shifter. Done it on a frog 52 (they used to have grip shift before frog changed to thumbshifters) and also on a cube 24 which had a combined brake/shifter which broke. Both 7spd.

Can anyone help with what they mean by the frame size?

Isla and frog 11” and hoy 20” this seems a big difference for all bikes 20” wheel or am i misunderstanding this?

or am i misunderstanding this?

This

Great post Simon, so can anyone be a Lille more helpful

Thanks

Yes. You are misunderstanding it!

Ignore the frame size. My eldest has a 11" frame in the attic waiting for him. It takes 26" wheels and is 21" long in the tt. He is 7 and should fit on it in roughly 3 years...

Look at Isla's fit guide and go from there.

hoy bonaly 20 has a 275mm seattube, which is around 11".

my lad has a hoy bonaly 24, and its a cracking wee bike

Thanks that’s more helpful just couldn’t figure out why these were so different

I’ve checked all the size guides all these are the bikes in his range just wondered why the hoy was stating a bigger frame

The hoy does seems to get good reviews

Will go check out the hoy and frog locally to get a better idea

Thanks for all the help please keep the comments coming if you own one if these 3

Just buy whatever colour is preferred. And whatever shifters you have. Jnr won't care...

lad had a beinn 20s, didnt get on very well with the grip shift.

when it came to moving to a 24" bike, the hoy bike was 25% cheaper than the comparable islabike and has turned out to be a great bike.

i see theres a substantial saving to be made on the 20" hoy bike compared to the islabike, but i would imagine that the islabike may have better resale value.

Rich_s I had thought of the colour theory but he wants red and they’ll all red LOL

I let him seen them online and he likes the all 🙂

Looking online the hoy does look more mountain bike than the rest with the tyres which would suit the cycles he goes on better.

Frog you do get the extra set of tyres not sure how they compare to what’s on the hoy

Isla does look like I may have to invest in another set of tyres as the standard ones on Isla look more like for smoother Paths but might be wrong

i think the ones on the hoy are very similar to whats on the islabike.

I think you'r right looking at the pic a little more closely.

People who put mountain bike tyres on their Isla's did you buy these from islabikes or external site/local shop?

The one think cosmetic that puts me off the Hoy is the handlebar grips (white and look uncomfortable) also the seat in white in a kids bike hmmmmm not sure.

Just little things on the looks

20" Conti explorers £13 at crc, worked out cheaper buying from crc than islabikes when i got my lad his bike.

Thanks Paladin will take a look

The Hoy has 20" 1.75 kenda and the Isla 20" 1.4 all surface tyre tyres

Had another look at the Isla and can honestly say I think if I opted for the beinn 20 this would be the last Isla I would get.

The next stage for me would be to get him a more mountain type bike and with the Isla Creig 24 costing £799, I would have to look elsewhere at that stage.

Just got a pair of schwalbe little joes from CRC for the frog 52. They look like a quality mini-knobbly. Pretty much any 20" bmx tyre would probably do the job too.

yep, i didnt even consider the creig24 when lad was ready to move up.
Got a Hoy24 for £320 (most of that with tesco vouchers), think we were £30 for tyres, then fitted a RST airfork for £150.

joemmo - are the extra tyres you get with the frog not suitable? or did you want bigger than 20" 1.75

paladin - the price of the creig24 is frighting for the age range, I suppose if the child is using it to its full potential and the cost is justified, fair enough, but I couldn't justify that price for my son at 7/8 years old.

Watching the kids at their coaching sessions, they are fine with either shifter until it gets wet and the gripshifters tend to stop changing gear.
The kids are all learning but it looks like when wet they aren't as easy to use.
Both bikes retain a good resale value but the Frog is less initial outlay.
Both bikes are good - well made and light.

Thanks, thats great info. I remember using a grip shifter on a Specialized Rockhopper years ago and that being an issue in the wet.

You automatically think Islabike is the leader in this market and they would know best, hence why i was questions what is actually better.

DickBarton - Any experience with the Hoy's?

I do like the look of the Orbea bikes for his next stage, but struggling to actually find out the weight of these on any websites.

joemmo - are the extra tyres you get with the frog not suitable? or did you want bigger than 20" 1.75

ah no, we bought the frog before they started selling thm with 2 pairs of tyres. It has some kenda slicks on at the moment but the lad is enjoying the local paths through the fields and has had some slippy moments so something with more tread is required.

You automatically think Islabike is the leader in this market and they would know best, hence why i was questions what is actually better.

I've just ordered the Orbea MX 20 Dirt for my boy, though I am worried it may be a bit big. He's moving up from a Ridgeback MX he absolutely flies along on. Anyone have the Orbea?

I am considering adding the Orbea MX20 Team £319 to my list, but struggling to find the weight info on this to compare it against Isla, Hoy, Frog

I will definitely be considering Orbea 24/26 Team for his next upgrade after this 20 bike tho as the look, build and cost is ticket the boxes for me

The orbea website does say they dont state the weight and want you to go see the bike at your local bike dealer.

Cant source a locally dealer tho.

I'm positive I read somewhere the MX20 dirt is around 9.5kg, but cant recall where.

The "Team" selection is meant to be lighter. I have messaged Orbea and some stores that stock them for any weight guides

Will post if i get these!

If anyone is interested, a supplier got back to me on the Orbea MX20 Team

The Weight of the Orbea is 9.2 Kg. But for more of a Mountain Bike than the Frog.

He said both good but would side with the Frog and frog would hold a better resell

Isla 8.1 kg
Frog 8.8 kg
Hoy - 8kg (approx)
Obrea - 9.2 kg

If you're interested in second hand I have my daughter's very lightly used Beinn 20 in the classifieds. Even if you don't want to buy and you're local (Sunderland) you are welcome to just have a look. This is the fifth Islabike we've had in the family and everything that is said about the quality and resale is true (l know, I would say that

I see so much about how people have lost very little value on their islabike, from which I am also benefiting on my lads current cnoc 16; but I think things might normalise a bit more as process have shot up on the new bikes in part door to the significant depreciation of the pound. So if you bought a couple of years ago you are likely quids in. Not convinced this will continue to be the case, especially with more competition.

I just can't justify the cost of a Benin 20, was tempted by the hoy, but it was still too much for me to spend on a bike for a year of use at his rate of growth, the compromise is a Vitus 20 and a large wedge of cash on my pocket now.

Faz71 - thanks for the offer but not local to Sunderland.

The beinn 20 would definitely be the last Isla I would go for prices are just too much after that for the initial outlay and there is also more bikes on offer on the market for the 25/26” range and more mountain bike styles.

I have a Isla balance bike to sell soon and expect that to have only cost me £60 over 2 boys, absolute bargain when you view it like that.

Back to my original post I’m not doing so well at eliminating bikes from my list I seem to be adding to it 🙂

I’m going to rule out the hoy and orbea for these reasons

Hoy - simply cosmetic reasons the white seat and handle grips...just simply why on a kids bike. I seen a photo online of one for sale and the white handle gripe were just a lovely off yellow, browny colour. Plus the look like something in had on a bike when I was young and those massive circles at the end are just waiting to come apart.

Obera - not being able to view on without traveling a good distance, but as said before this will be a definite contender for the next stage 24/26”

So I’m back to frog or Isla 🙂

I bought a frog 62 when my lad outgrew his Isla beinn 20 small. Stand over clearance was plenty but I regretted it soon after because the frame was so long compared to the standover. He blatantly couldn’t ride it as well. It has taken another year or so for the length to fit him better. If the 55 is similar then expect it to be long in the frame. Having learnt my lesson my daughter will be progressing from the beinn 20 small to a second hand Beinn 20 large.
I think the small Beinn is the best bike they sell. I probably wouldnt buy new now because the prices are getting daft and despite what many say the second hand market value seems to be relaxing a bit.

Funny that, I’ve just had exactly the same experience with a frog 62. Bought one second hand for my lad as he outgrew his Raleigh performance 20, but he just can’t ride it. The top tube is incredibly long and he’s lost all confidence after a couple of spills. I’ve just picked up a really cheap kona makena 20 and he’s immediately more comfortable

Ry33, if you are shopping in that price bracket I would say that although I did notice on the handles, I reckon they would clean up fine, or you could get a different set of handles for cheap. I'd be getting the Hoy of I wasn't so tight, or the Raleigh if I wasn't worried about its second hand value (incidentally, been tracking some Hoys on fleabay and reckon their second hand values are slightly better than frogs in my opinion).

daddyzord/dai3015 - thanks for the info. He does have a Frog 48 just now and fit has been fine for him, I'll take him up to the local bike store at the weekend to try him on the Frog 55 and see how it is. I am still considering the Isla Beinn 20 (L) but just the gears that I am debating initially. I know these can be changed to thumb shifters but just extra cost.

mrbigglesworth - I had thought about a new pair of handle grips and seat in black but again just extra cost form the start. I see the Hoy 24" comes with black grips/seat, I just cant believe someone went yip "white" that's great for a kids bike and signed off on it.

They all seem to retain good 2nd hand values, I know looking at my frog 48 i would be able to sell for £150 and it cost me £200, RRP now is £250 and have seen ones for £170/180 so £50-£80 loss is still great for a bike for 12/18 months use

yes, the top tubes are long on the Frogs and their sizing recommendation is off IME - they say 5-6 for the 52 but my lad is an average sized 6 and the 52 is just within his range. I have however fitted a riser to bring the bars closer and just ordered a 40mm stem to knock another 20mm off that.

On the plus size, my daughter was riding the 52 until she was 9-10 , now on a 24" Specialized

Also, don't get too hung up on weight or the MTB-ness of one kids bike over another. There is nothing flimsy about Frog/ Isla / Hoy etc that won't cope with the kind of off-roading an average 6-7 year old will be doing.

I'd also say the sizing of the frog 52 is a bit off, as is the 55.

My son is nearly 7 and the frame size of the 52 is fine now whereas it was too long. However the cranks are now too short for him. The 55 has the same size cranks as the 52, whereas the Beinn 20L has longer cranks

our 52 came with 130mm cranks - which I swapped onto my daughters bike - but they now come with 115mm - so I bought a pair of 115mm Hoy cranks from Evans to replace them! Starting to think a new bike would've been simpler 🙂

You can get the Hoy cranks for £25 in various lengths with a single ring and guard. Triton cycles also sell a 'Dialled' crank which comes with 2 drillings for different lengths however, as I discovered, they are steel and weight a bloody ton (not literally) so I returned them.

My boy in 5 and 3 months, he is 120cm and inside leg of 50/51...so I am considering the 55 form his 48.

Will check it out when I see it, but wouldn't sell his 48 until he was comfortable on the 55

My daughter has a frog 55 which is now too small for her. I have ordered her an Orbea MX 24 team. My sons ridgeback mx16 is now on the small side for him, but he doesn't get on with his sisters frog. I've ordered him the Orbea MX 20 Team.

Both rode rented Treks over the summer in Wales off road and loved being on proper mtb tyres. Hopefully I won't regret getting the Orbeas...

IMO the frog 55 is a hybrid that better on tarmac than XC.

EDIT: Both children were happier when I replaced the pedals their bikes came with for cheapo plastic BMX style pedals from CRC.