[Closed] Islabike or Frog - quick poll

Having owned 3 isla and currently have a beinn 20 and just bought a frog 62 id say frog. Both very good but tbh i prefer the frog and i cant see them not holding their value as good as the isla once they have a bit more of a rep in a year or two

Purchaser and maintainer of 12 Frogs here, very good so far

Cnoc 16 is super. Can't compare it to a frog I'm afraid

My daughter is 5yr 5months (tallish for age), has ridden an Islabikes Beinn 20 small since last August. Check sizing before buying a 16 that may only be used for a short time. Came through balance bike/cnoc14 so hasn't had stabilisers, but gears are not a problem (can be left unused) and help when she gets more confident.

We're Isla here, but Dawes have just brought out a range that might be worth a look too

[url= http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/news.php?articleid=334 ]details here[/url]

Hoy look interesting too

My 9 year old daughters on the Frog 26" wheel bike and loves it. Quality seems good and pretty light. Don't know about anyone else but I suspect prices on new ones may go up when everyone realises how good they are.

Pinnacle. Much cheaper and as good.

Had Isla now have Frog, the only criticism of Frogs are they are more stretched out, ok for my daughter as it is her second bike but could be an issue with a novice rider especially girls who tend to have shorter upper bodies.

The frogs have changed recently geometry tweaked stems and cranks shortened a few other bits and importantly some green spokes

Just finished helitaping a Cnoc16 for my lads birthday on Wednesday.

Looked at the Frog 48, looks a good deal considering they chuck in bell/reflectors/mudguards but it is a bit heavier.

Boiled down to colour choice in the end with the Cnoc coming in teh enduro green.

[url= http://www.supurb.de/ ]Supurb[/url]

Go on, you know you want to. Just got my wee man a BO12, they're kinda the next notch up from Isla/Frog, bloody lovely.

Tis STW so obviously you need a bit more niche...
Belt driven!! Super light Little belter..

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/early-rider/belter-16-kids-bike-ec045196

My Middle daughter had one for christmas and loves it..

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Hatter - just looked on the Supurb website. Glancing at the 20" (simply to pick one for comparison) it seems to be over a kilo heavier (10-15%) and £150-200 more expensive (depending on whether you want the discounted model).

What am I missing? Have I picked the wrong model to look at? Were they better at 12"?

When I was looking for a bike for my 3 year old son early last year , I had a look at islabikes and frog, and in the end went for the islabike cnoc 14. It was significantly lighter than the equivalent frog.

Daughter is 4.5 and at Christmas she graduated from an Islabikes Rothan (balance bike) to a Cnoc 16 (pedal bike) in literally one day. Just took her to some flat ground, showed her the basics and she was off and pedalling.

So Islabikes here definitely - but I'm sure the result would have been very similar with Frog, they have a good rep too.

Had two Islabikes. Mate currently has two Frogs, which seem very good.

Both good, not sure you could go wrong with either really. When my kids were younger, all the other kids on the campsites would abandon their heavy suspension bikes and want to ride the Islabikes, because "they're really fast".

Isla here. Both boys been through Rothans and are currently on a 16" and 14". Will be ordering a 16" for the youngest in a few weeks. (They're too close in age to properly inherit now).

Frogs look really good, but I know what we're getting with Isla so will stick with them for now. That might change on the next step up, £300 for a Beinn is a big jump.

Islabikes but I doubt you'll go wrong with a Frog quality wise.
Think about the 20" geared as still light and has lower gears and will be more useful once she's cracked it.
She doesn't have to use the gears and probably won't be able to.
Mine was on one before 5 and now 5 and 3 months is using the gears just. Mostly to slam it into 7 and show off. Going back up the block is more difficult.
Typically try to get her to ride around in 3rd smallest after mostly using the smallest gear to start with.
Tall and competent though.

http://www.commencal-store.co.uk/PBSCCatalog.asp?CatID=2353594

I reckon these look pretty useful. New for this year though so there wont be much experience around.
They do look the part though I reckon.

Those Commencals look nice but it doesn't look like they'll take mud guards which would be a no-no for me. My two ride to school and we often ride to the town for the library etc, wet bums are to be avoided if possible!

had this decision before christmas
went for the Frog 48 in the end as it came with mudguards
importantly it was spotty, which was the deciding factor

Whatever you go for - buy second-hand!

Both our Islabikes were from eBay, were in very good condition, and were about half the cost of brand new. Plus they came with extras like mudguards and bells.

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/islabike-beinn-v-frog-55

I'm going to get the Frog 55 for my sons 5th birthday.

Some of the bikes suggested above weigh a lot more than the Isla or Frog, and look bloody awful!

That Belter bike looks good for the right age group.

thanks for all the replies. this is a dilema about longevity but im pretty sure a 20" wheeler would terrify her, and it would also be out of reach for her little sis for longer too!

further to Graham S, I would buy 2nd hand but looking at ebay they seem to hold their value quite well, i can get a good nic one for maybe £30 or £40 cheaper than rrp, that id have to go and collect from somewhere, so ill probably just get new.

still a tough choice between the isla and the frog tho!

Pre-Owned IslaBikes For Sale: Facebook Group:

looking at ebay they seem to hold their value quite well

They do - but that just means you can sell them on when you are done 🙂

[quote=jaffejoffer ]further to Graham S, I would buy 2nd hand but looking at ebay they seem to hold their value quite well, i can get a good nic one for maybe £30 or £40 cheaper than rrp, that id have to go and collect from somewhere, so ill probably just get new.

That was kind of how it seemed to me when I last bought one, so I got new, though given I'll be selling at some point, I wouldn't want to put people off propping up the s/h prices 😉

Can't help much with the choice - I have Islas and would get another, though the Frogs seem good too. I think the Islas are a bit lighter and the Frogs a tad(pole) cheaper / better value, though can't be bothered to check the details, I presume you've done that yourself.

[url= https://www.frogbikes.com/leapfrog/ ]Discounted / second hand Frog bikes here[/url]

We bought one of the discounted 52's for my eldest (she's 6) recently. Very happy with it. Looked at 2nd hand Isla's, but they were still more expensive than the Frog so was a no brainer.

The stem is a flip flop with plenty of spacers so getting a good bar position should be easy. This bike was a long overdue graduation from stabilizers (I blame the amount of time on scooters), so we've not even covered the gearing yet, I just shift it into 2/3 for ease of getting going and it gets left at that.

Just double-check that Frog bikes hold their value on ebay.
I was stunned at how little the net spend was on our Islabikes when we came to sell.
Cnock 16 cost £20, Beinn 20 cost £35. Yet to sell the Beinn 24.

I think this was in part due to the amazing price rises over the time we owned them. Not sure if this can possibly be maintained.

according to both specs the frog is 700g heavier than the isla, but that includes the mudguards so must be pretty neck and neck weight wise...

Isla 20" for my daughter and recently 16" for my son lovely bikes and good weight. My son went from scoot balance bike to Isla bike in 30 mins. Bought both second hand locally for about £80 cheaper than on fleabay for . Will change sons bike at the end of the year for a geared one.

Weight wise i cant remember figures but my lads beinn 20 small with mtb tyres on is slightly heavier then his sisters frog 62 with mudguards on

My little one has been riding a Beinn 20 Small since she was 5, now 5 and a half. We think it's great - but I've never seen a Frog.

She is currently about 118cm tall, was obvs shorter when she got it.

It's been ace - and looks set to continue to be for the foreseeable!

As with tom above, gears weren't used for the first month or two (sat in 4) but now she's up and down them at will.

This is her taking a break on the Monsal trail last weekend...

[img] [/img]

Daughter #1 had a Beinn 20 large from new, which was brilliant. Sold on 2.5yrs later for a large percentage of the purchase price.

Daughter #2 now has a 20" Frog. She would have had the Islabike handed down but insisted on front suspension!

The Frog is a decent bike but (without weighing it) feels a lot heavier than the rigid Beinn. The mudguards that came with it fell to bits inside a couple of weeks & needed replacing. Other than that, no issues.

General point re: bells and reflectors, surely those always come with new bikes (large and small) by law?

I emailed islabike asking why the Cnoc16 didn't come with bell/reflectors and they replied by saying as the Cnoc is classed as a pavement bike they are not required by law.

They offered to send some reflectors foc and a bell at a small cost but I never took them up on their offer.

thanks for all the replies. this is a dilema about longevity but im pretty sure a 20" wheeler would terrify her, and it would also be out of reach for her little sis for longer too!

Fair comment.
It'll get a good amount of use with a year or so for No1 and plenty more for No2.
The 16" Isla is superb. Youngest now on ours and he was far better on it instantly than the 14".

bit late to the party here but we have frog & isla. bought 20" frog because it was same price new as 2nd hand isla. i believe isla are non standard tubing sizes so you need to go to them for bespoke spares whereas a frog is standard. frogs also available from your lbs so you can try for size. my impression is frog paint job not quite so tough as isla, & they are fractionally heavier than isla equivalent sizes. no complaints about either bike, but slightly prefer frog ethos of selling through lbs.

[quote=fishonabike ]i believe isla are non standard tubing sizes so you need to go to them for bespoke spares whereas a frog is standard.

Not sure what you mean by this - which parts on an Isla are non standard?

lbs told me this! have never had to swap anything over so don't know from experience. could be lbs bull poo which would be disappointing.

I suspect it is, sorry. I know the bars are narrower than normal MTB bars, but that's good for small hands, and it's some standard or other rather than Isla specific (does remind me I need a new brake lever for mine) - can't think where else tubing size would affect anything.

As many have said - Isla really do hold their value making cost to won very low - we have bought 14,16,20 and now 24 in versions - all secondhand (and almost mint) and have put 2 boys through all up to the 24in Beinn - and sold on each for a small loss. SIngletrack - trail centres, forest trails - strathpuffer route - winter and summer. Can't ask for much more for riding from age 3 to 9 so far.
I am sure the frog (and others) are cracking bikes but resale will be more limted as very few know their quality (unlike Isla).
Weightwise - Isla are great and the quality of components is very good.
Headsets and Bottom brackets are standard sizes - have replace BB on only one - and pedal bearings on another - also put a riser bar (cut it down a bit for length) and longer stems - again ALL standard - some BS coming from LBS I am afraid.
Mudguards are on and off in 10 mins for CX races here then school next day
😉

Just to throw another one in. The ridgeback mx16 is a great bike too. Can be picked up very reasonably second hand. My lad loves his.

Just to throw another one in. The ridgeback mx16 is a great bike too. Can be picked up very reasonably second hand. My lad loves his.

This is in danger of turning in a proud-parent-links-to-photo-of-child-riding thread. In which case I'm in! 😀

[img] [/img]

Micro_likes-food pedalling his Cnoc 16 at the local X race this December. He wasn't quite 5. I can't compare it to Frog's I'm afraid but would say that if you did get a Cnoc you wouldn't regret it. He's now on a Beinn 20 small, but only because he kept winding the gear out on the Cnoc 16 and almost falling off as his cadence went atomic!

Supurb
they're kinda the next notch up from Isla/Frog, bloody lovely.

Next notch up the scales maybe. 9.7kg...

kinnnel

We just bought a 20" frog.
From the lbs because we can try for size, the guys in there are great (fantastic to my son too, treated him like a proper grown up customer) and its a brilliant local business from a retail customers perspective.
It's lighter than the 16" wheels saracen it has replaced despite an extra seven gears.

our family have gone through a rothan, cnoc 14, cnoc 16 and a beinn 20. The eldest is now on an Orbea Team 24 that I picked up 2nd hand for a bargain but he's constantly telling me he wished I'd got him another Isla as his little brother is faster than he is. The eldest had a crappy 20" apollo for a couple of months while we were waiting for his birthday and his brother on the Cnoc16 could easily leave him behind, which in turn meant the eldest wasn't as keen to go out as before, so weight is something that I shouldn't be overlooked.

Our boys were managing gentle/flat 5 - 10k rides on the CNOC 16 with no problems. We have a friend with a Frog which as has been said seems nicely built but I've no personal experience with them

Micro_likes-food pedalling his Cnoc 16 at the local X race

How did you find a cx race that took under fives??

Go Ride.
Search the British Cycling calendar.

Depending on the child a lot of them are aimed more 6-8 and are too long for under 6s.

There are some shorter events though.
First round of the Scarborough series this weekend which is good for U6s as single short laps or multiple for the older groups.

Thanks Tom, I think I'll have to wait until he's 6

U6 can race in U8 if there is no U6 (not sure it's an official class really) but a lot of the events I look at are 15minutes which is beyond their ability/interest.
3 minutes round a grass based course in 3 different races works well.

Anyone got any experience or thoughts on how the new Genesis kids bikes compare to Islabikes/frog?

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/youth/mountain-/core-24

BillOdie - I just bought my son the Genesis Core 24 for Christmas.

Great bike with proper Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and a 1 x 9 drivetrain.

I looked at the Frogs as my LBS sell them too. TBH I went for the Genesis without seeing one in the flesh but it was the discs and drivetrain that sold it for me.

When I picked the bike up we compared it to the equivalent sized Frog and the Frog was a bit lighter at the front end but also a lot lower.

This years model also comes with a rigid fork as in your link but the geometry will take a suspension fork. There are a couple of lightweight air forks on the market for 24" wheel and can be bought from Germany for less than £150 new.

I have just bought him some shortened Sram cranks from the USA which will then get a narrow wide chainring fitted. Probably a 32 as it currently has a 34.

Whether I put my spare 10 speed XT kit on it is another matter. A set of carbon bars and seat post will see a chink of weight knocked off too but I must try not to get carried away! It's the bike that I never had when I was his age.

It's genuinely a great bike and he has done 10+ mile rides over Cannock with ease.