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After trying for a 2nd hand bike, decided I might go for new in the knowledge that the resale on a good kids bike is frankly daft money... Was thinking beinn but had my head turned (and my daughters) by the spotty frog bikes. I know they're a relatively new brand but what are your opinions ? Is it better to go for Isla regarding resale ? Any parents of owners ?? Ta 🙂
They are about 10% cheaper and probably going to be just as good.
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/frog-bikes-shortlisted-for-national-business-award/015123
Having had three Islabikes for my girls I'd definately consider Frog bikes in the future as they didn't exist when I got mine.
Sold an Isla Beinn on ebay for £10 shy of what I paid 3 years earlier. They had gone up £50 in price and I'd upgraded the shifters, new tyres, grips etc. But it was used every school day for two of those years and still looked in good nick.
Isla is rider owned and it carries through to the bikes, is Frog? Depends if this kinda thing is important and / or affordable to you.
Isla is rider owned and it carries through to the bikes, is Frog
AFAIK yes.
He's a local to our shop and friends with my boss. We (obviously) stock the bikes and I've built about 8. I have no hesitation recommending them.
Nicely built, intelligently specified, nice and light, good choice of colours. And of course you stand a better chance of seeing one before you buy.
If you're anywhere near Staines we have 2 in stock. Give me a shout and I'll check what models they are if you like.
Oh, and the spotty one is ACE! 🙂
I've just bought a Frog 62 for the eldest after having bought three Isla Bikes in the past. The price difference was the deal breaker for me, £90 cheaper than the Isla equivalent.
I had bought a second hand Beinn 24 from the bay for the same price as a new Frog however had to send it back as it was a bit rough so bought the Frog instead.
Slight differences, however the eldest is well pleased with the orange coloured Frog 62. I have no doubts that it will last as well as the Isla bikes, time will tell if it keeps its value as well as the Isla bikes though.
Yeah Peter, the spotty finish is the one, reminded me immediately of the old school jelly bean salsa a la carte from bitd 🙂 nowhere near you though but found a stockist near me so will try and check it out...
I've just bought two Frog Bike for my daughters to replace their Islabikes. We saw them 1st at Eton Dorney so we could try them for size. As Peter said the quality is pretty comparable, but price is cheaper and you can get them from bike shops. The only minor differences in quality that I've noticed is the saddles are not quite as good, and the pedals are plastic.
Do Frog use a 1 1/8" steerer tube? (They certainly use a 27.2 seat post)
Short 1 1/8" stems are cheap but I had to shim the Beinn when I wanted a shorter stem for older son as Isla is still using a 1".
IGM - yes I think it's 1 1/8 steerers on Frogs
JJJ - plastic pedals are kinder to shins, so I'd say that was a plus point, wouldn't you?
🙂
Looking at the spec online isn't the Cnoc 14 a full kilo lighter than the Frog equivalent? That could be the clincher for our very lightly built year old...
We have had a few Islabikes and was looking around for a 24 inch bike last month for youngest son. I spent a bit of time comparing the Beinn 24 with equivalent Frog. The Islabike is a good few pounds lighter, which swung it for me. Of the 3 Islabikes that we have sold on the classifieds I think I have got back within £100 of the original new price each time, after 2-3 yrs use by 2 kids.
Frog bikes look good and fresh, but they are about a 1kg heavier, and as of yet do not have any resale history. £50 for an extra 1KG saving on a kids bike is a bargain especially considering the resale value of an Islabike. (imagine how much some adults would spend to save 1kg on their bikes!)
Yes - weight is the one area that other bikes don't match up to the equivalent Islabikes. There's a lot of minor differences in spec between, say, the small Isla Beinn20 and the Frog 52 and I can see where the extra 55 quid has gone (better pedals, mech, tyres, saddle, etc). They're not really big differences though when it comes to kid enjoyment!
I think most people would be very happy to have spent 55 quid less and still have a nice bike, but from a bikey person's point of view I'd be happy to spend the extra. It's great that there's such an increasing choice of good kids bikes around.
If you do go for an Islabike then current resale values means buying new is a bit of a no-brainer!
(Edit: Just noticed this thread is [b]TWO MONTHS OLD[/b]... why dig it up now?)