Islabikes

On Tuesday I received a delivery of 3 Islabikes:

one Cnoc 16
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/cnoc14.html

and two Beinn 20s
http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn20.html

Both came with mudguards and the Beinn 20s came with rear racks.

The bikes were already set up. All I needed to do was to get some
older children to rotate the handlebars and put on the front wheel and
pedals. Brakes and gears didn't need any adjustment.

Children used the bikes for the first time today.

A smaller 7 year old rode the Cnoc. At first he didn't use the back
pedal brake, but once he'd been taught what to do, he loved it and
found back pedal braking a natural thing to do. 3 hub gears on the
bike would be a useful enhancement, as he was old enough to use gears
but too small for one of the geared bikes I have. The gear work I did
with the other children was lost on him.

A boy and a girl were on the two Beinns. The both found the bikes
easy to handle, the breaking light and were able to use the bikes 6
gears. Indeed - perhaps they were too easy. I turned my back for a
moment and found the boy giving a backie to another child on the rear
rack. "It wasn't me, Sir", he said, "I told him to get off." He
explained as he continued cycling across the playground with the
unwanted passenger hanging grimly on.

The bikes stood up well to their first test. Much better than the
Raleigh bikes which are really suffering after 10 weeks' use. The V
brakes are failing with the bit the noodle fits into bending causing
the noodle end to pull out, and nearly all the gears need adjusting.

Last years Raleigh SK8s have pretty much had it, with the wheel
bearings failing on both. If I have the money, I'll replace them with
2 Beinn 26s in the Spring, though I'm not convinced of the need for a
triple chainring on a bike designed for 9 year olds.

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn26.html

In article
Tom Crispin wrote:
snip
The bikes stood up well to their first test. Much better than the
Raleigh bikes which are really suffering after 10 weeks' use. The V
brakes are failing with the bit the noodle fits into bending causing
the noodle end to pull out,

Braze a washer across the end - you'll lose the quick-release
functionality, which in this case sounds like a good thing.

Last years Raleigh SK8s have pretty much had it, with the wheel
bearings failing on both.

Surely that's a reason to replace the hubs, not the bikes?

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 21:04:52 -0000, Rob Morley
wrote:

In article
Tom Crispin wrote:
snip
The bikes stood up well to their first test. Much better than the
Raleigh bikes which are really suffering after 10 weeks' use. The V
brakes are failing with the bit the noodle fits into bending causing
the noodle end to pull out,

Braze a washer across the end - you'll lose the quick-release
functionality, which in this case sounds like a good thing.

Thanks. I'll give that a go.

Last years Raleigh SK8s have pretty much had it, with the wheel
bearings failing on both.

Surely that's a reason to replace the hubs, not the bikes?

They won't be dumped. I couldn't bear to do that. I should have
said, 'If I have the money I'll buy two Beinn 26s, and keep the SK8s
for times when I need a couple more bigger bikes.'

My fleet of bikes now is three 16" wheel bikes, fourteen 20" wheel
bikes, three 24" wheel bikes and two 26" wheel bikes.

I have a Year 4 complete novice learning to cycle next week. She's
5'3 and will have to have the step through frame adult bike to learn
to ride.

In article
Tom Crispin wrote:
snip
I have a Year 4 complete novice learning to cycle next week. She's
5'3 and will have to have the step through frame adult bike to learn
to ride.

My 5'1" SO rides a 24" wheel ATB with a long seatpost - the reach to the
bars is much more manageable for her than a small-framed 26" wheel bike.

Tom Crispin wrote:
On Tuesday I received a delivery of 3 Islabikes:

[ snip tale of successful bikes ]

Last years Raleigh SK8s have pretty much had it, with the wheel
bearings failing on both. If I have the money, I'll replace them with
2 Beinn 26s in the Spring, though I'm not convinced of the need for a
triple chainring on a bike designed for 9 year olds.

http://www.islabikes.co.uk/bike_pages/beinn26.html

Two suggestions;
- Ask IslaBikes if they will supply with single chainring instead.
- Lock the front shifter to the centre ring (with the adjuster screws) on
delivery, remove the cable, store parts carefully should you change your
mind and want to refit.



- Nigel



--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Tom Crispin wrote:

though I'm not convinced of the need for a
triple chainring on a bike designed for 9 year olds.

I think it's reasonable to expect that keen 9 year olds with access to
suitable trails /could/ be doing "proper mountain biking", in which case
a "proper MTB" would be par for the course.

For your purposes I'd agree it's a bit OTT, but it may be possible to
request a single front chainwheel, which would probably save some money
and almost certainly save some maintenance and time spent faffing after
the chain got thrown.

I think the main thing to get across about gearing is what I *totally*
failed to grasp as a kid: gears are not "fast" at one end and "slow" at
the other! And you don't need front derailleurs to get that on board.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Nigel Cliffe wrote:

Two suggestions;
- Ask IslaBikes if they will supply with single chainring instead.
- Lock the front shifter to the centre ring (with the adjuster screws) on
delivery, remove the cable, store parts carefully should you change your
mind and want to refit.

Why not simply remove the front derailleur as well as the associated
cables? Depending on the design of the derailleur it may be necessary
to break the chain to remove it.

--
Dave...

in message , Peter Clinch
') wrote:

Tom Crispin wrote:

though I'm not convinced of the need for a
triple chainring on a bike designed for 9 year olds.

I think it's reasonable to expect that keen 9 year olds with access to
suitable trails /could/ be doing "proper mountain biking", in which case
a "proper MTB" would be par for the course.

Believe it. Our club has ten-year-olds competing in the Scottish Cross
Country Chanpionship. And - one of them has lapped me on a technical
off-road time trial. They're /good/.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
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dkahn400 wrote:
Nigel Cliffe wrote:

Two suggestions;
- Ask IslaBikes if they will supply with single chainring instead.
- Lock the front shifter to the centre ring (with the adjuster
screws) on delivery, remove the cable, store parts carefully should
you change your mind and want to refit.

Why not simply remove the front derailleur as well as the associated
cables? Depending on the design of the derailleur it may be necessary
to break the chain to remove it.

Because my suggestion requires less bits to be removed, and leaves a handy
chain-guide in place to keep the chain on the centre ring ?

Nothing wrong with complete removal.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/