Islabikes was born in 2006 when former professional cyclist and triple British cyclo-cross champion Isla Rowntree set about changing the future of children’s bikes. Literally ‘born in a barn’, Isla rented a tiny workspace in a converted barn in Claverley, Staffordshire. With a homemade desk, £5 special offer phone/pen pot/stapler/ruler set and a single workstand for bike assembly, she began to change the expectations and enjoyment of junior riders everywhere.
We have some incredible data about children’s growth patterns collected from years of studying how children grow and ride their bikes. Here, Islabikes’ founder and designer Isla Rowntree explains how this drives the design of our bikes.
One of the many unique features of an Islabike is that we always design bikes with the biggest wheels possible for its intended rider. For example, while a child of a certain size would fit bikes from other brands that use 16in wheels, that same rider might fit an Islabike that uses 20in wheels. But why is that such a benefit? And how do we achieve it? Here we explain all the benefits of bigger wheels.
The process of designing any bicycle is a series of interacting compromises. Compromise is often perceived as a negative term, but actually it’s more a case of offsetting different and sometimes competing needs to find the sweet spot for the type of riding or the type of rider that the bike is being designed for.
Lightweight, size specific alloy frames and perfectly proportioned parts throughout. There is no better way for your child to learn how to ride.
The first bike we all dreamed of. All of our experience has come together to make the perfect fitting, effortlessly light Cnoc 16 Pro Series.
Perfectly proportioned, lightweight and loaded with high quality kit. The Creig is a serious mountain bike for young riders who tackle the roughest terrain.
We’ve refined every detail of the Creig Pro Series to create the ultimate high performance mountain bike for junior riders.
Ride fast on the road, race muddy cyclo-cross, go on long-distance tours or simply have the most efficient bike for cycling to school.
Focused, pure performance ‘cross bikes; no corners have been cut with every detail, refined and proven in the field.
