Islabikes - Custom Made Bikes for Kids!

 

Article Posted: 7 July 2006

Words & Image: Richard Allen

Stourbridge cyclist Isla Rowntree always wondered why no-one ever built high quality, custom made machines for kids.  Instead of waiting for someone else to do it, she decided to build them herself.  Richard Allen reports.

 

Isla's successful career began as a Saturday girl in the local bike shop!

 

Think of your first bike.  Was it a super-light machine with nifty gears and brakes?  Did it have small brake levers designed for tiny hands?  Or was it a cheap clunker that felt like it was made of lead and with all the handling characteristics of a human pyramid?  Chances are it was the latter.

 

For years kids' bikes have been made as an afterthought.  Despite years of innovation in adult bikes with the use of lightweight aluminium frames and new gear and brake systems, none of this technology has filtered down to children's bikes.  Until now that is.

 

Islabikes, a company set up by Stourbridge cyclist Isla Rowntree, is leading the way by offering high quality bikes designed specifically for youngsters.  The 37-year-old former Raleigh professional team rider has designed a range of nine machines to suit riders from two years old to teenagers.  Based near Claverley in Shrophshire, business has been brisk since the company began trading in March this year.  "All the design and development of our range is done here, and we have a partner factory in Asia where we get them made", says Isla.  "We use lighter materials with lots of aluminium and we scale everything to suit the weight of the child".  "We don't use adult tubesets like you get on a lot of kids' bikes.  Tubesets for adults' bikes are designed to carry the weight of an 18-stone rider because someone that heavy might ride it".

 

Using such tubing for a bike designed for a child means the bike will be much heavier than it needs to be so Islabikes use lighter tubing more suitable for the job.  "We also pay a lot of attention to the ergonomics of the bike'', she says.  "The length of the cranks, the shape of the frame and the diameter of the handlebars.  We use small brake levers and the brakes have a very light action so not only can children reach the brakes easily but they can stop the bike easily".

 

All this sounds like common sense but, as with many of the best ideas, no-one has thought of taking the time and effort to do this before.  The difficult bit has been to find suppliers for custom made, high quality, components small enough for the Islabike concept.  Isla says she has had to 'scour the world' to find the right size parts for each model.  Where she has not been able to find components already being made, deals have been done with engineering firms to make new custom made parts.

 

The suppliers are all in Asia where the bulk of the world's cycle industry is now based.  "It used to be considered that imports from Asia were of inferior quality, but now it is where the best engineers in the world are and where the advances in technology at the top end of the spectrum are happening.  It's where the cutting edge technology is".

 

To promote the new range Isla has been visiting cycle shows and festivals giving youngsters a chance to try out the bikes.  "We have already seen from letters we get from customers and feedback from seeing children try the bikes that they can transform how a child rides'', she says.  "We get a lot of feedback saying children are riding much better simply from being on a better bike which is quite rewarding".

 

Isla is currently chair of Stourbridge Cycling Club and is still a keen cyclist.  She has won national championship medals in cyclo cross, road racing, mountain biking; cross country and downhill, track sprinting and grass track, but still enjoys cycle camping, rides to work and taking beginners out on club runs.  These days competitive cycling is 'just for fun' and she rides cyclo cross and local track leagues, but is just as likely to be found riding a 100km mountain bike enduro or cheering the Tour de France heroes up Alpe d'Huez.

 

Combining her passion for cycling with a career started when Isla was still at school when she took a Saturday and holiday job at the local bike shop.  She went on to establish Trailerbikes and Islabikes, manufacturing Trailerbikes for children and custom frames.  Next came a stint as a professional cyclist at Raleigh followed by a return to the industry as a sales representative, then Head of Sourcing and Design at Halfords.   All of this experience has been put into her new venture.

 

Looking at the range of gleaming machines in the Islabikes showroom you can easily see the attention to detail you would expect from a former pro rider.  A lot of thought has gone into each bike.  The range starts with the Rothan which is meant for toddlers.  There are no pedals, you just push it along.  "The idea of the bike is to scoot along, which allows children to learn to balance'', says Isla.  "Once a child has learned on one of these they don't need stabilisers when they move on to a bike with pedals".  As they get older kids can upgrade to gradually more sophisticated machines which offer components equivalent in quality to those found on adult performance bikes.

 

All the bikes come with a five year warranty on frame and forks.  Because buying a bike every time kids grow out of their old one can be expensive Islabikes offer a buy back scheme.  It's all a far cry from Raleigh Choppers.  If these bikes don't keep them off the PlayStation, nothing will. 

 

Islabikes will be on show at the Mildenhall Cycle Rally, August 27 and 28.  Go to www.mildenhallrally.org.uk.

 

For more information on Islabikes log on to www.islabikes.co.uk or email info@islabikes.co.uk or phone 01746 710835.