IslaBike CNOC 16

Following the success of my eldest son’s first bike, a LikeAbike Mountain Classic purchased for his second birthday, the time came to consider a successor as his size and skill approaching the age of four, meant he had graduated to the next stage, a real bike with pedals.

After a reasonable amount of research and having gathered a consensus of opinion on various forums I came to the conclusion the next steed my eldest would use to develop his skills and allow me to start riding with him in a more meaningful way would be an IslaBike CNOC 16.

I ordered the bike over the phone with the help of a friendly and helpful member of theIslaBike’s team who guided me through the options. I decided on upgrading the tyres to off-road knobbly’s and didn’t bother with stabilisers or the mudguards as it was unlikely I’d take my son riding in the rain. When the bike arrived a week later it was delivered in a suitably protected cardboard housing. All I needed to do to get the bike up and running was turn the stem and tighten a bolt, and attach the pedals.

You get what you pay for…

At £149 plus extras this is certainly not a cheap first bike. In the flesh though, the first thing that struck me about the bike was the quality of the components as well as the metallic paintwork. It felt like a miniaturised quality adult bike. The 9″ frame is constructed from 7005 T6 heat treated aluminium, complimented by lightweight cro-moly blade forks, Ahead aluminium stem, Tektro aluminium ‘V’ brakes, which incidentally are nice and powerful comparable to adult equivalent brakes, and 16″ Alloy wheels with Continental tyres. Nice specification (Full spec available here).

On the quality front, despite being a kids bike there are no short-cuts. All the rotating parts run very smoothly thanks to ball bearings most of which are sealed. The scaling and geometry is also very well considered, for example the brake lever reach is adjustable and built to fit the smaller hands of a 4+ year old. The same detailing on the pedals, saddle etc make it a comfortable and easy to use ride.

Build quality is superb, so much so that it can easily take my 90 kilos on the several occasions I’ve had a go. It feels solid and positive. The brakes stopped me surprisingly quickly, amazing brakes! No rattling or need to keep tightening nuts and bolts up, it’s solid and reliable.

Despite the plentiful aluminium and the claims of being lightweight I was actually a little surprised at how heavy it is for it’s size and spec, listed as “approx weight 7.7kgs (16.9 lbs)” that makes it around the same weight as my Planet X carbon road bike. Still on the light side I was expecting it to be lighter. Despite this, from picking up similarly sized bikes in my local bike shop, it is comparably lighter. I do however notice my son struggling to lift the front when walking up to and over a kerb for example, but then technique and strength do play a factor which I as an adult probably take for granted.

Having ridden a balance bike for two years, my son almost instantly was able to ride this bike unaided, a real proud dad moment. As a keen cyclist on and off-road I can’t recommend this bike enough.

Here are a load of pictures…

Edvald Boasson Hagen comfortably sealed overall victory in The Tour of Britain, as Italian Michele Merlo sprinted to victory in an action packed stage in front of thousands of spectators in central London.  Boasson Hagen crossed the line safely in the peloton to confirm victory; only his second overall win in a stage race.

Tour of Britain, www.tourofbritain.co.uk

LIKEaBIKE Mountain Classic

When the time came to buy my eldest son his first bike – at the grand age of two – it wasn’t a decision I could take lightly. Well, his entire future as an Olympic track rider/Triathlete/or Tour de France legend could hinge on this very fundamental choice.

I needed to make sure that this first bike was usable right from the start and able to provide a platform for my littl’un to develop his riding skills, well his balance at least, and not be outgrown too quickly. I wanted the transition from this first bike to his next to be seamless, ideally avoiding the need for stabilisers on his second bike. Following a little research I decided on a LIKEaBIKE Mountain Classic. I bought it for his second birthday and it’s lasted him beyond two years, and he still likes to ride it from time to time despite his new steed which I upgraded to an IslaBike Cnoc 16 for his fourth birthday.

Being a keen cyclist in multiple disciplines I was naturally eager for my son to eventually come out and ride with me on a Sunday morning, whether in the forest on off-road bikes, or through the Essex countryside on road bikes. So to see him take to riding the LIKEaBIKE like a fish to water was a real joy not to mention a relief, and I could start imagining the reality of future bike outings.

Out of the box, the bike simply needs the handlebars to be fitted as well as the grips and seat cover, a ten minute job. Once on the bike the riding position is very natural and the new riders seem to know exactly what to do as soon as they get on and start pushing themselves along the ground with their feet, eventually building up a pretty good pace and momentum. Before long they’re zooming off and riding with feet in the air, balancing and controlling the bike as they ride. Great to watch.

Because there are no brakes, stopping is carried out using feet, which at first is a little disconcerting, but as they get used to slowing down and stopping, any worries quickly disappear.

When my eldest moved on to his second bike, the beauty was he didn’t need to use stabilisers at all, and despite not having used a pedal bike with brakes, he instinctively new what to do and began pedalling off unassisted straight away, as hoped. Quite impressive. Take a look at a quick video clip of my son riding his first pedal bike on the first day.

Build quality

The build quality is second to none as you’d imagine from German engineering. The wood is birch marine plywood, which is incredibly strong and won’t warp. The LIKEaBIKE is held together with high-grade steel, felt, textiles and rubber. To date the bike hasn’t required any mechanical servicing besides adjusting the height of the seat. The pneumatic tyres provide great ride comfort and added bumper like protection.

These bikes are not cheap, far from it infact, but the quality is unmatched. From my point of view, worth every penny. And now that my youngest son is showing an interest in riding, the LIKEaBIKE which is still in mint condition will be passed on to him so that he can start learning to ride.

Here are some close-up pictures of the LIKEaBIKE Mountain Classic…

Meet my off-road full suspension pride and joy, the Specialized Enduro SL Expert, 2007 model.

From reviews I’d read at the time it was clear the engineering and ride-ability of the bike wasn’t in question, having evolved from a trusted and proven design. On the looks front however, it was very much a Marmite experience, you either loved it, or hated it. When I first clapped eyes on one of these back in 2006 I fell in love with the lines and the burly yet light-footed appearance of this updated classic.

The first thing you notice about the bike is the Future Shock E150 fork, a dual crown affair typically seen on downhill rigs, or motorbikes. This was complimented by the AFR Shock at the rear. The second more unusual aspect was the origin of the suspension setups, each Specialized own brand designs for both front and back. Specialized invested in the expertise of Mike McAndrews, who served six years as head of R&D at SockShox, later moving on to Fox Racing then Maverick. His vision was to create a completely integrated system designed from the ground up.

The idea was to create a suspension ride that allowed a balanced and controlled experience for the rider, and in my opionion it all works very nicely thank you very much.

What surprises me most about this bike is it’s ability to climb. Despite the slack angles and long fork, once the E150 altitude adjustment (the black dial) is turned on the fork compresses 40mm to lower the front and change the geometry for easier climbing. The difference is noticeable and the result is a bike capable of fast, comfortable ascending.

The machine descends just as convincingly and confidently as it climbs. With 2.3 inch tyres and wide riser bars the feel is one of full control and positive feedback when descending trails at speed. The suspension carries out it’s duties effortlessly leaving you to focus on the steering.

I’ll be updating this post with a more indepth review over time. For now enjoy some of the close-up images of the Specialized Enduro SL Expert below.

Right blade of fork

I’ve owned my Planet X SL Pro Carbon road bike for two years now. Originally purchased directly from Planet X via the Halfords cycle to work scheme I can honestly say that I’m very happy with this purchase, one of my best bike buys to date.

Value and service?

In terms of value, it can’t really be knocked. There are (or at least were) several comparative deals on other brands which I considered at the time, including Focus, Wilier, Ribble, and Orbea bikes. I paid £999 for my Planet X back in the summer of 2007, at the time specified with Shimano 105 brakes and transmission, and a Full Speed Ahead chainset. Since then, the bike has been offered at different price points between £999 and £1,600 plus, in a variety of flavours including Ultegra, Dura Ace and and now SRAM Red. Every now and then I see it available for under the £1K mark with Ultegra, a great deal!

When I first bought it, I spec’d the bike over the phone during an in-depth conversation with the guys at Planet X, who incidentally are very helpful. Great service!

They asked what style of riding I do, the typical terrain I ride, my weight, body measurements etc. On that basis they built the appropriate bike for me (frame size (Small), crank lengths (170 mm), stem lengths (100 mm), number of front chainrings (2), etc). As a result the bike is perfectly fitted and rides beautifully. It’s geometry is not at all aggressive, so provides a comfortable ride experience without having to be to far over the front of the bike with your arse in the air.

The combination of geometry and materials makes for a positive ride experience allowing quick and powerful acceleration. The bike climbs well and is very stable under pedal.

How does it ride?

I’ve ridden it mostly on a range of undulating Essex and Hertfordshire country roads. It’s also gone multi-purpose and served as my weapon of choice in several triathlons, hence the aero bars in the image gallery below.

In no uncertain terms I’m extremely surprised at how comfortable it is. I’ve never experienced back ache after riding the bike, and have always felt it to be setup in a very natural position for riding, so comfortable on longer rides, perfect for sportive.

Thinking about when I first picked it up and took her out for a spin I was shocked at the power transfer to the rear wheel from the pedal, blistering. It felt really twitchy and I was genuinely scared when taking it for a full speed straight road blast. The speed pick-up was quick, great acceleration throughout and the responsiveness, tracking and feedback was incredible. Bear in mind back then I hadn’t ridden a road bike for 16 years and was only used to comparatively bouncy MTBs, so the difference was immense.

When I ride the bike now I love the precision of it as well as the highly engineered feel. I adore the clean, snappy gear changes, and having picked up speed I’m really liking the noise of the whirring wheels and efficiently sharp transmission.

Having upgraded my old SPD pedals to Ultegra SPD SLs I can feel even more positivity through the drive.

I love it to bits.

What does it look like?

Check out the images below. Click on the first image to view a gallery of larger images.

Do you own/ride a carbon road bike, or want to ride one. What are your experiences? Let us know below…

If you didn’t catch the on-board video, have a look at Video: Building’s track day at Herne Hill Velodrome

Front side view

It’s been over a week now since I’ve had the pleasure of owning a Cannondale Bad Boy 8 in which time I’ve managed four in/out commutes to work, so 120 miles so far. I’d like to offer this brief short term review of the bike and follow it up with a longer term review, maybe in four months time once the bike has fully bedded in.

Compared to my previous commuter hack bike, a Kona Cinder Cone with skinny tyres, the Cannondale Bad Boy 8 was certainly a pleasant although not entirely unexpected change for the better.

First off the riding position is less slack than a traditional mountain bike yet a little more so than a road bike, so at first felt much more aggressive than I thought it would. I’m totally used to the new riding position now and find it very comfortable. The initial lack of any suspension made the Bad Boy feel a little twitchy at first, however it very quickly became evident just how stiff it is, all round. The power transfer to the rear wheel is phenomenal, allowing me to accelerate from traffic lights fast.

I still haven’t worked out how to remove the back wheel and disconnect the hub gear cable in case of rear p*. I’ll have to play with this a little. The front wheel is also a little awkward to remove as the front disk brake need to be partially removed to allow the unbolted wheel to slide off the Lefty spindle. This isn’t really a problem unless you need to regularly remove the wheel to transport the bike. In the case of punctures the wheel can stay on as is due to the lack of right fork blade.

The Shimano Alfine rear hub containing the gearing has worked without fail so far. It really does shift quickly, much more so than traditional gearing, almost instantaneously. The grinding and clanking noises coming from the hub are a little different and I think just need a little getting used to. From what I understand this eases off as the hub becomes ridden in. So far so good.

The only other comment I have at this point is about the handlebar grips, which look good but have already fallen apart. Despite being lock-on grips the grippy part is made from a tape, a little like tennis racket grip and has effectively come unravelled. I remedied this with a little glue, but we’ll see how long that lasts.

Finally, the tyres, Schwalbe Kojak Bad Boy Edition 622 x 28, are nice and fast with low rolling resistance. Awesome in the dry, OK in the wet, despite being completely slick. I’m still a little apprehensive about them in the wet.

I’ll follow up with a more detailed review at a later point. In the meantime here are a load of pictures of my Cannondale Bad Boy 8, 2009 model. Click the image for a larger version.

Do you ride a hub geared bike? If so I’d be interested in your thoughts on the pros and cons. Feedback below…