# Just Ordered my Daughter an Islabike Creig 24 (only 23.4 lbs!)



## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

Well, I just pulled the trigger and dropped $999 on an Islabike Creig 24 for my daughter. That's a lot of money for a kid's mountain bike! I can't believe I am spending this much money. However, it does have all of the attributes that are important to me when it comes to my daughter and mountain biking.

· Light weight =23.4lbs
· Decent suspension (Spinner Air 24)
· Disk brakes
· No front derailleur (simpler to use)
· Trigger shift instead of twist shift
· 10-speed (11-36 cassette)

My daughter is at the bottom of their growth chart, so hopefully this bike will last her several years. I will post more pics when it arrives (supposedly in two weeks or less), and I will provide a review.


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

Here is a pic from their website


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

Nice! Any reason for picking the Islabike vs Scott RC?


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

stom_m3 said:


> Nice! Any reason for picking the Islabike vs Scott RC?


The SCOTT Scale RC JR was my next choice. I considered it, but chose the Creig 24 for two reasons. First of all, I personally believe that front derailleurs and multiple chain rings are too confusing for young children, and gives them too many options. My daughter seems to do fine with her current six speed Felt Q24 (I disabled the front derailleur). Now she will have 10 speeds with the Creig 24. Anyway, if I had bought the SCOTT, I would have had to disable the front derailleur and she would have been left with a 32 teeth cassette max, whereas the Creig 24 comes with a 36 teeth cassette.

Secondly, the Creig 24 comes with hydraulic disk brakes. I don't know really how much difference that will make, but I'm thinking that the hydraulic levers are going to be easier to pull that the cable-pull type on the SCOTT.

On the flip side, I like the wider tires on the SCOTT (2.0 vs 1.75).


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## stom_m3 (Jun 28, 2011)

Brian23693 said:


> The SCOTT Scale RC JR was my next choice. I considered it, but chose the Creig 24 for two reasons. First of all, I personally believe that front derailleurs and multiple chain rings are too confusing for young children, and gives them too many options. My daughter seems to do fine with her current six speed Felt Q24 (I disabled the front derailleur). Now she will have 10 speeds with the Creig 24. Anyway, if I had bought the SCOTT, I would have had to disable the front derailleur and she would have been left with a 32 teeth cassette max, whereas the Creig 24 comes with a 36 teeth cassette.
> 
> Secondly, the Creig 24 comes with hydraulic disk brakes. I don't know really how much difference that will make, but I'm thinking that the hydraulic levers are going to be easier to pull that the cable-pull type on the SCOTT.
> 
> On the flip side, I like the wider tires on the SCOTT (2.0 vs 1.75).


Thanks, I called Islabikes to find out more information. Nice guy. Informative.

I agree about the front derailleur. I turned my son's current 20" into a 1x8 because of reduced complications. As for the binders, I actually like v-brakes for kids. If you have decent quality ones, the lever force will be low, plenty of stopping power, and maintenance will be non-existent. I have Formula R1's and Avid Elixer CR's and have to adjust, bleed them more often than I like to. Not to mention they squeal like branded pigs. I have no idea how the hydraulic X3's perform though.

Regardless, I'm glad to see another manufacturer putting out a serious offering. Post pics when you get it. Also, comment on the fork performance if you don't mind. I'm curious which one has the best air fork between the RST, Spinner, and Suntour.


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

stom_m3 said:


> Thanks, I called Islabikes to find out more information. Nice guy. Informative.
> 
> I agree about the front derailleur. I turned my son's current 20" into a 1x8 because of reduced complications. As for the binders, I actually like v-brakes for kids. If you have decent quality ones, the lever force will be low, plenty of stopping power, and maintenance will be non-existent. I have Formula R1's and Avid Elixer CR's and have to adjust, bleed them more often than I like to. Not to mention they squeal like branded pigs. I have no idea how the hydraulic X3's perform though.
> 
> Regardless, I'm glad to see another manufacturer putting out a serious offering. Post pics when you get it. Also, comment on the fork performance if you don't mind. I'm curious which one has the best air fork between the RST, Spinner, and Suntour.


I know what you mean about disk brakes squealing like a pig! My Rumblefish also has Avid Elixir 3's and during my last trip to Snowshoe Bike Park, they were screaming so loud it was embarassing. I guess now my daughter and I can match, lol.

According to the Islabike website, the brake levers have been modified for shorter reach, whatever that means. We shall see.


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## XJaredX (Apr 17, 2006)

I definitely have Islabikes on my radar for when my son gets older. I had to pass on their 16" offering though because the U.S. spec bike has a coaster hub, so we went for a Spawn Banshee. But the one you have there is definitely nice!


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## GMF (Jan 10, 2004)

stom_m3 said:


> I agree about the front derailleur. I turned my son's current 20" into a 1x8 because of reduced complications. As for the binders, I actually like v-brakes for kids.


I'm half with you on this. Pro V-brake for low weight and simplicity, but recently put a double front chainring on my 8yo's hotrock to run a 22-32 front to allow him to tackle some of the steeper hills around here. It has made a noticeable improvement to what he is able to grind up, and with only a 2x up front, cross chaining isn't really a problem. If you are sticking to flatter trails, a single is definitely the way to go, though.


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

What a great bike. Even though it seems a lot for a kids bike, you can easily spend that much setting up a nice kids bike, let alone factoring in all the time spent to hunt the parts down.


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## alex_sdca (Apr 6, 2009)

TigWorld said:


> What a great bike. Even though it seems a lot for a kids bike, you can easily spend that much setting up a nice kids bike, let alone factoring in all the time spent to hunt the parts down.


100% true in my experience.

Also I'm finding value in a 2X front setup as the bike is used everyday and for cruising the neighborhood, the 32 front is nice.


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## jplonks (Apr 15, 2013)

Brian, please post a review - planning to buy the 24" Creig for my daughter next year & there is pretty little in terms of reviews out there. 
We are on our third Islabike (Cnoc 14", 16" and currently a Beinn 20") and are obviously very happy with the quality. Can't say anythin about the support in the US, as we are located in Germany and ordered from the UK. 
I fully agree that 1x10 is plenty of gears for the intended age range and it brings the weight down, which imho should be the prime concern.
Looking forward to read your review ! Thank you !


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

*Creig 24 Arrived Today! (PICS)*

My daughter's Creig 24 arrived today. The bike seemed to be packaged well and I did not find any damage or scratches. The only assembly required was installing the front tire and pedals.

The first thing I noticed was how light this bike is. When I get home, I will weigh it with my digital luggage scale. Islabikes lists a weight of 23.4 lbs. The bike also seemed smaller (frame wise) than my daughter's Felt Q24. This would actually be a good thing because I believe that the Felt Q24 is too big. When she rides it, it appears that she's leaning over more than she should in order to reach the handlebars. I think this Creig 24 is going to be a better fit (we'll see).

The front suspension feels very nice. According to the assembly instructions, the front forks come pre-charged at 75 PSI. I wish the forks came with the rubber o-ring that slides up and down the tube and indicates travel. The hand grips are nice and small and should fit my daughter's hands well. I rode the bike around in my shop, and shifted up and down through all 10 gears several times with no issues. It shifts great!

Overall I am pleased with the bike, but I did find two issues that concern me. First, when activating the front brakes, the front brake lever travels almost all the way to the grip before I feel resistance and feel it braking. In fact, I can sit on the bike and fully activate the brake and I can still push the bike forward and cause it to roll. The front tire will not lock up. The rear brake is better, but there is still alot of travel in the brake lever. My second issue is with the paint job. I noticed that the paint appears to be thinner in certain areas or was not applied evenly in harder to get areas (see the last two pics). I am very disappointed considering I spent a thousand dollars on this bike. I would have expected a more evenly applied paint job. After you guys look at the pics, please let me know if you think I am being too picky.

I contacted Islabike regarding the brakes, and they said that the brake pads need to be "bed-in". Instructions were included with how to "bed-in" the brakes (which include riding at certain speeds and activating the brakes hard and doing that a certain number of times). They said that if the brakes were still not operating properly, that they could walk me through making adjustments over the phone, or I could take it to my LBS for adjustment (and they would reimburse me), or they could send me a new bike. I like the fact the fact that they seem eager to resolve this issue and are willing to send me a new bike. I did not tell them about the paint job because I really hate being a complainer. I'm wondering if I should have???

Anyway, when I get home, I'll weigh it, I'll "bed-in" the brakes, and let my daughter take it for a spin!


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## alex_sdca (Apr 6, 2009)

thanks for the write-up and the pics. I agree with them about giving the brakes time to bed-in. Until some pad material collects on the rotors, braking may feel reduced. 

I hear what your saying about the paint. for the $ it should be gleaming. I'm like you though and would not send it back. it's a mountain bike and if it is loved and ridden it is going to get dirty and scratched. just wipe the fork stanchions after every ride and enjoy it. others may disagree but it's going to get used and be less perfect everyday and that's a good thing.


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## jplonks (Apr 15, 2013)

Brian, thanks for the pictures. Did your daughter take it for a spin? What's the impression so far? Many thanks !


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

She really likes it. It seems to be a little more compact than a standard 24" bike. More specifically, my daughter's Felt Q24 seems to cause her to have to lean forward and stretch in order to reach the handlebars. In contrast, the Creig 24 seems to have a shorter reach and my daughter looks more comfortable. The brakes did, in fact, "bed in" and are now working fine. She REALLY likes the gearshifter and how easy it is to shift. With her previous bikes, she had a hard time with the twist shift once her hands became sweaty. She also likes having 10 gears. The only issue we are having now (and it's minor) is the handlegrips sliding. Because there is no kickstand, she's constantly lifting it off of the ground via the handlegrip. As a result, the grip is sliding a little each time and then you end up with about an inch or two of floppy grip at the end. I think the "light weight" of the bike is a plus too. I noticed yesterday when we were riding that she had to "walk the bike" over a large tree laying on the ground and if the bike had been any heavier, she may not have been able to do it. All in all, we are satisfied. Unfortunately, I don't think she has the capacity to fully understand and appreciate how nice her bike really is (and how much money we spent on it).


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## jplonks (Apr 15, 2013)

Thank you. I know the sliding grip issue, too. I somehow never get around to fixing that. If I remember correctly, hairspray was supposed to be really good for that... HTe money vs appreciation issue: Don't know whether that helps, but we spent a similar amount on my daughters 20" bike - it's ridiculous what you do for your kids. On the other hand, the facial expression of the bike mechanic when he spotted the titanium bottom bracket on a kids bike...priceless. If you ever plan on selling the Creig, please let me know. 
BTW: Pretty lame, but here is my daughter biking (last winter): MOV_0446.mp4 - YouTube


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## Jordan300 (Jul 26, 2008)

That looks awesome. Great write up. The frame looks beautiful.

An idea for a lack of Oring to see the sag of the shock. You could just use a ziptie, they work just as well.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

Nice Spec, much better value than the $1600 Specialized.

I will say I don't think you all are giving your kids enough credit as far as the front derailleur. The only problem with a FD my kids had were the crappy rings on the front made shifting difficult. Once I put real rings on with proper ramps, they had no problem. It really helps on the hills.

Nice thing about mechanical disc is you adjust them so that they have great stopping power without the lockup/OTB until the learn modulation better.

Anyway, really nice bike.


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## Alpine MTB Mike (May 13, 2014)

Thanks for such a detailed review of Islabike Creig 24. Our daugther has turned 9 and I'm looking for a 24" bike that can run rocky and sometimes steep terrain. Sounds like Creig 24 is a very nice bike, and so light for a kid's bike, but I wonder if the 1x10 drivetrain is sufficient for steep hills, especially for those long hills that are done in a granny gear. What is your experience?


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## Brian23693 (Jun 18, 2013)

Well, where I live in Virginia, it is relatively flat. Our mountain bike parks do have hills, and some of them are steep. But they probably aren't as "long" as other parts of the US. Anyway, my daughter doesn't seem to have a problem climbing hills. Obviously a "granny gear" would be better, but for my daughter's sake, I chose to trade that off with simplicity.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

Alpine MTB Mike said:


> Thanks for such a detailed review of Islabike Creig 24. Our daugther has turned 9 and I'm looking for a 24" bike that can run rocky and sometimes steep terrain. Sounds like Creig 24 is a very nice bike, and so light for a kid's bike, but I wonder if the 1x10 drivetrain is sufficient for steep hills, especially for those long hills that are done in a granny gear. What is your experience?


The Creig is a nice bike, but I think you could end up with a better bike for the same price or less if you start with a Cannondale Race 24. It's my plan for my daughters.

$500 gets you a good start with an air fork. If you shop around you can good deals. I have novatec hubs on the way that I'll lace to the stick rims, BB7s for brake. XTR RD, Carbon bars etc..


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## thesmokingman (Jan 17, 2009)

TwoTone said:


> The Creig is a nice bike, but I think you could end up with a better bike for the same price or less if you start with a Cannondale Race 24. It's my plan for my daughters.
> 
> $500 gets you a good start with an air fork. If you shop around you can good deals. I have novatec hubs on the way that I'll lace to the stick rims, BB7s for brake. XTR RD, Carbon bars etc..


You can definitely end up with a better bike, but at what cost? The drivetrain on the Creig is better by far with its 10 speed rear end. You would then eat up a huge chunk of the 500 just by building wheels to match, then converting to discs... etc etc. I don't see how any 500 buck bike can match the Creig w/o spending a bit more.

The problem with the Creig imo is the upfront cost. In reality it's probably a lot less than you could spend building a bike of similar spec.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

thesmokingman said:


> You can definitely end up with a better bike, but at what cost? The drivetrain on the Creig is better by far with its 10 speed rear end. You would then eat up a huge chunk of the 500 just by building wheels to match, then converting to discs... etc etc. I don't see how any 500 buck bike can match the Creig w/o spending a bit more.
> 
> The problem with the Creig imo is the upfront cost. In reality it's probably a lot less than you could spend building a bike of similar spec.


You can believe it or not, I've already done for my son's Marin Bayview. The only reason the cost came close to the Creig is because I had to spend $220 on the air fork. The bike was also $500.

The Cannondale is $500 and comes with an air fork already. 
As I said, the rims are decent, re-lace with $120 Novatec hubs and some BB7s and an XT/XTR RD and 9 speed cassette.

You can get that stuff cheap with all the sales or Ebay/Craigs list.

So you can have a SLX/X7 level bike for less or XT/XTR/X9/XO level for the same or little more.

Hell you can start with a used Hotrock or something and come out way cheaper. Plenty of build threads on here to prove it.


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## benkkc (Nov 20, 2012)

Nice write up and detail pics. My daughter birthday is coming up soon and she wanted a MTB. I am in a dilemma now to choose a 24" or 26" for her. We have tried a few shops. The Trek and Giant shops recommended me a 26" (Trek Skye SL (S) & Giant XTC (XS)) and probably because they don't have a 24". Where else, Specialized is recommending the Hotrock 24" to suit her.

The 26" she has to stretch a bit for the reach but the handle bar and seat has not adjusted to suit her. The Hotrock, she fits perfectly now. I have looked into the Geometry for all bikes and they are pretty much the same. 

May I ask how tall is your daughter and how old? My daughter is going to be 9 yrs old 4'4" (132cm). She is just going to ride around the neighborhood most of the time and some trail riding. And, what are your thoughts?


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## GSJ1973 (May 8, 2011)

benkkc said:


> Nice write up and detail pics. My daughter birthday is coming up soon and she wanted a MTB. I am in a dilemma now to choose a 24" or 26" for her. We have tried a few shops. The Trek and Giant shops recommended me a 26" (Trek Skye SL (S) & Giant XTC (XS)) and probably because they don't have a 24". Where else, Specialized is recommending the Hotrock 24" to suit her.
> 
> The 26" she has to stretch a bit for the reach but the handle bar and seat has not adjusted to suit her. The Hotrock, she fits perfectly now. I have looked into the Geometry for all bikes and they are pretty much the same.
> 
> May I ask how tall is your daughter and how old? My daughter is going to be 9 yrs old 4'4" (132cm). She is just going to ride around the neighborhood most of the time and some trail riding. And, what are your thoughts?


My opinion? The shop pushing 26" is trying to sell what they have instead of properly fitting her on a bike.

Good rule of thumb is adequate stand over height and reach. Can she get over the bike with both feet flat on the floor? No tippie toes, with room to spare under her crotch.

If you want to make a bike work for 18 months to 2 years, sure it can work and eventually she will grow into 26" by age 11 or so. Bust basically it's like you at 5' on an XL size bike.


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## benkkc (Nov 20, 2012)

Thanks! Ya, I have the same feeling the shop is pushing for a quick sales. The reach she is not quite there yet as she has to lean forward a bit but we didn't move the saddle forward also. She has to tippy toes when on the saddle but she has adequate stand over height as Trek Skye was specifically designed for woman.

We're going back to the shop this weekend to place an order for 24" as I think it will suits her more. I guessed we all can't save on everything. 



GSJ1973 said:


> My opinion? The shop pushing 26" is trying to sell what they have instead of properly fitting her on a bike.
> 
> Good rule of thumb is adequate stand over height and reach. Can she get over the bike with both feet flat on the floor? No tippie toes, with room to spare under her crotch.
> 
> If you want to make a bike work for 18 months to 2 years, sure it can work and eventually she will grow into 26" by age 11 or so. Bust basically it's like you at 5' on an XL size bike.


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## Alpine MTB Mike (May 13, 2014)

TwoTone said:


> The Creig is a nice bike, but I think you could end up with a better bike for the same price or less if you start with a Cannondale Race 24. It's my plan for my daughters.
> 
> $500 gets you a good start with an air fork. If you shop around you can good deals. I have novatec hubs on the way that I'll lace to the stick rims, BB7s for brake. XTR RD, Carbon bars etc..


Agree. I'm in a time crunch - her old bike already sold and her bday in a wk - so I might go for the ride-ready bike, at least this time. Thanks for the ideas.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

Alpine MTB Mike said:


> Agree. I'm in a time crunch - her old bike already sold and her bday in a wk - so I might go for the ride-ready bike, at least this time. Thanks for the ideas.


The Race is ride ready. It's a good bike as is, the other stuff can be done as budget/time allows.


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## bleumax (May 15, 2014)

TwoTone said:


> The Race is ride ready. It's a good bike as is, the other stuff can be done as budget/time allows.


How does the Race compare to the Street? Are they comparable?


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

bleumax said:


> How does the Race compare to the Street? Are they comparable?


To me the street doesn't come close to the race. The price difference is only $30, but the race has an air fork- to me and my kids that is worlds more important on single track than the cheap tektro discs and left fork..

The race frame has disc tabs and the stock rims are decent, so relace to Novatec hubs and some used BB7s or 5 and it's disc with an air fork less than the other choices out there.


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## QueenMAUW (Sep 3, 2010)

bleumax said:


> How does the Race compare to the Street? Are they comparable?


I had the Street ordered until I read about the crappy Tektro Novela disc brakes. From what I've read, people have actually had failures with them. Here's a video and comments from several people following saying theirs failed as well 




There are some more mentions of it other places on the net as well if you Google. Freaked me out enough to cancel the order as I didn't want to buy and have to upgrade the brakes before we used it.


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## bleumax (May 15, 2014)

TwoTone said:


> To me the street doesn't come close to the race. The price difference is only $30, but the race has an air fork- to me and my kids that is worlds more important on single track than the cheap tektro discs and left fork..
> 
> The race frame has disc tabs and the stock rims are decent, so relace to Novatec hubs and some used BB7s or 5 and it's disc with an air fork less than the other choices out there.


Thanks, that's helpful.


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

Thought about the Beinn 24 instead of the Creig. 

No sus fork, which is not a bad thing, and has Vs, is a lot lighter and cheaper. Gearing is taller.

Would put a fatter tire up front. 

My kids do fine on rigid forks now.


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