Bike Anti-Porn - When Things Go Wrong

Well for the vast majority of children, their bikes are toys and only get used for going up and down the street. You hardly need a £300 Isla aluminium racing bike for that. Also with younger kids most parents can't afford to buy them an Isla that they'll grow out of in two years.

Isla have got it right in terms of a top-end kids bike - but they're for the children whose parents like cycling, not the children whose parents might do 5 miles every other sunday between June and August. I think cheap steel-framed singlespeeds using half-decent parts could be sold for around £100 and would be mure more suitable for an everyday child's bike.

You've also gotta think that most kids, or specifically most boys, will want a proper mountain bike with suspension and a million gears.

gets pen and paper and starts scribbling down designs for cheap, sensible but cool-looking-to-a-nine-year-old bikes

My point exactly - hardly promotes lifelong active travel to the next generation does it? A toy that isn't much fun (too heavy, doesn't work properly) won't be played with for long.