Ludlow bike company Islabikes set to stop production after 18 years
Shropshire-based children’s bike brand Islabikes is to end sales and production after 18 years, it has confirmed.
The company, based on Ludlow's Lower Barns Business Park, remains solvent and has no outstanding creditors.
But founder and triple British cyclo-cross champion Isla Rowntree said on the company's website that, amid 'a turbulent and difficult time for the cycle industry', the directors had decided not to continue.
Isla stepped back from the day-to-day operations in January 2021, handing majority ownership to current managing director Tim Goodall.
In the statement, Isla said: “Today, it’s easy to forget just how bad most children’s bikes were when I started Islabikes 18 years ago.
"They were monstrously heavy, fitted with outsized components and had dreadful brakes that were out of reach.
"They were so poor I believed they had the potential to put many children off cycling for life and I founded Islabikes to change that – to give children a better experience of cycling with the many benefits that brings."
“Islabikes’s early success gradually gained attention from other and bigger cycling brands and, as a result of them following our lead, today good quality, well thought out children’s bikes are available from multiple places, and for me, that is a wonderful thing.”
She added: “Tim and I would like to thank our many loyal customers, colleagues and suppliers who have contributed to the Islabikes story over the last 18 years.”
Islabikes was founded in 2006 as cycling expert Isla found she was being asked for recommendations for bikes for young children and used her background in cycle design and personal experience to establish the company.
The business, which also sells adult bikes, said there will be ongoing supply of spare parts, and existing guarantees will be honoured until it ceases trading. There are also models available to buy while remaining stocks last.
Tim added: "I'd like to thank everyone who has sent the most heartwarming stories of their adventures on their Islabikes; we’ve had many over the years and have been inundated in the last few hours."
