Bike test: Islabikes Icons Jimi mountain bike

The Islabikes Icons range is aimed at over-65s who want to keep cycling, or take it up again, on a conventional bike rather than an e-bike. For those who do want electric assistance, Islabikes is launching an ‘eIcons’ collection later this year.

I tested the Janis road bike when it was launched. There’s also a hybrid, the Joni, and this mountain bike, the Jimi (named after Hendrix).

Like its stablemates, the Jimi is a lightweight step-through bike with low-ratio gears, easy-fit tyres, and twist-grip shifting. Many older cyclists won’t require these things, while some younger cyclists with mobility issues will. So it’s less an old-person’s bike than it is a bike for anyone who has trouble with hills, throwing their leg over a top tube, or changing gears or tyres with limited hand strength.

While step-through hybrids are common, and road bikes with mixte frames are at least available, the number of lightweight, quality mountain bikes with step-through frames is basically nil. And make no mistake: the Jimi is a mountain bike.

Yes, the riding position is a little more upright to take the weight off your hands and the strain off your lower back. Yes, there are limits to the speed you can carry over roots or rocks with a rigid carbon-fibre fork.

Yet it’s not just a bike for trundling along towpaths. It’ll go wherever you’d expect to take a rigid 29er. That might be on non-technical tracks like the Scarborough-Whitby Cinder Track where I photographed it.

It might also be ‘proper’ off-road singletrack with steep slopes and off-camber rooty sections, where I also rode it. The Jimi is so light – just 10 kilos – that it’s enjoyably easy to manoeuvre, whether riding or on foot.

It will comfortably tackle blue-graded trail centre routes, and the gears go low enough to make seated hill climbing easy.

I picked easier off-road line choices when I could, mostly due to the lack of a dropper seatpost. A Brand-X dropper post is an option, however, and one I’d recommend, not only for more technical riding but for ease of mounting, dismounting and just getting a foot when stopped; the bottom bracket is moderately high.

The steering feels quite light as the more sat-up riding position means there’s less weight on the handlebar. This improves hand comfort but, given the rigid fork, not as much as I’d like. I think a back-swept handlebar with alternate hand positions, like the On-One Geoff I tested recently, would work well on this bike. Failing that, I’d fit flared Ergon grips.

A softer, wider front tyre would provide better bump absorption and a little more steering inertia. The fork would accommodate a 29x2.6in tyre although that would be too wide for the 19mm rim.

There are frame fittings for a rear rack and mudguards, and room to fit them even over these 2.25in tyres. The only bottle mounts are on the fork; there are none on the frame as they’d eat into the step-over height. I’d prefer a mount on the steerer, using something like the Additive Spacer One, as the bottle would be more accessible.

The Easy Tyre Change rims work as advertised; I found it trivially easy to replace a tyre. The Gripshift gearing is light action and intuitive to use, and despite their small rotors the hydraulic brakes have plenty of stopping power with just one finger on each lever.

Verdict

A bridleways-and-blue-routes mountain bike that’s not just for baby boomers but for anyone who lacks the mobility to swing a leg over a top tube and the strength for hills or stubbornly stiff controls. It’s pretty much unique.

Other options

Cannondale Treadwell 2 Remixte £700

Although it’s an urban bike, the Treadwell 2 has wide enough tyres (650x47B) for gentle off-road use too. Its 1x9 drivetrain uses an 11-42t cassette, and at 11.7kg it’s relatively lightweight.

Beaumont Bicycle bespoke frame £1,399+

Cycle magazine contributor Liz Colebrook of Beaumont Bicycle specialises in step-through bikes. If you want a step-through mountain bike (or any other) frame made from Reynolds steel tubing, she’ll build it for you.

All information correct at time of publishing.