The Shropshire cycle manufacturer Islabikes, best known for improving the design of children’s bicycles, is to close after almost two decades of trading. Founded in 2005 by the former British cyclo-cross champion Isla Rowntree, the Ludlow-based company made its name developing children’s bikes for smaller hands and bodies, as well as bicycles for older people. Rowntree and the managing director, Tim Goodall, have decided to shut down the business after what it called a “turbulent and difficult time for the cycle industry”. Islabikes had net assets of more than £4m and employed 21 people, according to its most recent company accounts, published in December last year. In 2021, Rowntree transferred majority ownership to Goodall as part of a management buyout. “Today, it’s easy to forget just how bad most children’s bikes were when I started Islabikes 18 years ago,” Rowntree said in a press statement first reported by BBC News. “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. “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.” The company confirmed that it would continue to sell existing stock for the time being and make spare parts available to buy.