Youngest daughter is due to turn 7 in a few months time, she has a 56cm inseam so would fit a Beinn 24 well (recommended minimum inseam of 57cm).

I cant help but look at the Beinn 26 small, it does have a recommended inseam of 62cm but with the way she’s growing at the moment it won’t be long before it would be a perfect fit (taking into account its not her birthday until September).

She does a lot of longer flat rides (15/20 miles) so I’ve convinced myself the 26 wheel might be better? I know islabikes hold their value well but I don’t want to be swapping the 24 for a 26 in 6 months time. My lad on paper was better suited to a Cnoc14 but we had to exchange it for a Cnoc16 as it was too small for him.

Is the 26 worth a punt or should I go with the 24?

I did this for my kids first bikes and regretted it. It just made it more difficult for them to ride the bikes and they fell off a few times and it dented their confidence and they never wanted to ride them. I’ve now got rid of their first bikes and bought them some decent Frog bikes and this time got the right size (similar situation you you in that their inseam was about 1cm less than the minimim) and I can’t keep them off the things so i’d recommend you get them the right size bike. At least with decent bikes you can sell them for decent cash – the first and cheap bikes I got my kids are now worthless so they’re going to the tip.

we got our eldest a 24″ even though height wise he’s on the cusp of a 26″

I’d sooner he be on something he’s got more confidence on that getting him something that will last longer (it’ll be cascaded to the young un in a year or so when he moves onto a 26″ as per the other Isla’s we’ve had).

The best thing would be to get her to have a go on a 26 and see how it feels (I appreciate that it’s not the easiest thing to do though)

we have had a few Islabikes and of them all the 24 had the shortest use window. Eldest went from 20 straight to 26 small when he was just 8 and youngest then went onto that 26 when he was 7.5 (big for age though). We had got him a 24 as he grew out the 20 while big bro still on the 26, but he only used the 24 for a year and a bit.

If she’s pretty close to the 26 size then it’s maybe a better bet.

If you’re buying pre-owned there’s really no reason not to get the 24″ as you’ll only lose £50 or so for the time it will be used going on my own resale data from previous isla’s we’ve had (Rothan, CNOC 14, CNOC16)

Same situation, we opted for the 26, and it’s fine for the sort of riding she is doing. If she was doing any serious single track then the 24 would give her more confidence.

I have now swapped the 1.9 inch tyres for 2.1’s and this seems to have improved her confidence in the rough stuff.

+1 a 7-yr old on a 26er is pushing it IMO.

Thanks, really not sure which way to go. The 24 would be a safer bet so I think I will order one just to be on the safe side.

My lad measured slightly smaller than recommended for he Beinn 24, tried one and it was fine, bought at age 6.5. Still a great fit nearly a year on, no regrets, would never have considered 26″ wheels at that age/size. He went from a Beinn 20 small. If you get the 24, you can get 24″ rocket Rons from bike discount.de, which are great for “proper mountain biking” .

Cheers Tom that’s good to hear. I’ve done the sensible thing and ordered a 24, with any luck it should fit my lad in a couple of years time too so it’s win win.

The 24 arrived yesterday, so glad I went with that instead of the 26. It’s surprising how much bigger the 24 is than her old 20. The 26 would have been far too big for her.

Thanks again.

You can also get Smart Sams in 24″ x 2.1, again from the Germans, but the Beinn 24 won’t fit a 2.1 on the rear, so I’ve put a Conti Explorer 1.75 out back instead, with the Sam on the front.

Good choice – I was surprised how much bigger the 26 is than the 24 so it would have been too big.