My eldest son turns 4 in a month or so and I’d like to get him his first “proper” MTB so that he can join me on some of the local trails. Up until now he’s been motoring around a pedal-less Like-a-Bike. As good as they are he’s now craving something with pedals so he can ride with his Daddy (me).

I’m also looking forward to taking him out on some trails and getting him into mountain biking.

Any recommendations for a first bike? I’m thinking poosibly Specialized but haven’t had the chance to look into it in any great depth yet.

Your help is appreciated, as always.

Islabikes seem to get the thumbs up as a first “proper” bike but I don’t know if they classify as a mountain bike as I assume they don’t have gears etc. Should be fine for flat towpaths etc though. My 3 yr old is almost due for a pedal bike and I plan on getting one of these.

Ridgeback MX 16
The spesh 16 is ok, but has a coaster brake and I’m not a big fan.

islabike, quality is staggeringly good and resale value high.

the bein is geared, but you will need to check the sizing as the smaller one may still be too big. depends how tall your kid is really.

if you do go for a bein def get the wider conti tyres over the standard skinny ones, it makes the bike a bit more stable and importantly looks a whole lot better.

I can definitely recommend an Islabike Cnoc (14 or 16) – really nicely thought out bikes. My son is about to turn 4 and has had a Cnoc 14 since the summer. Excellent as a first “proper” bike with pedals. Choice is going to depend a lot on how big he is I think. Check out the minimum inside leg measurements on the Islabike size chart. You should be able to find this for Spec, Ridgeback etc?

Definitely avoid coaster brakes if you want him to learn to ride standing on the pedals etc. Cnoc 14 has rear brake only – which is great for learning how to brake, but obviously doesn’t have the stopping power of a front brake (which the Cnoc 16 has). The Islabike tiny brake lever deserves a special mention – really properly small and works brilliantly.

Looking into this at the moment for our lad.

Islabike or Ridgeback MX16 seem best options

TBH, I’m trying to avoid the weight and “complexity” of gears and forks at the moment. When he can pedal, steer and stop something rigid and singlespeed, then I’ll get him a bike with the extras.

My nearly 6 year old has been riding a Ridgeback MX16 for the last 2 years and it’s been a great bike for him. I chose it over the Specialized hotrock as it was a lot lighter and like others I wasn’t keen on the coaster brake.

out at the weekend, saw a kid who cannot have been more than 6 or 7, on a tiny little marin, with pikes and big disks and 140mm arse end travel.

he’ll grow out of that in 2 years! and it cant have been cheap.
and on top of that, not the best way to instill a sense of bike control or skill?
the travel does all the work surely?

humph

So… he was better than you then?

😉

…. but I don’t know if they classify as a mountain bike as I assume they don’t have gears etc.

My daughter has an Islabikes Benin 20 and its a fantastic little bike and fits the ‘first mountain bike’ category perfectly.

Either order it with the Conti Explorer tyres or order some separately to give on and off-road options.

I’m also in the market for my 4-yr old and I’ll be going for a Islabikes Cnoc I think.

Cnoc 16 is a great bike. Rides well and looks cool. Not cheap but worth it.

My little 5 year old love her Islabike:

She cycled it round the Forest of Deal last weekend, first time she went off road, so to speak, she loved it.

The only thing I would add to what been mentioned above about Islabikes, everything has been built around little people, so pedals, cranks, grips, break levers are sized correctly, weight wise they are light for a kiddies bike too, customer service you get is also top notch.

btw she is on a old CONC 16 with rear coaster brake, new ones have front and rear rim brakes.

I am truly interested in what sort of trails you’d take a 4 year old on. My daughter was 5 last December and can barely stand up straight without falling off the floor and knocking the tv over. I would never think of taking her on the local trails, she’d cause a forest fire, and as for towpaths, well they involve water and we know where this sentence is heading.

LOL!

My 3 year old rides the Dalby jump track on his pedal-less bike… although there has been blood :-/

Well my daughter is 5 at the moment (though turns 6 on Friday) and has managed some of the singletrack trails at Sherwood Pines no problem at all. I do get a bit nervous if she is riding near water though as children seem irresistibly drawn to it.

Another vote for the Ridgeback – my daughter is 5 and she loves it. Nice wide bars and v brakes and Alu frame so a bit lighter. I’ve looked at some 20″ bikes but they were all a bit big for her.

If you want niche, go Isla bikes 😉

Nowt niche about Islabikes, just better designed and built with children in mind.

Got to be an Ibis Mojo.

“Oh look dear, its way to big. Perhaps its best if I ride it till she’s bigger”

just better designed and built with children in mind.

Better than Halfords/Apollo specials and quite a few others, but the Ridgeback range is as good IMHO.

But then again, I own 2 Gary Fisher’s 😆

takisawa2 – Member
Got to be an Ibis Mojo.

“Oh look dear, its way to big. Perhaps its best if I ride it till she’s bigger”

🙂 🙂 🙂 Like your style…

Thanks all for your excellent advice.

Looks like a clear choice between the IslaBike Cnoc 16, or the Ridgeback MX16. I’m edging towards the Cnoc, but there really doesn’t appear to be much between them.

As for IdleJon’s concerns, no need to worry, although I’ve not yet had the chance to ride alongside my 3 year old, I’ve been encouraging him to keep his balance on 2 wheels with the Like-a-bike MTB. He’s manage to ride down steps and steep banks as well as rooted singletrack, all the time with me either running alongside, in front, or behind him, to catch him at the point he might fall, or holding the bars to assist. Admittedly, he’s has his knocks, but it goes with the territory and I want him to be comfortable with that. Despite the occasional spill, he always get straight back on and tries again.

Looking forward to the day we can ride together…

My parents bought my 5 year old nephew a second hand shockwave full-sus monstrosity (for £20), it weighs more than my bike (which is around 26lbs). Amazingly he still manages to ride it for a few miles off-road (including rocky and rooty stuff). I shut my eyes everytime I see him going downhill though with the dodgy brakes and trying to use his feet to slow himself down. To be fair it’s only for when he visits them and will get a decent bike for at home but still I could see it putting less enthusiastic kids off cycling all together. Only hassle I see with Islabikes is you can’t easily try them for size first.

My son has had a CNOC 16 from just before his fourth birthday. He also came from a Like-a-bike. We put him on the CNOC and within 5 minutes he was ready to ride it with confidence around the park – no stabilisers ever required.

Since then, we have done loads of miles together and the CNOC has been great.

My only criticism is that my son’t bike has the coaster brake which seems to be either ‘on’ or ‘off’ and has resulted in many spectacular skid stops which have nearly caused me heart failure!

As a previous poster said, the islabike are expensive but they are worth it. Ours is nearly a year old now and is still running perfectly.

Dekerfer – Member
My son has had a CNOC 16 from just before his fourth birthday. He also came from a Like-a-bike. We put him on the CNOC and within 5 minutes he was ready to ride it with confidence around the park – no stabilisers ever required.

Hi Dekerfer, encouraging to hear, nice one!

I’m not familiar with “coaster” brakes, are these like the old school BMX back pedal brakes that I’d be more familiar with from my childhood? or something else altogether?

are these like the old school BMX back pedal brakes that I’d be more familiar with from my childhood?

Yup!

We got our son a CNOC 14 when he was three and a bit. Before he got it he was a pretty confident like-a-bike rider, and was fairly happy riding flat singletrack. When he first got the CNOC it was probably a little bit big for him, so he struggled to start and stop, but he is now 3 and a half and seems to have really grown into it. He hasn’t really got the hang of the brake yet, it is either on or off, but most of what he is riding is fairly flat paths so it is not too much of a problem. He managed to ride about a mile of a recent Gorrick xc course last weekend, I had to help him on a couple of bits, but it was amazing what he could do. The bikes are very well built, I have taken it for a quick spin and it holds up to my weight fine, however I don’t think I would want to take it for a long ride 😉

yup, what everyone says about Islabikes is spot on. My eldest got a cnoc 14 shortly after his 3rd birthday, took a wee while to master starting and stopping without being helped but not long. Really well-designed, bombproof construction (just as well with the amount he chucks it about now). He’s just turned 4 and his latest ‘skillz’ is using the coaster brake to skid while standing on the pedals. Happily rides it for miles at a time.

He’s on the small side for his age, or at least he was when he got it. If your lad’s on the bigger side, you might be better with the cnoc 16, check the sizing guide on the site, or give Isla a call – she’s very helpful.

Obligatory proud dad pic – the wee man tearing up Ae last october:

another vote for Islabikes here. Eldest had a cnoc 16 from age 3 to 6, just (last week) got him a Beinn 20. His wee brother can just about ride the cnoc now (aged 2.5) with the seat and bars down and stabilisers on -)

Hi everyone. Thanks to your great advice, today I ordered an Islabike Cnoc 16 for my son’s 4th birthday. Looking forward to riding with him…