Anyone near the south coast (Sussex) that we could come and pop our son on to check for size…!?

His inside leg is about 44cm…he’s getting too big for his cnoc 14, and getting a 16″ wheeler seems ‘too small a difference’ – the cnoc 16 fits him well now, but he’ll grow out in no time.

We tried a frog bike 48 (suggested inside leg is 48cm) and that fitted like the cnoc 16 – but again is a ‘first bike’. The next frog bike up was way too big.

I reckon the beinn small, with a suggested leg of 47cm should be ok, but want to see in the flesh.. Ludlow is far too far to try in the factory, so seeing what’s nearby!

Ta!

DrP

Im not near you but when my little one moved up we got her the small and it was too big with mtb tyres on but fine with road tyres. Tbh she could have stayed on the cnoc a bit longer but her little brother had stolen it by then 🙂

Yes we have one you can try – near qecp.
We’ve found that you can leapfrog sizes if you go to the max kid size per bike. Ours went from a cnoc 14 to a beinn 20 small and it was fine.

He’ll be fine DrP.
Just measured my lads inside leg at 47cm & he’s been riding his for over a year.
The saddle has gone up several times, about 4″ from minimum now.
He went up from a Cnoc14 that was running at max.

My son is only 98cm tall with an inside leg of about 39cm and he can get on one and ride it fine, but it is still too big for him. So your son should be fine.

*edit* Just looked at the Islabike size chart and have seen that my son’s measurements put him as only just big enough for the Cnoc 14 😐 He has been riding a 16″ bike for almost a year!

What makes you think he’s too big for the cnoc? I’ve found following the size chart works for my kids. What’s the rush?

DRP – same here, Jr went Cnoc 14 straight to Beinn20 small.
Fine.

just about 6yrs old here

It still fits him fine and he is approaching 8 yrs old.

What makes you think he’s too big for the cnoc? I’ve found following the size chart works for my kids. What’s the rush?

It just looks pretty small on him.. Plus he’s asking for bigger wheel sizes as the media portrays smaller wheels as slow and ‘old skool’…!

Yak – I’ll email you, and see if it’s possible for a little trial perhaps? Cheers!

DrP

My lad went from cnoc14 to Beinn 20 small, it was great, and moving to a geared, bigger wheeled bike meant he was suddenly riding much further/hillier terrain with ease. Just did the jump from the beinn20 small to beinn24, and it’s a quantum leap forward again in terms of how far /fast he is riding.

My son also went from the CNOC to the Benin 20 small with no problems. We’re near Farnborough if that’s any good.

Another Cnoc 14 to Beinn 20 Small kid here, he was fine with the bigger bike straight off and has grown into it very quickly. He’d have been too big for the 16 in less than 6 months I reckon.

(I’d offer you a go but we’re hundreds of miles away up in the grim north.)

Just in case anyone is able to help out with a look at a Beinn 20 Small around Aberdeenshire, I’d appreciate it too, as ours are big for their age, and I’d be keen to see how they size up on this one. They’re currently on Knoc 14s, which they love, but it won’t be long before they have outgrown them. Again, I think we’ll leap-frog the 16, and go straight for the 20.

Gavin, I have a 20 Large you’d be welcome to have a look at.

Not the small you’re looking for but might be a useful reference point.

Aforementioned mini takisawa2, (48cm I/L) on his Beinn 20 small this fine morning…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pkKjey]IMAG3900[/url] by pten2106, on Flickr

As mentioned above Islabikes size their bike to leapfrog a size, (that’s what they told me when I spoke to them)

my daughter went, CNOC 16 -> BEINN 20 Large -> BEINN 26 Small which she is riding now (she’s 8 years old now)

Anyone wanting to try their kid on an Islabike should just take go along to a kids bike race. There will be dozens of Islabikes to choose from and people are always happy to help 😀

Both ours went from Cnoc14 to small Beinn. Eldest at 5, youngest just about now at 4. I’ve always been a fan of kids “not riding bikes that are too big for them” and the eldest rode the Beinn for ages (ending up with a very raced position!). It’s probably a bit big for the young one, but the big wheel advantage is significant. First race on it at the weekend – held onto 3rd for the series in under 6s 😉

It’s a serious matter by Jonathan Bateman, on Flickr

THis is the thing….with a 16 inch wheel he’d have been right at the back of the field… 😉

DrP

big wheel advantage is significant

That is our plan for next season to move up to the Beinn 20 small. He’ll be 4 by then. Under 6 racing is serious business 😈

+1 for skipping a size. When my daughter outgrew a Ridegeback MX14, she was still a bit small for a Beinn 20 so gambled on a Cnoc 16, it lasted 15 months and she’s now on a Large Beinn 20.

The gamble did pay off as the RRP went up and I sold the Cnoc 16 on e-bay for almost what I’d bought it for (total cost about £7). I knew they held their value, but was shocked, listed at £50 and went for £177.

7 year old mini-smoggy is now riding blue trails and racing BMX, so it seemed to do the trick.

Ditto on the size skipping, our 2 did that whole way through, which was handy as with a 3 yr age gap one was on new and one was on cast down. Only failed when youngest outgrew 20 large and big bro was on 26 small, so we bought a 24, which will be getting sold in the new yr.

Our lad went from a 14″ that was outgrown to a 20″ which he’s now trying to outgrow, but i’m hindering that by fitting a wider riser bar.

We got at least an extra half season out of the Beinn with a wide bar. Wide bar, saddle maxed….

First corner shuffle by Jonathan Bateman, on Flickr

carbon bar, spds… marginal gains 😉

And if you think under 6s is serious just wait until under 8s, or under 10s! Imustnotshoutatmychildrenimustnotshoutatmychildren… repeat 😉

And if you think under 6s is serious just wait until under 8s, or under 10s

Some of the parents are very competitive! And some of the kids too…

My two aged 3 and 5. lad was riding puky before he was walking properly trials motorbike at 4 lol

As peabrain said, kids races are perfect for trying different bike sizes. At the xc rampage yesterday we helped a fella decide that both his kids needed to size up. He may not have thanked us for that, but his sons seemed very keen on bigger wheels!

DrP – yes, send an email and we’ll arrange a meet up.

Little bugger he is lol. Now hes 5 he just likes to do tricks on his bmx

Aw lovely, mine started on Puky too.

helped a fella decide that both his kids needed to size up.

My 8 year old had a turn of a small-framed 27.5″ bike that belonged to a 10 year old (not that much taller than him) and has decided that with his puny 24″ wheels he is seriously under biked…

Ha – kid bike races are financially dangerous places!

My 2 are always wanting something bigger or the seat putting higher dont know why

The little blighters need to stop growing!

I managed to resist buying a Beinn 20 to compete with Jonathan before the final race of the season. She’ll be out of the blocks in her final year in Under 6s though trained to the hilt with one though!

THis is the thing….with a 16 inch wheel he’d have been right at the back of the field…

You may jest but he had a far better race this weekend than 3 weeks ago and the extra bumpiness of this course didn’t help the 14s and 16s ;0)

We had very bad timing with our littlest – his birthday is in November so even in his final year in the under 6s he will still only be 5, when some of the others will be only a couple of months away from being 7 by the final race…

I’m sure he will smoke ’em though (but only on the correct wheel size 😆 )

Sorry slight hijack Jnr FD has his 14″ wheeled Ridgeback seat at the max, and I was looking at moving to 16″ but this thread has been very helpful, as will probably move him straight to 20″

What other options are out there?

What price do small Beinn 20’s tend to sell for 2nd hand?

Ta

It was the gearing as much as the wheel size that made a big difference over the last race. Cnoc 14 gearing is really low once they get a good lick on.

Peabrain: bonfire night birthday here, so we’re in the same boat. He quite frighteningly focused/competitive (he doesn’t get it from me!) though, so I don’t think it’ll worry him much 😉

Funkydunc: generally they go for so much 2nd hand you wonder why anyone wouldn’t buy one new! There are other good options (eg Frog), but if you’re comparing specs (particularly weight) then you usually end up back with Islabikes. There’s more options once you move to 24″ I think.

jonathon – is yours coming up 4 or coming up 5?

It was the gearing as much as the wheel size

Yeah, my son’s 16″ bike is 22-16 for our hilly trails (and he was still only 2 when it was built) so top speed is slightly lacking. Planning to put a bigger chainring on, and longer cranks.

FunkyDunc – A second hand Beinn Small I was watching on ebay went for £215! Another for £175. I don’t think there are any other 20″ bikes that are as small framed as the Islabike, but I would be delighted to be corrected!

Youngest is coming up to 5. He raced on and off last year (racing on pedals at 3 – get in!). He really enjoyed it when he did, but often it was a bit too much emotionally – he was mostly concerned about not winning a medal, like I said, he’s a bit competitive 😉

Raced our whole local series this year and has done really well. He is little for his age (his older brother is too) and makes such a big difference in the young age groups. Never mind that you can have over 2 years span you can get huge size differences. I’ve got pics of the older one chatting on the start line and he’s 4 inches shorter than everyone he’s racing against!

I think our Cnoc is geared down a bit for riding in the forest too (live nr Dalby) – I know I swapped out the original freewheel and suspect I went up a tooth or two. It’s had a hard life – think its on its 3rd or 4th chain, 3rd brake cable, 3rd set of tyres. Curious to know what it would sell for but I’m not sure I can bring myself to let it go.

racing on pedals at 3 – get in!

Mine did his first race on pedals at 2 😛 Mine is also small for his age (as I said up thread his measurements put him as only just big enough for the Cnoc14 – he has been riding a 16″ for almost a year and can ride a Beinn 20 small).

I know what you mean about sentimental attachment to their bikes – I built up my son’s from a cheap bike I bought on ebay. I will be sad when he no longer needs it!

Hey DrP
PM me, as I’m in Brighton and my little man rides a Beinn 20 small. Happy to provide access for a size fitting.

Lardman.

Nicely returned to the subject there, lardman.