My eldest is still using his Haro Z10 (and absolutely flying on it). But with the quill stem up all the way and seatpost pretty high, he’s nearing its limits. It’s certainly time for Father Christmas to be thinking about the next stage.

He’s mastered pedaling on a trike and balance on a balance bike so the next bike needs to be a proper (with pedals) bike.

As with most of us on here, I don’t want to get him a heavy BSO that’ll put him off riding. Therefore, rigid. Light. SS(?)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I live in Thailand so choice here is limited. I don’t want a 40kg Ben Ten “bicycle” from Tesco so it will probably have to come out with the next visitors we get from England.

Thanks a lot

FWIW. I saw a stunning balance bike. Brushed alu. Carbon bars and seatpost. Brooks-esque saddle. It would fit him now and for a couple more years. That seems to me a bad move given I’d guess he’s ready to ride properly. Yes?

Islabike cnoc14 … Great first bikes

If he’s on the small side the Cnoc 14 is a good shout.

Mine went from 12″ balance to 16″ pedal with coaster and front brake. There is a bit more choice on 16″. SS is fine, gears can be a bit too much for them – but then you can just set the gear for them during the ride.

Eldest was (is) small for age and struggled a bit with starting and stopping on 16″ wheels. Swapped the Hotwalk seatpost and saddle in and the few mm’s of drop gained was enough.

Youngest went straight to it no problems at 3 yrs 2 months. All down to height (or at least inseam) really.

My 3 1/2 year old (girl) just had her first go on her brothers old bike – Ridgeback MX12, shes just big enough now & is picking it up very quickly after lots of balance biking.

Great bike, has been well used with not problems. Probably not as light as the Islabike but alot cheaper – especially 2nd hand.

I second the Islabike but my daughter couldn’t get on with the coaster brake, so I sold it on ebay for pretty much what we paid for it. I don’t think that the new ones have them any more though.

I bought a CNOC 14 for my boy in March (3rd birthday) and it has V brakes each end. Lovely little levers for small hands too.

They are expensive granted but they are very tidy little bikes. You can see the quality in the detail.

We have a younger daughter and a bunch of mates with growing sprogs so it will earn its keep for the money in a few years.

I saw a stunning balance bike. Brushed alu. Carbon bars and seatpost. Brooks-esque saddle. It would fit him now and for a couple more years.

Early Rider?

Bought my eldest a Cnoc 14 for Christmas when he was 3 1/2. Didn’t touch it for 9 months as he loved his balance bike. But when he did, it took two pedal strokes and he was off:

Thanks.

Those Cnocs do look lovely. Slightly surprised by the price! Maybe unfairly; I guess I hadn’t really put thought into the price.

Yes bandito. It was one of those, but the balance bike version. I went with my boy to buy a track pump. If I’d had a credit card with me, I might have had a very happy son but pissed off wife when we got home! A belt-driven, single speed rigid bike with a brown leather saddle. Isn’t that the average STW’ers dream bike 🙂

Isn’t that the average STW’ers dream bike

Ahem..

Anyone mentioned a Cnoc 14 yet? 😉

Don’t let the price put you off. I sold mine after 4 years of use – for what I’d bought it for new!

Echo all the above. I got the boy a CNOC16 as he is very tall for his age (3 1/2yrs) so a 14 will probably be just right. Took a while to wean him off the balance bike but he flies about on it now.

Had a look at the Early Rider belter when I nipped into 18Bikes and they are very nice.

Isla have very good resale value, its nigh on impossible to find a cheap second hand one.

Slightly cheaper variation is Frogbikes.

I went for the Frog 43 over the Cnoc 14. If it matters, the seat is a midge lower when fully down on the Frog.

Main reason for going for it was I could get from the LBS rather than mail order – but that won’t be a concern for you 🙂

My just 4 yr old has an earlier rider belter, having progressed from their balance bike. It’s light, and he picked up pedalling within a couple of weeks, and now doing laps of the local bmx track. He’s about 103 cm tall, and the seat isn’t as far down as it goes. His elder sibling has one also, as he never got to grips with the Trek 16 as it had a coaster brake, and it weighed a ton.

Thanks for the replies.

Is a locking headset important? The Frog mentions one but the others don’t.

The current balance bike doesn’t have one. Does it become more important as children ride more quickly? As far as I can imagine, it may save a bruised thigh but not much more.

We have an Early Rider, it really is a beautiful bit of kit. It has a restrictor to stop the forks turning to far. It is basically a very thick rubber band (think O ring style).
Our bike is the 12″ wheel version but with the option to upgrade to 14″ in the future. This upgrade costs £30 for a pair of cartridge bearing wheels with Kenda tyres, the wheels are excellent quality for the money.

After spending a good six weeks trying to work out what to do for our 3 1/2 Year olds first bike we finally ordered an Islabikes Cnoc 16 on Monday, in the Orange Red colour. It arrived yesterday and even after a long day at pre school he was out getting used to being on it in no time.

The bike is really well made, looks really smart and is relatively light. Everything is adjustable, the brakes actually work and the finishing details are well thought out.

It could quite honestly be the best £250 I’ve spent this year. I honestly couldn’t be happier.

Well, maybe if he wasn’t up at 5 wanting to go out on it…

Another Cnoc 14 here. The only small issue we had was that it was then a little bit of a jump to the 20″ Beinn (5th birthday, I think), so the 14 started looking undersized, undergeared and underwheeled before he was big enough to move to the 20… but that period wasn’t not really long enough to warrant getting a Cnoc 16. It was fine; just not ideal for a few months.

But better to get pedalling early on a 14 than hang around waiting for a 16 to fit, IMO.

Great bikes, though. Our 14 is still in great condition and ready for its second rider.

Another Cnoc 14 here. The only small issue we had was that it was then a little bit of a jump to the 20″ Beinn (5th birthday, I think), so the 14 started looking undersized, undergeared and underwheeled before he was big enough to move to the 20… but that period wasn’t not really long enough to warrant getting a Cnoc 16. It was fine; just not ideal for a few months.

That’s exactly the problem I have at the moment. He can ride the 20″ Beinn but needs help getting on and off and finds it a bit unmanageable. However, the 14″ is far too small and he has lost a bit of confidence riding because it’s not stable enough under him. A 16″ would be ideal but too much money for what will be less than 6 months use.

got my lad a Frog and it is a cracking bike, I really don’t see the need to spend more. Comes with slicks and knobblys, lightweight, great controls and contact points, and it is red which means is is fast. Isla’s are lovely but I do think you can over think these things and end up spending more than is needed on a bike for someone who is so young.

A 16″ would be ideal but too much money for what will be less than 6 months use.

Buy second hand and sell on again and you’d be looking at, what, £20-£30, for those six months wouldn’t you?