Little lad has done really well with his Rothan. Looking to get him a first bike with pedals. Cnoc14 is looking favourite but wondering about other options. Anyone tried Speccy Hotrock or Ridgeback MX14? Anything else out there? Any recommendations?

I am in the same situation. Watching the post with interest. Cnoc 14 or 16 for me so far.

Or am I being a bike snob and would little lad be as happy with an Apollo Firechief from Halfords for £60 this weekend?

Isla are expensive but really good I cut back on that king headset for me and bought my lad one best money I spent

ive just picked up a cnoc 14 for my little lady it looks really well made

I went for a cnoc 14″ for my daughter when she was 3…. great choice and picked up pedaling very quickly

Superb kids bike. I disconnected the front brake 🙂

I think the 16″ might have set her back a bit on the confidence side.

Easy to sell when they grow out of it.

Good luck

My little boy got a conc16 when he was 3 and he loved it worth the extra cash. Sold it on the classifieds here a month or so back for £80 so it kept its value really well. Lots of people were after buying it. My son has now moved on to BMX entered his first race last Sunday aged 5, Im sure the Islabike has helped him build the confidence to do this. I’ll be getting him another fairly soon once I can convince the wife his intense bmx micro mini is only really suitable for the bmx track.

Wait for a 16″. Mine learned on a Raleigh Bluebell. Solid 12″ tyres. Great bike, it was about fourth-hand when it came to me, 38 years old I think.

islabikes are well nicely made and come excellently set up to boot. At first I balked at the cost of my boy’s 16″ one, and then had a word with myself and thought about there being flat pedals out there that cost a whisker more than his whole bike! So we upgraded to proper conti explorers on it too. 8)

It is far more confidence inspiring than his big sister’s appollo which is the same size wheels-wise, but weighs twice as much, is much harder to pedal and has crap brakes that are very hard for small hands to pull.

Good resale value too.

I have put an Islabike cnoc 16 up for sale if anyone is interested. See my advert posted on Sunday for more details.

Regards

Paul H

As above, unless your on an unlimited budget, or have at least two more equally spaced kids in the pipeline, wait for the cnoc 16

Seriously – if you’ve got a Decathlon close by have a look at their bikes. We’re on out third from there now and they’ve always been very well-made, light enough and have stood up to all sorts of abuse. Nothing like the heavy shite you get in Toys’r’Us.

I probably sound like a stuck record with this, but I think the specialized and ridgeback alternatives are as good as the isla offerings. Its about weight and size of controls and both these 2 seem to have it right.

Ours have gone/are going

Ridgeback Scoot > Hotrock 12 > Ridgeback MX 16 > Hotrock 20

I’m currently trying to work out what’s next.

Both my girls learnt on Ridgeback 14’s; eldest now has a Ridgeback 16, and I’ve been very impressed with them.

I got my little boy (5) a Cnoc 14 for Christmas last year, absolutely brilliant bike. It has improved his riding amazingly, they are just perfect for kids – brakes they can actually pull, correct length top tubes..they look cool! He can get round the Glentress Blue and Green on it no bother. I cant see me getting him any other brand until he is big enough to buy his own to be honest. To contrast that my daughter (8) got a Kona Hula, she wanted one as all her mates were getting one. Too heavy, brakes too hard to pull, suspension forks which dont really work as there isnt enough of her to get them reacting. Dont get me wrong Kona are decent enough bikes but for kids I wouldnt get anything apart from Isla again, the fact they seem to hold their value is good too. I think Isla even do a trade in scheme but I reckon you get more selling privately

Cnoc have good resale value which makes thenm a good bet but the ridgebacks are very good too. I went Rohan – Cnoc 14 – Ridgeback MX16.

I would say go with the cnoc 14, the 16 is a big size jump from the rothan, my boy was at the top of the seatpost of the rothan but still only just fitted onto the cnoc, so I would have thought the 16 would be way to big.

Excellently made, really impressed, I can even ride it …….

Cnoc 14 here

My 5 year old is still on it but I’ll probably go with a 16incher in the Spring for her. Good bike.

Bought my eldest a Townsend Alligator 12″ Wheel Boys Bike for £50 when he was 3 – it’s been fine for him and at 5 he is now moving up to a Ridgeback MX16.

The Alligator is moving down the line to his 3 year old brother and he is loving it… but when we bought the MX16 he sat on an MX14 and it would have been better than the Alligator.

I like the Ridgeback’s.

Could somebody please confirm the gearing on a CNOC 16? My lad has an apollo urchin with 36×16 but he struggles on the slopes and riding on grass. I think the cnoc has lower gearing.

The Cnoc 16 is 32 x 18.