Isla bike Cnoc 14 or 16?

Has anyone got any experience of the 'real' size difference between these 2 bikes?
I'm about to order one and can't decide which. Edward is only just over 3 but if very tall for his age, he's off the scale for 3 year olds and in the 75th percentile for 5 years olds!
Going by the size charts on the islabike website he is 1 cm under the minimum for the Cnoc 16 but judging by the rate he's growing at the mo, by christmas and the spring it's likely he'l be over that.
Isla bikes, understandably, say if he's under the minimum height then it's up to us but their advice is to go with the smaller one.

I know bikes shouldn't be bought to grow into, but for the sake of 1cm at the time of ordering the bigger bike will last him much longer…

Any parents had a similar issue?

Ta.

Had the same dilema back in April this year when our daughter turned 4. She'd been riding a balance bike successfully for 3 months beforehand. Isla advised to go with the 14 which we did, and she took to very quickly.
However, we've now bought the 16 for her primarily because it was impossible to find knobbly tyres for the 14, and most of her crashes were as a result of no grip off-road with the tyres the bike came with. The 16 can be specced with Conti Explorers (just like Daddy's) and are a real improvement. It also has f & r brakes whereas the 14 has just rear. Pedals are bigger too on the 16, otherwise little else different spec-wise. Sizewise, it's not much bigger, but I guess things are relative when you're that small!
Sizewise the 14 still fits her, and back in April we were glad we'd gone with the smaller one, but it was amazing the regularity I was raising the saddle. Now, the 16 is definately the better fit.

I guess the final decision comes down to cost – from our perspective, her brother is only 18 months behind her, so the bikes should both be well used, and they keep good 2nd hand value. If cost was an issue though, I'd probably go with the 16 as I suspect you'd end up getting more use out of it.
Final thought – can he ride a balance bike? If so, then the 16 shouldn' be too much of a problem, but if not then it might be a bit of a handful. The bikes are not esp light (again relative to a 3-4 year old) and picking one up after the inevitable crash can be hard work.

Hope this helps!

PS They are brilliant bikes – my 4yr old rode about 6 miles last week along a disused railway line on the Welsh coast – a very proud Dad moment!

Forgot to add – if you are anywhere near Guildford, you are welcome to come and see / try both back to back.

Thump is 3 1/2 and has a Cnoc 14. The neighbour wanted to buy one for her daughter (aged 4) who was also on the border of a 14/16.

They went for a 14 and I think this was the right decision.

The thing with bikes this small is that the bikes are quite big when the kid is standing – and an OK size when riding.

(Edit – The cnoc 14 now has F&R brakes)

I had a similar dilemma with my lad but went with the CNOC 16 and pleased we did, your chap will grow into it in a jiffy and it is such a fantasic little bike he'll get loads of use out of it. F&R brakes are worth it.

I'd go for bigger as they'll quickly grow into it. I got my daughter the 16 when she was 4 and it was slightly too big but soon was right size

I'd go for bigger too.

My lad got a 16 when he was 4 and he's now far to big for it. HIs knees are around his ears and the seatpost won't go any higher. He's having to wait for his birthday for the next big leap into 20" territory with gears etc with the Beinn

He was also off the scale size-wise and still grows like a weed. If Edward is that big, he's likely to stay bigger and soon overtake his bike.

go niche – get a 16 but fit 14" wheels and "upgrade" to 16" later 💡

If this is your son's first bike with pedals then I'd have thought going smaller (hence lower centre of gravity) would help him get the knack of balancing and pedaling simultaneously.

My son went from a Rothan to a Cnoc 14 which was a good fit for his height. When he outgrows it my daughter will inherit (which helps).

my 3 yr old was on his cnoc 16 around his 3rd birthday (with stabilisers) – average size for his age. six months later and it's perfect size for him even without the stabilisers

cheers folks, lots of help there, looks like a 16, especially as it'll not get as much use until the better spring weather anyway, when he'll be about 6 foot!

We got our lad a 16 and he's grown out of it, with 5 months to go to his 6th B'day – he is a big 'un though.
Go 16