My 4 year old has a Commencal Ramones 16 .
He finds it difficult to pedal up any hill, but fine on level ground.

It has a 16t freewheel on the back and a 32t 114mm Chainset.

What are my options to make the gearing easier?
My first thought is to put a 14t freewheel on, but I think they have a different thread to the 16t..?
I could change the crank, but what to?

If the gearing is too high then you need a larger rear sprocket. Pop a 17 or 18 on there.

A 14 would make it harder. You can get 18t singlespeed freewheels. Worth a punt.

Lol blonde moment there…I’ll blame it on all the medicine I’ve taken for this raging flu that’s kicked in since yesterday!!
An 18t could be worth the small cost..

I might have a 20t in the shed you could have for nothing.

Cheers Peabrain.. I’ll see how the 18t goes first… have a feeling the 20t might have him spinning out on the flats..I might be wrong..

How do I get one of these off?
No lugs like most of them have..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/131653899089

One of these.

Or clamp it really hard in a vice and twist it off. This will ruin the freewheel though.

You might be right about 20t. I think that might be why it is in the shed

That tool won’t help get it off as there are no lugs for it.

Hammer and punch in those pin holes to unscrew the inner race (LEFT hand thread so clockwise as you are looking at it).

All the guts will fall out. Clamp the remaining bit in vice and unscrew (std right hand thread).

That’s what I thought… pretty much a throw away part as it will be ruined once removed..

Might not quite be ruined…….

The middle bit will be hardened and probably not very tight as only ridden by a kid.

If really patient you can rebuild all the balls and pawls 🙂

Are all the threads the same on these freewheel? ISO 1.375?

Anyone with this problem on a 6/7/8 speed freewheel should try one of these (expander cogs are not a new idea you know)

Made the world of difference for my 8 year old

According to my fag packet maths calculations, with the 18 tooth on the freewheel, you’ll get the same gearing as a Cnoc 16.
All the best with the freehub rebuild. Just think of the smiles you’ll get for it 😀

My 4 year old has a Commencal Ramones 16.

First time I’ve seen one of these and it looks great. My lad’s just about to grow out of his Isla 14″ and this looks a bit funkier than the Cnoc 16.

How does he get on with it?

G

Sorry Speeder, just seen your post.
He gets on fine with it, but only thing is peddaling up hills. Once he learns to stand and pedal he should be OK..
I did post this thread when he first got it..
Only thing I’d say is compare the weight of this bike to anything else you look at.
It’s not the lightest, but it’s very tough..
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/commencal-ramones-16-review-pics

Bit of cake at the LBS and they sourced and fitted a larger freewheel at a low cost. On a Cnoc 14.

And they then refitted the original when my son got a bit stronger.

For what it’s worth I wouldn’t do it again as I don’t think it really helped much. He slowed down too much and balance became an issue – refitting the original sped him up and balance instantly improved.

Perhaps small children shouldn’t be expected to go up hill that much / well.