After a decent starter mountain bike!

leannebull65

I have a very tall 4 and a half year old, he's currently in years 6-7 trousers to put you in the picture. I recently took him to Hickes Lodge on the mountain bike trail and he absolutely loved it, to the point that he now wants Santa to bring him a mountain bike like Mummy's for Christmas. I know very little about bikes, at the moment he has a Islabike cnoc 14 (yes he looks like a bear riding it). What would be a good bike to start him off on? Ideally I don't want to spend more than £500, and simple gears is a bonus.

Oh and does anyone have an outgrown Islabike or similar I could buy to bridge the gap till Christmas. Were in south derbyshire!

Thanks in advance.

Levi_501

I think I would go for a Cnoc 16. I doubt children of your sons age and even a bit older would understand gears.

I would keep an eye on ebay and gumtree.

Cnoc 16 are cheaper used than Cnoc 14s.

leannebull65

Thanks, our youngest has the smallest frog bike (their version of the cnoc 14) and that is actually what the eldest rode around Hicks. he does like the bike, tho we did spend a lot of time knocking the grips back on. Saying that when I moaned about them they sent me some new ones the following day so customer service at its best I think. We brought that one direct and lloyds build it, I think there is a shop in Spondon that stock them now. Luckily we went to the bike show at the NEC last year and tried them out! I do rate the frog bikes and they seem a bit more sturdy but my husbands not too sure.

Daz555

leannebull65 wrote:

I have a very tall 4 and a half year old, he's currently in years 6-7 trousers to put you in the picture. I recently took him to Hickes Lodge on the mountain bike trail and he absolutely loved it, to the point that he now wants Santa to bring him a mountain bike like Mummy's for Christmas. I know very little about bikes, at the moment he has a Islabike cnoc 14 (yes he looks like a bear riding it). What would be a good bike to start him off on? Ideally I don't want to spend more than £500, and simple gears is a bonus.

Oh and does anyone have an outgrown Islabike or similar I could buy to bridge the gap till Christmas. Were in south derbyshire!

Thanks in advance.

Is he big enough for the Islabike Beinn 20? My 6yr old has one and it will go anywhere - as much "mountain bike" as any kid needs - and they really don't need to be carrying the extra kilos of suspension forks around when they weigh as much as my leg!

DeVlaeminck

I rate Decathlon MTBs as cheap and cheerful bikes for kids. Hicks Lodge is flat enough anyway that weight isn't a big issue. Agree the Beinn is a nice bike but a bit of suspension is useful if he is going to start going to Sherwood Pines etc - that may be a few years away though. A Beinn with fatter tyres may be a good choice for the kind of riding Hicks Lodge offers - I'd want the extra contact as it is very gravelly there.