Which bike for tall 6 year old learner?

MAJmum

My DS is 6 and v tall - 129cm with inside leg of 56cm. Until now he's had a Puky balance bike which is now way too small and I'd like to get him a proper bike for Christmas - overdue, I know. I don't know much about bikes but have been reading up and trying to figure out which one would be best for him.
From his size, it seems a 20" would be the right size but they mostly have gears which as he is just learning to ride, seems a bit much for him for now. I can see there's a 20" Islabike CNOC without gears which we could possibly stretch to, or other options with gears.
Any advice? Is it best to avoid gears for now ? Or go for one with gears but ignore them for now whilst he gets to grips with pedalling, with the aim that he'll be able to use them eventually?
TIA

davesnothere

I'd say go for at least 20" - I could never bring myself to part with the money for an Islabike (£350 for a kids bike!!) but their reputation/reviews are excellent. The other manufacturer that crops up often are Frog bikes, little bit cheaper than Islabikes but well thought of.

I'm a cheapskate so my kids had a Dawes Blowfish, this passed through 3 of my children over about 5 years and was then given to a neighbour and is still going strong. They are quite heavy but built to last

Yes go for gears, gripshift easier for small ones to learn than thumb levers

Underscore

My youngest is 7 today and he's fairly tall for his age. He has been on a Islabikes Beinn 24 since early summer so you may be able to get him on one of those - but my boy had already spent 18 months racing on a Beinn 20 Small before that so he had good confidence. I suspect that a 20" bike might work better for your lad but I suspect that he will already be towards the top end of the height for them - my boy had the seat tube at its highest setting before we moved him onto the 24"...

HTH,

_

MAJmum

Thanks v much for the replies, Davesnothere and Underscore. Sounds like I shouldn't worry about the gears and just focus on a decent bike the right size