Those who were paying attention a few weeks ago might remember me trying
to decide whether to buy an Islabikes CNOC14 or the slightly bigger
CNOC16 for my son's 4th birthday. Having kept an eye on his inside leg
measurement over the preceding months, I expected him to have a
measurement of 43cm by his birthday. I decided to go for the CNOC16,
which has a stated minimum inside leg length of 42cm:
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0803112210abike.JPG
As soon as I took the bike out of the box, I started worrying that it
might be too big. When Charlie unwrapped it on his birthday last
Wednesday, and we sat him on the bike, we found that it would be perfect
for an already confident cyclist of Charlie's size. Not so great for a
beginner (we thought). With the pedals removed he could just about
reach the floor with both toes, so scooting as he was used to with the
like-a-Like-a-Bike and as we'd planned should hopefully still be an option.
We had a play on the patio at the weekend. Charlie wasn't interested in
scooting, he wanted to be pushed around with the pedals attached. So I
pushed him back and forth a few times, even managing to let go a couple
of times (for about a yard, before running out of patio).
This afternoon I unexpectedly had a couple of free hours, so I suggested
a trip to the park. Again Charlie wasn't interested in scooting. I
persuaded him to have a go, but he soon wanted the pedals back on. DW
and I took it in turns to push him around.
At first he didn't seem to want to make any effort to pedal or stay
upright, he just wanted to be pushed:
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0804081637charliemummy.JPG
We then swapped bikes for a bit, pushing him round on big sister's Puky
while she rode his Islabikes. On the Puky he seemed to get the hang of
pedalling, and by the time he was back on his own bike he was starting
to put some power in:
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0804081701acharliemummy.JPG
Once he started putting some power in, he started to get a feel for the
balance:
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0804081701bcharliemummy.JPG
And within half an hour of arriving at the park, he was riding on his own:
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0804081730bcharliemummy.JPG
http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z0804081735acharliemummy.JPG
We had the occasional spill, but with his gloves on he was unhurt and
got up laughing. His steering still needs some work, and he might need
a couple of months' growth before he can start off without help, but
he's already got the hang of the back-pedal brake. All in all it's been
a good afternoon.
--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis