14” wheel bike with gears

[sunnygym]

I’m looking to upgrade my sons bike, he is 4 years old and not the tallest so maximum wheel size needs to be 14 inches. I’m trying to find a bike with gears but not having much luck.

Is there a bike out there with that spec ? If not then I’m going to go with this..

[paulwf]

I don't believe one exists:

1. A young child won't be able to operate the gear shifter
2. The derailleur would be dragging on the ground (a 20" islabike has the derailleur pretty low

[sunnygym]

Damn I didn’t even think about the gear mechanism being too low to the ground due to the size of the wheels.

Shame because he is really good on a bike ( riding without stabilisers since he was two ) and I think we would pick up the gears in no time.

We rode 1/2 way round Bewl water at the weekend and gears would have made some of the up hill climbs a bit easier

Thanks for the advice much appreciated.

[sjg]

I got one of those secondhand for my daughter. They're often overlooked by bike snobs in favour of Islabike, Frog, etc but they're nice things - lightweight alu frame, proper threadless headset, decent Kenda tyres. Just as light at the posher brand ones.

14" is all singlespeed as said - they're usually a first pedal bike so keeps things simple, and gears would be tricky to package.

[JimbobVFR]

paulwf said:

I don't believe one exists:

2. The derailleur would be dragging on the ground (a 20" islabike has the derailleur pretty low

Something like the Sturmey Archer hub gears I had on a Grifter in the 80s would work though.

[paulwf]

JimbobVFR said:

Something like the Sturmey Archer hub gears I had on a Grifter in the 80s would work though.

It would be a struggle on a 14" as the spokes would be so short with the much larger hub. I have seen them used on 16" wheels though.

The original poster needs to practice one handed riding whilst pushing a child uphill 😀

[sunnygym]

[/quote]
The original poster needs to practice one handed riding whilst pushing a child uphill ??
[/quote]

I am a master at this !

[lufbramatt]

I'm considering changing the freewheel on my sons bike for a 18t as I think the 16t on there is a bit long for him, these kind of bikes seem to use standard bmx style bits so might be looking in to, should be under a tenner.

I've also seen a bungee type strap thing so you can tow them up hills but I'd be worried about upsetting their balance.

[louiebaby]

If you're thinking of going down the "project" route, would an Brompton wheel with hub be an option?

[lufbramatt]

Depends on the width I guess, google says Bromptons are 115mm and I think a normal "BMX" type rear hub is 110mm, also Brompton diameter is 16" not 14" mentioned in the OP.

[louiebaby]

lufbramatt said:

Brompton diameter is 16" not 14" mentioned in the OP.

True story, but kids grow quick!

My 4 year old has been riding a 16 inch Islabike CNOC since just before he was 4, and I know all kids grow at different rates.

We did have a 14 inch bike for him for a few months, but only because the older one hadn't quite got big enough for his 20 incher.

Unless you need to bridge a gap, or your kids is particularly short, I would consider 14 inch wheel bikes to be a bit of a waste of time. Interesting to hear other people's experience though.

[lufbramatt]

Agreed- my son went straight from a balance bike to a 16" Frog 48.

Is an interesting idea using the 3 speed Brompton wheel but fitting it into a single speed frame would be the issue I think.