Child seat - any recommendations?
Discussion
My little lad is nearly 13 months old, and I would like to get a child seat to go on the back of either my hard tail or full suspension bike.
The idea was sparked by a visit to Halfords at the weekend where they had child seats on offer. I have had a look at the Evans website, and their child seats range from £60 - £100.
Does anybody have any recommendations of what seat to go for? or any key features to look out for?
Paul
The idea was sparked by a visit to Halfords at the weekend where they had child seats on offer. I have had a look at the Evans website, and their child seats range from £60 - £100.
Does anybody have any recommendations of what seat to go for? or any key features to look out for?
Paul
Edited by PH5121 on Tuesday 17th June 10:36
Not sure if he's too young, but this maybe something to look at.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Short of that, I have one of the Halfords Hamax £50 jobbies which has done my two boys proud over the years.
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Short of that, I have one of the Halfords Hamax £50 jobbies which has done my two boys proud over the years.
We have a Copilot Limo which attaches to a pannier rack (supplied).
Obviously only works on a rigid / hardtail bike but I prefer it to the seattube-mounted ones that are all but unsupported.
Obviously only works on a rigid / hardtail bike but I prefer it to the seattube-mounted ones that are all but unsupported.
Thanks for the replies, I like the look of the Co pilot Limo.
I have been looking at E bay over lunchtime and there are some forward mounted seats which sit in front of you, allowing the little one to look forwards instead of at your back.
Has anyone got any experience of these? They don't look as well made as the Co pilot Limo, but the forward mounting concept is appealing so I can interact with my young un.
I have been looking at E bay over lunchtime and there are some forward mounted seats which sit in front of you, allowing the little one to look forwards instead of at your back.
Has anyone got any experience of these? They don't look as well made as the Co pilot Limo, but the forward mounting concept is appealing so I can interact with my young un.
Edited by PH5121 on Tuesday 17th June 14:31
I have one of the pannier rack mounting ones and with hindsight, would have gone for a Hamax instead as the seat tube mounting method gives a reasonable degree of suspension to the seat that the pannier ones don't have. Not a problem on smooth roads, but though the trails at the park it can get a bit bouncy on the back!
hughjayteens said:
the seat tube mounting method gives a reasonable degree of suspension to the seat that the pannier ones don't have.
Yeah - you have to balance the pros and cons; the rack-mounted ones have no suspension but are very well supported. The seat tube-mounted ones are more comfortable (and possibly fit a full suspension bike, depending on the frame layout) but to me seem less secure - you have a large amount of weight at the end of a pretty long lever attached to a single point on the frame.SWMBO has spoken!
She isn't keen on the seat which goes in front of the rider, so a rear mounted one it must be.
I think i'll go for a Hamax one, as it looks like it will fit on my FS bike.
If any one else is looking at child seats, the best place I have found is Merlin in Lancashire. They are cheaper than Evans (£63 rather than £80) for the top of the range Hamax Siesta seat, and do free mail order.
She isn't keen on the seat which goes in front of the rider, so a rear mounted one it must be.
I think i'll go for a Hamax one, as it looks like it will fit on my FS bike.
If any one else is looking at child seats, the best place I have found is Merlin in Lancashire. They are cheaper than Evans (£63 rather than £80) for the top of the range Hamax Siesta seat, and do free mail order.
You can't fit a Hamax (or any of the other rear mounted seats) to a FS bike as the rear wheel can hit the underside of the seat when the suspension compresses. Hardtail only for rear seats I am afraid! (hence why that LOCT seat came about!)
Edited by hughjayteens on Wednesday 18th June 21:40
Rear mounted seats are a no no on full suspension so I've just had delivered (yesterday actually) a seat called a weeride kangaroo. I looked at the loct system but decided on the weeride as it has a padded face plate in front of matthew (he's 27 months old) to prevent his face from coming into contact with any part of the bike in case he were to fall asleep/fall forward.
It looks like a good compromise between the security of a rear carrier and the fun you can undoubtedly have from the loct system. Looks well built as well, easier to fit than the loct (no need to take the bars and stem off) and arguably more secure.
It's a lot cheaper than loct at £68 including delivery charge directly from the uk distributors.
Apologies if this post doesn't read particularly well. I did it on my iPhone whilst in my "office" this morning.
It looks like a good compromise between the security of a rear carrier and the fun you can undoubtedly have from the loct system. Looks well built as well, easier to fit than the loct (no need to take the bars and stem off) and arguably more secure.
It's a lot cheaper than loct at £68 including delivery charge directly from the uk distributors.
Apologies if this post doesn't read particularly well. I did it on my iPhone whilst in my "office" this morning.
i use one of these for my twins
it attaches to any bike, i currently have it attached to my racer/road bike.
depending on the ages of your kids and the number you have, to could have an older kid on one of those half bikes that attach to the rear of yours, then attach the trailer to back of that bike... convoy!!
they love it, and we can speak and hear each other just fine.
and the weight of a pair of kids and a boot full of 'stuff' i feel is really having an effect on my fitness
also, i find that i can attach their bikes to the roof of the trailer, so i can trailer the kids to the park, then let em jump out and ride their own bike.. normally i would have to take the car for that sort of journey
it attaches to any bike, i currently have it attached to my racer/road bike.
depending on the ages of your kids and the number you have, to could have an older kid on one of those half bikes that attach to the rear of yours, then attach the trailer to back of that bike... convoy!!
they love it, and we can speak and hear each other just fine.
and the weight of a pair of kids and a boot full of 'stuff' i feel is really having an effect on my fitness
also, i find that i can attach their bikes to the roof of the trailer, so i can trailer the kids to the park, then let em jump out and ride their own bike.. normally i would have to take the car for that sort of journey
Edited by SystemParanoia on Thursday 19th June 09:30
Not to worry if the Hamax won't fit on my bike with 6 inch of rear travel.
I have an old Marin FS with only 2 or 3 inches of rear travel and a hardtail too, I am sure it will fit one of the bikes.
Then I cannot wait to get out with the little one, I haven't had chance to go out on a bike since before he was born.
I have an old Marin FS with only 2 or 3 inches of rear travel and a hardtail too, I am sure it will fit one of the bikes.
Then I cannot wait to get out with the little one, I haven't had chance to go out on a bike since before he was born.
I would also add that I haven't fitted the carrier to the bike yet so can't comment on how the weeride rides with the carrier/child in situ. I will report back in due course for those that may be interested.
weeride kangaroo clicky
weeride kangaroo clicky
The Hamax Siesta fits on the back of my Marin Wolf Ridge, no problems with the wheel fouling the seat.
Had a ride up and down the street last night, (first trip out for the little man), which he seemed to enjoy - well he didn't scream shout and want to get out.
We will hopefully venture some where more interesting at the weekend, if the weather is nice we may go to Dalby Forrest or Clumber Park.
Had a ride up and down the street last night, (first trip out for the little man), which he seemed to enjoy - well he didn't scream shout and want to get out.
We will hopefully venture some where more interesting at the weekend, if the weather is nice we may go to Dalby Forrest or Clumber Park.
The WeeRide Kangaroo is okay. We got it 'cos Mini-mekon found being in a trailer unsociable, and moaned non-stop. The Kangaroo is an excellent design. Fitting is a doddle, the child can blather away. The foot guards do a reasonable job of keeping the child out of mischief, and the little table-thing works as somewhere to rest a head against when the child falls asleep. However in common with any child seat, laden with child, a lot of weight is placed high on the bike, altering the centre of gravity. When that weight decides it is bored and wants to throw itself from side to side, the bike wobbles a lot. Not cool when your cycle paths are only a metre or so wide. We noticed that Mini-Mekon was doing this regularly, and was nearing the size limit of the design, so we went back to a trailer. For what it's worth, my missus keeps going on that the only recorded UK death in a child seat was on a front mounted one. Both her U/G and P/G degree research is on transport policy, so it may be true. However, she had an expensive purchase in mind when she told me this (a £1700 Winther Kangaroo trike).
The trailer we had was initially useful. I guess we’d have liked a Chariot, but the price of the CX we lusted after was prohibitive at the time (baby on the way, etc), and once we’d added all the accessories we’d need it looked like a costly choice. Clearly Zwei plus Zwei, the EU distributors, must have seen a gap in the market, because we found they sold a similar design for half the price. The Croozer 737 we got isn’t as light, and collapses vertically rather than horizontally, but otherwise it’s all there. We used it as a pram, jogger and trailer, albeit MrsMekon never got over the feeling that drivers wouldn’t see it, and never really used it on the road that much. However, what really bugged us about it was generic to trailers - it’s really hard to interact with your child. Riding ceases to be sociable, and merely becomes a means of moving human cargo to a destination. Mini-Mekon is all about the chitter-chatter, and when chitter-chatter becomes unavailable, he defaults to whining. Rides stopped being fun. We've ended up with a Dutch bakfiets (the Winther Kangaroo was a horrid ride, tho' prolly perfect for short trips to school / shops).
For what it's worth, lots of utility cycling shops swear by the bobike. Our mates have a Maxi, and they are all over the place in Cambridge. It's a very high quality piece of kit. Velorution do them and have info.
Bobike at Velorution
The trailer we had was initially useful. I guess we’d have liked a Chariot, but the price of the CX we lusted after was prohibitive at the time (baby on the way, etc), and once we’d added all the accessories we’d need it looked like a costly choice. Clearly Zwei plus Zwei, the EU distributors, must have seen a gap in the market, because we found they sold a similar design for half the price. The Croozer 737 we got isn’t as light, and collapses vertically rather than horizontally, but otherwise it’s all there. We used it as a pram, jogger and trailer, albeit MrsMekon never got over the feeling that drivers wouldn’t see it, and never really used it on the road that much. However, what really bugged us about it was generic to trailers - it’s really hard to interact with your child. Riding ceases to be sociable, and merely becomes a means of moving human cargo to a destination. Mini-Mekon is all about the chitter-chatter, and when chitter-chatter becomes unavailable, he defaults to whining. Rides stopped being fun. We've ended up with a Dutch bakfiets (the Winther Kangaroo was a horrid ride, tho' prolly perfect for short trips to school / shops).
For what it's worth, lots of utility cycling shops swear by the bobike. Our mates have a Maxi, and they are all over the place in Cambridge. It's a very high quality piece of kit. Velorution do them and have info.
Bobike at Velorution
Edited by Mekon on Wednesday 2nd July 11:46
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