Child bike seat
Discussion
I'm looking for some advice with regard to what to look for in a good child bike seat, I want to get one for our year old child, my wife whose bike it will be fitted to wants the seat behind her saddle. So which ones are any good which ones are to be avoided? Is there any advantage in spending £100's or after a certain price are you into trick materials etc? Are there any standards that are better than others?
We've got this one from Halfords for our now 3 year old daughter but she started in it when she was 2. It's been superb both on the road and on gravel bridleway type stuff and our daughter is quite happy seated in there for reasonably long periods. It's even on offer! Just remember to check the tightness of the bracket on the frame before you head out each time.
Engineer1 said:
I'm looking for some advice with regard to what to look for in a good child bike seat, I want to get one for our year old child, my wife whose bike it will be fitted to wants the seat behind her saddle. So which ones are any good which ones are to be avoided? Is there any advantage in spending £100's or after a certain price are you into trick materials etc? Are there any standards that are better than others?
Child seats are definitely worth paying for. You get features such as suspension (VERY important to keep the child safe and comfy), more reliable and slimmer brackets, better head room for the child, better harnesses, reclining functions to make your kid more comfortable, better visibility with reflectors, easier for you to put your pride and joy in the seat while holding the bike steady etc!Either that or you can get a crappy basic sub £40 seat, but surely you want the best for your baby?
Take a look a the Hamax range, plenty of options for price brackets. Also Wiggle's best rated seat: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hamax-siesta-rear-mounted-...
Edited by Viperzs on Wednesday 16th October 23:44
NEVER get one that goes behind the saddle.
They are dangerous.
Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, how will you know if your littlun has fallen out? Despite straps etc, if they are old enough to sit in a seat like this, they are old enough to fiddle. With straps etc.
Also, I had a friend who had one, their kid was strapped in, helmet on but fell asleep. The kids head bent back (as it would if you fall asleep) and ruined the kids neck for about 6 months after.
If you read the cycling press and forums, you will see the constant debate to ban them.
edit....having clicked on the link, I don't think the neck thing will be so much of an issue with those ones, but still, wouldn't you want eyes on the kid all the time?
They are dangerous.
Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, how will you know if your littlun has fallen out? Despite straps etc, if they are old enough to sit in a seat like this, they are old enough to fiddle. With straps etc.
Also, I had a friend who had one, their kid was strapped in, helmet on but fell asleep. The kids head bent back (as it would if you fall asleep) and ruined the kids neck for about 6 months after.
If you read the cycling press and forums, you will see the constant debate to ban them.
edit....having clicked on the link, I don't think the neck thing will be so much of an issue with those ones, but still, wouldn't you want eyes on the kid all the time?
Lawbags said:
NEVER get one that goes behind the saddle.
They are dangerous.
Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, how will you know if your littlun has fallen out? Despite straps etc, if they are old enough to sit in a seat like this, they are old enough to fiddle. With straps etc.
Also, I had a friend who had one, their kid was strapped in, helmet on but fell asleep. The kids head bent back (as it would if you fall asleep) and ruined the kids neck for about 6 months after.
If you read the cycling press and forums, you will see the constant debate to ban them.
edit....having clicked on the link, I don't think the neck thing will be so much of an issue with those ones, but still, wouldn't you want eyes on the kid all the time?
Are you mad!? A rear fixing child seat is arguably more appropriate than a front mounted seat. If you fit a front mounted seat it interferes with the control of the bike, often making you pedal in a weird motion so your knees/legs clear the seat. You can also argue that if you crash your bike with a child on the front then you have more chance of landing on them. I know a LOT of bike shops who try to steer people away from a front seat. Depending on the style of the front seat they can also add a hell of a lot of weight onto the bike with the big stability bars they need to try to keep everything stable.They are dangerous.
Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, how will you know if your littlun has fallen out? Despite straps etc, if they are old enough to sit in a seat like this, they are old enough to fiddle. With straps etc.
Also, I had a friend who had one, their kid was strapped in, helmet on but fell asleep. The kids head bent back (as it would if you fall asleep) and ruined the kids neck for about 6 months after.
If you read the cycling press and forums, you will see the constant debate to ban them.
edit....having clicked on the link, I don't think the neck thing will be so much of an issue with those ones, but still, wouldn't you want eyes on the kid all the time?
There is less suspension on a front seat so not as comfortable for your kids and no reclining option to make sure they are comfortable.
If you buy a GOOD child seat with a strong reputation then there is no thing wrong with a rear seat. I have never heard of a child that has randomly fallen out of a child seat. The Hamax seat buckles are often difficult to remove and that is done by design to ensure a child cannot undo them. Cheap crappy seats probably don't think of that, another benefit of paying the most you can afford to protect your child.
There should NEVER be an issue with a child's neck in a child seat. You should only put a child in a seat when they can support their own head when awake and if you get a seat that reclines (make sure the WHOLE seat reclines, not just the back) then when they fall asleep their head will not bob around.Your friend must have had a seat with a very low back to it if the child's head was dangling over.
+1 for a Hamax Siesta
We've had our daughter in one since she was about 15 months old and she loves it.
She sits there very happy in her 'armchair', watching the world go by and chatting to folks as they pass.
The Hamax frame fittings are very solid and the seat itself is very sturdy. All in all its a great piece of kit.
Almost twice the price of the one discussed at the top of the thread, but in my opinion probably worth it. I compared a lot of seats in various shops before settling on this one, and the cheaper ones seemed a bit lightweight to me.
I have just recommended one to some friends of ours with a child of similar age
Cheers
We've had our daughter in one since she was about 15 months old and she loves it.
She sits there very happy in her 'armchair', watching the world go by and chatting to folks as they pass.
The Hamax frame fittings are very solid and the seat itself is very sturdy. All in all its a great piece of kit.
Almost twice the price of the one discussed at the top of the thread, but in my opinion probably worth it. I compared a lot of seats in various shops before settling on this one, and the cheaper ones seemed a bit lightweight to me.
I have just recommended one to some friends of ours with a child of similar age
Cheers
[quote=Viperzs]
If you buy a GOOD child seat with a strong reputation then there is no thing wrong with a rear seat. I have never heard of a child that has randomly fallen out of a child seat. The Hamax seat buckles are often difficult to remove and that is done by design to ensure a child cannot undo them. Cheap crappy seats probably don't think of that, another benefit of paying the most you can afford to protect your child.
Agreed....the Hamax buckles generally need two hands to undo as an adult......I would think they are as safe as can be possible.
If you buy a GOOD child seat with a strong reputation then there is no thing wrong with a rear seat. I have never heard of a child that has randomly fallen out of a child seat. The Hamax seat buckles are often difficult to remove and that is done by design to ensure a child cannot undo them. Cheap crappy seats probably don't think of that, another benefit of paying the most you can afford to protect your child.
Agreed....the Hamax buckles generally need two hands to undo as an adult......I would think they are as safe as can be possible.
I've got a Hamax Siesta that I use for my 2.5yr old son. On the whole, it's a very good seat and offers plenty of support to the head when he falls asleep in it.
One word of advice though, try and get it test fitted to your bike before buying. The metal arm sometimes doesn't offer enough height to stop the seat rubbing on the rear wheel. On my 17.5" HT frame it's fine. But it won't fit on my wife's 15" frame as the seat sits on the top of the rear wheel. You can buy different shaped metal arms, but I've never found anywhere that sells them!
One word of advice though, try and get it test fitted to your bike before buying. The metal arm sometimes doesn't offer enough height to stop the seat rubbing on the rear wheel. On my 17.5" HT frame it's fine. But it won't fit on my wife's 15" frame as the seat sits on the top of the rear wheel. You can buy different shaped metal arms, but I've never found anywhere that sells them!
5678 said:
I've got a Hamax Siesta that I use for my 2.5yr old son. On the whole, it's a very good seat and offers plenty of support to the head when he falls asleep in it.
One word of advice though, try and get it test fitted to your bike before buying. The metal arm sometimes doesn't offer enough height to stop the seat rubbing on the rear wheel. On my 17.5" HT frame it's fine. But it won't fit on my wife's 15" frame as the seat sits on the top of the rear wheel. You can buy different shaped metal arms, but I've never found anywhere that sells them!
Any shop who stocks Hamax will be able to get the different shaped bars. Try a retailer search with the distributor: http://www.zyro.co.uk/hamax/productsOne word of advice though, try and get it test fitted to your bike before buying. The metal arm sometimes doesn't offer enough height to stop the seat rubbing on the rear wheel. On my 17.5" HT frame it's fine. But it won't fit on my wife's 15" frame as the seat sits on the top of the rear wheel. You can buy different shaped metal arms, but I've never found anywhere that sells them!
I have Hamax KISS, the buckle almost require pliers to release- if you kid "fiddles" it open sign them up for mensa.
It works pretty well although as my kid is still small the back of his helmet touches the seat making him look down abit, doesn't seem to bother him, too busy whooping and shouting or slapping my arse! :-)
One thing- a kid hung right out the back messes the CoG up horrible, last time out I tried to ride up a short 15% path onto a rail trail, almost wheelied the bike on every pedal stroke, had to hang over the bars to keep the front on the ground.
It works pretty well although as my kid is still small the back of his helmet touches the seat making him look down abit, doesn't seem to bother him, too busy whooping and shouting or slapping my arse! :-)
One thing- a kid hung right out the back messes the CoG up horrible, last time out I tried to ride up a short 15% path onto a rail trail, almost wheelied the bike on every pedal stroke, had to hang over the bars to keep the front on the ground.
5678 said:
One word of advice though, try and get it test fitted to your bike before buying.
This. We have a rear seat. Because my bike runs cables down the seat tube I cannot fix it to the frame. And I don't want to fix it to the seat post.Sarah's bike is small, and it the bracket doesn't fit in the available space on the seat tube.
The mounting brackets themselves are large and clunky, certainly not something I'd want to leave on the bike for normal riding. They're also time consuming to fit and remove.
We bought a trailer. The towing eye fits on the rear (quick release) axle. It's tiny when the trailer is removed. Trailer takes about 20 seconds to fit and remove. And if I drop the bike the kiddy watches me slide down the road while sitting comfortably.
I have no idea what Lawbags is on about, but how the hell can a childs head fall backwards with a seat back? And as for not knowing whether they've fallen out, that's simply laughable, I suggest you ride with 20kg of top loaded ballast and see if you notice when it falls off.
Anyway, for a bit of balance against Hamax (which I tried and thought very good also), I would suggest the Topeak Babystitter II. Yes, it looks like a 'child's' seat, unlike the smarter Hamax, but my son is 1, so I think he prefers it!
I have the disc mount version of the rack and use it on a Spesh Rockhopper. I do the commute almost entirely off road to and from nursery every day. It's quite bumpy on the hardtail for me, but the seat has suspension so it's not too bad for my son. He loves it, to the point we get woken up every morning to calls of "bike, bike" over the monitor.
I always remove the seat from my bike and leave at the nursery, it's a 10 second job.
The seat comes round a bit more at the sides compared to the Hamax, but at the expense of weight. There is no way he can undo the strap or the bar (which both have safety catches requiring two hands), so he isn't going anywhere. And once you've ridden with a child on board, you sure as hell know when they're not there.
As has been mentioned, do check it fits before buying. The tolerance on mine is close - I spirit levelled the rack, and there is about a 1cm margin from the saddle (which arguably needs moving forward anyway).
Blurry pic (because I was testing it could cope at 20mph).
Anyway, for a bit of balance against Hamax (which I tried and thought very good also), I would suggest the Topeak Babystitter II. Yes, it looks like a 'child's' seat, unlike the smarter Hamax, but my son is 1, so I think he prefers it!
I have the disc mount version of the rack and use it on a Spesh Rockhopper. I do the commute almost entirely off road to and from nursery every day. It's quite bumpy on the hardtail for me, but the seat has suspension so it's not too bad for my son. He loves it, to the point we get woken up every morning to calls of "bike, bike" over the monitor.
I always remove the seat from my bike and leave at the nursery, it's a 10 second job.
The seat comes round a bit more at the sides compared to the Hamax, but at the expense of weight. There is no way he can undo the strap or the bar (which both have safety catches requiring two hands), so he isn't going anywhere. And once you've ridden with a child on board, you sure as hell know when they're not there.
As has been mentioned, do check it fits before buying. The tolerance on mine is close - I spirit levelled the rack, and there is about a 1cm margin from the saddle (which arguably needs moving forward anyway).
Blurry pic (because I was testing it could cope at 20mph).
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff