LOCT

[thewave]

Just received this little piece of kit.



Fitted it last night (Specialised RH 2007), easy to do, should enable my 2 year old to get some riding in with his Dad

Will be giving it a go next week at Thetford (Centre Parcs) and will be doing a review for the company that made it www.loct.co.uk.

It's a prototype, and should be in production soon, first signs are encouraging, looks very well made, sturdy, and the foot straps are easily adjustable, but will let you know how I get on, as I hate rear mounted seats and tag alongs!

Keep an eye out for it.

[WildCards]

That looks excellent, what a great idea!

How come you get a prototype then, have you been part of it's process?

Edited by WildCards on Wednesday 30th January 13:51

[thewave]

WildCards said:

That looks excellent, what a great idea!

How come you get a prototype then, have you been part of it's process?

Edited by WildCards on Wednesday 30th January 13:51

Nope

I was looking on the chainreaction site for a seat for the boy, and this popped up but no stock expected. So looking at the details I found the company and the website, gave him a ring. I told him I was gutted as I was going on hol' and it looked superb, so he did me a favour in exchange for feedback, i've also committed to purchase the final model.

Don't know till you ask, but really does seem a great bit of 'obvious' thinking, and the guy who designed it is a mountain biker himself, and seems really passionate about it.

[pdV6]

Looks pretty cool. Can't understand why they say it's not for use on carbon frames, though, as all the weight is bourne on the steerer tube and seatpost as far as I can make out.

[thewave]

pdV6 said:

Looks pretty cool. Can't understand why they say it's not for use on carbon frames, though, as all the weight is bourne on the steerer tube and seatpost as far as I can make out.

True, no idea?

[pdV6]

thewave said:

pdV6 said:

Looks pretty cool. Can't understand why they say it's not for use on carbon frames, though, as all the weight is bourne on the steerer tube and seatpost as far as I can make out.

True, no idea?

Actually, I've just realised that most carbon framesets have a stated maximum rider weight, so adding a 3st child on top of your own weight is likely to overload it.

[BOR]

It's nicely done, but that video looks scary. Any accident that throws you forward, will mean landing on top of the kid. Also, it looks like it could be a problem with stand-over clearance. Gulp.

I wish the guy well, but I'd be nervous.

[pdV6]

BOR said:

It's nicely done, but that video looks scary. Any accident that throws you forward, will mean landing on top of the kid. Also, it looks like it could be a problem with stand-over clearance. Gulp.

I wish the guy well, but I'd be nervous.

I thought the same but I guess the reality is that you're not going to attempt quite the same level of riding as you would without a child on board, so hopefully not an issue.

Going over forward looks to be more of an issue, as its clear from that vid that the bike is significantly more nose-heavy.

As a means of getting away from boring, flat, smooth trails with the little 'uns it looks great.

[thewave]

pdV6 said:

BOR said:

It's nicely done, but that video looks scary. Any accident that throws you forward, will mean landing on top of the kid. Also, it looks like it could be a problem with stand-over clearance. Gulp.

I wish the guy well, but I'd be nervous.

I thought the same but I guess the reality is that you're not going to attempt quite the same level of riding as you would without a child on board, so hopefully not an issue.

Going over forward looks to be more of an issue, as its clear from that vid that the bike is significantly more nose-heavy.

As a means of getting away from boring, flat, smooth trails with the little 'uns it looks great.

Well used the seat for a week, and was very impressed. My son loved every second of it, and when you're riding (and swapping between a rear mounted child seat) you realise how much better this actually is. I agree with the comments above, a forward throwing accident could possibly crush the child, but in reality, you're not hairing down tree root encrusted tracks, but are capable of some decent off road stuff.

Minor gripes are that the foot rest easily loosens and then they can swing into your legs, this could be corrected simply by adding a bolt in series with the existing one (or tightening the existing one more - although, with use, it would come loose anyway due to the nature of how it's mounted)

The other being that it's quite heavy for the weight conscious cyclist, but as a prototype I understand why, to make it sturdy, I would expect lighter materials in the actual versions, and will report back.

Other than that, my son would be holding the handle bars and getting a feel for riding, I was aprehensive about sharp turns, as I thought he'd perhaps stiffen and resist my turning, but he was surprisingly relaxed, and he didn't hold me back at all. With respect to being nose heavy, I don't think this is the case. The weight is distributed just behind the front wheel, whereas with a seat post angled back, my weight is over the first third of the back wheel, so with a two year old, it really (surprisingly) doesn't feel that way at all.

Overall a fantastic ride, and seems really beneficial for the child, feeling a more stable centre of gravity, holding the handlebars and understanding what you're doing. I even let go a few times (naughty daddy) to let him steer and see how he got on.

Downside, possibly only last a couple of years, I can't imagine my son being on this much past 4 years old, so limited life span, but I have a daughter

[pdV6]

thewave said:

Great review

Good to know.

thewave said:

Downside, possibly only last a couple of years, I can't imagine my son being on this much past 4 years old, so limited life span, but I have a daughter

That's a shame, as 3/4/5 is probably the age range that I think it would be most useful for.