Child seat

[D-Mike]

Hi All

 

My wife and I are looking for a child seat for our daughter, who is now 15 months and 13kg. We have heard mixed comments about having the seat in front of you, or behind you over the rear wheel. What are your opinion as to which is better?

 

Thanks

[Zac.A]

You cant actually be thinking about putting your child in the front?

If by some freak chance you crash, she'll go down 1st (if its over the hbars)

 

All the seats i've sean involve children sitting behind the seat above the rear wheel.

[D-Mike]

You cant actually be thinking about putting your child in the front?

If by some freak chance you crash, she'll go down 1st (if its over the hbars)

 

All the seats i've sean involve children sitting behind the seat above the rear wheel.

 

Believe it or not, from what I have heard thus far the general opinion is that the one with the child in front is safer. the child gets strapped down, like a car safety belt, so she won't shoot out over the bars, plus your body is around her to protect her from a fall. I don't know how seriously it affects your pedalling action having the child in front.

[Ramrod]

I have the Giant one that goes behind the seat and above the wheel. My son hated it.

I then bought the Wee-Ride - he loves it. I get to interact with him alot more on the ride. He also gets to see more of the ride than just my ass. Also with him being mounted in the centre the handling of the bike is much better and he gets a bit of the benefit of the shock as opposed to feeling every bump.

 

If you insist on going the rear wheel mount version you can have mine. Its laying in the garage doing nothing.

Edited October 18, 2011 by specializedfan

[TYGA]

Do a hub search on the iBert seat, this has been discussed a few times.

 

Re kid in the front, if you are riding at any kind of speed or manner that puts you or your kid at risk of going over the bars you have yourself and not the position of the seat to blame. I have used my iBert on a lot of jeeptrack and the odd more mellow flowing singletrack but always at 30% of your bike handling limit and never even been close to anything resembling risk. The little oke LOVES it.

 

If anything the "front-loader" keeps you aware at all times of the fact that you have your little one on the bike with you...with them on the back you might get a bit carried away and do something stupid.

[TYGA]

The only downside to the front seat in my opinion is that the kids are sitting in the wind and while you might be overheating you have to make provision for the fact that they aren't exactly exerting themselves and may be cold.

[Shorty]

Having had to make this decision a month ago, I came to the initial conclusion that having my boy infront of me would be the best bet for the reasons mentioned above. However, when riding a small frame bike, there is no space for the child in front - except if you like peddling with your legs way apart.

 

So I settled for the Giant rear mount seat.

 

The problems with the rear mount seat is that off road, it does shake a lot. And the child can not see enough. So for now, I am peddaling on smooth roads and wifey has to stay next to me so that our little one can see her the whole time.

[RocknRolla]

had the rear seat (the ones that mounts on the rack) on my hardtail it worked great, and my son loved every moment of it.

 

my second son also loved the chair, but he started riding on his own a lot sooner.

last time i used the chair was around rietvlei's green track. The chair effects handling, as you have no control over which way the kid is putting their bodyweight.

 

also dont ride with cleats if you have the chair on, unless you have the unclipping ability of flash gordon (if he was to ride mtb, i am sure he would have been pretty fast at unclipping)

 

it's also great for getting a bit stronger on the bike, carrying the extra weight.

[Firemeister]

Some nice tips and products mentioned here, thanks

 

How old were your kids when you started riding with them on your bikes, or rather what is the minimum age to get going? My boy is now only 6.5 months and I can't wait to get one of these child seats.

Edited October 22, 2011 by Firemeister

[Grebel]

I had to go for the front mount due to the rear suspension on my trail bike. My son was on the bike from about 20 months. I prefer having him in front. I can interact with him and we chat and point stuff out. He gets to see where he is going and "steer".. I bought a Weeride.

 

As far as the comment regarding going OTB, FFS if you are doing stuff with your child in a seat that would in any way run the risk of you going over the bars, you should really re-think putting your child on your bike. I suppose they act as a good counter weight for doing wheelies at the back as well... Rather let your wife ride with them.

 

To sum up, front is my preference.

[Slowbee]

On the other side, I have a very busy little one. She moves around alot. The seat at the back helps with this. But I am still keen to try the ibert.

[D-Mike]

My wife and I decided to get the WeeRide. We mounted it yesterday and she had a short ride (±1km) with my daughter. Unfortunately we stripped the nut on the one bolt, which we realized only after the ride, so we need to get that fixed before they can go for another ride. We are quite excited about cycling with the little one. One of the best things is that my wife is excited about it, and she is keen now to get back into cycling.

[Spinnekop]

Wife has one on the back. Works well and the little one LOVES it!!

 

Keep in mind that most of the rear mounted seats does not fit on a bike with hydraulic disc brakes. Well.....ours did not.

[Slowbee]

Wife has one on the back. Works well and the little one LOVES it!!

 

Keep in mind that most of the rear mounted seats does not fit on a bike with hydraulic disc brakes. Well.....ours did not.

 

 

the shop offer to sell you adapters ?

 

aparently they all have adapters now to get past the disk br(e)ak(e)

[Joji]

Hi All

 

My wife and I are looking for a child seat for our daughter, who is now 15 months and 13kg. We have heard mixed comments about having the seat in front of you, or behind you over the rear wheel. What are your opinion as to which is better?

 

Thanks

 

I think that the rear mounted seats are a thing of the past. Centre/front mounted is definitely the way forward - safer, more stable, lighter and you can interact with the little one. I recommend the Weeride - it's light, has a three piece harness and is even equipped for when the little one falls asleep.

[D-Mike]

I agree Joji. We are really chuffed with the Weeride. I will probably get another support bar at some point for my bike, so that when we go riding as a family we can transfer the seat to my bike.