Author Topic: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?  (Read 3786 times)

sdg_77

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Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« on: September 01, 2013, 05:06:43 PM »
Not really touring related but ...

Our first grandchild arrives next week so there have been a few thoughts about child seats,  In an ideal 'money no object' scenario I would buy something like a Chariot Trailer, as the hitch looks good and the trailer doubles up as a pushchair too.

This youtube video makes it look almost Utopian,  although Gill says hand holding while towing junior along a beach is not likely to happen ... see 05:55.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwEzdj2nnL4

Many of the cycle paths in the UK have barriers intended to keep out scooters but they can be difficult to negotiate with a trailer ... which makes me wonder how much use we would get from one.



On today's SkyRide we had three or four parents with toddlers in seats like these ...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hamax-siesta-rear-mounted-child-seat/

They look ok,  children can fall asleep safely and the seat can be detached leaving only a clamp around the seat tube.  Generally much nicer than the seat we had when Rachel (our daughter) was small.  The supports provide some degree of suspension although I wonder if one fitted onto the rear rack would be better?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beto-Kids-Deluxe-Seat-Grey/dp/B004XVEAJO


Rachel has mentioned this sort of thing ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WeeRide-Deluxe-Child-Baby-Bike/dp/B001F6FN2S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_by_3

Where the seat is between the adult and the stem - looks to have a lot of hardware and I can't see it lasting beyond say 18 months,  though the CTC say up to 3 or 4 years?? 

comments welcome
sdg.

jags

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2013, 05:57:08 PM »
the first trailer (youtube) is a cracker.i like to think my grandchild would be safe and that trailer looks ideal.i  can just imagine my too grandaughters in that trailer they would want to come on every trip with me 8)

ajbenie

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #2 on: September 01, 2013, 06:40:23 PM »
We use a yepp child seat for the short journeys (fitted to the rear rack) and a tout terrain singletrailer for the longer ones (we don't own a car so it gets used a lot). The big benefit of our trailer is in the handling both on and off road (I haven't used on a real singletrack route, yet) as well as the speed (my daughter loves being towed through the forest at speed behind my nomad). As for getting arround barriers I haven't had too many problems, in fact the only one I have problems with, gives me problems when my panniers are full. I also have a yepp mini on my city bike, but I can guarantee that you won't be able to use it with a child older than around 2 as they will be too big and heavy (it does effect the steering, just like a bar bag) It also won't fit on my other bikes, due to the problem of my knees being in the way. In fact that is a problem with all of the seats mounted in front of the rider, unless you have a Dutch style bike with a long stem.
/Andy

Danneaux

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2013, 09:26:28 PM »
Hi Steve!

My, what a fascinating "problem" to contemplate even for a non-deliberately childless person like myself!

When I was a wee lad, I rode with my father on his 1938 Hercules coaster brake bike in an ancient setup very much like Rachel's Option 3 ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/WeeRide-Deluxe-Child-Baby-Bike/dp/B001F6FN2S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_by_3 ). The current model looks ever so much more refined (and likely safer as well).

What we both liked most about it was the way the parent-rider's arms formed a protective shield for the little passenger's head in the event of a fall. Also, the child is up front where they can be seen and conversation is easy. As wee passenger, one of my fondest memories relate to thinking I was able to steer. Good times. I did see a few of these when I was in Belgium; the rear-mounted seats were overwhelmingly more common in The Netherlands by my casual observation.

I almost think this is the setup I'd prefer if I were to carry smallish children, but my preference is likely colored by happy memories.

I do think Andy (ajbenie) makes a couple very key points about weight up front and knee clearance with larger children. As I recall, I maxed out of our version midway in my third year, though that doesn't quit square with the ability to log happy memories at such a young age....

I do have visions of what a 40lb max weight might do to the unbutted portions of a top tube, but I see the illustration shows the seat mounted on what appears to be an alternative...spar?...spanning the gap in what is essentially a step-through frame, so tube-damage concerns are likely unfounded. As for paint, you could always wrap the top tube with vinyl tape.

WRT to the Cheriot trailer and Gil's comment about Utopian hand-holding while towing the lot...well, this is a really effective and appealing sales video!

Please let us know what design you end up choosing, Steve, and how it works for you in practice.

All the best,

Dan.



sdg_77

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2013, 08:09:49 AM »
All - many thanks - as ever good applicable comment on this forum ;-)

Andy - I'll send your comments on to Rachel.  I don't suppose there will be much cycling with junior* for a while but we can always keep an eye open for a bargain over the autumn & winter.

I still 'like' the idea of a trailer - particularly the Tout Terrain,  but I can see a rear seat being the easiest option for storage etc.

sdg.

* no decision on a name yet




sdg_77

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2013, 09:19:51 AM »
Quote
WRT to the Cheriot trailer and Gil's comment about Utopian hand-holding while towing the lot...well, this is a really effective and appealing sales video!

The video is a great advert for the North Sea Cycle Route, which is next on the list after the Rhine route, which itself follows some time in New Zealand

sdg.

Now scheming a plan to cycle the Rhine route to the Dutch coast, turn North and continue along the North Sea route ..... if only we didn't need to spend time in gainful employment ;-)

honesty

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2013, 09:32:17 AM »
I use a child seat like the Hamax one for my 2 year old. I would have preferred a trailer as they are meant to be safer, theres much more room for the child in therr, they can go to sleep easier in it and you can load it up with toys and colouring books and they can keep themselves occupied but a good trailer will set you back £300 and the bike seat cost us £50. My daughter loves going in it anyway as she gets a much better view of everything up on the bike (I get a constant naration "look daddy a dog" "look daddy a cat" etc).

Last weekend we went for a little ride with our friends who hired a trailer for their little ones and cycled up the Strawberry line in Somerset. My bike the seat on the back was able to go round all the barriers as easily as a bike without anything. At almost every barrier my friend had to stop and walk his bike and trailer through as the switch backs were too tight or the gaps weren't large enough, and so on. Its definitely poor design of the barriers, but since they are used pretty much universally in the UK it's something to be aware of. Saying that we put 2 of them in the trailer and the kids loved it.

Finally the between leg seat is one that I just wouldnt touch, it compromises your pedaling too much if you ask me.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2013, 09:36:37 AM by honesty »

JWestland

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2013, 11:13:57 AM »
I've had my son in a childseat at the back from when he was young.

Once he got older and a bit heavier obviously the high load started to influence handling. A trailer is better that way.

He didn't seem to mind though, and often fell asleep on the way to town :)
Pedal to the metal! Wind, rain, hills, braking power permitting ;)

FLORENCE

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2013, 11:29:08 AM »
being keen cyclists and having four children only four years apart (inc a set of twins) we have tried most of the available child carrying options on the market. trying to find the perfect set up for a family is a challenge and we have had to adapt as time has gone on.
regarding trailers we have had a few over the years and in my opinion you do get what you pay for. the cheaper one we had first tipped and the attachment wasnt secure enough for me. then we bought a trek gobug (now unfortunately discontinued) and a burley cub (hard bottomed) both were really great. we do go through alot of barriers on our rides and we could get through most but not all of them.
We have had front child bike seats as well as back seats. the front seats to be honest my husband couldnt use on his bikes as they were in the way, we tried the wee ride, the gmg and the ibert safetseat. i used them on a de fietsfabriek pak duo child carrying dutch cargo bike and a pashley princess but they were not good on the cannondale quick or the kona ute. as for the rear mounted seats the ones that attach to the rear panner like the gmg seats or the bobike maxi tour are far better than the seat post mounting, the feel more secure in my opinion and they create less of a wobble. both my husband and i have a cargo bike which over the years we have found are more stable for baby seats and towing than a normal bike. i have three child seats on my de fietsfabriek bike, i am only 5ft5 and i loved riding it with the children on. chain reaction cycles have the kona minUte on sale at the moment (its a smaller version of my husbands ute)
 i am going to throw in another option which will have a longer timespan of use, have you seen a pashley u+1 or a u+2 ? google it, they are fantastic, we have both a few years ago our set up was a single bike towing the pashley u+2 with the twins in baby seats and my 4 year old on the front seat. and a single bike with the u+1 with a three year old on and a spare baby seat so we could swap children around during the day. we found the pashley tag alongs much more stable as they are trike style. they dont tip when the bike does and its much safer to attach a baby seat to. they have been discontinued but they do come up on e-bay very often.
this year i have purchased a thorn me+u2 triplet (which is why i am now on this forum) and my current set up if my husband is working, i have myself, my seven year old and one of my four year old twins on the triplet and we tow the pashley u+1 with one of the twins and my eight year old rides his own bike. i think we could have attached baby seats to the thorn, so that could be another option, a child back tandem with baby seat?

sdg_77

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Re: Child Seat Thoughts anyone?
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2013, 07:10:24 AM »
All - many thanks - some great info here.

I hadn't realised there was anything like the U+1/2 trailers,  although they don't appear on Pashley's current www site I saw one or two on eBay/GumTree..

Someone I know locally has a Kona Ute with a couple of child seats and long low panniers which looks brilliant and they are very happy with it.  If Rachel gets really keen that might be the way to go.

As a first step I think we'll look at getting a rack mounted seat for next Spring and see where that takes us.

The baby is due .... tomorrow ;-)

sdg



« Last Edit: September 03, 2013, 07:13:41 AM by sdg_77 »