Hamax Plus Childseats
Arfa
Posts: 17
First post, so hi everyone!
Been looking for a seat for little 'un on back of bike. Wondered if anyone has used the Hamax Plus seat. Has a separate carrier, which spring laden seat fits too, similar to Copilot ones. Got tempted as it seems to be the only solution if you want a seat and panniers, which seemed a good plan for nappies etc and some shopping. Not cheap mind, but not massively more than the others.
Otherwise what do other people do for carrying nappy bags and a child seat, as you can't really have too big a backpack without whacking them in the face!
Been looking for a seat for little 'un on back of bike. Wondered if anyone has used the Hamax Plus seat. Has a separate carrier, which spring laden seat fits too, similar to Copilot ones. Got tempted as it seems to be the only solution if you want a seat and panniers, which seemed a good plan for nappies etc and some shopping. Not cheap mind, but not massively more than the others.
Otherwise what do other people do for carrying nappy bags and a child seat, as you can't really have too big a backpack without whacking them in the face!
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Comments
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Yes, although they've outgrown it now and we've passed it on to a friend.
Good seat, comfortable for the kid and convenient. Only thing you want to check is whether it will fit on your particular bike. It didn't fit on my wife's MTB (fouled the rear wheel) but was fine on the other bikes.0 -
I have some lowrider racks on my front wheel and I put my pannier on one of them when my son is in the child seat. Once he's dropped off at nursery, I put the pannier in the seat instead of him.
I'd rather be able to clip the pannier on the back along with the child seat, though!0 -
Well ordered it, so will let you know what I reckon in a few days. Just got seat for now, but will get panniers soon, when funds are a little more permitting...0
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I have a Hamax Siesta which is great, the only problem I had was due to the position of the clamp on the upright ( I have a cannondale F5) the seat occasionaly bounced off the back tyre dropping off kerbs etc. I bought a special carrrier bow for a short frame which raised the seat up higher (£9.25 plus p & p) which solved the probelm. The little un even falls asleep in it!0
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For panniers, by far the best are the basic Ortlieb rollers. Not especially cheap but totally waterproof and they last for ever.0
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andrewc3142 wrote:For panniers, by far the best are the basic Ortlieb rollers. Not especially cheap but totally waterproof and they last for ever.
The advantage with the Hamax ones is that they have been designed to fit in with the child seat and have a special corner that folds down to accomodate the childseat footrest, if I recall correctly.0 -
Indeed. No probs fitting on my bike, but best to check before buying.0
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Sorry i was a bit late on replying to this, but i've done a review of this system now. Check it out on my blog
http://cycledad.blogspot.com/2008/04/hamax-plus-review.html
Let me know if you have any questions.0 -
Well I got the seat and basic rack. As mentioned in CycleDad2's blog, they vary in price quite a bit, so a bit of shopping around and buying both from separate places yielded the best prices.
The basic rack is solid and quite heavy, around 3Kgs! A lot, but then its also got to support a fair bit of weight. The two posher racks, as well as having fancy reflectors and lights built in, use a quick release system, so you can leave the rack behind for blitzing around without child or luggage. Had no hassle fitting it to my wife's Scott Sporter P2, although a bit fiddly bolting the mud guards to same holes on frame.
The seat is good, comfortable, strong and protective. Two springs underneath mean the little 'un gets a smooth ride. There the padding is cut away at the top to leave space for their helmet too. The seat itself just slides on the rack and can be fitted/removed in seconds. I've put a padlock on the back of rack to stop people pitching the seat whilst parked up (we're in a dodgy part of London). The only tricky bit is holding the bike and putting little 'un in - especially if their being stroppy! Best trick is to stand over bike backwards holding it steady with your legs.
Haven't ordered panniers yet, but will do in near future. The basket looks handy too, as it can go on handlebars or slide onto the rack in place of the seat and its dead cheap. I may also get another rack to pop on my bike, for when I want to take little 'un out, as it would be quite time consuming swapping the basic rack over. Would be nice if you could get the posher racks with spare stubs for clipping it to multiple bikes.0 -
Cool! Glad you like it. Hope the little un' does too!
I've started carrying a mini inflatable travel pillow for longer rides. When mikes dozing, his head tends to fall forwards when we're going downhill. If i stop and put the travel pillow on him, it locks his head in place and he can doze comfortably.
re baskets:
I am loving my basket (i've never had one before, but i chuck so much stuff in there!)
However, I fitted a different basket to my bike which uses a lockable Klick Fix attachment as we have Kilck Fix on all the family bikes for a Handlebar bag.
Klick Fix do a lockable attachment (which costs more than the basket! ), but it makes it very practical for round town. I can leave it on the bike when i walk away from the bike, but take it off when i need to eg to go into a supermarket or for unloading in the kitchen.
Hope you enjoy it. Stick a comment on my blog if you come up with any good ideas, insights tips etc0
