Bike Child Seat Advice Needed

MrBrownstone

Hi,

I'm in the market for a bike seat for my 14 month old to take to Center Parcs in a few weeks.

I've got it narrowed down to either a Bellelli seat (from halfords - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165476) priced at 29.99 or the Hamax Kiss (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165476)priced at 39.99 (it's 54.99 at Halfords but I can get it cheaper elsewhere)

I don't need a reclining seat as I wont be cycling long enough for him to fall asleep.

If anyone can give me any recommendations or any quality points on either seat then they'd be gratefully received

Thanks

Underscore

I've got a couple of Hamax Kiss seats and reckon that they do the job pretty well - hence, I bought a second one new after buying the first second hand of some friends. No complaints from the kids either, even when they fall asleep in them (which they do very quickly on the whole)...

HTH,

_

cjcp

We have the Co-Pilot and had the Hamax. We prefer the former because there's less bouncing around.

AnnieCanDance

Hi there,

We've got a Hamax Kiss for both our girls and they're great - something that might be worth considering nomatter which seat you choose is a hi-visibility cover for the seat - most of them are black or grey and that bothered us in terms of low visibility on the road. The one we found online was from a company called vizzkids and it lets you put your night cycle light onto it. Don't know the website offhand but I guess you could google it.

Annie x

andrewc3142

We have the Hamax. Well built, etc. Reservations about rear seats in general and we now have a Croozer trailer - much better. Generally better to have two people, one to hold the bike, the other to put the kid in the seat.

Even on short journeys they have a tendency to fall asleep.

One thing to check is whether it will fit on your bike. It wouldn't work on my wife's MTB because it hit the rear wheel. You can get an extender, but availability not that great if you need it in a hurry.

baudman

andrewc3142 wrote:

Reservations about rear seats in general...

Me too. I prefer front mounted seats, such as WeeRide and BoBike mini. (See sig for link to pic of my 'family' beast.)

Pipster3

batman wrote:

andrew 3142 wrote:

Reservations about rear seats in general...

Me too. I prefer front mounted seats, such as WeeRide and BoBike mini. (See Sig for link to pic of my 'family' beast.)

Also agree front seat is the way to go ...I've had 2 a Bellelli Rabbit forward facing seat ...downside only good for kids upto 15kg and it a bit of a knee knocker around £40

http://www.bellelli.com/en/rabbit.htm



Now got a LOCT saddle wish I had found it earlier having so much fun out on the trails with the little fella ....This saddle is only any good for bike with either full or front suspension ...

Bikerader review http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... ddle-32338

Half way round the Follow the dog loop at Cannock chase

TW1984

Interesting feedback on here - particularly with regards to the front-mounted seats.

Generally these are considered less safe than rear-mounted seats (by those of us in the industry) for two reasons:
1) In the event of an accident your child is in a more vulnerable position (in the event of a front impact the rider may fall onto the child).
2) It raises the centre of gravity of the bike which makes bike handling more difficult. From this perspective, rack-mounted seats are the best option as they have an even lower centre of gravity than seat-tube mounted seats.

Whilst you can't see your child on a rear mounted seat, they're probably safer.

In addition to this, the weight limit on a top-tube mounted seat is usually 15KG as opposed to 22KG for rear-mounted, so you'll get more use from a rear-mounted seat.

Pipster3

TW1984 wrote:

Whilst you can't see your child on a rear mounted seat, they're probably safer.

.

We all have to do what we feel comfortable with I'm not suggesting that my way is the right way its just what works for me I would rather have him up front with my arms protecting him ,,,talking and interacting with him also with the LOCT setup the child's weight is central so the load is spread evenly not all on the rear end of the bike and its rated to 28 kgs read the review ...

We've all seen people with rear mounted seats wobbling down cycle trails looking behind them to see what the toddlers doing ... And the worst thing with a rack mounted rear seat is the fact that its fixed solid to the rack with no give ...all the bumps you hit go straight up through the toddlers little spine ...the seat post mounted are better they flex a little to make the ride less bumpy...that is why the LOCT saddle is only recommended for bikes with suspension ...

At the end of the day you will always have an element of risk ...to suggest a rear seat is safer is just your view not a proven fact ...

Most people will have different views on this but the one thing we all have in common is how precious our children are ...

Regards

Phil

baudman

TW1984 wrote:

Interesting feedback on here - particularly with regards to the front-mounted seats.

Generally these are considered less safe than rear-mounted seats (by those of us in the industry) for two reasons:
1) In the event of an accident your child is in a more vulnerable position (in the event of a front impact the rider may fall onto the child).
2) It raises the centre of gravity of the bike which makes bike handling more difficult. From this perspective, rack-mounted seats are the best option as they have an even lower centre of gravity than seat-tube mounted seats.

Whilst you can't see your child on a rear mounted seat, they're probably safer.

In addition to this, the weight limit on a top-tube mounted seat is usually 15KG as opposed to 22KG for rear-mounted, so you'll get more use from a rear-mounted seat.

Got some stats to back that up? (...in the industry..?)

IMHO, front mounted put the weight between the wheels, where it should be. Depending upon the setup/seat choice/bike geo, no higher than rack mounted. The bike handles much better than out behind me.

Vulnerability? There's many different ways to fall of a bike. I've seen quite a few kids come a cropper when the bikes are being walked/wheeled by the parent (with the weight high, and on the rear, the front wheel can easily slide out.

But, as always, I think confidence in your kit is the most important factor. If ppl feel better with a rear mount, get a rear mount, as your comfort with your ride will keep you safer than if you always have this niggling doubt in the back of your head. And, being a more popular option, the 2nd hand market is much larger (perhaps from ppl who have traded up to a front mounted seat, or a trailer, or a cargobike, or...)

Drfabulous0

baudman wrote:

Got some stats to back that up? (...in the industry..?)

Thankfully not, but front mounted seats are illegal to use on the road in the UK for supposed safety reasons. Not that cycling related laws are ever applied and this is equivalent to having no pedal reflectors.

Personally I do not feel in control of the bike with any child seat and much prefer trailers.

Pipster3

Dr Fabulous 0 wrote:

batman wrote:

Got some stats to back that up? (...in the industry..?)

Thankfully not, but front mounted seats are illegal to use on the road in the UK for supposed safety reasons. Not that cycling related laws are ever applied and this is equivalent to having no pedal reflectors.

Personally I do not feel in control of the bike with any child seat and much prefer trailers.

Again can you back this up ... I can't find anything to confirm so ...Found an article on bicycle lights which says pedal reflectors are a legal requirement for night riding not needed during day light hours ....

You have made a good point ...I know a guy whos a traffic cop I will ask him to check it out ...

Regards

Phil

t4tomo

I bought a front mounted like the linked pic in baudman's sig and it was excellent, and when they got bigger a crossbar mounted seat and a downtube mounted foot rest, which I could use upto they were 5 or 6 if I needed to take them on the road where they weren't safe with their own bikes.

much easier to communicate with kids when they are on the front, although one developed a habit of wanting to change gear!

did also once take the wife on the cross bar kids seat but thats another story!

Abz_Wullie

I have used both front and rear and I agree - The best was undoubtedly the Ibert Safe-T-Seat. My 3 year old is now 15kg so too heavy but even light offroad use it felt solid as a rock.

I am now selling a lightly used one if anybody is interested.

Pipster3

Another reason to go with the front mounted seat