bike seat for a 6 month old

allezoops

Hi there,

I'm looking for a bike seat I can use when dropping my son off at the childminders on my way to work.

All very interesting you say, but what's your point? My son is only 6 months old and I've noticed from searching the posts on here that people rarely take out children younger than 1 yr old.

can anyone advise me if they use or have used a child seat for children as young as 6 months?

My son is a very sturdy wee boy, about 19lb last time he was weighed so is fine weight wise but all the HAMAX seats for instance say they're for 9months - 22kg

Am I a very bad father?

Allezoops

baudman

It's not the seat, it's the kid.

Neck strength, and ability to hold up their head for sustained periods are a big thing, and most (but not all) seats don't allow for a reclined pose to aid in this. (And, for me in Australia, it's illegal without a helmet) :roll:

Thing1 - we had a trailer which we started using on short trips at about the 8-9m mark. One mile or so at most. Slowly grew as she did. With a cushion, she could have quite a reclined pose.

Thing2 - We'd got a CargoBike by then (see links below) so I put in a post and a few other connections so I could clip her baby capsule in there. The capsule was on the same angle as it was in the car.

What distance are you looking at going?

(And no, you are not a very bad father. If you are, then most of the Dutch are too!)

allezoops

We'd be going about 1 mile on road, we're in london though and we'll be travelling at the peak of rush hour so i'm not sure about a trailer (there is some really questionable driving in London and I thiink it'd be better to keep the overall length down) and can't really afford to buy a cargo bike.

I like the idea of a reclining seat like the sleepy or siesta or similar that would make it easier for him but he's had great neck control from birth and is sitting up unaided so I really don't think that would be an issue.

I guess I've got to have confidence that I know him and just do it, it's difficult not to try and seek approval though...

I'm going for a look in LBS's at the weekend so we'll see how it goes...

Allezoops

fnegroni

We have a recliner seat (Hamax Siesta). It reclines so far back, it basically could be described as a bike cot.
I would strongly advice *against* forcing a helmet on your 6mo baby. They are completely useless at that age: they can't be strapped hard enough and weigh a significant amount more than the baby's head itself.

Gussio

fnegroni wrote:

We have a recliner seat (Hamax Siesta). It reclines so far back, it basically could be described as a bike cot.
I would strongly advice *against* forcing a helmet on your 6mo baby. They are completely useless at that age: they can't be strapped hard enough and weigh a significant amount more than the baby's head itself.

We have two Hammax Siestas that have been used with both our kids since they were around 6mths old (baudman is bang on the money re: neck strength). Would recommend them - clever mounting system, you don't need a rack, and well sprung.

First time we used a Hamax offroad, the nipper fell asleep and was leaning out to the left and they gently clipped a fencepost. Didn't wake up and I was going very slowly, but was very glad that he was wearing a helmet. We opted for the smallest Met helmet, which has good adjustability and fitted pretty well.

natrix

I've used the Hamax seats and they're great. I started with a Kangaroo WeeRide which was rubbish, you had to ride with your knees bent out and anything longer than 15minutes left me with painful knees.

zebra67

This month's CTC mag has a review of various cycle seats for infants, and discusses things to think about. Good reason to join CTC to access the article, I don't know if it's possible to buy one off issues (there is a 3 quid price on the cover, but I don't know where to access)

Try this:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=3587

mese13

ibert - google it - they're brill

shortyman

Bit later than others...

We had our daughter in a trailer from about 6-7m. However she was holding her head really early and sitting at 4m, so we were not too concerned about neck support/ sitting ability, which is what most of the recomendations are about.

Rush hour and trailers. Go with your gut feeling. However we have been suprised at how much better we are treated as cyclists when with the trailer attached, orange flag waving! (To the point we watched a car cut me up on an open road and then give my husband with the trailer a really nice wide berth 25m ahead). Friends with child bike seats in the area didn't notice the same consideration from drivers (not a scientific test I know!!). But trailers do take up more room (on the road and storing it too, even folded down)

Hope that helps????!