I’m putting together a bike to take mini-clubber out riding on in a child seat and also to commute to work on some days (via the nursery)

I’ve been given a Rhode Gear (or whatever they’re called now) childseat which fits onto a standard fitting blackburn rack.

So far, so good.

Problem is that I’ve found a great bike but it doesn’t have any rack mounts on. I have fitted racks (for panniers) using P-clips in the past but are they going to be solid/secure enough to hold mini-clubber’s seat in place – he’s not a little lad – 25lbs at 9months so I reckon that he’ll quickly be over 30lbs (40lbs max for the seat).

I’m not going to be doing ‘proper’ off-road but I do want to be able to take him on some of the less technical trails around here when I want.

Anyone got experience of trying this?

Thanks

not cheap but an old man mountain rack may solve the problem
http://www.oldmanmountain.com/Pages/RackPages/RearRacks.html

http://carradice.co.uk/racks-and-attachments/sherpa-rear.shtml

The Rhode Gear is specifically designed for the Blackburn rack tho…..

To the OP – I wouldn’t.

I’m really torn on this – on the one hand, I’ve used P-clips in the past and they’ve been very secure.

On the other, I don’t really want to risk mini-clubber’s seat falling off somewhere along a trail (though knowing him, he’d probably enjoy it…)

Anyone used a Rhodegear (Co-pilot now) seat on racks from other brands? The way it fits is actually quite simple, clipping onto the loop at the front of the rack.

Could you fit two P-clips each side to spread the load? Or back it up with a second attachment anchored by the skewer, say?

In reality, you’ve got 4 fixing points – failure of one will make the whole thing wobbly as hell, and have you and mini-clubber walking, but it’s not going to actually fall off unless all 4 fail simultaneously. If you check everything’s still tight before each ride, and inspect for cracks when you clean the bike, the chances of failure are very low, I’d have thought.

Well that’s pretty much the way I’m thinking Phil. I’d just be happier if I knew of someone who’d actually done it.

I’ve used P-clips in the past and they’ve been very secure.

No way I would put my kid on them. I used them touring once and they lasted no time. I did find steel stepped tabs that I put the qr skewer through which did work, though I wouldn’t put a kid on them. I’d drill and tap the dropouts if you can.

but it’s not going to actually fall off unless all 4 fail simultaneously

Are you dreaming? The weight shift of a kid in a seat slipping could easily make you crash…in traffic…you get the picture?