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Starting a new job in a couple of weeks & planning to cycle there. I'll need to drop the kid off at nursery on the way so looking for child seat reccomendations.
Ideally needs to be easy enough to remove and leave behind in the nursery storage space or robust enough that it'll survive all weathers outside work.
Any suggestions?
Weeride.
Seat takes 10 seconds to remove/fit (leave the support frame on). Assuming it's not a drop bar roadie. Wouldn't leave it in the rain though without some sort of home made cover.
Do something similar but very rarely. Nursery let me leave the seat under the stairs.
I use a Hamax seat as it just clips in. Very quick and easy.
I've done the same with a Hamax seat too (on a drop bar bike).
2nd the weeride, started taking my daughter to nursery on one this week. So far so good, she actually fell asleep on the way home yesterday. Bike still feels relatively well balanced with her on it, but there isn't much leg room. Wouldn't recommend if your commuter has a short tt.
Thanks, are either of these better suited to off road? not that I'll be doing anything too rugged with it
My daughter went in the Hamax seat on the back of my CdF (steel tourer/CX bike) round Derwent and Howden reservoirs in the Peak. Was totally fine and she enjoyed it.
No idea if that means much to you in terms of the off-road stuff though - think gentle bridleway. Not tried any others so can't give you any comparisons.
That's pretty much exactly what I do with our Hamax (leave it at nursery in the morning for my wife use for the pickup in the afternoon). Takes about 2secs to remove from the bike, or to re-attach. In terms of off-road, ours handles canal-path and gravelly fireroad type stuff fine, but I've not done much more than that with it.
I know the Ladybower / Derwent / Howden loop very well. That and things like Monsal trail or just Sheffield’s horrific roads is the most hardcore it's likely to see.
I'm not sure if I prefer the in front or behind positioning.
Also consider yepp mini although not used it personally so don't know about attachment speed but think it offers slightly more leg room for the adult than the weeride.
As I understand it (also looking at this currently as sweajnr1 is 1 year).
Front:
Better center of gravity for the bike
Child is inside arms so easier to interact with and keep track of.
but....
You end up pedalling a little bow legged unless top tube is long
As they get bigger it can feel a little cramped.
A behind system can carry more weight.
Take our wee nipper off road on the Hamax. Bit of flex in the seat so takes out some of the trail bumps. Nothing more than rough hardpack or forest trails.
I see some people commuting with child seats in London, with a rucksack in the seat and a kids helmet on the top. From my observations, seems to make drivers give you a bit more room.
If they are amenable to leaving it at the nursery, consider a trailer - there's usually all sorts of other gubbins you end up taking there or back at some point, and rucksacks are a non starter if you have a rear child seat.
I think a trailer would be a bit overkill, it's not that far to nursery or the remaining commute
I'd not thought about the extras I'd need to carry, that's a good call