I'm pretty sure people on here have experience of child seats for commuting so looking for advise on what's good. Need one that will preferably use the rack already on my bike but on looking, some attach to the seat tube which offers suspension so that could be good. But then I can't stick a pannier on the back...?
Any opinion on the Halfords B-one / bellini seat in this respect?
Ta
Just looking into this myself so interested in responses. I quite liked hea ok of the wee ride, or maybe the hammex caress
Bobike do one (called 'the one') which mounts onto either the seat tube or a rear rack and comes with mounts for both.
Could be an option
I started with a hamax which has a clamp to the seat tube and you can detatch from the clamp - this was a not-too-expensive one from Halfords and did me fine for a long while. because there are two metal legs there will be some movement but you don't want 'suspension' per se as it's extra weight attached to the bike, you don't want it to swing about and make the bike snake about
when the 2nd child got old enough to go on the bike I got a 2nd hand cargo bike but the hamax had to be replaced by a Yepp as it wouldn't fit. The Yepp is a nicer seat and can fit on a rack, depending on the rack it may attach directly (there is a standard for them called xtracycle but not all manufacturers align to it... hmmm lets not go there..) or if you buy a yepp with the rack mouting kit it has a little metal tray that you clamp to the rack that the seat locks into
whether you can get a pannier and seat onto the bike at the same time I dunno, I used a rucksack and found it easier as I put the child into the seat and then rode straight off without overloading the bike itself
if you can get to manchester you can have the Hamax for free
other thing to consider is the position on the bike, you don't want the seat hanging behind the rear axle as it makes loading a nightmare and it rear steers the bike! this is a downside of bikes with short chainstays nowadays... as close as you can to you without your heels clashing them, keeps them out of the wind as well
get them a cheap pair of waterproof trousers from sports direct, this keeps them dry and also keeps the wind off
How big is the child?
I got a Bobike junior last week. Our almost 5 year old is over the weight limit for most kids seats but this one is rated up to 30 or 35kg i think it was.
If you can handle the bike ok with the weight on, I would recommend it.
Got it from the Holland bike shop on sale and with a weak euro. Think it came in round the £45 mark. Was worth a punt at that price and with 3 commutes this week on it already I am pretty happy. If I get 6 months out of it before she gets even bigger it will be a sound investment.
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Ok ignoring the rack requirement and as long as your kid is under 4 I heartily recommend the weeride. The seat sits between the seat post and handlebars on an extra bar.
riddoch - they're good, are they? I had definitely considered that - like the idea of them being upfront watching what's going off.
Thanks for all other advice, too. Good to know what's out there.
Weeride is great in principle but I can't go any distance as my knees hit the seat when pedalling. I'm not sure if its because i'm quite tall (6ft 3) and shorter folk find it fits their bike better but as a result its a bit of a love/hate for me.
I'd look at trailers, mainly due to the amount of luggage you'll end up carrying sooner or later. You might be able to park it at the nursery but to be honest childless they don't hold you back much.
We've got a Weeride and its pretty solid. I have to put my knees out a bit, but it is ok for up to about an hour/ 1h15. Its quite nice having our little ones up front to talk to and be able to point things out etc, rather than dangling them off the back.
I should add that I think my bike handles better with a little one in a Weeride than having fully loaded panniers as the weight is central. With loaded panniers or rear child seat it can get a bit tail wagging the dog.
Yeah, you get used to the pedalling position after a bit, my main bike is a fatty so I am a fairly used to wide pedal position. I ride flats, probably more of an issue with spds.
You just have to watch they don't decided to have a turn at steering though?
The missus wouldn't let me use a trailer.
I use a weeride for my 15kg 3yo and the bike handles well. Tight turning means they need to keep their knees in but generally it works well, and as said above great for conversing and interacting. She fell asleep on it a few times when she was around 18 months. Also pull a Bellini trailer for most nursery runs with two kids, 3yo and 1yo, and that is brilliant. Water tightish, out of the wind, back luggage space for all the stuff that seems to be required, folds up with one hand. Ref the wife's too dangerousometer, the general consensus and my experience is they are safer in traffic than a bike seat. Cars give you a ton of space as they can easily see a child trailer whereas with the weeride I get skimmed past like normal, as the child's silhouette is obscured by your own. Having said that I did recently have a 'nice lady' in her Beemer decide I wasn't pulling out into a busy stream of traffic quick enough and decide to give the trailer a little nudge, needless to say I wasn't best pleased.
I started with a weeride, which she seemed to enjoy, but using it twice a day, four days a week, with a short but quite hilly commute (3 Sheffield miles) felt like it was doing bad things to my knees. That was with a smaller than average 1 year old and reasonable fitness, so that's something to bear in mind.
Now got a decathlon own brand that mounts to the seat tube and it's fine, she seems happy with that one too (although the balance isn't as good for BMX tracks...)
It's not great if she falls asleep on longer weekend rides, she ends up slumped forward which doesn't look comfy. I sort of wish I'd gone for a reclining seat, but it was extra money when I'd already bought a seat and a trailer recently. And for completeness, I don't use the trailer for commuting because the slightly convoluted route to avoid bigger roads makes the extra width/length and reduced manoeuvrability a bit annoying, might not apply to you.