Got a Hamax Caress kids seat that 15 month old Blobby Jr likes very much. Only problem is when I take him out in it I can't really carry anything (a rucksack would be in his face) and it doesn't look like panniers would fit under the seat.
Wondering how you all manage this situation? I notice Hamax do a rack that is meant to fit somehow. Is this any good? Luggage mounted elsewhere on the frame? Bar mounted maybe? Are some frames better than others for this in terms of fit?
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Nothing cant be solved by throwing money at it.
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wwaswas, I need one of those QI buzzer things 🙂
Stoner, I have no idea what that is but I like it!
Edit: ... though if mrs blobby finds out we could fit two kids on the bike... 😕
Double edit: Just spotted the side stand. Would never normally consider one but can see it being a good idea with a kids seat.
I have the hamax pannier that fits onto their rack and seat combo - it's just a normal pannier with a half flap in the top to allow the footrest to poke down into it. They're OK for recreational stuff, don't have all that much room though.
Would like to use it for the commute as I drop my daughter off in the child seat at nursery. Found it was doing my head in as the way it clips onto the rack is quite awkward.
mr b, it's an xtracycle frame.
loads of entertaining contraptions here:
http://www.practicalcycles.com/
Thanks Garry, shall check out the panniers.
Stoner, liking the family trike!
Edit: Gary, can't see any on the Hamax website. If you have a photo you could post it would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Anyone in Glasgow seen the guy with all the weird and wonderful contraptions on Queen Margaret Drive?
Has some very similar looking bikes to the ones linked above although they look a bit more spoony if you know what I mean. Think there's even a BBC bike that uses half an oil drum!
(The irony of auto correct given the location.. obviously meant bbq bike!)
There's always a Cargo-Bike...
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/takisawa2/7558582866/ ]IMAG0774[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/takisawa2/ ]pten2106[/url], on Flickr
Kona Ute in our case. A big investment but a truly life changing bike. Honestly.
Just to say, Stoner was the inspiration behind me getting the Ute. I was about to press the button on £550 worth of Xtracycle kit when Charliethebikemonger put that Ute on clearance for £600. I reckon it's easily saved that in fuel but a priceless collection of memories to boot.
Why not fit a fork pannier rack?
I have the same problem as my boy is about to grow out of his front-mounted seat and I wanted to avoid the ruck-sack-in-the-face situation. That, and I have two bags to carry - the boy's rucksack and my pannier.
I currently have the Xtracycle bits in the spare bedroom ready to turn the commuter into a cargo bike (see Stoner's post above), as it worked out about half the price of a cargo bike (I'm in NZ though, so price comparisons may be different for you). Part of me can't wait to do the build, part of me still wants to get my money's worth out of the front seat - the boy has almost outgrown it at 19 months...
Bakfiets returning from B and Q:
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How about a trailer if you are using a conventional bike?
A part of me almost wants to have kids so I can get an Xtracycle to carry them on! Looks great fun for the kids.
Front pannier racks may be a goer. Thought about a trailer but if I'm just taking the boy to the park or down the shops I don't really want to bother with a trailer, not talking a huge amount of stuff.
Didn't really want a new bike (well not another commuter anyway!) but shall check out that Kona. Liking the life changing stories 🙂
I believe as far as BigDummy knows he has no kids but does have a BigDummy. So you have permission to buy a cargo bike regardless 🙂
Dammit I am now looking at Big Dummy's, Ute's, Mundo's...
N+1 at work 🙂
Edit: how easy is it to fit things like the humax seat to these sorts of bikes that just have a plate thing on the back? Fancy attachments required?
Whilst I'm avoiding splashing out on a big dummy type cargo bike...this is how we roll in the DrP household!
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Come August I'm going to have to figure how to carry the Drs bag and kid on the rack..... Probably end up getting a front mounted rack of sorts...
DrP
Road-train 🙂
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DrP, nice setup you have there.
Currently formulating an xtracycle plan a la Stoner above.
Are practical cycles the only place to get the free radical kits? They seem to have low or no stock of pretty much everything!
When he was 2:
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/4686993141/ ]DSC_0187[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
I could fit a pair of small panniers on the rack under the seat.
Moved onto this when he was 3:
[url= http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6064/6026495643_4eb3f85e70_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/6026495643/ ]DSC_0380[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
This at 4:
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8141/7435066530_dd8e97968d_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/7435066530/ ]DSC_0970[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
He's now on his own bike, but son #2 is about to get on the child east so I'll be starting again...
ir_bandito, that last photo is awesome 🙂
What's the rack on the voodoo? You using those little p clip things? And is that a 26 wheel in a 29 frame?
Thanks. Port Scolpaig, North Uist, just over a year ago. 🙂
Its an Old Man Mountain Sherpa rack. I bought it when I had a Thorn Raven Enduro as that had mounts specifically for that rack.
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/ir_bandito/4743805694/ ]P6270152[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/ir_bandito/ ]ir_bandito[/url], on Flickr
Rack has a lot of choices of bracketry to fit various arrangments. Voodoo has a set of rack mounts by the dropouts, and removable V-brake mounts, so I was able to make it fit.
And its 26 wheel in a 26 frame. Its a 20" frame size though so a bit of a gate, one day I'll replace it with a Kona Raijin or Pipedreasm Skookum.
Bugger, it seems the Xtracycle European importer is no more. Bit of a pain as it would mean importing from the US probably.
Stoner - I'm hunting for the pic of our TAMDEM towing the trailer... It's over 4.5m looooong.....!!!
DrP
I used a low-rider front pannier, child on rear tandem seat, baby in a baby seat. Simples.
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'twas a laff!
DrP
For trips to the playground etc I put a thick zip tie through a hole in the seatback to form a loop at the back of the Hamax seat and then hang a bag from this using a karabiner. Quick, simple and cheap as chips 🙂