Child's bike seat?

[Kevin Lippert]

Looking for some advice on a child's seat to attach to a Bleriot, which
both my wife and I have, so a seat that transfers easily from one bike
to another would be a plus. For my kids from a previous marriage, I used
the Road Gear/CoPilot Limo that mounted to a back rack (probably not my
nice Nitto, though!), but my wife proposed a front-handlebar-mounted
seat from the Netherlands (via REI), and I waded a bit into the
controversy there via customer reviews about front- v. rear-mounted
seats (including that the front-mounter REI sells "doesn't fit most
bikes"!). Hoping somebody here has some experience with and
recommendations about mounting a seat to a Bleriot, front or rear, and
the pros/cons of each. Our daughter is almost 1 year, just shy of 20
pounds, and on the petite side height-wise, not a future volleyball
player, at least at this point.

Thanks for any insights/opinions,

Kevin Lippert
NY, NY

[Allan in Portland]

I'd ask what are your budget considerations and how you intend to use it. Assuming it will become part of your normal transportation and costs are secondary, the up-front Bobike is a blast. While kids quickly out-grow it, as they say, "they are only young once."

If you want something you can get a little more mileage from, the rear-mount Bobike can carry kids pretty much as long as they'll need carried. Both are rock solid and will last through the entirety of your fecund years. ;-) Also, both swap easily among bikes if you buy a second rack.

In any case, I'd suggest giving the guys at Clever Cycles a call. They sell more kid seats in a season than most shops sell ever. And they ship. If he's around Todd would probably be the best person to ask to speak with. Of course, this assumes you intend to buy from them. As our good friend Mr. Thill has commented, nothing worse than chatting up a sole-proprietor then taking your business to the internets. ;-)

As for the Copilots, I have one.I got it before the Dutch invasion as it were. Not a waste of money, but more of a weekend/recreational item than something built for daily transportation.

Best of luck,
-Allan

[Andy Smitty Schmidt]

As Allan said, call Clever Cycles and let them set you up. Family biking is their specialty. They're good people and won't steer you wrong. 

I recently made a kid seat for my Hilsen/Nitto Big Back Rack out of scraps and spare parts. It's held on with zip ties for easy removal. It's not suitable for a 1-year-old though. I do a lot of my miles on cargo bikes so it's fun to be able to haul a kid on the Hilsen... so I can ride it more.  

As far as front seats... there's some footage of a sub-1-year-old in a bobike mini on a recent s36o here.

Happy family biking.

--Andy 

    

On Monday, May 21, 2012 9:09:25 AM UTC-7, Kevin Lippert wrote:

On Monday, May 21, 2012 9:09:25 AM UTC-7, Kevin Lippert wrote:

On Monday, May 21, 2012 9:09:25 AM UTC-7, Kevin Lippert wrote:

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

I used the rear-mounted one from Topeak lots when my oldest was young and before I built the ultimate kid-crank tandem. Topeak makes the rack available separately so you can put the rack on both bikes. On its own, it's a decent rack for panniers, etc.