Child seat.

On 22/3/04 7:38 pm, in article [email hidden],

rda said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed &
starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats. I have seen a few different models in my
local Halfords, but would like some opinions first.

Thanks for any replies.

The Hamax ones are very good. I think these are the ones
Halfords market as their own brand. Around 50 quid I think.

..d

rda said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed &
starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats. I have seen a few different models in my
local Halfords, but would like some opinions first.

Make sure their legs are protected from the spokes and don't
underestimate the amount of padding needed. If you've ever
driven a go-kart you'll know how painful a plastic seat can
be with no suspension and no ability to stand up and use
your legs to absorb the bumps!

Much as I hate to actually recommend the "H" things, this is
the one case where helmets are really rather necessary. The
child may not be able to get their arm out if the bike falls
over sideways - let's say you get tangled up in your
toeclips - and the weight of the bike (and you) will be too
great anyway. They won't mind from a comfort POV because
they're just sitting there and not working up a sweat, the
lazy little critters ;-)

In "]news:[email hidden],
rda <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed &
starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats. I have seen a few different models in my
local Halfords, but would like some opinions first.

Thanks for any replies.

There's also one going at Lidl at the minute. Can't
remember how cheap it is, and I didn't look at it, being
lacking in children.

On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:26:18 +0000, Zog The Undeniable

() said:

rda said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed
& starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats.

Quoted message said:

Much as I hate to actually recommend the "H" things, this
is the one case where helmets are really rather necessary.
The child may not be able to get their arm out if the bike
falls over sideways - let's say you get tangled up in your
toeclips - and the weight of the bike (and you) will be too
great anyway.

Also, when you forget they're on the back and swing your leg
over the back wheel to mount, it could prove useful.
--
Matt K Dunedin, NZ

Quoted message said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed &
starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to take
my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional ride &
was wondering if you could recommend any of the child
seats. I have seen a few different models in my local
Halfords, but would like some opinions first.

Thanks for any replies.

When Nathan was wee our normal form of everyday transport
was him in a childseat on my bike (was a hybrid at the
time). Key things to remember - get one where the childs
legs are well-protected and *cannot* be placed into the
wheel - kids legs and spokes to not mix well. Make sure it's
well padded for comfort. Make sure it's got *lots* of
restraints to hold the child in securely. And on this
ocvcasion - please do *seriously* consider having the child
wear a helmet.

Nathan loved being in the child seat - we were out most days
as I pootled about the town we lived in and on evenings and
weekends we did longer rides.

Other things to note - on dismounting - remember you've a
child behind you and don't end up kicking it in the head :-)
Also *never* lean the bike up against anything,e.g. a wall,
with the child on the seat and have the bike unlocked &
unsecured - it *will* fall over complete with child... I
never did it myself but I saw it happen.

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get
correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune h*$el*$$e**-
nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o**l.c**$*$om$$

Ambrose Nankivell said:

In "]news:[email hidden], rda
<[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed
& starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats. I have seen a few different models in my
local Halfords, but would like some opinions first.

Thanks for any replies.

There's also one going at Lidl at the minute. Can't
remember how cheap it is, and I didn't look at it, being
lacking in children.

The Lidl one is £12.99 and is very similar to something I
used for my son from age 3 upwards. I wouldn't recommend it
for 18 month olds as there is little padding or restraints.
It's a good buy for the future though.

Co pilot limo is not cheap but was much better that the cheaper one we had. Good protection against legs in spokes, fairly high back and sides for protection and leaning against when sleeping, but with gaps through which junior can see all round. My discerning daughters would not fall asleep in the cheaper one, which generally meant that they screamed in stead. Not nice.

As for your mountain bike, check that it takes the blackburn rack which is integrall to co pilot. Don't go off road other than on well surfaced tracks. Make sure your brakes are up to the extra weight that you are carrying.

Mrs RW used a hybrid type bike which was fine. I used tourer with drop bars which was not ideal: the brakes and steering position of the flat barred bike were much better for control.

Have a great time.

R

Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<405f5a26.0@entanet>...

Quoted message said:

Make sure their legs are protected from the spokes and
don't underestimate the amount of padding needed. If
you've ever driven a go-kart you'll know how painful a
plastic seat can be with no suspension and no ability to
stand up and use your legs to absorb the bumps!

I use the Rhode Gear one (now named Co-Pilot I think). This
has good bit of paddingn my my 2 and half year old still
complains about it being "too bumpy" sometimes. Perhaps you
can get ones with suspenison?

Quoted message said:

Much as I hate to actually recommend the "H" things, this
is the one case where helmets are really rather necessary.
The child may not be able to get their arm out if the bike
falls over sideways - let's say you get tangled up in your
toeclips - and the weight of the bike (and you) will be
too great anyway.

Hmmmm. Not convinced. If the seat comes up arround the
child's head on three sides (as mine does) all a helmet
would do would make your little one's head a lot bigger
and more likely to band against the side or ground in
such an event.

Toby

On 23/3/04 10:39 am, in article
[email hidden], "Toby Barrett"

Quoted message said:

Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<405f5a26.0@entanet>...

Quoted message said:

Make sure their legs are protected from the spokes and
don't underestimate the amount of padding needed. If
you've ever driven a go-kart you'll know how painful a
plastic seat can be with no suspension and no ability to
stand up and use your legs to absorb the bumps!

I use the Rhode Gear one (now named Co-Pilot I think).
This has good bit of paddingn my my 2 and half year old
still complains about it being "too bumpy" sometimes.
Perhaps you can get ones with suspenison?

Quoted message said:

Much as I hate to actually recommend the "H" things, this
is the one case where helmets are really rather
necessary. The child may not be able to get their arm out
if the bike falls over sideways - let's say you get
tangled up in your toeclips - and the weight of the bike
(and you) will be too great anyway.

Hmmmm. Not convinced. If the seat comes up arround the
child's head on three sides (as mine does) all a helmet
would do would make your little one's head a lot bigger
and more likely to band against the side or ground in such
an event.

I am fairly ambivalent about whether helmets are much use in
a 'wrap around' child seat. My kids loved the child seat.
The youngest is just old enough to use it now. The other two
have gone on to their own bikes but prefer to ride on the
giraffe (tow bar) because they then don't have to keep
stopping at all the junctions.

The other thing they loved is the trailer. This is a great
piece of kit and well worth the money. Ours is a Winther
Dolphin which is very expensive but has survived seven years
of abuse. We added curtains to it and it could do with a few
other repairs/upgrades but is otherwise fine. Two kids,
loads of shopping and solid as a rock (with a solid floor so
the little darlings don't wear through a fabric one.)

The Easter project is to weld a couple of old MTB frames
together and make a tandem suitable for the kids...

..d

"rda" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I thought it would be cool to take my 18month daughter out
with me on the occasional ride & was wondering if you
could recommend any of the child seats.

I have a co-pilot limo which is gbp90-100. I started using
it when DD was around 12 months. I have been happy with it
with a few small problems:

The foot straps are a right pain. They are much too long and
tricky to do up around small feet. The webbing strap that
the bottom of the three point harness attaches to is a bit
short. The camlock nut arrangement that attaches the
adjustable foot rests tends to come loose. For an 18 month
old I would consider the taxi (GBP 30 cheaper) as I have
never had much cause to use use the reclining feature on the
limo. Detaching the seat from the rack ideally uses three
hands (either: one each to hold the spring clips and
a third to push the seat back or two to accomplich
the whole job and a thrid to replace the one that
you injured)

Another more generic issue is carrying luggage. I got a
cheap front rack (not low rider) from sjsc. A step through
frame or low top tube is good. Mine is *just* low enough to
allow a stepover mount but it is a close thing. DD has never
complained about the bumpiness of the ride. Remember she
will get cold quickly with the wind chill and no pedaling.
DD does use a helmet but to be honest the fit is poor and it
is very tricky to get her to allow it to be adjusted.

As for crash performance I had a low speed crash onto grass
recently (loss of front wheel traction). DD asked "can we
walk home daddy" but after a cuddle was happy to remount.
The seat kept her well away from any ground contact.

Overall I am pleased with the seat although I have little
comparison with other products. If you expect to use it much
(especially for transport) then think hard about at least
trying a trailer

best wishes james

In message <[email hidden]>,
dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hi guys, Im planning on pulling my MTB out from the shed &
starting to use it more. I thought it would be cool to
take my 18month daughter out with me on the occasional
ride & was wondering if you could recommend any of the
child seats.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Also *never* lean the bike up against anything,e.g. a
wall, with the child on the seat and have the bike
unlocked & unsecured - it *will* fall over complete with
child... I never did it myself but I saw it happen.

I use a trailer not a seat. however, if I was using a seat I
would look to using a good stand. not a flimsy thing that
firs on the side of the Bb area, but a decent one.
Preferably a 'two pronged ' one that fits under the BB, or a
good quality one that fits near the rear hub at the back of
the rear triangle. i've used these with loads of luggage on
and they are very stable.
--
Chris French, Leeds