Newbie Child Seat question

On 1/4/05 9:09 pm, in article [email hidden],

Damien Kay said:

Hi,

My wife and I have just got a couple of mountain bikes and would like to ask
for some advice on child seats. We have a 2 yr old daughter who we intend to
take cycling with us but only off-road (woods, cycle trails, walking routes
etc.). My question is what seat should we opt for.

I have been looking at a centre mounted "safe haven", a rear mounted
"co-pilot taxi" and "limo" but am wondering whether we should consider a
trailer. I would imagine trailers would be quite impractical for off-road
riding?

I have used child seats (hamax standard, same as the basic model from
Halfords), trailers (Winther Dolphin) and trailer bikes (giraff) off road.
Trailers are fine if the trail is wide enough. Great if the child wants to
be out of the bad weather, or sleep, or take toys/other bits and pieces.
They can be dragged up some reasonably rough bits and are easier than child
seats on trails that are more tricky to balance on.

Quoted message said:

Obviously, safety is the most important issue for us but, since we will not
be riding on roads, traffic is not really a consideration.

Ride carefully.. Trailers are the safest in that respect. But really,
cycling is really very safe if you take basic precautions such as ensuring
the bike is mechanically sound and the child is properly restrained.

Plenty of breaks for the child and you should have some cracking times.

...d

Quoted message said:

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Damo

Damien Kay said:

My wife and I have just got a couple of mountain bikes and would like to ask
for some advice on child seats. We have a 2 yr old daughter who we intend to
take cycling with us but only off-road (woods, cycle trails, walking routes
etc.). My question is what seat should we opt for.

I have been looking at a centre mounted "safe haven", a rear mounted
"co-pilot taxi" and "limo" but am wondering whether we should consider a
trailer. I would imagine trailers would be quite impractical for off-road
riding?

I've never ridden off-road with a child-seat (though I've got friends
who do), but have taken a trailer.

I think if I were doing it more than very occasionally, I'd go for a
seat rather than trailer - the trailer is a right pain at staggered
barriers, fallen trees, gloopy bits that aren't rideable and various
other off-road things. Staggered barriers are a particular nuisance,
because they are generally at roads, and thus exactly not the place
you want to be extracting a toddler and the letting go of it (the
toddler) to lift the trailer over the obstacle.

We've been riding with friends who have two children (one on each
parent's bike) and my wife and I with one child in a trailer. At
several places in teh ride they just threaded through or round things
where we had to stop, extract passenger, unhitch, lift, rehitch,
reload, proceed.

A narrow trailer might cope, but I'd have doubts.

On-road, on teh other hand, I think a trailer beats a seat easily.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Damien Kay said:

Hi,

My wife and I have just got a couple of mountain bikes and would like

to ask

Quoted message said:

for some advice on child seats. We have a 2 yr old daughter who we

intend to

Quoted message said:

take cycling with us but only off-road (woods, cycle trails, walking

routes

Quoted message said:

etc.). My question is what seat should we opt for.

I have a limo which I have been reasonably happy with. I don't think
they are worth the extra money over the Taxi unless for a smaller child
whose neck will benefit more from the recline whilst sleeping. I have
seen some Beeto seats that looked reasonably solid. I have ridden with
the seat through woods once or twice and got on OK. As others have
said, seats are easier through anti-motorbike obstacles that you might
meet although two adults between them can manouvre a loaded and
attached trailer around or over some designs (as I have been doing on
the waterlink way (NCN21?) today). My trailer is a cheap, heavy, steel
raleigh job. DD (3.5) professes to prefer the seat as it affords a
better view but both dd and ds (1.5) are happy enough in the trailer.
Frequent breaks are important. If you aren't planning on more kids and
want a trailer consider aburley solo as it has the advantage of going
through doors without needing to be folded down (unless you have a
ride-in garage). My feeling is that a seat sounds better fro what you
want but Argos' GBP70 trailer (mail/web oredr only) means that you may
b able to afford both. The Rhodegear seats mean that you have to spend
more (GBP30) on an extra blabburn rack if you want to be able to swap
between bikes than seats that are cantilevered of te seatpost (usually
GBP10-15 for extra mounts)

best wishes
james

Thanks all, for the great advice - I think I will go for the Taxi since I
have heard good things about it, it is affordable and there is a shop just
down the road from me that stock them :-)

I may consider a trailer later but at least the seat will get us all out and
about!

Damo.

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

Quoted message said:

Hi,

My wife and I have just got a couple of mountain bikes and would like to
ask for some advice on child seats. We have a 2 yr old daughter who we
intend to take cycling with us but only off-road (woods, cycle trails,
walking routes etc.). My question is what seat should we opt for.

I have been looking at a centre mounted "safe haven", a rear mounted
"co-pilot taxi" and "limo" but am wondering whether we should consider a
trailer. I would imagine trailers would be quite impractical for off-road
riding?

Obviously, safety is the most important issue for us but, since we will
not be riding on roads, traffic is not really a consideration.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Damo