Bike which will take rear child seat?

[Jason Scott]

I take it that if we're after a bike that will take a rear child seat, all models that have the battery on a rear pannier should be avoided?

 

[trex]

yes. front child seats are suitable for 2 year olds or younger and will go on most bikes. How old are your kids?

 

[Alan Quay]

No. Most rear child seats attach to the seat tube, so a rear rack battery should be ok, as long as you have enough clearance.

 

[Alan Quay]

When my boy was small, we had something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BELLELLI-TIGER-RELAX-BIKE-BABY-CHILD-SEAT-CARRIER-MAX-WEIGHT-22kg-BLACK-WHITE-/400723722870?pt=UK_SportGoods_CyclAcces_RL&hash=item5d4cfec276

As you can see, the clamp goes on the bike seat tube (plenty of cheaper ones on the market, this one has a picture of the clamp though).

when he was about 3, I took off the plastic seat, and re-used the steel bracket, turning it the other way around so that he could ride with me up front. I added a cushion like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Care-Hand-Cushion-Pillow-Nail-Art-Manicure-Rectangular-Dot-Fashion-/231083274739?pt=Nail_Polish&hash=item35cda2f1f3

For a foot rest I added a piece of 22mm tube, bolted on with a bent piece of 6mm threaded bar, and two handlebar grips.

 

[Jason Scott]

Ah that's cool, gives us more to choose from. Our daughter is 2 and we'll need to carry her on the bike until she's 4.

Mike, do you have any recommendations for bike makes to look into based on your experience? (I don't think we can make it up to Bristol on Sunday unfortunately).

 

[Alan Quay]

I always build my own, I've built about 10 now for me and family/friends. If I wanted to buy ready built, I'd probably look at Kudos or Woosh. Both are well respected on this forum.

You will need to be careful that what you buy will enable the fitting of the child carrier though. For example, the Kudos Tornado would need some mods as the controller is right where the carrier would go, and nothing with a behind the seat post battery.

 

[Jason Scott]

Thanks again Mike for your help. We just got word today that work are starting to notify people about their parking permits. The deadline is 28th July so we could be buying within 30 days!

 

[amigafan2003]

http://www.cyclezee.com/ezee-yuba-el-mundo.html

Accessories here:-

http://yubabikes.com/accessories/

 

[Cyclezee]

http://www.cyclezee.com/ezee-yuba-el-mundo.html

Accessories here:-

http://yubabikes.com/accessories/

In addition to the Yuba el Mundo we have the eZee Expedir models which are equally good at carrying both cargo and passengers.

 

[Alan Quay]

The OP has stated (admittedly in another post) that his budget is £2k, for two bikes.

Lovely as these machines are, I fear they will blow that budget.

But it might be a good idea to have a big family bus, and a cheap run about.....

 

[Jason Scott]

We're leaning towards the Woosh bikes. I'm thinking the Sirocco CD and Big Bear look good (quite a few hills in Plymouth!) depending on whether we can find a child carrier with enough clearance.

 

[amigafan2003]

The OP has stated (admittedly in another post) that his budget is £2k, for two bikes.

Lovely as these machines are, I fear they will blow that budget.

Ah - didn't see that.

Do both bikes need to be electric? I ask as you can carry two children on the El Mundo.

 

[Jason Scott]

£2k bike would be nice wouldn't it?

Both my wife and I will be using 1 bike each to commute to work. One of us will take our daughter on the bike to nursery, the other will walk over with our son to school. We'll both ride into work from those respective locations.

 

[Artstu]

We're leaning towards the Woosh bikes. I'm thinking the Sirocco CD and Big Bear look good (quite a few hills in Plymouth!) depending on whether we can find a child carrier with enough clearance.

Neither of those will take a seat tube mounted child seat because of the welded on shield for the wiring. You can get rack mounted seats though.

Edit. having said that, the height of the battery mounted on the rack could be an issue too.

 

[trex]

Neither of those will take a seat tube mounted child seat because of the welded on shield for the wiring. You can get rack mounted seats though.

Edit. having said that, the height of the battery mounted on the rack could be an issue too.

what shield?

 

[Artstu]

what shield?

Put your glasses on

 

[Alan Quay]

what shield?

If you look closely, between the rear mudguard and the seat tube, there is a shield that covers the wiring. Near the top you can see a cable disappear into it.

 

[trex]

you mean a child seat like this one?

I was thinking that JS would put a front child seat on the Big Bear.

 

[Alan Quay]

Yes, that what I was talking about, but It wont work on most (if not all) of the Woosh bikes. They all seem to have that shield.

A front mounted seat might be ok on the Big Bear, but it has a funny shaped tube toward the front.

I had none of these issues, as mine was a standard bike that I converted.

 

[Jason Scott]

Thanks all for your continued input!

To be honest I'm not too fussed which type of child seat it is. I noticed the triangular piece on the back of the Woosh seat posts concealing the cable. You can see it in this picture:



I see the battery sits inside the rear rack and I was thinking about a rack mounted seat. There seems to be space for it to clip on, and it would conceal the battery a little.

The reason I thought the rear free hanging ones would work is the bracket seems to clip around the front facing part of the seat tube, which is round. The specs say fits oval tubes 28mm-40mm:



Edit: The Sport CD seems nice and the seat post looks suitable?