Kids saddle for crossbar?

BostonB

Can you get kids saddles for the cross bar, that have quick release or similar? Also how do they work if you've cables running on the crossbar?

daymobrew

When I rang Stagg Cycles in Lucan about buying a behind-me child seat, the guy recommended getting a crossbar seat as soon as possible (more fun for child, better centre of gravity, though bow legs for cyclist).

So, maybe give them a call to ask about such seats and whether they are available as quick release.

BostonB

Only want it for a short school run. But I don't want to have it on the bike for the rest of the commute. If theres no quick release, I could just use a different bike and come back home and switch to my commuter bike.

Lumen

I bought one from CSS. Didn't fit my cross bar, and very non-quick release (needed care not to scratch the paint).

It now lives in the shed.

My Hamax rear seat (mounted to seat tube) is a much better solution, and has a great quick-release.

BostonB

I don't think they were suitable for school going kids 5+

Couldn't throw one of them in the pannier which was my thinking.

I might just find another cheap bike for the school run only.

Lumen

BostonB wrote: »

I don't think they were suitable for school going kids 5+

At that age I'd consider a trailerbike.

Traumadoc

I think a quick release for a child seat would be too dangerous.

richiemack

google it, I have a rear mounted one for my two year old and he loves it, its quick relesase so I use it on my mountain bike, and leave the clamp on the bike on when im mountain biking as well, never gets in the way

BostonB

I'm only dropping him off I don't pick him up. I don't fancy cycling the rest of the way (45mins) with that attached to the bike. I thought with a saddle I could just throw it the bag and continue on my way.

Lumen

BostonB wrote: »

I'm only dropping him off I don't pick him up. I don't fancy cycling the rest of the way (45mins) with that attached to the bike. I thought with a saddle I could just throw it the bag and continue on my way.

You're welcome to borrow or buy my crossbar seat if you want to experiment.

But I think you're on to a loser. A 5 year old on the crossbar is going to get in the way of your knees, and be unsafe. A 5 year old out on the rear is of a normal road bike is going to screw with your weight distribution, and be unsafe.

You could probably use a trailer, they go quite big. Otherwise you'd need more expensive/exotic solutions, like a cargo bike or something that's designed to take lots of weight on the rear, like this or this.

rflynnr

+1 on the rear seat. I actually use both a front (http://www.hamax.no/?ItemID=1152&_Bicycle_Child_Seat) and rear but the front is only appropriate for kids up to 15kg and if your kid is attending school then s/he is almost certainly heavier than that. Furthermore, with the best will in the world, a front seat is likely to force you to cycle with your knees splayed which is neither confortable nor good for your knees (particularly if you're hill-climbing). I've done it for the past couple of years but only because I had to. Nor - with all due respect to Staggs - can I ever recall feeling that the rear seat presented any centre of gravity issues. Furthermore a rear seat sans kid has almost no effect on the performance of the bike so you should be able to continue on to work with the seat attached: they weigh very little and offer little wind resistance since your own body is already taking the brunt of it.

Lumen

rflynnr wrote: »

Nor - with all due respect to Staggs - can I ever recall feeling that the rear seat presented any centre of gravity issues.

Ah, OK. The Hamax rear seat is rated for up to 22kg, which is about age 6.

Probably depends on the bike too. I've used a rear seat with a small toddler and the bike (racer) has a tendency to wheelie.

Explosive_Cornflake

The rear seat must cause havoc when doing wheelies though?

Lumen

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

The rear seat must cause havoc when doing wheelies though?

Bunny hops are more character building.

dontbossme

Lumen wrote: »

I bought one from CSS. Didn't fit my cross bar, and very non-quick release (needed care not to scratch the paint).

It now lives in the shed.



Do you want to sell it as im looking for 1

rp

daymobrew wrote: »

When I rang Stagg Cycles in Lucan about buying a behind-me child seat, the guy recommended getting a crossbar seat as soon as possible (more fun for child, better centre of gravity, though bow legs for cyclist).

...and more dangerous for the child - nice advice, Stagg Cycles!

daymobrew

rp wrote: »

...and more dangerous for the child - nice advice, Stagg Cycles!

How is it more dangerous for the child?

rp

daymobrew wrote: »

How is it more dangerous for the child?

There's a poor translation (I should know, the first article was translated by me) of the report of tests carried out at the Allianz research lab in 1996: Allianz Report, comparing different methods of transporting kids on bikes. The cross-bar position doesn't come off well.