Bike style for rear child seat
- Thread starter MichaelW2
- Start date
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a.twiddler
Veteran
Going back an awful lot of years to when my daughter was a toddler I used a Falcon Quattro Sport generic steel mountain bike with a rack and child seat. A vintage style rigid MTB is probably a good bet for this sort of thing as frame sizes tend to be smaller with a lower top tube. I first tried her out when she was six months old to see if she would take to it. Minimum age of six months as children can support their head weight while sitting up, a bit older probably better, but after a trial up the road she definitely took to it.
The bike had a slightly sloping top tube, rigid frame, and the straight bars were a better bet than the drops on my lightweight road bike for leverage and control with a rear weight that would increase over time. Getting on and off, I would lean the bike against a wall to get my leg over the top tube to minimise the chances of the bike falling over with the small passenger. The bike itself was no lightweight before adding the child. Nevertheless she was always enthusiastic to go out for a ride and we had a lot of happy miles with that set up.
My wife also had a budget ladies' mountain bike with the standard ladies' type sloping tube and she managed fine with a rack and child seat on the back. It might be argued that a diamond frame might be more rigid for carrying a child, but the low stepover makes it more convenient if you anticipate a lot of mounting and dismounting.
A lot depends on your child's inclinations. My daughter loved being a passenger, but my son who was much younger would much rather ride his own little bike as soon as he could manage it.
The bike had a slightly sloping top tube, rigid frame, and the straight bars were a better bet than the drops on my lightweight road bike for leverage and control with a rear weight that would increase over time. Getting on and off, I would lean the bike against a wall to get my leg over the top tube to minimise the chances of the bike falling over with the small passenger. The bike itself was no lightweight before adding the child. Nevertheless she was always enthusiastic to go out for a ride and we had a lot of happy miles with that set up.
My wife also had a budget ladies' mountain bike with the standard ladies' type sloping tube and she managed fine with a rack and child seat on the back. It might be argued that a diamond frame might be more rigid for carrying a child, but the low stepover makes it more convenient if you anticipate a lot of mounting and dismounting.
A lot depends on your child's inclinations. My daughter loved being a passenger, but my son who was much younger would much rather ride his own little bike as soon as he could manage it.
Legs
usually riding on Zwift or up steep hills...
- Location
- Staffordshire
I used to - this was 6 years ago with my now-9-year-old. My hip mobility was pretty good in those days!
a.twiddler
Veteran
Flexibility. I was a lot more supple back then, too!
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