Rear mounted child seats

[139NI]

I am looking to buy a child seat for my 18 month old and have come across two fundamentally different designs on the market.

The first is the HAMAX range where the child seat is mated to the bike via an attachement to the seatpost only. Thus the entire weight of the seat and child is borne on the seatpost.

The second is the TOPEAK range where the child seat is mounted on a rear pannier rack. Thus the weight of the seat and child is borne on the rack itself.

My concern is safety as it would be unsatisfactory if either one of the above systems fails and the child is thrown onto the road whilst riding.

Does anyone use/have used either and have an opinion as to which is the more reliable system??

Thanks


W

 

[Chris-H]

We have a rear seat for my 3 year old lad,and he's a big lad too,my mrs uses it on her hack which is a very old Apollo step thru racer converted to hybrid with absolutely no issues whatsoever,frame is fine after nearly a years daily use,littlun loves it more than the trailer.....happy days.

 

[growingvegetables]

Only a fwiw (it's 15 years ago now!).

I bought a seat that fitted only on the seat-post, and tried it ....... once. It was back in the shop and me getting my money back that very afternoon. I don't know if it was the seat design, or if the bike frame just wasn't up to it. But put the littlun on the back and it was like the bike had turned to rubber!

I got one that fixed like the Topeak rack instead - and had years of brilliant service until littlun was old enough for a pullalong.

 

[Crackle]

I've used two Rhode Gears which mounted on Blackburn racks. Absolutely no issues and still have the racks going strong. The Rhode Gears also had a safety strap to stop the seat falling off if it came loose or a rack arm failed. The design also meant that the child is fairly enclosed and the seat takes the impact, as we witnessed when son no2 climbed into his seat when the bike was leaning against a bench. It then toppled with him in the seat and the safety arm down, which he'd slammed down as he climbed in. Apart from shock, ours not his, there was no injury, the arm held him in and the seat took the impact. The Topeak design looks pretty similar, so I would imagine it would do the same job.

 

[I like Skol]

I used the Hamax Kiss for both my sons and mounted onto my triple triangle GT Zaskar MTB. Initially it does feel a little strange because it does have some bounce and side-to-side movement but this is soon adapted to and once confident in the seat both rider and passenger can travel miles perfectly happily. I used it for some fast road riding when we used to cycle commute to a weekly tots group and also for some rougher rides like the circumnavigation of Derwent and Howden Reservoirs in the Peak District and it never gave a moments concern. A fantastic piece of kit that I happily recommend.

 

[Fnaar]

I used to use a Hamax one when my kids were younger... not ever a single problem with them, tbh... I'd certainly recommend them.