My wife and I just finished building out a kid seat for the big dummy. The kids love it, and so do we.

Its been really entertaining just how much attention this seems to grab. I've gotten 5x as many comments since putting this on the big dummy as before on the same bike. I guess people couldn't quite make the jump in their minds about what the bike is capable of.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2626258011_375404040e.jpg?v=0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25872288@N06/

that is awesome! now all you need are some flat screen tv's and you'll have a thoroughly modern kid hauler.

I guess people couldn't quite make the jump in their minds about what the bike is capable of.

Most people today can't wrap their mind around a little sweat to ride a bike. :notamused:

Love the shades. Where did you get those?

My daughter has almost gotten too tall for the first seat I built for her. Time to make a second. Darn growth spurt!

Love the shades. Where did you get those?

My daughter has almost gotten too tall for the first seat I built for her. Time to make a second. Darn growth spurt!

They are accessory sunshades off of a Deuter kid comfort II pack. We just sewed some cordura sleeves that the shade slides into, which makes it height adjustable. It works well, and was sure a lot easier and cleaner looking than fabricating our own.

My wife and two girls love what you did with your Big Dummy. I have my daughters sitting on a cushion on the snapdeck but they are older than your kids.

My daughters are as happy with our bike as I am, I think. Whenever we ride around we'll hear people make comments about the bike and they will always repeat it to me. "Daddy, that man said, 'Wow, what a nice bike.'"

My wife doesn't get why I'd want to build a new deck for the kids. She thinks the one that came with the freeloader is nicer than anything I'd build (logo, logo, logo). I can't wait to show her your photos and get her on board with customizing a deck. Besides, it's not like I have to destroy or ever stop using the old one.

That's so awesome. Is the little kid asleep in that picture?

Yeah, these days he's fighting the nap despite the fact he desperately still needs them, so this was one of those late afternoon rides solely meant to give him a nap. As you can see it works like a charm ;)

Luckily my wife is as compulsively creative as me and just about has to be making something or other, so this project was an easy sell.

The harness that you made look really nice. Did you make them or take them from something?

The shoulder harnesses are from our chariot trailer. We hunted down a place that sold the same mfg. of buckle as they used so we can swap them back and forth between the two setups. It was one less thing to have to fabricate and they work well too.

I don't have an xtra/dummy in the area to look at, so please excuse my lack of knowledge- what is/how secure is the connection between the snapdeck and the v-rack, as well as the v-rack to the freeradical(or frame on the dummy)? Is it rigid enough with 60+ pounds of kids on top of the deck- especially if they're both asleep or not actively holding themselves on such as an adult would be...?

The v-racks slip into the freeradical frame about 1.5-2", and would need to be pulled directly up to be removed. They're spaced apart wider in the front than in the back, so the snapdeck is held in place not only by the lateral tension of the v-racks, but by the wedge shaped rails. In theory, the snapdeck would be more likely to slide forward than any other direction, but the tension of the clips plus weight of passengers/cargo seem to keep it in place just fine. Whichever of my kids rides in back holds on to the v-racks below them, kind of like being a passenger on a motorcycle. They never really pull sideways on them, though. The harder I corner, the harder they stick to the seat.

I used some industrial p-clamps at four corners to mount the kidseat setup to the v-racks, with the p-clamps looping around the v-racks and then fastened to the kidseat using bolts and tee nuts.

I use a couple of bungees to loop around the snapdeck and the tops of the v-racks. Since I have a cushion on top of that, my kids don't have to sit on un uncomfortable bungee.

I used some industrial p-clamps at four corners to mount the kidseat setup to the v-racks, with the p-clamps looping around the v-racks and then fastened to the kidseat using bolts and tee nuts.

OK- what about the v-rack to frame connection? Tight enough with the friction fit? Or would drilling for a cotter pin-type arrangement make sense?

I'm not so concerned with the seat/racks coming loose while riding over bumps as much as wanting to make sure they'd stay attached in the event of an actual wreck... I'd hate to have a seat come loose with the kid strapped into it...

The V-racks are attached to the rest of the frame by some 1" tough nylon webbing.

I wanted to use commercial seats as close to their original mounting method as possible. So one used BoBike Maxi and one Co-Pilot Limo seems to have worked just fine. I mounted the Blackburn frame for the Co-Pilot to the lugs of the XtraCycle, and to my hand-fabricated a cross-bar that picks up the V-Rack tubes with U-Bolts.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3053/2695642559_090c1a4974.jpg?v=0



You can see more photos on my Cycling Blog (http://www.katzhome.net/Cycling_Blog/)

R.Katz