klepto1

I was wondering if any clydes here have experience with a bike seat. My wife just went back to work and is also committed to working out (havent been able to convince her to get on a bike yet..key word yet). We have a 16 month old baby, so one of us always has to be with him while the other works out - which limits the amount of time i can spend on my bike. I am considering getting a child seat so that I can bring my son along on my rides and not have to cut back on my riding. However I am a little worried about what the extra weight will do to my bike. I've lost a few pounds, but I am still at about 240 lbs. Add in a child seat and my son and thats about an extra 30 lbs on the bike. I am sure it will give me a better work out, but I wonder if my bike can handle the weight. I feel like I already put a beating on my bike. In the past I bent my back tire and had to have it trued, earlier this year I broke a couple of spokes and had to replace it. I have a 2009 GT Transeo 5.0.

https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...e#.UCqrS52PWKM

CJ C

Just throwing this out there, From when i looked at kid seats on a bike i thought 16 months was too young to be in them?

my topeak seat recommends 2 years old minimum. The BOB jogging stroller i wanted to buy our peds doc forbid the kid to go on runs with me until a minimum of 18 months and only on smooth MUP trails.

gunner65

You can start them in an I-bert at 1yo I have taken all three of mine on the I-Bert at that age and they loved it. You probably want to avoid sweet jumps though.

https://www.ibertinc.com/

They are usually cheapest at amazon.

FrankHudson

I'd go trailer. Less load on the rear wheel, and room for the other stuff you may need to carry with a toddler, and you've got some built in weather protection too. I can't remember exactly when my son took his first bike trailer ride, but he loved it until he graduated to trailer bike at age 5 or so. We used a cheap Schwinn from Target, worked well for us. This was not a high mileage use, we probably put 500 miles of trouble free use on it and gave it to another family after he outgrew it. Only real negative it that's a longer rig and not right for off road or the like.

Wildewinds

Weeride or similar front child seat. Definitely the way to go. I had my <1 year old girl on that thing and she loved it.

LiamSkymom

I've done both the trailer (still do that) and the child seat behind mine, and well actually both at the same time. My son loved both. He was probably two before we started in child seat - actually I know he was because I didn't get the bike until then. He loved it. I weighed about 240 at the time and didn't have any problems, but my bike was pretty tough - not a road bike. Once he started growing a bit, he started to get more uncomfortable behind my big posterior. The trailer was nice - room for him, his brother, and snacks, drinks that they might need. I'd say it really depends on the type of riding you do with him. On the MUP or in my immediate neighborhood, the trailer was definitely the way to go. Riding in traffic, I preferred him on the bike with me. I imagine if I were doing a mountain bike like trail, I prefer him on the bike due to the amount of room.

Good luck and enjoy riding with your child.

PhotoJoe 

We used to ride with our daughters in the trailer...in car seats. They both loved it.

klepto1

Thanks for the suggestions. I was looking at trailers, but the roads in my neighborhood are too tight and I don't feel comfortable having him back there when cars are passing by. I really like the ibert. I watched a couple of reviews on it and it looks great. I never realized that there were front mounted seats. My only concern is the amount of room to between the saddle and the seat to straddle when I stop. Was this an issue for any of you ibert users?

gunner65

I can ride just as normal with the Ibert installed. I have taken my kids on long rides with no issues.

klepto1

Thanks Gunner. I am going to give it a try. Worst case scenario I return it or sell it on Ebay. Wish me luck!

gunner65

Those people owe me some commission checks I have sold about 2 dozen of them while out riding and on these forums.

CJ C

Forgot all about the iBert

I had to return the ibert for this reason. it wasn't the iBerts fault it was just the bike it would be mainly on and my gut. I really wanted to keep the iBert and was actually thinking of getting a new bike just so it would fit.

the iBert does change your slow turning but its 100% the best type of seat as you can interact with your kid and the kid doesnt have to stare at your sweaty arse the whole ride and yell just to talk to you.

klepto1

Thats exactly what I was worried about. But I guess the only way to know for sure is to try out with the understanding that I might have to return it and maybe trying a child seat that goes behind me. I ordered one already, it should arrive tomorrow. I'll let you know how it works out.

CJ C

Nothing to worry about iBert is great. it was just that it was going on my beach cruiser with the huge swept back bars and itty bitty stem. so the I had to position it as far back as I could. and because my knees dont like sitting in the cruiser far back i have my seat slammed all they way forward. the combo of that two left very little space for my fat arse to fit when coming to a stop and getting off the seat to put the feet down. now if it was on a hybrid then It would have worked fine for me.

gunner65

Just for clarification it works on my three bikes a Trek roadie, a Salsa Casserole and Trek mtn bike. They are all ~58cm. It is best to lower your seat just a hair to make stops and loading/unloading a bit easier.

klepto1

I see what you mean. I received it today, but its raining so I didn't get a test ride. But I am anxious to try it so I brought my bike in and installed the iBert. I had to lower the saddle. At my regular saddle height I can't really reach the floor, when I am not in motion I straddle over the top tube. With the iBert my gut and I don't fit. There really isnt much clearance (you can see from the pic). I had to lower my saddle so that I can stand and balance my bike while still seated. I hope it doesn't cause me any knee pain. I'll test it out as soon as the weather gets better.

Wildewinds

Yeah, I got an Electra Townie for exactly the problems you're describing. At the correct saddle position, your feet are still flat on the ground. Also, since you're in a more upright seated position, there's tons of room between you and the seat in front.

When my kids got old enough, I put the youngest in the seat in front and attached a trail-a-bike behind. Easy to manage both of them with the Townie.