Monument Man

I ride a Seven Cycles road bike, and I want to take my boy for rides around the park.

I'm looking to see if there is some way to attach a child seat to this frame...

I live in NYC and I can only have one bike. So I am exploring all options before making the decision to sell the bike and replace with a bike with a frame that can accept a rack (or whatever).

Maybe the Dutch have a product? Or if I can combine two products, like a rack that I can mount onto my frame somehow, which then will accommodate a child seat. Or if I could look into swapping out my drop handlebars for something straight, which might allow me to more easily attach a front mounted child seat.

People here don't use trailers because space can sometimes get very tight on these bike paths. Don't worry, I will have my son only on slowish rides in Central Park, where there aren't any cars to worry about. But sometimes there can be big crowds given the constant parades, cancer walks, road races, horse drawn carriages, and tourists. The crowds are mostly confined to the southern end of the park, closest to midtown, and it's a 6 mile loop. But the bottom line is people don't use trailers in there.

chaadster

How old is the kid? Maybe a Co-Rider would work:

rpenmanparker 

I read your disclaimers, but I would be very concerned about my child's safety. In case of a fall your son would have absolutely no protection for his limbs. Anything could cause a fall: wet leaves, oil on the road, a dog. It wouldn't be worth it to me. YMMV.

spectastic

this is how my dad used to take me to school back in the day, although I don't remember if I was sitting on the top tube or the back..

Monument Man

I'll check out the Co-rider for sure since it apparently works with drops. Does it attach to the headset? My kid is 1, so I don't think we will be riding side horse style around Central Park

Obviously it is winter here so we are just thinking ahead to the summer.

chaadster

A 1yr old will need back support. Look,at the iBert SafeTseat and Yepp Mini, both behind-the-bar front mount designs. You may need to mod your bike to make them work-- maybe a higher rise stem-- but that may be an easy swap you can do when you want to do a sporty solo ride. I dunno; I've not used any of these carriers, and just know of them from doing my own research.

WhyFi

Yeah they do. Or did you mean that you just don't want a trailer?

chaadster

If trailers are to be considered, another thing that might work is the Chariot Sidecarrier sidecar. It's more compact than a trailer, and quickly goes on and comes off via a discreet bottom bracket mount. It easily folds up to be put away as well.

When my kids were 1, I did modify a torso and head support for them, to prevent flopping and stressing the neck. Worked great.

You know, there is a Recreational & Family forum where these kinds of topics are discussed, so you may find posting over there more productive.

rpenmanparker 

A trailer or sidecar as recommended by WiFi is a much safer option.

JohnJ80

A kid on a bike is a really bad deal. A fall would almost certainly have a high probability of a traumatic brain injury especially in a very young child. Helmets are good for penetrating injuries but they won't do a thing for preventing DAI (i.e. shaken baby injuries). I cringe every time I see someone with a young child on a bike.

What we did was get a burley trailer - the one that folds up. You can put a car seat in it, it is very comfortable for the child and it can double as as stroller. Many, many miles on that thing with a happy kid inside.

j.

rebel1916

There are some extremely alarmist viewpoints being expressed on this page. Both of my kids have been in Co-Pilots since they were 1. Which is the legal age in NY. They have both been on rail trails and easy mountain bike trails. They love it. They have also been skiing at age 2-3, sledding on hills with the big kids, riding their bikes and scooters in the street and allowed to climb boulders. Good times.

rpenmanparker 

Yes there are. And for good reason. Your anecdote regarding the good results you have had do not in any way lower the risk of carrying an infant with no ability to protect itself on a bicycle. Consider yourself very lucky.

rebel1916

I am raising adventurous, self confident kids. Last summer (aged 2-4) I started letting them play in the yard without direct supervision. People wonder why kids do nothing but play video games, it's because adults treat them as though they are fragile. They're not. They're tough. Use caution and your best judgement, don't be to proud to turn around if conditions are not to your liking, and have fun.

PS, here is the little one being towed behind a quad. Heavens to Betsy the sky is falling.

rpenmanparker 

Different folks have different tolerance for different forms of risk. I factor in my own klutziness on the bike when I consider whether kids should be carried along with me. If I have fallen when riding alone on the bike, the odds are pretty high it could happen when carrying a child. I don't put that in the same category as letting kids visit friends on their own in the neighborhood, either by walking or cycling when they are 7 or 8 years old. Or just playing outside unsupervised. I highly support that. Your kids, your philosophy regarding acceptance of risk. But that doesn't mean the risk isn't there. It is the tolerance for it we are debating.

chaadster

I reject your whole premise that a kid on a bike is a bad deal. It's so not a deal at all that no one even tracks those injuries. It happens incredibly rarely.

rpenmanparker 

Well I have to say I am happy about that. But decisions are seldom made based on risk alone, but rather risk vs. benefit. Considering the greater safety and comparable enjoyment of using a trailer, why wouldn't that be the more sensible choice?

chaadster

Sure, I don't disagree that a trailer removes the "fall from height" risk inherent to on-bike seats, but the question of whether trailers are better than on-bike seats is a different discussion from your earlier argument that on-bike seats are exceedingly dangerous. That latter point is just not true.

Lots and lots of people ride kids with on-bike seats, and the occurrence of injury is exceedingly low. Given an equivalent choice between an on-bike seat and trailer, I would take the trailer...in fact, I did, but not only because it eliminates the "fall from height" risk, but for other reasons of convenience and versatility as well. If I lived in a dense urban setting and had space at a premium, I'd probably have chosen differently.

vasuvius

Yep. Same here. I even had my kids on a motorcycle sitting on the gas tank between my legs for short rides around town when they were a year old.
Can't live life in fear of falling and getting hurt.

rpenmanparker 

Fair enough. I really just wanted to make the point that I fall about once every couple of years. I would hate to have one of my grandaughters mounted on a Co-Pilot with me when that happens. I'm sure you and others make decisions one way or another of this kind that are right for you and your families. That's the best we can do.

chaadster

I totally understand and agree!

rebel1916

Ha, I don't do that, because I worry about CPS! I do let em drive on my dead end street though.

Monument Man

Lots of alarmist viewpoints here! Wow.

A couple things: 1) using a trailer on the streets of NYC is horribly dangerous since pedestrian and auto traffic is so thick. People don't see them and trailers cause crashes. 2) I have said I live in Manhattan with a kid which means I live in a 900 sq ft apt with no extra storage. A trailer wouldn't fit even if I wanted one. 3) there is absolutely zero percent chance I will purchase a trailer.

I think I'm going to get a Yepp Mini with the adapter. I'm not exactly sure how it will work with my drop bars but I could easily make some adjustments to the bike to make sure it works.

achoo

A trailer and a bike are bigger than just a bike. If people don't see a bike with a trailer, they're even more likely to not see just a bike.

Creating specious anti-trailer arguments out of whole cloth while at the same time characterizing as "alarmist" anyone who points out an infant perched on top of a bicycle is not as safe as an infant in a trailer kinda marks you as literally irrational.

likebike23

The Ibert seat is the one I would use with a kid under 2. It has plenty of support for them. The downside is that it seems to work best with a quill stem. Also, if you stop you can't straddle the top tube because the seat is in the way. You may want to lower your seat so you can put your feet down when riding with it. When they get a little older and can support themselves better, a rear rack mount seat is fine. The Bell Cocoon seat has a rack that doesn't require frame eyelets. I have one that a friend gave me and it's fine, but would probably have gone with the Topeak because my frame has eyelets and you get a nice rear rack when you are done with the seat. My next step will probably be a tow behind bike (copilot?).

antimonysarah

You could also call Seven and see about getting rack mounts added.