# People with a child seat on their pannier rack



## Thursday guy (16 Aug 2015)

How do they get on/off the bike?

For me, I get on my bike by swinging one of my legs over the back wheel. But that's impossible with a child seat?


----------



## Milkfloat (16 Aug 2015)

Groin towards stem, swing bent leg, connect with said seat, shuffle a bit, lean bike sideways, try again, repeat as required and hope nobody saw the pantomime.


----------



## screenman (16 Aug 2015)

Swing leg over bars, easy.


----------



## Illaveago (16 Aug 2015)

I was thinking the same thing a few days ago. Can you still get a seat which attaches to the cross bar or have they become so enormous that it would be physically impossible.
I have fond memories of cycle rides with my dad way back in the 50s. A cycle ride to the pub on a Sunday afternoon, sitting in the beer garden with a glass of lemonade and trying a sip of his beer .Yeuk! The cycle ride back with me ringing the bell and my dad feeding me Cheddar cheese straws. Father and son interaction.


----------



## coffeejo (16 Aug 2015)

On holiday in France last year, a friend volunteered to carry the baguettes back to the house from the boulangerie. She stuck them in her pannier like flagpoles and promptly decapitated them as she swung her leg over to get back on the bike. The feeling was that it's a good thing she doesn't have children.


----------



## Saluki (16 Aug 2015)

Neighbour has a big child seat thing on the back of her bike but she has a 'ladies' frame. She did used to have a regular frame but she said it was a right faff


----------



## ufkacbln (16 Aug 2015)

coffeejo said:


> On holiday in France last year, a friend volunteered to carry the baguettes back to the house from the boulangerie. She stuck them in her pannier like flagpoles and promptly decapitated them as she swung her leg over to get back on the bike. The feeling was that it's a good thing she doesn't have children.




We took our nieces and nephews out for a day.....

Eldest 12 on a Brompton
Middle 7 on a trailer bike and youngest (3) in the trailer

Great time had by all as we sped along, splashed through puddles, and generally misbehaved (safely)

Stopped to have a picnic, and realised that..... there was a giggling three year old covered in mud

If you have short mudguards and leave the trailer front up then this is what happens

Even at the age of 18 she still remembers this!


----------



## ColinJ (16 Aug 2015)

The brother of a friend used to take his twins out on his bike when they were toddlers. One child seat on the back, and one in front. It always amazed me that he could mount and ride the bike with the weight of them high up trying to topple the bike over.


----------



## summerdays (16 Aug 2015)

coffeejo said:


> On holiday in France last year, a friend volunteered to carry the baguettes back to the house from the boulangerie. She stuck them in her pannier like flagpoles and promptly decapitated them as she swung her leg over to get back on the bike. The feeling was that it's a good thing she doesn't have children.


I've done that one with baguettes and plants, and all manner of things that stick out of my pannier!


----------



## JMAG (16 Aug 2015)

Illaveago said:


> Can you still get a seat which attaches to the cross bar or have they become so enormous that it would be physically impossible.



You can still get them http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...gclid=CIK-6PmyrccCFS3MtAodvl8ExA&gclsrc=aw.ds

They're great and my 5 year old loves it. I've got a couple a days off work this week as my wife will be working away so we have been planning where to go on the "big bike". Might be the last summer on it though as he's 5 and he's starting to get in the way of my knees.


----------



## Milkfloat (16 Aug 2015)

ColinJ said:


> The brother of a friend used to take his twins out on his bike when they were toddlers. One child seat on the back, and one in front. It always amazed me that he could mount and ride the bike with the weight of them high up trying to topple the bike over.



Riding is the easy bit, it is trying to load them that is tricky - especially when you realise that after you have done it, the garage door is still open


----------



## buggi (16 Aug 2015)

I hate child seats. I watch them holding on to the sides and imagine their little fingers getting spread all over the road if mummy/daddy topple the bike


----------



## ClichéGuevara (16 Aug 2015)

Took my daughter all over on one of those things until she worked out the strap buckle and preferred to stand up in it patting me on the back to get me going faster, or worse still, trying to get off if she saw something she wanted a better view of. The foot straps were the worsed bit. She just wouldn't use them. I was terrified of her foot going in the spokes... I'm not that good at wheel truing. 

I just swung my leg over the bars to get on. It helped that she loved me tipping the bike over to make it easier. 

Her mother would have gone bonkers if she'd known, but it was great fun while it lasted.


----------



## Clanghead (16 Aug 2015)

ColinJ said:


> The brother of a friend used to take his twins out on his bike when they were toddlers. One child seat on the back, and one in front. It always amazed me that he could mount and ride the bike with the weight of them high up trying to topple the bike over.



I used to do this to take my two boys a couple of miles to nursery when they were between 2 and 4 (or on a longer trip to the Isle of Wight, below).
There was a very strict order to getting everyone on the bike - it was fun but going uphill was hard work.

Much more fun though when we got a tandem tag-along a year or so later and they were able to contribute - on the flat they could do all the pedalling and I'd just steer.



_And no, I'm not looking for any advice on helmets or how they should be worn etc!_


----------



## Sara_H (16 Aug 2015)

Step through frame sounds like the best thing to me. I never carried my son in a bike seat, but I have had the same baguette experience as mentioned before.


----------



## cyberknight (16 Aug 2015)

Get wife to get the sprog out while i stand astride the bike holding it steady works for us .


----------



## Supersuperleeds (16 Aug 2015)

Our lass used to carry our eldest on a bike seat but her bike is a step through. He's 18 now and she still has the same bike. I saw a bike a few weeks ago were it had two seats on the back


----------



## Dan B (16 Aug 2015)

My son (3 1/2, 18kg) is heavy enough that there's really no chance of forgetting he's on the back of the bike when I mount it. No danger of a baguette moment 

It does wobble a bit, but it's perfectly manageable unless I stand on the pedals


----------



## Arjimlad (18 Sep 2015)

I just hop a leg over the crossbar. It's not difficult.


----------



## Jayaly (19 Sep 2015)

Clumsy swing over the crossbar here. The bike on order is a step through partly for that reason.


----------



## gavintc (19 Sep 2015)

summerdays said:


> I've done that one with baguettes and plants, and all manner of things that stick out of my pannier!


My kids are now adults, but I will admit to kicking one of them in the face when she was in the bike seat. A bit embarrassing - no damage thankfully but a dressing down from my wife.


----------



## willem (29 Nov 2015)

Being Dutch we did this for years - two kids at the same time on bikes with step through frames with a pretty upright riding position. It was important to have pretty stiff frames. Best for that are aluminium frames with fat tubing. Upright was important for better stability and to keep some room for the child in the front seat. These days Dutch manufacturers have special models with wider handlebars, slightly longer frames for more space up front, and strong 26 inch wheels. These all have 3-7 speed hub gears, and should be horrible for climbing a hill I am afraid.


----------



## Sheffield_Tiger (17 Feb 2016)

JMAG said:


> You can still get them http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...gclid=CIK-6PmyrccCFS3MtAodvl8ExA&gclsrc=aw.ds
> 
> They're great and my 5 year old loves it. I've got a couple a days off work this week as my wife will be working away so we have been planning where to go on the "big bike". Might be the last summer on it though as he's 5 and he's starting to get in the way of my knees.



Yes, they are the most "out of stock" item from the manufacturer. As soon as we get a few and need to replenish, they are O/O/S again! Very popular and not that dissimilar to the old fashioned ones, just with a wire back rest and strap


----------



## BrumJim (2 Mar 2016)

Nice high crossbar and a child on the back here, regularly.

I just have to lift my leg nice and high and foot over first, whilst tiling the bike away from me slightly. It is difficult, and I still face the task with some trepidation. Nevertheless, I have yet to drop this bike with him in it.


----------

