# How long did your child stay in a rear child seat?



## Jayaly (23 Apr 2015)

My two year old currently commutes home with me each day in a Hamax bike seat on the back of the bike. At about 14 kg he's well within the weight limit for the seat, but I'm really starting to notice the shift in balance if he bounces or leans to the side to look at something. I'm facing up to the possibility that the child seat arrangement might not take us as far as the end of his nursery years. I have a trailer but it would make negotiating some of the rail barriers and kerbs on our route tricky and make it hard to play nicely with the pedestrians on the rather narrow shared path. The alternative is a dual carriageway that I wouldn't normally dream of taking the bike on. Speeding, frequent accidents and two kids knocked down on the level crossing that I know of.

How long have people kept their small children in bike seats before they decided they were too unstable?


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## Crackle (23 Apr 2015)

Basically, until they didn't fit in the seat.


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## Jayaly (23 Apr 2015)

[QUOTE 3658478, member: 45"]Gaffer tape his head to the back of the seat.[/QUOTE]
*snort* Well that would put the complaints about doing up the helmet chinstrap into perspective.


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## subaqua (23 Apr 2015)

Crackle said:


> Basically, until they didn't fit in the seat.


this. which wasn't that old as both were big uns ( like their Mum)


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## Arjimlad (23 Apr 2015)

My four-and-a-half year old daughter is tall for her age but can still ride in the Hamax rack-mounted carrier. I know what you mean about messing about with balance when she leans or bounces up & down though (her seat has springs!).

We have moved on to a Trek tagalong but believe me, she can still "influence" my ride considerably and alarmingly by leaning from side to side.


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## mjr (23 Apr 2015)

Please complain about any awkward barriers and kerbs on www.fixmystreet.com - most councils claim to be in favour of cycling, so hold them to it. People have had some success getting tagalong-blocking barriers removed near me. Good luck!


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## Jayaly (24 Apr 2015)

Thank guys, will carry on a bit longer. I hadn't thought about the barriers as something that could be removed.


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## mjr (24 Apr 2015)

Not even Sustrans recommends barriers (they grudgingly say to use staggered bollards instead now, I think). Barriers are completely futile because bicycles and motorbikes have similar handlebar widths, so if one can get through, the other can - plus they often fail to barrier all accesses, or bad motorcyclists punch holes in hedges and so on. The barriers may well have been installed as a result of council safety auditors working from outdated advice and there's never been any complaint so they've not spent the money to remove them.

http://www.klwnbug.co.uk/2014/09/11/great-barrier-relief-and-a-missed-opportunity/ is one set of examples near me, but I think NCC is still being silly about the one near the school. If they're worried about people riding straight out onto the crossroad, a simple barrier between cycleway and carriageway should suffice.


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## Puddles (25 Apr 2015)

User76 went from trailer to wee hoo, we never did bike seat, she changed to the wee hoo when she started pre-school as it was a lump in the trailer and the wee hoo was easier (like you) to get through the stupid chicanes!


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## User169 (28 Apr 2015)

I've had an adult in a rear seat on occasion (back from the pub).


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## Drago (28 Apr 2015)

Tell them the barrier has blocked the progress of a wheelchair user and they'll fall over themselves to remove them.


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## Sixmile (12 Aug 2015)

mjray said:


> Please complain about any awkward barriers and kerbs on www.fixmystreet.com - most councils claim to be in favour of cycling, so hold them to it. People have had some success getting tagalong-blocking barriers removed near me. Good luck!


 
Thanks for this. I have just submitted 2 complaints to my local council so I'll wait and see if anything changes. I don't hold much hope but nothing ventured, nothing gained!


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## fatblokish (12 Aug 2015)

In response to the OP, depended on how long the journey was.


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## Grumpyfatman (17 Aug 2015)

3 years was about when we stopped using a rear mounted child seat with our bairns. Recently started again with an 19mo child.
However I discovered that our 5 year old still fits (just about) in the seat, I didn't check the weight tolerance limit though, we were just playing around whilst I was cleaning the wife's bike up.


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## Sixmile (19 Aug 2015)

Since the trailer purchase we haven't used it as much but at 3 and a few months my eldest still gets a spin in the back seat with no problems.


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## Milkfloat (19 Aug 2015)

We went to tag-a-long at about 3 and a half for both our kids. Number 2 is still on it at 4 and a half because he refuses to try without stabilisers on his proper bike.


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