The baby seats that we stock fall into two broad categories – rear mounted and forward mounted. Rear mounted seats are traditionally more common in Australia and have the benefit of a higher load rating, meaning that they’ll carry older kids, and have a longer useful life.
Front mounted seats like the Weeride and Bobike Mini are for smaller children, but offer a different experience – it’s really lovely to be able to ride, interact and discuss what’s going past.
If you’ve got two children, it’s great to combine a rear mounted and front mounted seat on the same bike.
There’s really no minimum age for carrying a child on a bike, but 9 months is the youngest we encounter. Kids are ready for seats when they comfortable hold the weight of, and fit into a helmet. The smallest adjustment on the smallest helmet available to us is 46cm circumference around the crown. The Weeride website has some good age and weight guidelines that apply to baby seats generally.
The best choice of child seat depends on you, your child and your bike, so please come and visit us to discuss what’s going to work best.
Brands We Stock
Bobike seats come from Holland and are available in a front mounted Mini style ($200, Max 15kg) and rear mounted Maxi ($250 Max 22kg). They’re very well made, easy to take on and off the bike and available in a range of really nice colours. Bobike also make some great accessories including rain covers and windshields for all weather all year family transport cycling. You can browse the full range online here.
The Topeak Babyseat is a solid comfortable safe rear mounted seat that attaches to a custom pannier rack (supplied). The rack can be used for luggage when the seat isn’t attached. The seat is rated to 22kgs. They’re $180.
In the last couple of years, Weerides have become the most popular babyseat that we sell. They’re another style of front mounted seat, with a handrest built in. The seat attaches to a beam that runs between the seatpost and headtube. The Weerides are great because they’re a nearly universal fit – we’ve almost never encountered a bike that can’t accomodate a Weeride. The Weeride weight limit is 18kg, and they’re $180 for the standard model, $200 for the deluxe edition (the same seat with nicer cushioning). Have a look at Weeride.com.au.
