Cycling UK Forum

Hi there
My wife recently purchased a full suspension bike and we are having trouble finding a child seat that will fit at the rear.. can anyone recommend a rear rack that would be suitable to accommodate a child seat.

Thanks

Generally rear child seats come in 2 types.
1. These mount on a rear pannier rack which may/may not have to be specific to the child seat. To fit a pannier rack you will need a rigid (at the back at least) bike with no suspension.
2. These mount on a bracket that bolts on the seat tube of the bike frame. 2 bars slot in the bracket, and the bars cantilever over the rear wheel where the child seat is. Generally suspension bikes are not compatible with these brackets because of the following ; These mounting brackets need a clear unobstructed section of seat tube to bolt onto, ie, the bike frame's seat tube has no pump pegs/cable stops or guides brazed onto the bike frame. Suspension bikes usually don't have any suitable length of seat tube for mounting these due to the suspension and/or the design of the bike frame.
If your wife is quite short, often this type of child seat won't fit because the bars that cantilever over the rear wheel either clash with the underside of the saddle (the saddle being set too low), or it clashes with the rear wheel and/or brake and/or rear carrier (if fitted) as the mounting bracket is too low (due to the small frame size).

I'd say the odds are you won't get a child seat to fit on the bike - posting a photo of the bike and the child seat would help for more specific advice.
If the suspension bike was cheap, it's probably (quality wise) rubbish. Your best bet would be a normal design bicycle (26"/27.5"/700c wheel size) with no rear suspension. If you buy another bike, buy it from a bike shop that also sells child seats, and when you buy the bike, say you will want to be fitting a child seat to the bike (show them the sort you have), so they can sell you something compatible.

If your wife NEEDS suspension due to a bad back, dicky wrists or what ever, then you options would be suspension forks on the front and/or a suspension seat post (but get a bike frame small enough to allow for the suspension seat post).
If she simply wants suspension, cheap suspension tends to be heavy and awful.

Also, most child seats have a weight limit of 18kg or 22kg. Most people give up on the child seat before their child gets to the weight limit as they find it too heavy.

Maybe consider a trailer instead? Or a front mounted child seat? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thule-100105-F ... s_sp_1_vtp sort of thing fits most bikes (though it's still a good idea to check first)

How old is the child?

Hamax, like most seat grabs, supply a standard set of suspension bars. What's different about this brand is the aftermarket parts. They supply iirc three types if suspension bars to suit different bikes sizes and types. There's certainly a small bike/ user bars that bend in different places to go under the seat then over the rear wheel with clearance.

My advice is to find a good bike shop/ dealer of hams and ask advice. If not I think you can contact hamax for advice. I think you might take a photo of your bike with dims to send them. Good customer service and you can buy direct too. Typical Norwegian customer service, good.

Tangled Metal wrote:Hamax, like most seat grabs, supply a standard set of suspension bars. What's different about this brand is the aftermarket parts. They supply iirc three types if suspension bars to suit different bikes sizes and types. There's certainly a small bike/ user bars that bend in different places to go under the seat then over the rear wheel with clearance.

My advice is to find a good bike shop/ dealer of hams and ask advice. If not I think you can contact hamax for advice. I think you might take a photo of your bike with dims to send them. Good customer service and you can buy direct too. Typical Norwegian customer service, good.

Hamax is a very good company, and while they make front mounted seats, rack mounted seats, and seat tube mounted seats, most are not adviseable on a full suspension MTB.

It *might* be possible to put a rack mounted child seat on some full suspension mountain bikes, and you are correct that sending a picture & dimensions to Hamax would get advice on whether or if it is feasible for the OP's bike.

I agree probably not possible with a FS bike. Still worth contacting hamax for advice. Personally I wouldn't even if you can. I mean you've got a bounce from the suspension and another from the seat suspension bars. The child might possibly get too much movement.

Our experience with 4 children 3 - 6 is FS bikes and child seats do not mix ... the vertical forces on the child and the seat structure are not good ... get a rigid rear bike or even a rigid both ends bike and you and the child will enjoy cycling so much more ... riding on a landscape that requires a FS bike is possibly not a place for your children .. Just an opinion ... David ... and possibly the tribe of tinies that i've peddled around the local area ...