Top 5 Best Bike Seats for Toddlers | 2017 Reviews
While some people may see having kids as the end of experiencing fun and adventure, many parents these days think otherwise. Bringing your kid along on your adventures, no matter what they are, is a great way of letting them experience first-hand the fun things that you do.
Want to go on a bike ride to the nearby park but have a child in tow? Bring them along and put them in a bike child seat! Now only will you get to exercise with your kid but you also give them a new form of entertainment. Bike rides are definitely healthier compared to letting them sit in front of the television the entire day.
But, before you go out and bring your child around on a bike, you must remember that there are laws to help keep them safe. In some areas, children have to be at least a year old before they are allowed in a baby bike seat.
What else should you consider when choosing the perfect toddler bike seat for you and your little one?
Age - Most bike seats for baby are designed for really small children. If you have an infant, it is recommended to get front-mounted seats as they tend to fit younger children better and allow parents to see their tiny passengers the entire time.
Weight - Before getting an infant bike seat, you need to make sure that it can still accommodate your child’s seat and, perhaps, even a bit more. Front mounted seats are generally designed for younger kids and rear mounted ones for older kids.
Bike Frame - Different toddler bike seats come with different installation instructions. Some might attach directly to the frame while others require a separate seat rack. There are also other specifications, such as in the headset, which allows the seat to be mounted on the bike.
Those are just a few things you might want to look into before choosing a baby bicycle seat. You might also want to consider having handlebars and sleep pads to make kids ride comfortably. You may also check our comprehensive Best Bike Seats for Kids Buying Guide.
Now that you’re ready, let’s get to our list of the top 5 best bike seats for toddlers.
Quick Comparison Table
|
WeeRide LTD Kangaroo Child Bike Seat |
Schwinn Deluxe Child Carrier |
Topeak Baby Seat II with Disc Rack |
Thule RideAlong Mini Bike Seat |
iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
$$$ |
|
8.1 pounds |
12 pounds |
6.9 pounds |
7.2 pounds |
3.7 pounds |
|
Front |
Rear, Seat tube and stay tubes |
Rear, Rack mount |
Front |
Front |
 |
|
|
|
|
WeeRide LTD Kangaroo Child Bike Seat
When it comes to child seats for bikes, we think that the WeeRide Kangaroo might just be the ultimate product in terms of safety and comfort!
For starters, this seat comes with ultra thick pads all throughout so you can be assured that your little one will not have a single uncomfortable moment when riding it.
Another feature we love most about this bike seat is its padded headrest, which is great for when you are cruising around with a sleeping kid. You also do not have to worry about their safety because this seat comes with a reliable safety harness and oversized buckle system. This front mounted baby bicycle seat is certainly a great choice if you want to give your little one of the best views of their surroundings – and they can do so while being safely buckled in their seats.
Often, parents are worried about stability when navigating the bike with front loads but this one is well designed to prevent such problems. This kid’s bike seat makes sure that the weight is being distributed evenly so there isn’t much of a difference whether a load is present in front or not.
For the thick seat pads, headrest, adjustable foot cups that protect the feet well and easy installation on most bikes, we are giving this WeeRide Kangaroo five stars thus putting it on the top spot of our list.
|
Details of the WeeRide LTD Kangaroo Child Bike Seat |
|
|---|---|
|
Weight |
8.1 pounds |
|
Recommended Ages |
1 year to 40 pounds |
|
Mount |
Front |
|
Other Notes |
Seat is bolted directly to frame |
|
Warranty |
Two years |
Schwinn Deluxe Child Carrier
Schwinn has long been known as a manufacturer of great bikes and, this time around, it makes sure that you do not leave your kids behind during your biking adventures.
Parents scared about bringing their kids along, especially when they are positioned at the rear end of the bike where they cannot be seen all the time, will love that this seat is designed to surround the child. This helps provide more protection in case of impacts and gives moms and dads peace of mind. It also has a seat spring guard and spoke guard to make sure that your kid’s feet and the bicycles’ rear wheel will never meet.
But, despite the design of this seat, its polypropylene frame is still lightweight to bring along yet sturdy enough to hold a kid of up to 40 pounds.
We would like to point out that it is not recommended for bikes with rear suspension system. However, if your bike is compatible, you can simply use its mounting system and install it directly to the frame of your bike. If you are not planning to ride with your baby for the day, you can easily remove the seat from the base without using any tools and even load other types of cargo in its place.
There are many great points about the Schwinn Deluxe Bicycle Carrier. It is easy to install and fits most bikes, it has a cross bar in addition to the quick release harness and it also has Velco restraints around the legs and a great price tag. However, the minimal seat pads and the difficulty of looking for a separate rack to allow installation on a second bike push this down to the second spot in our list.
|
Details of the Schwinn Deluxe Child Carrier |
|
|---|---|
|
Weight |
12 pounds |
|
Recommended Ages |
2 years to 40 pounds |
|
Mount |
Rear, Seat tube and stay tubes |
|
Other Notes |
Not for kids under 2 |
|
Warranty |
1 year |
Topeak Baby Seat II with Disc Rack
Another baby seat for bikes that we highly recommend is the Topeak Baby Seat II which, in our opinion, looks quite like the Schwinn Deluxe Child Carrier.
This one also comes with a wrap-around seat design so you can create a ‘cocoon’ around your baby during bike rides but it certainly is more padded compared to the Schwinn mentioned above. This bicycle baby seat also comes with a superb suspension system so that your kid does not get bothered with bumps and jolts along the way.
Aside from the wrap-around padded seats, it also has a 6-point harness that provides protection for your little passenger as well as a padded cross bar to add more protection and so that they have something to hold on to during the ride.
What we also love about this bike seat is that it comes with a great rack that works well with most bicycle frames – and the seat itself fits perfectly, too.
There are a few things that we did not quite like about this product though. For one, it is quite hard to put the baby in and out if you do it alone – and we certainly would not recommend putting all of your bike’s and your baby’s weight on your kickstand. Also, depending on your size and your baby’s foot size, it might be possible that your heels and their toes will meet up as you pedal. The biggest drawback about this awesome bike seat for toddlers is its price, which is almost twice the average price of most seats available in the market. For these points, we are putting the Topeak baby seat in the third position.
|
Details of the Topeak Baby Seat II with Disc Rack |
|
|---|---|
|
Weight |
6.9 pounds |
|
Recommended Ages |
9 months to 40 pounds |
|
Mount |
Rear, Rack mount |
|
Other Notes |
Seat comes with shocks for smoother ride |
|
Warranty |
2 years |
Thule RideAlong Mini Bike Seat
There are quite a lot of bike seats available in the market and if you have very young passengers, it might be best to go for those that can be mounted in front.
In our opinion, this Thule child bike seat looks quite like the Schwinn and Topeak that have been mentioned above but with less of a cocoon-like design that we would have wanted in a child seat. This product was designed with infants in mind and provides a lot of protection through its premium 5-point harness. It is also padded all throughout to make sure that your baby has a comfortable ride.
The foot straps and foot rests can also be adjusted with just a single hand so it grows with your child. And, for parents whose little ones always try to take hold of the handlebars, this seat comes with a soft handlebar where they can hold on during the ride.
Another feature that parents are sure to love about this child seat for toddlers is that the seat itself can be easily mounted and dismounted in seconds through its quick release bracket. It can also easily fit normal and ahead stems so there is nothing much to worry about compatibility.
If you are worried about not being able to mount it properly, there is no need to worry. Its quick release bracket also comes with a safety indicator that will tell you have correctly put the seat on or not.
While there are many things that we love about this front mounted child bike seat, we think that it is still not able to compete with the rear mounted seats that have been added in this list. We would definitely love to see more protection around the baby sitting in it and a slightly lower price tag is preferable. For these, we are putting this bike seat at fourth place.
|
Details of the Thule RideAlong Mini Bike Seat |
|
|---|---|
|
Weight |
7.2 pounds |
|
Recommended Ages |
9 months to 3 years (33 pounds) |
|
Mount |
Front |
|
Other Notes |
Need about ¾ inches on threaded and threadless headsets |
|
Warranty |
5 years |
iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat
If you plan on bringing around very young children less than a year old, the iBert bike seat is a product that you might want to consider.
This bike baby seat comes with among the most unique designs as it attaches directly to the frame, just behind the handlebars, to allow the parent to see their little passenger at all times and even talk to them during the ride.
Not only does the position allow your baby to get the best view, the driver can also take advantage of the better center of gravity that it allows so that they can navigate easily even with a load in front of the bike. With the small frame of this bike child seat, you can certainly fit it on most bicycle frames and will have no problems loading or unloading your baby in it. It even comes with a small padded wheel that serves as a headrest and a cross bar and it also comes with safety belts and foot rests for added protection and comfort.
Unfortunately, this bicycle child seat could only accommodate a kid of up to 38 pounds or 48 inches, whichever they reach first, and so you will have to eventually find another seat as your child grows. Aside from this, we feel that the iBert bike seat’s back support is too low even for a small kid and could still subject its passenger to a lot of shaking when hitting bumps.
Although it has better mold around the body compared to Thule bike seat, its other flaws is the reason that we are bringing this product to the bottom of our list.
|
Details of the iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat |
|
|---|---|
|
Weight |
3.7 pounds |
|
Recommended Ages |
1 year to 38 pounds (or 48 inches) |
|
Mount |
Front |
|
Other Notes |
Low back support |
|
Warranty |
2 years |
Conclusion
Before you plan on riding with your kid, it is highly recommended that you visit the pediatrician first to see if your baby is fit to ride. This means that their neck should be strong enough to support a helmet as most places require babies to wear a helmet when riding a bike. Also keep in mind the maximum carrying capacity of each bike seat as your child grows.
For long haul rides, you might also want to try checking toddler bike trailers which provides more protection and comfort for kids.
The post Top 5 Best Bike Seats for Toddlers | 2017 Reviews appeared first on ParentsNeed.
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