Hi Jay, I've used a couple rear child seats on my Sam H without much trouble, and I do like the Yepp Maxi. Lifting my leg over the top tube did take getting used to, and I made the mistake once of forgetting about the child seat, trying to swing my leg over the saddle, kicking my kid in the head and almost crashing in the process. Not a mistake I'll make again! :)
But really, other than remembering that I have to, lifting a leg over the top tube really isn't a big deal for me. I'd suggest finding someone to borrow a rear seat from locally and just try it out and see how it is for you. Luggage is the bigger problem: you probably can't use panniers or a saddlebag with a rear seat. I have a small front bag on my Sam for that very reason (Acorn mini rando bag, no longer in production I think). I found the useful lifespan of the rear seat to be limited too. My older kid outgrew the Copilot we were using at about 4, and my younger one is still going strong in the yepp maxi at 3, but it clearly won't last years and years. We also use a Weehoo (a recumbent-style trail-a-bike), which both kids love. The younger one started going in it around 2 1/2. She still doesn't particularly contribute much to pedaling yet, but it's great anyway. And it does allow panniers, and also has some built-in luggage. So that may be an option to consider too. There are also getting to be tons of family-specific cargo bikes -- I love our Workcycles FR8 -- but if you're not into the xtracycle you already have, that may be less exciting. It got to be much more compelling for us when trying to carry two kids on one bike, which sounds like it's not an issue for you. But it's really cool to be able to comfortably carry two kids to school with their backpacks and lunch and my work stuff and still have plenty of room for picking up groceries or whatever else. But definitely a transport bike: it's REALLY heavy, bolt upright, doesn't go fast. -- Eli Daniel Somerville, MA On Aug 23, 2014, at 3:04 PM, 'Jay B' via RBW Owners Bunch < rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> wrote: howdy folks, We’ve been super happy with the Bobike Mini front child carrier for toting around our nearly 2 year old for the last year. Combined with a large rear saddlesack and front basket on the Bleriot, Betty, or Quickbeam, we’ve got our daily urban transport needs just about covered (we just moved to Houston, and while it’s not nearly as bike-friendly as Denver, it’s proved surprisingly bike-able for our needs). Our little guy is approaching the 33 lb suggested weight limit for the Bobike, but more concerning to me is that his shoulders are now several inches above the top of the backrest of the carrier and the shoulder straps tend to work their way off his shoulders. So, I’ve been pondering our next step. I’ve considered getting a Yepp Maxi (or similar rear child carrier), and while it would work great with my wife’s Betty, I think I might get tired of throwing my leg over my already high (for me) top tubes. And I would have a hard time giving up my much used and loved large rear saddlesack. I’ve considered getting a Cheviot and setting it up similar to RBW employee Keven’s that was spotlighted on the Blug, especially if I could fit Big Bens and fenders on it (I’ve yet to reach out to Keven to see how that setup is going). I have an Xtracycle that would also work with the Yepp Maxi, but I was really hoping to let that bike go as we really don’t use it often enough. I feel I have reached the useful limit of my theoretical ponderings on the matter and could really use some real world feedback from those of you with experience. All shared knowledge and lessons learned are much appreciated! thanks, Jay B. Houston, TX -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
