To the parents out there: WeeRide... anybody use it?

JP said:
As an aside, when riding firetrals with either front or back mounted seats, does anyone use their clipless pedals or swap out to flatties?
Click to expand...

I started using flatties but now ride clipless 100% of the time including singletrack XC loops etc with the wee ride. Little fella cant get enough of the single track...

I found the clipless means you maintain a lot more of your leg power despite the fact you have much less ability to stand up for hills / pinch climbs using the weeride.
 
ullysses said:
Hey my parents have got one for my little sister and she loves it but get i think it is called the deluxe model it has extra padding:)! They weight a fair bit and on some bikes it can be hard to pedal sitting as the chair gets in the way of your knees. But otherwise they are very handy and your child will love them!:)
Click to expand...

Definitely makes pedalling a little harder and changes the handling of the bike, but the kids LOVE it!
 
I'm counting down the days until my daughter (currently 7 1/2 months) can join me on a ride.

Was looking at the "tag-alongs" but think the wee rides would be heaps more fun as you can interact with your child whilst riding, plus just seem heaps eaiser to manouever.

The only issue for me is getting a good quality helmet for her. Has anyone checked out top quality lids for kids? who cares if it has dora the bloody explorer on it, when I just want the safest helmet money could buy should the unexpected happen.

Do fox make an xxxxx-small flux by chance :p
 
I've been using one for a few months now with my (now) 22 month old girl. She loves it! I don't really have time to take my helmet off after work before she's running out wanting to go out for a ride. If you add 'em all up, we quite regularly do 30km+ together on a Saturday or Sunday.
Couple of things to bear in mind, though:

i) It does change your riding position quite a bit. be prepared for no standing, and for an odd kind of knees-out position. Also, if you're a short arse like me then you have no chance of ever touching the ground from a seated position, so with the wee-ride eliminating anything that used to be stand-over height, you'll need to be ready to actually dismount whenever you need to stop.

ii) It works fine on my xc frame, but I'm actually looking at getting a wee-ride specific bike that my wife can ride as well. This is mainly because I think a more upright riding position would work better--at the moment I'm not exactly flatbacked, and my daughter's tiny, but I'm still scraping the top of her helmet with my chin.

ii) Watch the feet! Unlike a lot of rear-mounted seats (which, to be honest, I've never used) the feet can't be strapped in. This isn't usually a problem, but occasionally she feels like putting her feet up, and the obvious place is the bars. This can get quite exciting--when you're checking for traffic and suddenly your bike starts jerking to the right!

Hmmm...just realised how negative I'm sounding. Just wanted to make sure people knew about the downsides before i started raving. This thing is bloody great. My daughter loves it, and I love it. It's totally interactive. She puts her hands on my knees and helps me pedal, she points things out and asks me about stuff, and I can see her when she tries to pull a Houdini with the harness!!
Regarding helmets: there are a few good brands out there. I narrowed it down to a few then went with the best fit. Some of them have a kind of adjustable internal strap that lets them grow with your child's head. Tioga have some nice designs if you're not keen on Dora the Explorer ;-)
http://www.bikes.com.au/p/671799/tioga-lil-bub-helmet.html
 
Firstly I tried to read as much as this thread as I could so sorry if I missed something.

I received a Topeak Baby Carrier (rear mount) for my birthday to haul my daughter around and she absolutely loves it. I have had no safety issues at all even though my bike has fallen once.

To some degree I think people are just not willing to spend the extra money to get a 'proven' safe child seat. Sure I didn't pay for this one but I would buy the same again as when compared to cheaper models it has many far superior side/front/rear protection panels, actual decent padding and suspension.

I can't speak for the Weeride which people rave about (see MTBR for more raves on it) but I do think it looks a little weak on the side impact design, mind you the parent would cover the child if they had half a heart (mind you in a serious crash who knows what you end up doing) but there is even testimonials about people being hit by cars in the Topeak seat and the child comes off best. If anything the only downside is they if the bike lands on it's side the child would graze an arm if they had it hanging out, otherwise I personally swear by it... I can't even use the word 'bike' inside anymore without my daughter standing next to the door waiting to go for a ride... she's only 17 months.

It also comes in a disc brake version so there are no fitting issues whatsoever. I no I sound like a rep but I'm not, I am just sincerely happy with it. I have been on singletrack but nothing too rough or techy as they risk is too high.

FWIW riding with a child front or rear will always change the way your bike handles while moving and resting and anyone considering either should really take this into consideration before longer rides. If you are really unsure you can just whack a 10kg backpack in the seat the first few times to get a feel for it.

Forgot to mention we got our daughter a Lazer brand helmet from Goldcross I think it was... no fitting problems, works a treat and doesn't look ridiculous, it actually looks like a helmet.

Either way great to see people getting out with the kids, it's invaluable time spent well no matter what seat you settle on :)
 
Weeride

Yup had one for a few years now and it works great!! My daughter who first got on it before she was one is now 3 and still loves it.

I have found it great when you go away for a holiday and take the bikes. You can grab the little one and check out the local area together.

If you want to get the budget version this is what i do for the STP. Take one towel, rap it around the top part of your frame, tie it on with string, then use a belt to tie em into the top of the headtube. Make sure that the feet are resting on the top of the forks. Before anyone replys on this =Dont be a dumb arse, ofcourse i dont do manuals or ride dH when doing this, only for around the block on the foot path type of riding.:D

Also a helmet is a good idea, because if you let them ride without one then it is bloody hard to get em to wear it next time when they are on there bike.
 
I have one also on my Giant Boulder. Bought it when my son was 18 months, he is just over 2 years now and so far he enjoys it.

Its true that it is more interesting for them to be up front instead of behind you and atleast I can actually see what he is doing (this is prob the most important factor). He has fallen asleep on it twice after rides of more than 40 minutes (path only and no offroad for me - bit too dangerous to go off road)

The only problem I have is that pedalling is abit awkward at first cause there is this large thing between your nuts (yes, mine aint that big;)) but doesnt take long to get use to it and lowering the seat plus wider pedals has helped.

I would recommend this over the rear type for sure.

Hope this helps.
 
Well,here's my update.

I got one (from Manly Cycles, thanks guys!) and my daughter loves it!

Started her on it at about 12 months and at about 2 and a half, she likes it even more! When she sees it when she walks into the garage, she pulls at me and wants a ride in it immediately!

It does make the riding trickier... I find I have to dismount whenever I stop, and because of my shortish top-tube, I have to slide off the back of my seat to get on the ground. Tricky, but it's easier than the other way, and you get better at it.

She loves to put her hands on the handlebars when riding as well like she's steering the bike.

The riding position for me is tougher with the bent knees and not being able to fully extend, but it's worth it for all the positives I get from the Wee-Ride.

I also got her a great kids helmet, but I forget the brand right now. I'll post that up later. I ALWAYS make sure she puts it on before hopping on the Wee-Ride or her coast/run bike, which she's starting to get into. I always make sure I wear my helmet all the time when on a bike as well. It's these sort of impressions and routines that make it feel normal, and needed, for a kid to wear his/her helmet.
 
The trick with the helmet is to show them that you're wearing it and encourage them to do the same. After a while, they get use to it and it becomes routine.
 
Techno Destructo said:
I also got her a great kids helmet, but I forget the brand right now. I'll post that up later. I ALWAYS make sure she puts it on before hopping on the Wee-Ride or her coast/run bike, which she's starting to get into. I always make sure I wear my helmet all the time when on a bike as well. It's these sort of impressions and routines that make it feel normal, and needed, for a kid to wear his/her helmet.
Click to expand...

I too have followed this mantra from day one.

My ten year old son still instinctively grabs his skid lid every time he jumps on his bike.

But... I constantly catch my thirteen year old son trying to take off on his bike without his helmet.

Apparently being cool is a lot more important to 13-16 year olds than not ending up paralysed.:confused:
 
When I bought a seat for my kid he was about 1 year old. I did not even know there were any TT mounted versions available, so apart from being aware of his reduced view, I didn't really have any choices re interacting with him etc. He loved it anyway and we used to ride quite a bit.

However, coming back from the beach one afternoon when he was 23 months old, things went wrong. We were on a cycle path only 400m from home when I said to Jack, "we'll go really slow through here mate 'cause you can't see if there are people walking between the fence and the trees" and proceeded in granny 4. There were no people walking, but unseen past the trees was a young guy on a road bike coming our way at warp. With no escape I took the full impact (I am guessing 50+kph) in the face and L shoulder. I was thrown over Jack (or through him) and landed on top of the fence some 3m back. I have no memory of the next 15-20 minutes, but when I "came to" the other guy was not conscious. I had no hearing, but when it came back the sound I heard was Jack screaming. At least he was conscious, but no-one could see us through the trees and no-one came out of any house. I managed to get him out of the seat using my R arm - the L shoulder was fractured as was may face/jaw. I think he was impressed with the blood coming from my mouth and his very wide eyes convinced me he would stay put against the fence where I pushed him, thinking to get help. Unfortunately I passed out with my head in the gutter for maybe a few more minutes, before waking in a little pool of blood. In time somone appeared over the road and got the ambos. Took me 3 months to get out of the house after 3 admissions to hospital and another 6 months after that before I could work for more than 3 hours per day. The headache and sleep disturbance has not and never will go away. I am a different person since - not as nice or tolerant as before. Jack suffered only mossie bites as he had a helmet on. He said he hit his head whenever we talked about it over the next year. His biggest injury has been me and the personality change and anger as it affects him even now at age 13.

I guess what I am saying is accidents are just that, an accident. Maybe the other guy was looking for trouble, but I wasn't and nor was my son. Had we had a front-mounted baby seat, Jack would be dead I guess. Would I ride with a child seat again? Yes, because I have never been critical of my riding skills. Would I ride with one where you have to pedal differently and get off over the back of the saddle every time you stop to avoid falling over? I doubt it; at least not around traffic, pedestrians or where an unexpected stop could lead to a simple fall. Could I have protected Jack in that crash? Not a hope as there was almost no time to get ready. With a distance from first sight to impact of 8-10m, I did have a fleeting thought of steering into the fence and launching over it, but then I thought of Jack and took the hit.

Just be careful and maintain every possible line of sight.

Oh, the other guy broke his neck, but didn't seem too bothered about it when we spoke some weeks later. Young, tough and lucky I guess. Hope he at least thinks more in the future.

Extra oh - the last thing that happened at the beach as we were mounting up was a chat with a couple about the baby seat. They were from Hong Kong and said they had seen them, but were not sure about the safety in an accident. I said I totally understood and if they were not experienced cyclists, or had any doubts they should not get one. For me I said I was confident. They thanked me for the chat. I wish I had left a minute earlier!
 
So 6 years on. What is the hotness now? My little man is 13mo and so can't really use the MAC ride yet.
Thinking the wee ride or similar
 
We've loved our Bobike one.
IMG_6731.jpg
 
takai said:
So 6 years on. What is the hotness now? My little man is 13mo and so can't really use the MAC ride yet.
Thinking the wee ride or similar
Click to expand...

Wee-ride is good, and solid for a heavier kid. But gets in the way of the knees...
Bobike (like what NSM has) and the Yepp are good, and not as obtrusive in use or when not in use. For instance, on his Canfield, the cross bar on a wee-ride would be sitting up a long way as it is mounted on the on the seat post (or seat tube below the seat clamp)
A dropper makes life much easier too, as it is easier to put the foot down at traffic lights etc, and still have good seat height.
 
takai said:
How do the BoBike and Yepp attach? Is it to the steerer?
Click to expand...

Also check out OK Baby. I have one of their seats that has a clamp on the downtube. It does make you ride a little bit knees out but it's not uncomfortable and the passenger is able to see way more and I feel they are a little safer being between your arms in case of a crash.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top