Customer Reviews

Topeak BabySeat Child Bike Seat with Aluminum Rack (Standard Version)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We have had this carrier for a month now and use it frequently and really like it.

The box and instructions suggest that your professional bike shop install this carrier and we would agree. Due to our distance to a bike shop, we ended up installing it ourselves and it was tricky. We did call a bike shop for guidance and did get it on ourselves. But if you can get free installation, we would recommend you take advantage of it.

If you are curious about the installation, you can go to the Topeak website and download the installation guide/owner's manual and see if you are up to the challenge.

Also, it would be good to read about installation before buying because this bracket will only mount to certain bikes. It is designed for bikes with seatstay rack mounts and dropout eyelets only. They also warn that it cannot be used with bikes with rear suspension or disc brakes. My husband has a Trek aluminum frame mountain bike and it does work on his bike. Again, this would be a good reason to talk to someone at a bike shop before buying.

After installation, using this carrier has been great. The carrier comes in three parts. There is a bracket that is mounted on the bike and the baby seat that can be easily removed and stored when not in use. The third part is a slide lock that attaches the baby seat to the bracket.

Our 21 month old child seems very comfortable in the carrier and it is great to use.

Our only complaint is that the Grab bar in front is tough to snap off/on. So we always just leave it on and slide our child in and out behind it.

Seat is durable, lots of safety features, easy to attach to bike. Our son loves it.

Our daughter is three and a half years old and we have used this bike for over two years -- ever since she was safe riding in it. She loves it. We have taken her on long bike trips and on short rides to the neighborhood playground, on flat asphalt roads and on bumpy gravel rides. The seat does not interfere with riding -- there are even straps to secure her feet. It is exceptionally sturdy and sits very firmly on the back of the bike. The rack was a bit tricky to attach, but once in place it has stayed firm and secure all this time with no adjustments required -- we never once had to worry about it getting loose or wobbly. The rack-seat configuration is convenient because it allowed us to buy extra Topeak racks (which are inexpensive) and move the seat from one bike to another with no effort. We even got an extra rack for our in-laws when our daughter stayed with them -- she had a great time riding with them in her seat. And, once you no longer need the seat, you still have a great, solid rack on your bike to use. I have noticed that a lot of parents in our neighborhood ride with this seat. After heavy use, the seat is still in great condition -- a little bit of lining got loose, but that was fixed in no time with a little glue. So, very happy with the product, no complaints, but a few words of caution -- you must buy a kickstand for your bike, and you must always hold on to the bike when your child is in the seat.

I had this seat installed at my local bicycle shop so I really cannot rate the easy or difficulty of installation.

Pros: Seat is easily removable from the bicycle, shock absorbers, flip-up crossbar, high back, and foot rests.

Cons: Pricey, shock absorbers work minimally, no cup/bottle holder, padding is thin and starts to peel away from the seat after just a few weeks.

Product works really well with enough safety features to keep the child safe while riding the bicycle. Installation can be a bit tricky if your bicycle does not have the required brackets, especially the ones on the back frame, below the bicycle seat. Other than that, the installation instructions are easy to follow.

I can't review the seat per se, because we were not able to mount this seat on any of FOUR different bikes in our home. Although we ordered the model that bikes without disc brakes, which none of our bikes have, it still would not fit because it requires that your bicycle also have special fittings on the frame for racks. Specifically:

1. threaded bosses on the seat stays
2. an eyelet on the rear fork to receive the rack pin

One bike, a Bianchi Vigorelli (~2004) had the eyelet, but not the threaded bosses. Of the others (Old Schwinn 10 speed, ~1980s, Stumpjumper, ~1995, and a LeMond Versaille, ~2005), NONE of them had either fittings.

Very disappointing.

Bought this for my parents to use while they take my daughter for a bike ride. They seem to love it, and I can attest to the safety of the seat. It is very sturdy and keeps her tight in the seat. Probably the best on the market as far as I am concerned.

I purchased the non disc version and was sent the disc version. So I had to call my local bike shop to find out if it would still work, and it would still work. Installation took around an hour but was pretty simple. The seat is sturdy and safe, and my 15 month old loves riding in it. It's a great buy!

I had a bike shop put the baby bike seat on my bike this week. Today was our first time with the baby on my bike. I, of course, fell down. I hit a curb and the bike bounced. We were close to a stop so it wasn't a bad fall. When the bike fell, it landed on my leg. The baby didn't even cry! She is 13 months old. My husband had to help us up, but otherwise, it was no big deal. This seat is like a bubble. The whole baby is enclosed inside it. Her feet are strapped down, and she is belted in. there is a belly bar that she rests her hands on. The top of the seat is much taller than her. We installed a blinky light for safety on the top of the seat. There are side walls that protect her from the fall. The inside has a slight padding for comfort. She loves it. The only thing she hasn't liked is big curbs where she bounces kind of hard.

This is worth every penny! I love it.

My wife got a new bike (REI Women's Novara Hybrid) and wanted to haul the 2 year old around so we decided on a bike baby seat.

We first tried the Bell classic. Aside from looking kind of cheap (ok, so it was very inexpensive) we had the problem that it would not fit on the bike. She has one of those step through bikes with a curved center tube. This has proved problematic for fitting accessories. The main problem is that the built in mounting points are level with back brakes. So anything you mount has to go over the back brakes and down.

Fortunately the Topeak was able to accommodate this with all the extra parts that came with the rack. There are three different lengths of straight mounting rails as well as the curved rails that attach to the rack. To get the rack mounted I first attached the curved rails to the rack, then the long rails to the curved rails. This brought it up above the brakes then I used the medium rails to come down and attach to the mounting points. It was like an erector set project. The bottom supports mounted easily enough without any problem other than having to pull the bottom "legs" apart some and mount them under tension. Be careful or you can scratch the paint on the bike. It took some doing and about an hour but the rack is well mounted.

Once the rack is mounted getting the seat on and off is easy enough. On the front of the seat at the bottom in the area between the legs is a circular plastic lip. This attaches to a rail on rack close to the bike seat. This is what holds it on at one end. There is a bracket underneath the seat that goes into a slot towards the rear of the rack. This is the second point of support. The bracket goes into the slot and then you have a yellow block shaped piece of plastic that slides into the bracket and clicks in via a spring loaded red cylinder that pops up through the deck of the rack and prevents the block from being able to slide forward or back. The seat is held by the fact that the bracket from the seat is in between two brackets on the seat and the block slides into all three locking the seat bracket into place. Its very secure though it does make jiggly noises while riding.

Other latching mechanism exist on the seat. There is a foam covered bar that attaches to the seat. It is hinged on one end and takes noticeable effort to undo. The kid is not going to do it. Its generally easier to slide the kid in than under the bar. The main purpose of the bar is to give the kid something to hang onto.

There is a 3 point harness "Y" harness as well. The groin strap attaches to the shoulder straps via a unique slide fitting. It's a spring loaded slide lock that you have to pull back on and then pull the plastic ring from the groin strap out of. It's actually somewhat difficult to do, no way the kids going to do it.

Other features include decent foam padding, a decent shaped plastic seat. Two damper springs on the rear to help take the bite of a shock and adjustable footwells with straps for the younger ones. For added bonus if you buy a separate rack and install it on another bike you can move the seat from bike to bike.

Overall it's a good seat, it's the only one we could find that would fit the type of bike my wife got. Installation was complicated by the bike type, it would have been much easier on a standard mountain bike. Use might seem complicated at first but once you understand it and practice it becomes easy.