WeeRide Kangaroo Child Bike Seat
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List Price: Our Price: $49.98 You Save: $40.01 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $48.00 (click here) Category: Sports See more product details |
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Description of WeeRide Kangaroo Child Bike Seat
Product Description The WeeRide Kangaroo Center Mounted Child Carrier offers an award-winning design that allows children to enjoy and share in the cycling experience, surrounded by your protective pair of arms. Your child is not behind you uninterested and distanced by the limited view. The child?s position also keeps the center of gravity where it belongs ? on the bicycle frame, not behind the rider. This all adds up to a more comfortable ride for the cyclist AND the passenger. The Child Carrier is mounted on an independent adjustable steel support bar that attaches firmly between the frame?s head tube and the seat post. The support bar is designed to mount on almost any bicycle. Customer contact information at 1-800-451-KENT (5368) or www.kentbicycles.com -- Safety Information - Always wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads when riding. Check all nuts and bolts for tightness before riding. For casual riding on smooth, flat, paved and dry surfaces free of sand , gravel or dirt. Do not ride at night or in areas of traffic. For children up to 40lbs, "If you need straps in a different size please call us at Kent International and we will have them shipped to you right away."The WeeRide Kangaroo center-mounted bike seat offers an award-winning design that makes biking with your child much safer and much more fun. It's installed onto virtually any bicycle via a patent pending, independent steel support bar that attaches between the front handle bar tube and the seat post. It provides a much more enjoyable and interactive experience for the child and rider. Your child's needs can be heard, seen and attended to more easily, and he or she has a more interesting view--no more staring at someone's back. Other advantages include no dangling arms or legs to reach wheels and the rear of the bike is free to carry your gear.
The seat is made from an injection-molded plastic form, and it features a comfortable padded foam seat, height adjustable foot cups, and a fully adjustable three-point security harness. The Padded pedestal armrest sitting atop the handlebars gives children somewhere comfortable to put their hands, and can serve as a headrest for the napping toddler.
The steel support bar is an independent support system that does not interfere with brake cables or other attached bicycle gear. It includes different sizes of plastic spacers for the front yoke attachment and rear seat post to protect the posts and ensure it fits on almost any recreational bicycle available. It's easily removable for when you want to ride on your own.
It can be used with mountain/city bikes with upright handlebars (with drop-handled racing handlebars, the rider leans forward too much for the child to sit comfortably). Children should be at least 1 year old, and it has a maximum weight capacity of 40 pounds. This bike seat is designed for casual riding on smooth, flat, paved and dry surfaces free of sand, gravel or dirt.
Sports reviews of WeeRide Kangaroo Child Bike Seat
Customer Review: Best thing I got for my bike
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I love to ride my bike but, after I had my baby, I could not really enjoy rides because I'd wonder how my baby was doing at home. One day I saw someone on a bike carrying his baby in a seat situated on the rear of the bike. I wanted to get one of these seats so I could ride with my baby. I found this center-mounted child seat on Amazon instead. My baby and I went on many rides with this and now I think my baby enjoys bike rides more than I do.
It is easy to strap the baby in the seat and easier to take him out. I can do it comfortably with one hand around my baby and one on my bike.
The baby is 23 lbs. and 29 inches tall and he fits perfectly. I'm afraid he might outgrow this seat soon. However, the seat may only look small because it's supposed to accommodate babies up to 40 lbs.
Some people say they have a problem with having to pedal with their knees slightly outward with this seat on the center of their bikes. It is no big deal to me. I think some just expected every aspect of cycling to be left unchanged but as with any alterations you make to your bicycle, you must anticipate having to make some adjustments to riding. The advantage of a center-mounted seat as opposed to a rear-mounted seat is that the rider retains better balance. My baby moving from side to side during a ride is enough for me. I can only imagine how troublesome this would be if he did that on the rear of my bike.
Installation of the mounting bar was difficult on my first bike but after I figured it out, I installed the second bar on my husband's bike in about five minutes. With my bike, I tried tightening one side of the mounting bar to one bike post at a time, and I had to keep loosening and tightening everything all while trying to hold the mounting bar up. The trick is: first, take out the spacers because 90% of bike posts aren't that skinny, then loosely attach the whole mounting bar to both bike posts, and tighten everything last.
The seat feels very secure and I love having my baby right in front of me. I wouldn't want my baby in the back where I can't see him and I don't think he would enjoy it very much either. Anyway going on bike rides with my baby is so fun. This is the best thing I bought for him. However I don't like it when he falls asleep because then I have to hold his head up. But I think that says something about how comfortable he is in this seat.
Customer Review: A great product!
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
It is impossible for me to understand how some people find this product difficult to install, or uninstall-able on their bike. I found the product to be highly versatile in its installation options and I'd wager I could install it on any bicycle on the planet. (And just for the record, my bicycle has less than 1/4 inch of clear space between the top bar and the steering collet.) If you have any cleverness about your wits at all, you will be able to install it.
It also still leaves plenty of room on the handle bars for accessories (lights, reflectors, bells, etc.) although I had to move my trip computer out onto the mountain climbing grip in order to be able to see it clearly.
After shopping all such devices I also find it difficult to imagine why any of those other products are even legal on an American street. This is the only product I've seen of the five or so main ones available which will offer the infant any kind of protection in an end-over accident scenario. That funny wing looking "dashboard" is what will keep the entire weight of the bicycle from smashing down on the child should there be an accident. Every other design I've seen, that is exactly what would happen if the bike went end-over. The child would be pinched between the pavement and the bicycle.
And of course, as many have said, our child loves it! Much better than a rear seat. She can see and she loves to let her arms hang down and touch my legs every time I pedal around.
The only drawback is the child's head is pretty much right in your chest. Clearly a "well-endowed" mother and a child with a helmet on would not be compatible. But I don't see that as a design flaw, it is just a reality. I could also see how a very petite person might have a hard time finding enough room to get everyone aboard as well.
The product is exactly as advertised, easy to install, is the only save option I see out there for a product of this kind, and is well made. And the price on Amazon is just perfect for the product. Home Run!
Customer Review: WeeRide is the answer
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
WeeRide is an excellent solution to a dilemma - should I have my kid stare at my behind, or should I be mildly inconvenienced by him sitting in front of me?
To me, the answer was simple, despite the fact that in a couple of bike shops the salespeople said they refused to carry WeeRide seat because it is so unsafe. I installed the WeeRide in 15 minutes. The space on the front fork that you need to secure the front clamp is about 1 inch, not more than that. Most of the bikes will have that much room. The rest of the installation is a piece of cake.
Also, despite my fears from reading the reviews, I did not have to really get my knees too far away from the child seat in order to avoid hitting it. Maybe that's because I have not built up those monstrous quads, so that they don't get in the way. Yes, I assume having to clip into the pedals may be a pain in the butt, so I just ride in my sneakers instead. Besides, if I have my 3-year-old (30 lbs), I am not really there for a speed ride or a workout, so we do fine with my sneakers.
The child's feet are very secure in the cradles, and I am able to make sharp turns with a fairly small radius without much of a problem.
The front of the seat has a rest, where my son keeps his forearms and hands, and it is very comfortable. We can jump curbs without risking bumping his face at a hard surface. You can take the seat off by undoing one screw and leave the mounting bar on the frame for a ride without your kid. I was a bit concerned that there is only one screw holding the seat to the mounting bar. However, even if something happens to this screw during the ride, the child is right between your arms, so nothing is going to happen.
Finally, the seat is very reasonably priced, so I would very much recommend it. One word of caution: when I ordered the seat, it was not clear if the mounting bar came with it, so I bought it for $20 separately, as was suggested by the website. You don't need to do that, the bar is included in the package with the seat.
Buy it, you won't regret it.
Customer Review: My son and I really enjoy this seat
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
We love our WeeRide!
This installed relatively easily. The WeeRide comes with all the tools you need to install: Allen wrench and wrench. The first step is to fit the bar between the handlebar stem and the seat stem. Basically the bar sits parallel to the bar on the typical "boy" bike. My bike is pretty small and I was worried that there wouldn't be enough space to secure the front of the bar. There was just enough room for the front of the bar. Then the seat itself is secured onto the bar. You can easily take it on and off. The seat also slides back and on the bar a little bit. Once we get over the trauma of putting on his helmet, my son loves riding in his seat. He sometimes leans down and grabs a hold of the handlebars and pretends to steer with me. It's very cute and it doesn't affect my steering. Once or twice he has put his feet up on the handlebars, which is sort of scary because it definitely affects my steering and could cause me to swerve. So I have to be firm about not letting him do that.
I am very happy with this purchase. I was reluctant to get a bike trailer - a trailer just seemed like way more gear than I wanted. I just want to get on the bike and go and not have to mess with a whole other piece of equipment. Also, I'm just very wary of the safety of trailers, too. The profile is so low (even with the recommended flag) and I'm worried that cars can't see the trailer and that a car would turn into it. (Yes, neurotic mother, I know.) On the WeeRide, my son can see where we're going (another advantage over trailer).
I definitely recommend the WeeRide.
Customer Review: Great bonding experience with your young rider
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I bought a WeeRide after being disappointed with the Burley Trailer. The trailer quality was fine, but for anything buy pavement riding, it spray's debris into the seat compartment. My daughter was covered in dirt, sand, etc. This was not fun for the canal path her in Ohio.
What I love most about the Wee Ride is the experience. The seat lets me be my daughter's tour guide to the world. We have great little conversations about seeing bunnies, birds, joggers. I get to point things out to her and she responds. It is great. With the trailer, I felt we just brought here along for the ride and she wasn't really thrilled.
As far as the product goes, it's well built and sturdy. My knees DO NOT bump into the bottom of it. I'm not sure why that happens to others. It might be the type of bike you have. There is some adjustment possible. I have a large hybrid bike (Trek 7.2). There needs to be a little room on the neck of the bike right below the handle bars, beneath the headset, to secure the WeeRide. I don't think it would work on my wife's bike for that reason, who has more of a mountain bike. The harness is a little basic, but I feel much safer with her between my arms than in the back or in a trailer. Also, the balance and control of the bike is unaffected. Rear mounted seats can't claim that. My only complaint is that I wish it had a little cup holder for the rider.
Overall, I'm very happy with the product. I haven't used the trailer since. My daughter loves going for rides with me and it truly is quality time for just me and her.