# TykeToter - anyone have one?



## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

Just saw this the other day.

Tyke Toter (top picture)

Child Bike Seat | TykeToter | Front Mount Child Bike Seat

Very similar to the LOCT BodySpace saddle (which I have - bottom picture).

Little Ones Come Too, Product

Pro - includes handlebar, only one attachment point, easy to remove, less than 1/2 the price of the LOCT
Con - feet are not secured, single attachment point & additional stress on seatpost, saddle not adjustable front-back or contoured, adjustment of foot pegs depends on frame geometry

Just curious if anyone here has one.

JMJ


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## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

FWIW - my LOCT setup:

http://forums.mtbr.com/9221482-post17.html

JMJ


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## titusquasi (Jan 5, 2006)

I too am interested in the Tyke Toter. I've been using an iBert but have grown weary of it's limitations. I was very excited about the LOCT until I found out the are no longer made. 

Anyone used the Tyke Toter yet?


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## titusquasi (Jan 5, 2006)

I'm going to answer my own question. I have one on the way next week. My guess is that I will be fastening some kind of cushioning to the seat eventually but I could be wrong. I plan to fit this to 2011 size L Yeti 575 with a Thomson post. One of the questions I have is how well will the foot pegs fasten to my downtube that is not round...we will see.


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

titusquasi said:


> I too am interested in the Tyke Toter. I've been using an iBert but have grown weary of it's limitations. I was very excited about the LOCT until I found out the are no longer made.


Would be interested to hear about what you've experienced as limiting with the iBert. I already have a Burley trailer, but was considering picking up an iBert for times when hauling the trailer somewhere is impractical.


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## titusquasi (Jan 5, 2006)

jonz said:


> Would be interested to hear about what you've experienced as limiting with the iBert. I already have a Burley trailer, but was considering picking up an iBert for times when hauling the trailer somewhere is impractical.


The biggest drawback for me is how the iBert has to fit under your stem and handlebars. You need about 3/4" space between the stem and headset to fit the stinger. This means that on every bike I ride I have to run with the stem a fair amount higher than ideal (all full suspension mountain bikes).

Additionally, if you like to run a short stem and low rise handlebar (I do), it is very hard to get the child into the seat...even when running the seat at it's rearmost position. The handlebar is so close to the seat that I have to wedge my 2yr old's shoes under the handlebar and there is no space between her legs and the bar...a very tight fit. She is big and tall and my 9mo old fits in just fine but he is growing fast. I put the stinger in a vise and bent it a bit to gain a bit more clearance under the handlebar but it didn't help much.

I've come to the conclusion that I would have to have a dedicated bike for the iBert or live with a stem that is too high and too long with a handlebar height much higher than I want.

I also shave a bit off the stinger's thickness to drop my stem down a bit. With that mod and the bent stinger I will be using it for my kids until they are too big. From there they will move to the Tyke Toter which won't work too well with very small kids.


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## titusquasi (Jan 5, 2006)

Got the Tyke Toter yesterday. I like it but it would be better if the seat was a couple inches farther forward. My 2yr old's helmet is right in my chest and I have to make a conscious effort to keep my arms extended a bit straighter than normal. I wish it was made of steel so I could weld in an extension (I don't weld aluminum). My kid has to lean forward a bit when wearing a helmet (always). For reference the fit is much more comfortable with the helmet off so it only needs an extra inch or two longer extension. 

I'm contemplating cutting the extension in the middle, sliding on a steel sleeve and using bolts to secure everything. If done correctly, you could even drill several holes in the sleeve and make the length adjustable. My uncertainty is how this will affect the weight rating. A steel sleeve will be plenty strong but it would be a longer lever arm working on the seatpost clamp.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

titusquasi said:


> Got the Tyke Toter yesterday. I like it but it would be better if the seat was a couple inches farther forward. My 2yr old's helmet is right in my chest and I have to make a conscious effort to keep my arms extended a bit straighter than normal. I wish it was made of steel so I could weld in an extension (I don't weld aluminum). My kid has to lean forward a bit when wearing a helmet (always). For reference the fit is much more comfortable with the helmet off so it only needs an extra inch or two longer extension.
> 
> I'm contemplating cutting the extension in the middle, sliding on a steel sleeve and using bolts to secure everything. If done correctly, you could even drill several holes in the sleeve and make the length adjustable. My uncertainty is how this will affect the weight rating. A steel sleeve will be plenty strong but it would be a longer lever arm working on the seatpost clamp.


 It would be pretty easy to fabricate a steel extension sleeve that is slotted on each end, with a seatpost binder bolt secured across the slot (or else use a round clamp like a seatpost binder clamp from an aluminum frame). Stress would be less concentrated than using through-bolts. Hardest part would just be finding steel tubing of appropriate ID to snugly slide over the tyke beam.

I would give tyke some credit for their design, the entire attachement/retention mechanism of the LOCT seat looks pretty cumbersome. I despise having clunky kid-attachemnets hung on my bike that are difficult to quickly install/remove such as the LOCT that requires removing stem or a Chariot ball-joint that requires the QR skewer to be removed to install or remove the 5 lbd adapter fitting. I've had an alley cat brand trail-a-bike for a few years but rarely used it with kid#1 because it required removing the seatpost in order to slip the clunky adapter up around seatpost. I wanted to get more use of it with kid #2 now to I recently fabricated my own custom hitch mount that quickly clamps around the seatpost similar to a stem with removeable faceplat for the handlebars. Now I just have two allen-bolts to quickly mount the trail-a-bike, no messing up my saddle height.


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

titusquasi said:


> The biggest drawback....


Thanks for the info :thumbsup:


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## xprmntl (Oct 4, 2006)

GrayJay said:


> I despise having clunky kid-attachemnets hung on my bike that are difficult to quickly install/remove such as the LOCT that requires removing stem or a Chariot ball-joint that requires the QR skewer to be removed to install or remove the 5 lbd adapter fitting. I've had an alley cat brand trail-a-bike for a few years but rarely used it with kid#1 because it required removing the seatpost in order to slip the clunky adapter up around seatpost. I wanted to get more use of it with kid #2 now to I recently fabricated my own custom hitch mount that quickly clamps around the seatpost similar to a stem with removeable faceplat for the handlebars. Now I just have two allen-bolts to quickly mount the trail-a-bike, no messing up my saddle height.


Clunky? The Chariot EZ-Hitch attachment and included skewer are less than 10oz and sticks out about an inch from the rear dropout on the non-drive side, so pretty non-obtrusive to leave on any bike, unless it's used for racing when not towing around the trailer. Similar can be said for a trail-a-bike seat-post clamp, though it's a bit heavier at ~24 oz, I'd guess. I leave both of these on my Turner Flux at all times and have no problem keeping up with my trail brethren. I also pack around the added top tube beam for the WeeRide seat--now that one might be worth complaining about, especially the creaking.


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## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

*thanks for the update*



GrayJay said:


> I would give tyke some credit for their design, the entire attachement/retention mechanism of the LOCT seat looks pretty cumbersome. I despise having clunky kid-attachemnets hung on my bike that are difficult to quickly install/remove such as the LOCT that requires removing stem .


Thanks for the update. I own a LOCT and just leave it on the bike. I inquired with them about using QR's at the stem & seatpost ends, but they said it was a liability.I may fab some QR's myself.

Please post pix when you get a chance.

JMJ


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## tonka214 (Apr 28, 2013)

I've been using a tyke toter for a couple of weeks for my daughter who is 2 1/2. It seems pretty well designed and durable. I too, have to keep my arms more straight than I like, so I don't have the helmet right against my sternum. The other uncomfortable part is having to angle your knees since the seat is where you knees should be at the top of the pedal stroke. We brought the Tyke Toter with us when we went to vacation in Northern Michigan. I demoed a Giant Anthem and it worked pretty well on that bike... We rode some pretty tame single track and had a blast. Going slow and cruising in the woods was a ton of fun. 
One of the best parts of the TT is that the kid learns to balance and hold on since they aren't strapped in. Not being strapped in also makes it safer in my opinion. You can help balance the child between your knees. Full suspension also makes it a lot more comfortable.


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