# Front mount seats: ibert vs. bobike vs. weeride



## zuuds (Jan 30, 2004)

Trying to decide between these three, any feedback? Also, I would be trying to mount it on a Santa Cruz Nomad (1.5" steerer), is it even possible?


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## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

Have you considered the LOCT?

http://www.loct.co.uk/product.html

Not sure about being compatible with a 1.5" steerer though.

JMJ


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## zuuds (Jan 30, 2004)

The LOCT looks nice, but the steerer tube mount looks like it's 1 1/8 only.

The iBert definintely does not work with a 1.5" steerer, I bought one and the clamp bolts aren't long enough. Even if the clamp mounted up, there would be insufficient clearance between the kid's legs and the shifter pods, probably since I have a 50mm stem.


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## AuntieAPE (Nov 14, 2006)

I've been using an iBert with my daughter since she turned 1 (now she's 2.75 or so) - she has absolutely loved it, but has about outgrown it. Not because of the weight limit, but because she's tall. It's a great seat and we've done plenty of easy single track on it in addition to normal family ridin' stuff.

My bikes are XL's and I'm not sure how well it would work with much smaller bikes - e.g., there's not enough top tube on my wife's bike for her and the seat.

Also, thanks for the link to LOCT - that may be our next step.


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## disfocus (Aug 26, 2009)

I used a weeride with our older daughter, but have moved on to a trailer now that we have two. In terms of bolt-length, I think you should be fine with a 1.5" steerer--ours came with two sizes of bolts and the longer one was overkill for a 1 1/8. Where you might have problems is with the clamp itself. I always felt that while it worked, it seemed like it was too narrow for my head tube. Which reminds me--make sure you've got enough head tube to clamp it around. When we were looking for a new bike for my wife, we had to keep rejecting bikes she liked because they had an internal headset rather than an 'aheadset' style, which is needed for the weeride clamp.

Hope that makes sense--I'm a whiskey or two the wrong side of sensibility


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## sjroland (Jul 3, 2011)

Using Ibert with Cannondale 1.5" 100mm 5 Degree Stem on my 29 SL 4. Had to get longer bolts to reach. Most bike seat manufacturers give you longer hardware but iBert screwed up. They made the bracket big enough for a 1 3/4" stem but provided hardware that only fits 1 1/4". Actually fits better on the Cannondale than the Trek 3700 I just sold 5 mins ago. Ibert seat can go all the way forward when on the Connondale.

Saw this picture and I kept calling Ibert about how the guy they are sponsering has this seat on his bike.


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## Mark_123 (Nov 4, 2009)

I use and like the Ibert. Started with my grandson a little at 6 months age just close to home. Now he has to ride with me everynight even after I come in from riding about 20 miles or so. I took him on singletrack for the first time last week (he now 13 months old). Great time, only issue with Ibert is I ride single speed and I can't really stand and climb because the seat is in the way but it's not too big a deal as it's much lower intensity when the grandson is with me.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

I'll just add this as some food for thought. My LBS didn't carry any seats. He felt strongly about their safety. He pointed out that even with a helmet if you fall ( we've had had those stupid falls in a parking lot on flat ground) you're child is strapped in and basically being dropped from about 3-4ft up.

Made a lot of sense to me and I went trailer. Just something to think about, not trying to preach. I never thought of it that way until he pointed it out.


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## nov0798 (Nov 27, 2005)

I have an Ibert, and the only issue I have is that Im tall, and the seat hits my knees as I pedal. Had to put it on the wifes bike, and her knees dont hit it.


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## mtnmaam (Sep 5, 2011)

We love the iBert, but we have the opposite problem of the previous poster. My husband is tall and it fits on his bike really well. His knees don't hit it. On my bike (size small) I can't fit it without my knees crunching into it. You can always try it and return it. A friend of ours did that and they accepted the return no problem. 

Our son is 3 and still fits it, but he's not super tall.


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

Get the iBert because it can work on ANY bike as long as it has the requisite spare steerer space. Also, the seat pivots around the steerer the child's weight doesn't affect handling much. I used one with our daughter and she loved it.


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## sunnyracegirl (Apr 11, 2004)

TwoTone said:


> I'll just add this as some food for thought. My LBS didn't carry any seats. He felt strongly about their safety. He pointed out that even with a helmet if you fall ( we've had had those stupid falls in a parking lot on flat ground) you're child is strapped in and basically being dropped from about 3-4ft up.
> 
> Made a lot of sense to me and I went trailer. Just something to think about, not trying to preach. I never thought of it that way until he pointed it out.


While I can appreciate that a kid is perhaps safer in a trailer on a bike path, I wanted to share my experience. I tried the rear kid seat with my 16-mo-old on the street and did not find it to be very stable or versatile. We did not go with that set-up. But I can speak to the safety of the front-mount iBert kid seat, as I've been on numerous trails with it and (unfortunately) dropped Jane twice.

Living in SoCal, I forgot that even *dry *leaves over shale that rests on shale is slick and treacherous. While on a rented 29-er in Ralph Stover Park north of Doylestown, PA, I slid out with Jane on an uphill and she ended up on the rock slab with her feet up higher than her head (the front wheel was higher up the hill). She was completely encased in the iBert and was unhurt. We were only 15 minutes into the ride, and I asked her if we could continue or if she wanted to go home. She wanted to continue the ride, so we did. She was two at the time.

One other time here in San Diego, we had gone down a rather steep section without my thinking ahead to the fact that we would have to climb out. Pushing the bike back up the hill, one of the guys with me pulled the front wheel up the hill as I attempted to push the bike from the rear. The front wheel turned suddenly and Jane was dropped to the ground. We quickly picked up the bike and carried her up the hill. When we set the bike back down on its wheels, I asked her if she was OK. I was surprised that she said she was fine, and didn't need me to take her out of the seat and hold or comfort her. Jane was almost three then (this was last month).

You might say we tend to push the edge of what you can do on the trail with a toddler in a kid seat. Even so, I am very confident that Jane is safe in her kid seat on the trail. Of course, the safest place is on a groomed path, but then by that reasoning, kids are safest on the couch in front of the TV.

You take calculated risks with your kids, even when you put them in the car or take them to a pool. I would hate for Jane to have missed out on all the fun, and for us to have missed out on the great memories we have made together on the trail because I was afraid she might get hurt.

Safety is an important consideration. I wanted to chime in and say that even if the bike is dropped with the child in the kid seat, it doesn't mean the kid will get hurt. (Um... don't tell my husband's parents I said this, though. They would rather we played dolls.)


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## R+P+K (Oct 28, 2009)

I used to go round the local BMX track with my daughter in the iBert. I took it easy to minimise the risks though.


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## AuntieAPE (Nov 14, 2006)

I've used my ibert on suspended and rigid forked bikes. The best set up that I found was on a bike with a suspension fork that was mostly locked out, leaving a little cush. But you would be fine if you were going rigid and running a fat cushy tire up front. I did not like using the ibert on my cross bike when I had flat bars on it. Even with a 37mm cross tire on front, it just felt too squirrly even on pavement with the extra weight up front. Hope this helps and have fun!



jfranci3 said:


> I just had a kid in Oct. I got an ibert for my bday. The ibert isn't going to work with my road bike and drop bars. I'm looking to get a 2nd bike that can do some very light trail duty / commuting (think Trek FX series ). I've got knee clearence concern, which i can tackle at the LBS.
> 
> Here's my question for you - Will my son get jiggled to death on a dirt trail from rocks and roots? Should I be looking at a bike with a front suspension fork? Thanks


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## Hoban (Oct 14, 2012)

I use the iBert.

My hardtail has a pretty short top tube, but works well enough. Another inch or two would help.


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## jbsims (Jun 12, 2012)

Check out the co-rider. We love it.


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## asbefore (Jan 11, 2013)

for what it's worth, we have a Weeride and it was good enough for us. To be sure, it's not very safe - it's just a plastic seat with some really cheesy restraints. The protection is minimal.

Where it does excel over the iBert, in my opinion, is that the kids can hold on to the handlebars. Our boys love that feeling, like they're driving. It teaches them to steer..

We used the Weeride until our older kid reached 40 pounds, as recommended -- now he rides in the back on a Hamax Kiss, which we bought on Craigslist and which is good to 48 pounds. 

I haven't tried biking with both kids at the same time, but I'm looking for recommendations on a wheelset that can help us get around New York City -- between the kids and myself, I'd say we weigh around 320 pounds. 

Being that New York is the capital of bike theft, I don't want to buy super expensive wheels that attract attention, just ones that will do the job commuting..

Thank you!


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## drbelleville (Jun 11, 2008)

So I am trying to find out before I make the purchase, to mount to 1.5 Steerer how much longer do the bolts need to be, and what is the thread size?

Thanks


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## kanewtz (Apr 8, 2015)

We use the WeeRide Kangaroo purchased from Costco.ca

http://www.costco.ca/WeeRide™-Kangaroo-Ltd.-Front-Centre-mount-Child-Carrier.product.10325304.html

Awesome device. Our son loves it...as he can see where he is going and can look around, etc.

My wife has it on her bike and finds it very comfortable/stable.

COSTCO FOR THE WIN!!


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## drbelleville (Jun 11, 2008)

Alright, time to stir up the thread again. We have the iBert, and we love it, we went from a pull behind to this. Now I am wondering how everyone has adjusted their suspension to accommodate the additional weight / change in weight bias. I had taken the weight of our child and added it to mine and used that number to adjust the air pressure / sag on the bikes, yet am not sure if this would be the correct way, given that their weight is biased towards the front of the bike. Anyone have any thoughts. I had written Yeti, and talked to them on the phone, yet they say refer to the suspension manufacturer, and I have yet to hear from Fox or RS.


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## Klurejr (Oct 13, 2006)

TwoTone said:


> I'll just add this as some food for thought. My LBS didn't carry any seats. He felt strongly about their safety. He pointed out that even with a helmet if you fall ( we've had had those stupid falls in a parking lot on flat ground) you're child is strapped in and basically being dropped from about 3-4ft up.
> 
> Made a lot of sense to me and I went trailer. Just something to think about, not trying to preach. I never thought of it that way until he pointed it out.





sunnyracegirl said:


> While I can appreciate that a kid is perhaps safer in a trailer on a bike path, I wanted to share my experience. I tried the rear kid seat with my 16-mo-old on the street and did not find it to be very stable or versatile. We did not go with that set-up. But I can speak to the safety of the front-mount iBert kid seat, as I've been on numerous trails with it and (unfortunately) dropped Jane twice.
> 
> Living in SoCal, I forgot that even *dry *leaves over shale that rests on shale is slick and treacherous. While on a rented 29-er in Ralph Stover Park north of Doylestown, PA, I slid out with Jane on an uphill and she ended up on the rock slab with her feet up higher than her head (the front wheel was higher up the hill). She was completely encased in the iBert and was unhurt. We were only 15 minutes into the ride, and I asked her if we could continue or if she wanted to go home. She wanted to continue the ride, so we did. She was two at the time.
> 
> ...


Good points both of you. I have a son who is almost 5 months, but he is the size of an average 9 month old already, big kid. My wife and I are starting to think about options for me to bring him along on my rides.

How long do kids tend to last on a ride like this? What has been your experience?


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## cjsb (Mar 4, 2009)

when I used the Ibert I did nothing for suspension. i ran it on an Enduro with float 130, and on a 29er with an f29 100. there is just so much stiction in fox seals it didn't need any adjustment and I ran those forks stiff anyway. i also kept to multi-paths and sidewalks, trail riding was unwise in my opinion.


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