Toddler bike seat and pannier combo

[drspouse]

When I go out for a leisure bike ride with my DD (just turned 3) I put our small amount of bits and pieces either in my v small backpack (it's really my handbag) or in a small handlebar bag.

I ride to work once a week when I don't have to take her to nursery and I have a pannier that converts into a backpack, if I am cycling to the station to go somewhere for work I do the same.

I want to start cycling with her to work, but as she goes to the workplace nursery and usually needs various changes of clothes/food/raincoat and I also need my work stuff, notebook, papers I've been reading at home, bike lock (annoyingly won't attach to my bike without swinging around and was VERY expensive), I can't fit it all in a small enough backpack or the handlebar bag. And my pannier won't attach under the toddler seat.

I have a hybrid Trek - what could I use to get my and her stuff to work? I can actually fit her changes of clothes etc with my stuff in my pannier, just can't fit it on the rack when her seat is on there!

Also prefer a cheap option as my pannier rucksack is lovely but was not cheap!

Oh also she's quite light, about 12kg, and I don't really want to do this very often so I'm also not looking to get a trailer (plus, nowhere to store it, and some of our ride is on quite busy roads and I really don't like having kids that low down on roads).

Which seat are you using? How long is your stem? Could you use a front seat instead?

can you not fit front panniers to your bike?

We had a similar problem, and had to fit panniers to the front of the bike as it just wasn't possible to fit them on the back with the bike seat.

It's a Hamax Sleepy. As I am quite short, I have to raise my saddle (I have it on a quick release) and put her seat into the bracket it attaches to and then put my saddle back down. The toddler seat then rests just above my back rack.

I really can't see myself being able to use a front seat with her being older/taller (unfortunately she's lighter than average but not shorter!) and a bit of a fidget. I think I'd be leaning on her.

Do I have to get a front rack as well to get front panniers?

Could you use a simple rear pannier like a basil design.

Like. this or this. They just attach to your rack with a bit of webbing and don't need any vertical room at all, do you mean you have a clip like an ortleib that you can't get on?

I had some bags like the basil ones on my town bike when I lived in Cambridge and they were fine. I used dry sacks inside them but didn't have to worry about them being stolen.

Mine uses Velcro but the seat goes quite a way back so it won't attach unfortunately, and the seat gets in the way. I have a feeling those are too square.
It's like this

I don't know then. What about a basil Bremen type mesh basket on the front to stick your backpack in. Simpler than adding a rack.

I never ride with one front pannier as it affects my handling.

That sounds like a reasonable solution - not too expensive if it doesn't work out, too.

I use a slim profile rucksack for my stuff. The sort you get for skiing that are tall but not bulky.
I put ds's little rucksack on my handlebars like a handlebar bag.

They are really sturdy drspouse, we still have one somewhere I think, must be 12 years old and still useable. I had it on my station bike and used to bungee stuff to the rack and into the basket on my ride to work.

Could you bungee a small bag to the rack underneath the seat?

these are really handy.

I seem to remember that you could buy different attachments from Basil but we just used the one that came with it. Check that your handlebars are the right width for whatever connector comes in the box.

Actually I think her little backpack could bungee to the back rack.
I'm reluctant to buy stuff and then decide I'm too pathetic to get up the (massive) hill with her!

Ive bungee-d light but bulky bags to the back of the baby seat before. Might work for you.

Oh that's a good idea.

I think I'm going to try next week - have just got a cold which always makes my asthma flare up so I'll give it time for my cough to die down.
I have a teeny handlebar bag so I'll minimise my own stuff and put that in there, bungee DD's bag to the back of the seat/back rack and I think my lock fits in the handlebar bag too.

If I can get up the hill I'll try and get a front basket!

OK we finally tried this today!

Because I didn't want to buy anything new I decided to try and bungee a bag to the back but you can see from the photo there is absolutely no space on the rack behind her seat. So I shortened the straps on a drawstring bag and just hooked it over the back of the seat. I could probably hook on my regular backpack there, too.

I have my normal handbag which is a teeny tiny backpack, which I wore because I was going to put it in my handlebar bag but it wouldn't fit. Then I squashed my rain jacket in my handlebar bag just in case.
My U-lock had to go in DD's bag because it swings about on its attachment below her seat.

I really need a basket on the front! But I got up the hill and she only wobbled about once (handily saying "My wobble mummy!" and stopping when I told her not to.
She also needs to have her foot straps on, I forgot.

OK so I have this bag (or very similar) on brackets. The brackets are Klickfix

guides.wiggle.co.uk/altura-dryline-bar-bag-review

Can I fit any basket that says Klickfix, onto my brackets? e.g. this one?

www.rosebikes.com/article/rixen--kaul-klickfix-alumino-front-bicycle-basket/aid:522106

Is a Weeride an option? www.weerideuk.co.uk/#

Not super cheap but I imagine there'd probably be a decent second had market for either buying or selling your own.

The other "helpful suggestion "I saw was put the child in the panniers, but that could be frowned on....

I think she's too tall, and I'm too short, for that. Plus I have these things called 34Es.

Maybe you could ride in the weeride instead then?

It seems crazy that there hasn't been an invention to this problem, I spy with my little eye a dragon's den appearance for you OP!

What I need - I have worked out - is a bike seat like the Hamax that has an attachment on its back to put a bag on.

Of course you wouldn't want to put a tent/bricks/bag of soil/10l water bottle in there.

It should also be possible to attach a U-bolt to a hybrid frame somehow. Without tripping over it when you get on.