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Rear bike seats for older kids
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Child bike seats are a great invention and allow children to be carried securely on the front or the back of an adult’s bicycle.
Having your child close to you is very nice, and it’s easy to chat to your child while cycling. Child seats for bikes come in various styles and setups, catering to different age groups.
This article will cover junior rear bike seats for older kids, from 5 or 6 years old up to around 10 years old, or to be more precise, when your child hits 35 kg. Some bike seat manufacturers advise a minimum height of 110cm for their junior bike seats.
A bike seat for an older child can be useful when you are cycling further than your child is comfortable with, or the route is not suitable for them to cycle on their own bike.
You can also carry a child at the front of your bike, on a seat mounted on the top tube of your bike. You can find out more about these seats in our article on front-mounted seats for older kids.
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Junior bike seats for 5/6 - 10 year olds
Rear bike seats for older kids differ from the rear bike seats for younger children (up to 22kg); they are much simpler and usually include a 2 or 3-point safety waist belt instead of a 5-point one.
Junior bike seats are made up of a simple seat pad and a backrest which are attached to a pannier rack, and also some footpegs for your child’s feet to rest on.
All junior bike seats in this article have to be mounted to the rear rack of a bike.
An older child can also sit at the front of your bike, on a seat mounted on the top tube. Check out our article on front mounted seats for older kids.
Is my bike ready to take a rear bike seat for my child?
You cannot mount a junior rear bike seat to a seat tube, so you need to make sure your bike has a pannier rack fitted, or has mounting points for one.
If you already have a rear rack, make sure to check the weight limit, as it is quite common for rear bike racks to have a pretty low maximum weight limit.
If you haven’t purchased a pannier rack yet, we advise you to look for a seat first, and then a rear bike rack so you can buy one that is suitable for the seat.
Most rear racks have a weight load capacity of 25 kg. If you're looking to carry your older child on a rear rack, the Tortec Expedition pannier rack is a good option because it has a maximum load capacity of 35 kg.
Most seats featured in this article will fit a rear bike rack between 110/120 and 170/175mm wide. Check the manufacturers guidance for full details.
What to look out for in a junior bike seat
The most important feature to look out for is if you’d like the seat to be folded down when not in use. Folding down the bike seat can come in handy when the bike seat is not in use.
Other things to look out for are:
- Footrests; do they look comfortable and will they fit on the frame of your bike?
- Backrest; is it wide enough for your child?
- Wheel protectors; are they included?
- Reflector; does the seat come with an integrated reflector?
Urban Iki Junior bike seat (from £74.99)
The Urban Iki Junior is a rear bike seat with a backrest that can be folded down, neatly going around the seat cushion, when not in use. It includes a hip belt, and foldable footrests.
The seat cushion is soft and water-resistant.
A mounting frame is included with the seat and can be mounted on your carrier with an Allen key. The footrests are attached to a metal bar.
A wire combination lock is also provided, so you can lock the seat to your bike.
If you want to take the seat off, this is really easy and will only take a few seconds.
Bobike One Junior bike seat (from £52.99)
This rear bike seat for older kids folds down and also has an integrated rear reflector for better visibility in the evenings or in winter.
The footrests are attached to wheel protectors, or skirt guards, which protect your child’s feet from the spokes and wheels of your bike.
We highly recommend you use wheel protectors with a rear bike seat, so it’s handy that you can buy them in one package.
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Qibbel Junior child seat (from £70)
The Qibbel Junior rear seat is a no-nonsense bike seat for children aged from around 6 to 10 years old. It is mounted on a bike rack without needing any tools. The mounting mechanism clamps around the rear rack.
The seat is padded but cannot be folded down.
Thule Yepp Junior Budget bike seat (from £65.49)
The Thule Yepp Junior rear bike seat looks similar to the Urban Iki Junior, but cannot be folded down.
The footrests are quite long (which is good for larger feet) and the backrest is nice and wide.
The waist belt of the 3-point safety strap is attached higher up on the seat, providing a bit more security than the hip seat belts which are attached lower down on some seats.
The backrest has a large reflector integrated, which is good for riding in the dark. This bike seat is mounted to the rear rack through Easyfit.
What is Easyfit?
Easyfit is a way to fit accessories to rear pannier racks. Bike seats compatible with Easyfit require a bike rack with an Easyfit window. Alternatively, an Easyfit add-on can be added on top of an existing bike rack.
Bike seats with Easyfit can be easily removed, without any tools. This makes them great for swapping between bikes.
Thule Yepp has stopped producing products compatible with Easyfit in 2022, and newer products use different mounting methods.
Polisport Guppy Junior seat (from £67.99)
The Polisport Guppy Junior rear bike seat is a bit bulkier than most other seats, but it comes with a rear reflector and wheel protectors/skirt guards to protect your child’s feet.
This bike seat is also a bit heavier than most other options, at 3.31kg.
Tortec Expedition rear rack (from £39.99)
As mentioned before, it can be tricky to find a pannier rack with a higher maximum load capacity for carrying older children.
The Tortec Expedition Rear Pannier Rack is a rear rack that is designed for touring and it has a maximum load capacity of 35 kg.
Before you go...
If you're looking into carrying more than one child on your bike or if your child is too big of these seats, a cargo bike is a good option. Read all about cargo bikes.
Other articles you might be interested in:
- Best rear bike seats for toddlers and small children
- The best balance bikes as recommended by parents
- The best front bike seats for toddlers and young children
- How to start cycling with a small child in a bike seat, cargo bike or trailer
- The best front mounted bike seats for older kids
- Kids Ride Shotgun launch improved mountain bike seat
- 8 tips for your first family bike ride of the year
- 8 reasons to go on an organised family bike ride
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Comments
Would you please recommend some non-cargo ebike that has rear rack weight limit over 25kg? which can fit the junior seats. Many Thanks.
hi Felix, we’ve recently been looking into this exact issue and have now included the Tortec Expedition rear rack on this page because it has a maximum load capacity of 35 kg. Look out for maximum combined weight for e-bikes because this includes the weight of the bike, rider, accessories (like bike seats) and passengers and varies a lot.
The Elops 500 e-bike from Decathlon comes with a rear rack with a 27 kg max load weight which is slightly better than 25 kg https://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/link/decathlon/decathlon-elops-500-e-bike/
If you’re looking to carry an older child for longer, it may be better to opt for an e-bike with a high maximum combined weight and then retrofit the Tortec Expedition rear rack. Good luck and let us know how you’re getting on!
any recommendations on a pannier rack – they all seem to have a 25kg weight limit. Not great for a 8-10 year old!
Thanks
Tom
Hi Tom, yes fair point! We’ve had a chat with our contacts at Tredz and they recommended the Tortec Expedition pannier rack: https://www.cyclesprog.co.uk/link/accessories/tortec-expedition-rear-pannier-rack/ It has a maximum load capacity of 35 kg. I hope this helps.