(updated in March 2023)
I fall into the group of ebike riders with children and someone who regularly bike rides with them. I thought it would be helpful for readers to know which child seats are out there and how they fit on ebikes.
Babies and Infant Seats (1 – 4 years; up to 38 lbs)
As of this latest update (January 2022) I’ve owned and used both the Yepp Maxi Mini & the iBert child seat. The iBert seat retails for $80 (as low as $66 on Amazon if you prefer the blue seat) and is one of the most popular infant seats I see on the road.
The other popular option for infant seats is the Yepp Maxi Mini Child, which I’ve now owned for a few months. I can say both are top rated seats but there are pros and cons to each of these.
iBert Child Seat
Some of the pros for me have been that it’s easy to install making it simple and quick to move between bikes. The iBert has fit most of the 30 or so ebikes I’ve owned, including the Rad Power Bikes, Ride1up 500 & 700 Series, KBO Breeze (Step Over & Step Thru) and Aventon Aventure . More importantly, it’s reassuring to see your child in your forward field of view, especially at such a young and critical age.
Some of the cons I can share from my own personal experience are when your child falls asleep it can be easy for them to slump down on this child seat. An additional con is that it can be clunky to slide the seat onto the mounting bars and I encountered a potentially terrible situation where I neglected to fully secure the locking pin (which could have gone horribly wrong had I not caught it in time).
Yepp Maxi Mini
This is my most recent child seat. I upgraded to this top rated seat even though I was fairly happy with the iBert. The primary reason was I was super happy with the Thule Yepp Maxi Mini for my older daughter and we thought it was a good idea to upgrade.
Some of the pros, just like with the iBert, has been the option to easily move the child seat between the different ebikes that I own. Although most of you will not own multiple ebikes at once, in my opinion it’s a pro because it shows this seat fits many different types of ebikes. One other pro is my younger daughter does seem to be more comfortable in this child seat than the iBert. I’ve ridden with her in both seats and she can slump down in the ibert whereas in the Yepp Mini she seems to stay more upright.
The cons are that this seat is way more expensive than the iBert (but I think it’s worth it) and also that it won’t fit on all stems of ebikes. Ex: I’ve been trying to find a way to add this to my RadWagon 4 and it seems the adaptor picture below sold by Thule is one way it could work (although I haven’t confirmed it).
Toddler Bike Seat (1 year to 6 years; up to 48 lbs)
After my oldest outgrew the iBert, we started looking for a child seat for our toddler. For us it came down to two options: Yepp Maxi or the Bellelli Bicycle Seat. We ended up buying a Yepp Maxi for several reasons with the primary being that the Yepp Maxi is listed as a top child seat in most reviews out there.
After doing a bit of research, my wife and I decided we would make the pricey option of the Yepp Maxi our next child seat. Normally I’m very price sensitive, but how could I put a price on my child’s safety?
Yepp Maxi
We’ve owned the Yepp Maxi for over a year and it has been great. Our daughter seems really comfortable in the seat and as she’s grown we’ve been able to adjust not only the shoulder harness but also the leg/feet adjusters. The ability to adjust these parts of the seat will allow us to use this bike seat until our daughter is around 6 years old.
It was also really nice to be able to move this bike seat from my cargo bike (Yuba Mundo) to one of the ebikes, with relative ease. If you’re going to mount your child seat on a rear bike rack, make sure to check that the max weight that the rack is rated for is appropriate to ensure safe riding.
About the only negatives I can share about the Yepp Maxi is that there are two versions of this bike seat, which can make it confusing if you don’t know which one works for your bike. I say this because I often see message board posts from confused cyclists unsure of which version to buy or whether they need to purchase a mount. The version you need depends on whether you’re attaching the seat directly to your bike or to a rear bike rack. The one I own is the Yepp Maxi rack mount version, which mounts to my rear bike rack. It does require an additional adapter, the Thule Yepp Maxi Easyfit Adapter. This is just one configuration, so if you don’t need or want a rack on your ebike, you could always install the rear mounted version of the Yepp Maxi ($249)
We’ll be publishing a how-to video installing an aftermarket, rear bike rack, an easyfit adapter and a Yepp Maxi on a Ride1up 500 series. We’ll also show you how to install the Yepp Maxi on a KBO Breeze Commuter ebike so be on the lookout for those videos on our youtube channel in the coming weeks.
Yepp Maxi Nexxt
The upgraded version of the Yepp Maxi is the Yepp Maxi Nexxt. You’ll find that some vendors and ebike brands will sell one or the other. An example is Aventon Ebikes which only sells the Yepp Maxi Nexxt while Lectric Bikes only sells the Yepp Maxi. The main differences between the Yepp Maxi Nexxt and the Yepp Maxi are that the Nexxt is (1) a bit lighter at 6.6 lbs, (2) can be placed directly on a bike rack but (3) isn’t as soft as the Yepp Maxi which is made of a rubbery compound. If you’re trying to decide which of the two Thule Yepp seats to buy, both of these child seats are made by Yepp and have great reviews so it’s almost purely based on the aesthetics and price that should determine which one you end up buying.
Burley Dash
If the Thule Yepp Maxi or Yepp Maxi Nexxt don’t convince you or it’s over your budgeted amount, another top rated option that is cheaper than the Thule Yepp Maxi is the $169 Burley Dash produced by Burley which is a top maker of Bike Trailers for both kids & pets.
The Burley Dash is for children 12 months or older and up to 40 lbs and weighs 6.4 lbs. In my opinion the best features of the Dash are that the harness adjusts from not only the top like the Yepp Maxi but also the sides since it has a 5 point harness so you can adjust the harness a bit more than with the Yepp. It also comes with storage space in the back of the seat which allows you to store items during your trips with your children. This is a small feature but it’s actually quite useful especially if your bike doesn’t have a front basket. Lastly, there are arm rest on the Burley so your child can sit comfortably.
Bellelli Bicycle Baby Carrier
If the Yepp Maxi doesn’t convince you or if you’re looking for a more affordable option, our second choice is the Bellelli Bicycle Baby Carrier. You can see this seat in action mounted on our friend’s Aventon Level Commuter, which we highlighted in one of our recent Instagram posts. This child seat cost under $100 (whereas the Yepp Maxi is closer to $250) but it comes with great reviews including having more shoulder strap settings than the Yepp Maxi. Children also like the extra ventilation that comes with the cool design of this child seat.
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