First Helmets

Protecting your little one’s most important asset is probably important to you. While the odd knock and scrape is part of the growing up process we all shudder to think of the worst when the the new rider first decides to try and ride down the steps... A quality, Australian Approved helmet can be a simple piece of insurance.

At Hornsby Cycles we stock helmets that can fit almost everyone from the pre-toddler all the way to your competitive teen racer. This way if you want to go riding with your littlest one you now can with them proudly wearing their helmet while they sit in the specially designed baby seat either in front of you (such as the Weeride), back seat (check out our model from Topeak) or even a bike trailer designed to carry children.

For the kids that are getting themselves around we also offer “character” helmets from Lazer featuring Policeman, Fireman, Duck, Lion, Tweety, Flower Girl, Red Car, Shark and Happy Blowfish. These are a great way to get your child excited about wearing their helmet

Child Seats

When your toddler is very small you may find it easiest to share cycling with them, the breeze in their face, travelling to interesting and far away places if you carry them on your bike. The RTA requires all children being carried on a bike to wear a helmet so your little one needs to be able to sit upright by themselves with a helmet on their head.

There are three main ways to carry small children, each with their benefits and compromises.

A bike trailer: the ultimate in child transport and can be used to carry up to 2 children plus an additional 20kg of luggage (or shopping) depending on the model selected. A quality model will attach without tools to your bike and not weight too much itself. Like baby prams you get what you pay for but we favour the ally framed Wee Hoo buggy which also functions well as a jogger. Trailers are great because they are very stable and seperate the towing from the balancing of your own bike.

Rear mounted bike seat: the traditional solution where a seat is mounted to a specifically made rack to the rear of the bike (behind the rider). These can carry children up to 20kg (depending on model) and have safety belts and padding to make the little one secure. The main benefit of this rack style is that the child is out of your way for even quite vigorous cycling and the main compromise is that the child is out of your sight, being behind you, and also can be tricky to "install" when you are off the bike.

Front monted bike seat: this has been made famous by the Wee Ride (which we promote) where a child up to 18kg sits belted up in front of the rider in their own seat which is mounted on a special bracket that fits essentially all bikes. The child is prevented from reaching the handlebars and interfering with your control by a rigid shield but you will still find it easy to interact with them as they sit between your arms. Here is a review by the parents site mumsdelivery.com.au