Child seat & bike question

From your experience are there any styles of bike you should avoid? For example, are drop bars not ideal? Single speed ok? I'm choosing a new bike, and would like to get one which will make riding with a child seat attached enjoyable for both the kid and me.

Thanks!

Seat tube mounted seats aren't recommended on aluminium or carbon frames.
You will be carrying some extra weight so factor that in if going single speed.
Personally I'd go for wider flat/ riser bars.

ah, thank you. Didn't consider the frame. Sounds like steel is the safer option then.

don't know your budget/taste etc, but the Marin Larkspur 2 is the one. Step through frame and dropper post make it easy to get on and off without tanking it or kicking your child in the head. Also has hydraulic discs, lots of mounts for racks, guards and the like. And it's really fun to ride. If it's out of your price range, the first model is still available for a bit cheaper, minus dropper posts and I think with mechanical discs.

You’d need a bike that you can easily get on and off of, without swinging your leg over and roundhousing your kid in the head (yes, I’ve seen that happen). Traditional ladies and mixte frames can whip a bit too much with a lot of weight on the back, so personally I’d go for a compact frame with a sloping top tube. Chunky aluminium or steel will do.

You’ll be carrying a fair bit of weight so you’re going to need gears and decent brakes. Flat, wide bars will give you more leverage and control.

The two main types of child seat are those that clamp to the seat tube via a bracket, and those that slide onto a rear pannier rack. Some models require a unique rack, others will clamp onto a normal rack. Both are easy to clip on and off.

Seat tube clamp and cable routing might be a problem if the bike has 2x or 3x chainrings. Look for a bike with downtube routing to a bottom pull mech rather than toptube/top pull.

I'd recommend a basket/ front rack or similar to put all the kid crap in

Had a Tokyobike in yesterday where the father had fitted a Yepp seat tube bracket and had managed to crimp the rear brake housing and jam the seatpost QR.

Done the very same nipping up a Thule that was slipping on an Specialized Allez. That was the bike I had, so got used. If I had the choice a cheap 90s/2000s 26" steel mountain bike would be what I'd use

Heavy duty double kickstands are helpful

I've had a Yepp bike seat on the back of my aluminium marin for years now with no hassle.