Where can I buy an adult seat for the back of a bicycle?

January 12, 2008 11:35 PM

Where can I buy an adult seat for the back of a bicycle (like a boda boda)?

My main transport while in Kenya was riding on the back of a boda boda, and I was hoping that I could buy a seat like that to put on the back of my bicycle here in the US (from online, or I live in SF). My only luck online is to find things that have a 20 or so pound limit, but 200lb guys could ride on the back of boda bodas and be totally fine.

You can see from this picture that the boda boda seat is attached both to the frame under where the main bicycle seat is and then 2 metal attachments to the frame at the same place the back wheel attaches - I presume these latter attachments allow much heavier loads.

Any suggestions? I have no tools or expertise to be able to make it...

posted by chrisalbon to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

It's not exactly what you're looking for, but an xtracycle attachment is perfectly capable of seating an adult on the back. Plus, it's good for groceries and other things that can't hold on by themselves.
posted by hades at 12:27 AM on January 13, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seconding the xtracycle.
One day I'm going to get a cheap bike I can bear doing that to, and then I will be king of the beer run, and my back will probably never stop thanking me.

NB: never ever go off a curb with a passenger on the back. Your wheel will taco. When this happens [it will, sadly], go to a bike shop [not a shop that also sells bikes] and let them know what kind of load you're putting on that back wheel.

If the xtracycle is not your style, I recommend just visiting a welding shop [do you have a technical / arts school in your town? They love this stuff] and explaining your needs. Then get some foam and vinyl and upholster it yourself.

It sounds like a fun project.
posted by Acari at 10:24 AM on January 13, 2008

Thirding. Xtracycle's S.U.B. is the only commercial boda-boda like solution I'm aware of. They're explicit that their product is designed to serve as a seat, too. 200lbs is the upper limit on cargo, according to them, mind.

Slightly OT, and nowhere nearly as simple a solution as a boda-boda, there are adult-sized passenger trailers as well.
posted by mumkin at 11:28 AM on January 13, 2008

I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, advice-wise, but why not try to find people who're going to Kenya? Someone might be willing to try tracking one down if you give them hints on how. I sure would if I was making a short trip and didn't have to lug it around for weeks.
posted by soviet sleepover at 3:19 PM on January 13, 2008

As someone who's been a passenger on an Xtracycle a number of times (thanks, hades!) let me suggest that if you go that route, you find yourself someone who makes boat cushions and have a waterproof cushion made for the thing. (Or make your own, of course.) We got ours from BottomSiders. Much nicer than the bare wood. Some cut-down stoker bars are also handy.

And forgive me if this is obvious, but don't forget that you'll need some very good brakes, especially in as hilly a place as SF. Between hades, me, my heavy old beater mountain bike that he made into an Xtracycle, and whatever groceries and whatnot we might be carrying -- well, if my estimates are correct, we can easily get that total up to 450 pounds. It's fun to bomb down a hill like that, but only because I'm pretty sure we can stop.
posted by sculpin at 3:36 PM on January 13, 2008

Something to be aware of is that the bikes sold in North America are not usually made to carry that much weight, so you'll have to check whan kind of capacity your rear wheel has, and you will probably end up having to get a stronger one (or it will taco if you hit a big bump, as someone else pointed out).

The bikes in developing countries tend to be made much stronger (and, consequently, are much heavier).
posted by Emanuel at 3:51 PM on January 13, 2008

Oh, yeah, thirding the advice that if you're going to be carrying passengers, don't use the machine-made rear wheel that most likely came with your bike. (Or do, but be really careful until it tacos.) Ask around for a good wheelbuilder near you, and have them build you the most bomb-proof wheel they can. The more spokes, the better. I've got some hand-built 26", 36-spoke wheels using velocity aeroheat rims and schwalbe big apple tires. I haven't had to true the wheels yet, at around 2200 miles of carrying me (235+ lbs) and whatever load I've got that day (from camera gear and groceries to oak half-barrels and occasionally sculpin).
posted by hades at 11:35 PM on January 13, 2008