Bucket Seating

Madsen Men Reading Bucket Seating 3 minutes Next Photo Shoot

We have received a lot of emails and calls asking about the seating set up in the bucket. Here is an explanation :

The MADSEN comes with one black padded vinyl upholstered seat in the front. It isremovable and has 2 seat belts.  The rear seat and 2 more seat belts can easily be installed.  The seats are set into place resting on a molded rim in the bucket.  Some velcro is used to prevent the seats from sliding around when they are not loaded up.  A quick word about safety: the belts may help your kids from moving around, keeping the bike more stable. They may also stop kids from climbing out while you are moving (personally, I think kids are smarter than that). The belts may also help smaller kids from sliding off their seat.  In the unfortunate chance that you are involved in a crash while hauling kids around, there is a ongoing debate about all bicycle child-carrying devices ie: bike trailer, rear child rack seat, handle bar child seats.  The debate is: If the bike tips, is it  better not to strap kids in, allowing them to just fall out onto the ground? Or is it better if they are attached to the bike?  Every crash will be different and it is impossible to know each different situation.

This is my opinion on this debate (and it has changed a few times): like clipless pedals or brake-free ski bindings, I see why you would not want your child to be attached to a bike during a fall. But no one wants a child to accidentally fall out off the bike, nor do you want an active child jumping around throwing the bike off balance and causing a crash.  Nor do you want a small child slipping off the seat and getting hurt inside the bucket. When I take my kids for a ride, I strap in my two-year-old and let my eight and five year olds go without a belt.  I have talked to my older boys and they know not to jump around, hang out of the bucket or stand up while we ride.  And Mom now has a strict rule that we always wear helmets!  Always ride safely when kids are on board.  Go crazy when you are by yourself, but take your responsibility  seriously when you are giving a ride to someone else.  Remember if you ride a bike you may fall over, if you drive a car you may crash if you fly in a airplane, it may fall out of the sky, go swimming you may drown, live and do nothing you may have a heart attack. So live a full life, and ride a MADSEN cargo bike!

 

 

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