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When trying out the baby seat on my wife's e-bike, it was really easy to fit and remove because her saddle flips up to access the battery. It's a real pain threading the baby seat over the top of my pannier(s) and under the saddle to fit it on my bike.

FWIW the baby seat is a hamax siesta, seat tube mounted, and slightly fiddly to fit even with rack but no panniers. I can't fit the seat then the panniers - there's no access to fasten the panniers.

So is there a flip-up seat post available to fit to a normal bike? Google finds nothing relevant, only ancient forum threads.

Edit: Pics

Here it is flipped up: seat flipped up

And in riding position: seat level

Detail of the mechanism: close-up

As you can see the standard QR height adjustment is unaffected, and the saddle rails are typical.

I've found out a bit more - apparently there's quite a bit of extra weight (looks like it, plenty of steel in there) and older versions had a tendency to work loose around the hinge.

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    Fitting a child seat won't be easy or even possible on every frame. Above all else they are designed to maximize safety, not ease of installation. Consider getting a bike trailer instead. They are arguably a safer option anyway, and what limited statistics exist on the topic bear that out. And bike trailers fit on more bikes than child seats do.
    – Darth Egregious
    Commented Feb 9, 2015 at 14:59
  • struggling to visualise your flip-up seat, do you maybe have a pic? or something you can grab off the web?
    – PeteH
    Commented Feb 9, 2015 at 17:11
  • Not a bad idea. Maybe something for Kickstarter, etc.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Feb 9, 2015 at 20:05
  • I'd guess its something like a moped seat. But, @user973810, I'd be interested in seeing those statistics.
    – Batman
    Commented Feb 9, 2015 at 21:31
  • @user973810.the seat fits. It's just awkward getting it on and off. Trailers may suit some people but there are stretches round here where they wouldn't fit between bollards on the cycle paths. The alternative road has a 70mph limit in places. Bike parking generally had no room for trailers as well.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:27

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Answering for completeness:

Such saddles are available but only as spares for E-bikes, from the bike manufacturers. They aren't necessarily compatible with a normal saddle as they use unusual mountings, and the saddle post diameter isn't specified (instead they list which bikes it's a spare for).

They're heavy and not necessarily designed for hard use.

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  • +1 This. Ebikes have them as many have the battery tucked behind the seat post and need the seat to tilt up in order to remove the battery. To get one, I'd check with a vendor who sells ebikes. Note that it's only the post adapter that's special, you can use a regular seat on the tilting adapter.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 17:07
  • @RoboKaren (the question was originally mine) I first saw one on an e-bike. That uses a different diameter seat post to my bike according to my calipers, which was sent I went looking for one. It would have been OK for me but the adapter is quite tall, so if your saddle height is close to the minimum it wouldn't be an option. I gave up, instead modifying my rack and adjusting my pannier to sit further back.
    – Chris H
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 17:19
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    The seatpost itself might be a different diameter but it looks like it narrows at the top to what might be a standard seatpost-adapter diameter. And a well stocked ebike store might have adapters that fit other post diameters. That way you can keep both your saddle and seatpost as they are.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 17:25
  • I wonder if a "SwitchGrade" adjusts enough for your use case switchgrade.com
    – Paul H
    Commented Oct 18, 2023 at 15:55
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    @PaulH I wouldn't even be able to test one - not only do I no longer have that bike, I no longer have a baby. She's the stoker on a tandem now!
    – Chris H
    Commented Oct 18, 2023 at 16:45
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Remove the seat and seat post from the bike, install the baby seat, reinsert the seat post, done

If the seat post does not have a quick release, go to the local bike shop and buy one for $5.

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    This is looking like my best option. Specifically fitting a collar just round the saddle post using the existing pinhead security "quick release" mechanism to secure it and the new collar just to mark the height.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:39
  • Actually thinking about my own idea it probably wouldn't help much - a bit of tape round the seat post would work better. The pinhead bolts are a good idea but do slow things down quite a bit, and might not be necessary on the saddle.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 20:00
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No, flip up bicycle seats are not common.

For (probably) less than $10US, you could get a quick-release seatpost collar so that it's easy to move the seat up or down. Just make sure to mark on the seat post what height you like it at.

For over $100US, you could get a "dropper" seatpost (intended for mountain biking) and set one of the lower positions to be the comfortable one. That would be a lot faster than quick-release option, and do much better at getting back to the same seat height setting, but it's a lot more expensive.

Alternately, you could look into other seat and/or rack options. A trailer made for hauling a kid? A baby seat that goes in front of the rider instead of behind? A longer rack? A rack that sits further back or up or down or something in a way that isn't such a pain? A cargo bike with a really long rack (so there's still room for panniers)?

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  • Some nice ideas here but the front seats mean rising with wide knees (& see my content above about trailers round here). I've already optimised and modified the rack to get it to fit panniers and seat at all. I might look in to quick release options.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:38
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No, there are no saddles that flip up. There are two standard saddle attachment mechanisms:

  1. A single hex key tightens a clamp that hold the saddle rails.
  2. Two bolts tighten a clamp that hold the saddle rails.

I've seen a couple other configurations, but the intent of the mechanism is always that the saddle is mounted firmly to the seat post.

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  • There are definitely saddles that flip up. There's one within 5 metres of me now. Is the top of the post, below the rail that's different. I'll post a pic.
    – Chris H
    Commented Feb 11, 2015 at 16:41
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Trying to re- engineer these 10£ hinges Into a safe locking tilt saddle clamp arrangement, already have the one you pictured, came with new ebike Was not adaptable for the new seat design

Regardsenter image description here

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    Welcome to Bicycles SE. The original question was looking for a source for a seatpost that would allow a saddle to tilt for access.
    – Ted Hohl
    Commented Oct 16, 2023 at 7:51

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