First of all, LAST CHANCE TO ORDER A BROMPTON AT 2009 PRICES!!! Save at least £100, by ordering this week, for delivery in mid December.

From the irrepressible AtoB magazine (buy it from us or subscribe it electronically here)

The IT chair (a child carrying device made for Bromptons), is sadly out of production, however Steve Parry, the man behind the sporty SP Bromptons has come up with his own slightly different design. This clamps around the saddle stem the same way, but instead of sitting on a high mounted tube like the IT chair, the child’s saddle sticks up from a much lower tube. The child’s weight is taken by a rubber bung sitting on top of the Brompton frame tube, and the whole thing is kept pointing forward by a brace that runs forward to the frame clamp, which is adjustable to suit the slightly different frame lengths. The new SP chair has advantages and disadvantages. It’s lighter and cheaper than the IT chair (1.4kg against 1.6kg), and the low tube allows the rider to step through the frame more easily, which is a big advantage. The child seat is also supplied with a peg to accept a Brompton luggage carrier block rather than a saddle. Turn the frame backwards and this peg allows you to carry luggage behind the saddle in a similar way to the SP Luggage Post. On a newer long wheelbase machine, we’re told it will just about carry a small Brompton bag facing forward in the child carrier position.

On the downside, the SP chair is less rigid than the IT chair, and on our freshly brazed prototype, the footpegs seemed too far back, throwing a little too much weight onto the child’s arms, but this will only be an issue with older children. A general disadvantage of this style of carrier is that the cyclist is forced to ride with knees unnaturally far out, a problem that gets worse as the child grows, but it’s a very sociable arrangement, magic on public transport, and probably the best and most practical Brompton accessories we’ve ever seen. This is born out by the secondhand price of the IT chair, which continues to be in great demand. Steve’s design will cost a very reasonable £150, including the luggage carrier peg.