Bobike mini saga

I haven't posted in a long time, but my I thought what I learned about baby seats for bikes recently would be useful to other folks.

Problem:
Bobike mini does not fit all bikes, like my Electra. You need several inches of clearance on the stem.

Details:
I wanted a bike seat for my little girl that attached to the front of the bike so I can keep an eye on here.

The iBerts are pretty popular out here, but I didn't think it was worth ~$100. I found the Bobike Mini on Amazon and it was more reasonable and looked more accommodating for the baby. I have an Electra single speed cruiser and I wasn't sure if the seat would work with my bike.

I'm not a bike expert, so I emailed two photos of the stem at different angles to the company that sells the seat on Amazon asking if it would work. I got a generic response that in retrospect I can see they did not look at my pictures:

It can be fitted onto nearly all bicycles including the majority of racing, towing, and mountain bikes. Also, you do need to measure the bike stem where it will be mounted. The stem needs to be between 20-28mm.

I order it and paid extra to get it by the weekend. Once I saw the mount I realized it wouldn't fit. Not being a bike expert, I removed the handlebars to see if the steering tube was somehow adjustable to get more height. It wasn't. I called around a few shops and consulted a friend that with more bike expertise and discovered that short of getting a new fork and headset, this would not work on my bike.


Solution:
Measure your handlebar stem and make sure you have several inches of clearance for the mount. If not and you do not have an adjustable quill stem.