commutr4life

I have a two month old. I am used to biking everywhere, and would like to take her with me as soon as possible and in the safest way possible. At what age is it possible to bring little ones on two wheels? When I was kid my dad had a seat on a rack above the back wheel. I've still seen those around. I've also seen seats that attach to the top tube. And of course, there are the trailers.

Thoughts? Experiences? Resources?

Thanks in advance!

st0ut

as soon as they can sit up right use a trailer... PLUS you can put all the baby stuff in the trailer as well. diapers, wipes
bottles, millk. If you have carbon stays that might be an issue.

DallasSoxFan

I'd defer to a doctor on this one. For me personally, I wouldn't consider it until crawling to make 100% sure the neck muscles are adequate - maybe 8-9 months.

If I were more hardcore, I'd do after 2 months in the baby carrier strapped into a trailer. note that every trailer that I know of says this is not allowed.

WriteABike

I'm just some guy on the internet with no actual expertise, but I think the main issue is that trailers and seats usually put the child at a fairly upright angle, and that probably isn't good for a baby who can't sit up yet. Chariot makes an insert for their trailers that gets around that issue. I'm thinking I might try a car seat lashed into a trailer somehow. Some sort of suspension to take the edge off the bumps would be good, too. As for carrying a baby on the bike, if I had an upright bike like a Townie and didn't have to ride very far or around cars, I'd do it with a chest or back carrier like Ergo-baby or Baby Bjorn make.

Of course, I'm just some guy on the internet, and I may be a total idiot. (You can quote me on that.)

commutr4life

I have an Ergo baby and several other slings/carriers. None of them feel secure enough while leaning forward and swinging, at least not in the infant position.

I am also interested in hearing about what is safest (strailer or seats or backpacks) once the baby is older...

Pig_Chaser

Yeah look into this issue. I would suggest not before they're in a forward facing car seat.
Trailers rock for small kids and they're a great workout.
Maybe check out the Recreational & Family forum there's allot of family related info there.

genec

I hate to say it, but this very issue is what cased me to buy a car after having been car free for 7 years. If you are in a walkable city or live in a walkable area, you should try to avoid that drastic measure; but I would indeed wait before trying to put a new baby in a trailer or seat.

joshandlauri

I have a 4 month old, I can strap the car seat into my trailer, only done twice, wife don't like it, both times slow on a mup, facing forward and tilted further back, almost laying down. we do not do it anymore, as I said before the wife don't like it.

but like the trailer people say, its a no no, my book says @ 6 months you san safely strap them in, still seems young.

joshandlauri

also I personally like the trailer for kids 1-3yo as if I every crashed the trailer will not flip over, I can lay the bike down and it has no effect on the trailer.(or at least hasn't yet), I am getting a trail gater to haul my 4yo around, boy will he love it!

I-Like-To-Bike

Me and my twins at nine months old; 25 years ago. They liked bikes then, and still do.

hubcap

I have looked into this and most things I saw recommended waiting until the child is 1-yr old to ensure their neck muscles are adequately developed to handle the bumpy ride, and even then, many sources I saw recommended consulting with the pediatrician first.

veloGeezer

as unpopular as this idea will be, I have to remind you that bicycling on public roads is inherently dangerous. There is no equipment you can buy that changes that.

I've been hit by cars several times over the years. It can happen to you, and then it can happen again.

so what I'm saying is that in your zeal, do not forget that you can still crash or be hit by a car. Nobody ever intends to have a traffic mishap, yet they happen all the time.

So maybe you should wait and not take the risk with a child that young

invisiblehand

I have been waiting for the following:

... plus he/she should have full control over their head with helmet on.

I have not seen any good guidelines from the medical/engineering community.

david7700

I prefer the rear wheel type to offer a good view and as a plus it puts more weight on your drive wheel.

littlewaywelt

+1
There is a difference between risks which you can control and mitigate vs the ones you can't. In the end you're putting faith in the statistical likelihood that you won''t get hit. Personally I won't take those odds with my kids' well being considering the number of ridiculous things I've seen drivers do.

I'd suggest finding an mup if you want to do rides with the kids when their necks are strong enough.

invisiblehand

Well, in the car seat, infants are rear facing with the seat within a relatively small band of angles that roughly -- and this is very rough -- correspond to a facing upwards at a 60-degree angle. So if you think that these car seats are designed well one should be more cautious with your velocity than riding alone.

maximushq2

Less than a week ago a co-worker of mine while at work said he saw a bicycle pulling one of those baby trailers and one of the trailer wheels went up on a curb or something and the trailer flipped over. The co-worker said he didn't think there was an baby in it at the time, but he was a ways away so who knows. I hope inside those baby trailers the baby can be strapped in at least.

HardyWeinberg

I've actually rolled the trailer twice with my 3.5 yr old daughter in it. Both times, below walking speed. She was in both the harness and the lap belt. She loved it. But she also asked why it happened.

HardyWeinberg

Nice picture. One of my wife's coworkers has a milk-crate-like rear seat for her 4-5 yr old. She lived on a military base in Japan, said the classic view was a woman riding with kid on rear seat, kid on handlebar seat, *and* kid on chest carrier. Full-suspension mountain bike like as not.

commutr4life

Thanks to all for your useful advise and for your concern. For those who want to know more, I also posted the same question on Recreation and Family and got some more good responses.

I live close to several MUPs and will be riding almost exclusively on them, FYI, at least at first.

veloGeezer

as a 3 year old, I was skinning my knees dumping over my tricyle and loving that, too.

but a 3 year old is much more indestructable than a 2 month old baby.