soccerallstar_1

I'm pretty sure our trailer says its only for one year and up. And and plastic kid seat on the back would probably be the same too. Is there a way to rig the trailer to hold a bucket car seat?

DieselDan

No. The CPSC will not certify anything to carry an infant on a bicycle.

bigtruck

I am certainly no expert but I am sure its because the infant's neck is not strong enough for the weight of a helmet

Here is a couple of links I just found that explains it better that me
https://www.bhsi.org/tiny.htm
https://www.bhsi.org/little1s.htm

StephenH

How about those fabric baby carriers for just carrying a baby around? (Might take a bike with more upright posture than normal).

masiman

There is not product that I know of that you can buy to secure a baby car seat to a trailer that I know of.

There are any number of ways that you can do it yourself.

stevesurf

Here is an interesting resource:
https://www.ibike.org/education/infant.htm

redirekib

I wouldn't think that all the jostling around would do an infant any good, I wouldn't do it period.

DynamicD74

No. As stated above, it has to do with the infant's neck muscles not being strong enough for helmets, or to compensate for any unfortunate adverse events that might take place as you're riding down the road....and this includes the inevitable bumps that you will go over. Bottom line.... It's not safe, and it's not worth the risk. Wait until the baby is one year old, and you'll both have a blast!

KidTruth

Glue works well. On the baby itself.


/hates babies.

caloso

I felt the same way when my kids were infants, but trust me, it's just not worth worrying about. Just wait until the child is a year, more or less.

JeffS

It's ironic that the weight of the helmet is what actually causes the risk of injury. Without it, there's any number of safe ways to carry a young child.

If I wanted to carry a very young one, I would put them in something like a BabyBjorn carrier. You'd need an upright bike, but it should work.

--------

Maybe the Americans and English have thin skulls or something. The Dutch have miraculously survived their non-use of helmets without killing off their population. Maybe it's the extra exercise that's toughened them up

...yes, I realize their roads are more bike friendly, but I'm not talking about carrying your kid out on an arterial road... 99% of family rides never leave the quiet suburban neighborhood, or the bike path with no cars at all. Those are the rides that people are scared to take.

I feel bad for my daughter who will be forced into a helmet by nanny laws.

Creakyknees

Depends on your risk tolerance. If you use a 2 wheel trailer and a car-seat _securely_ strapped into it at the correct angle, the kid will be fine as long as you don't crash or get run over.

It's the crashing or impact that causes problems.... same as in a car.

spambait11

Don't hate just 'cause you're incapable of having any.

catherine96821

The skull isn't even intact over the brain yet. At the very least wait for the fontanels to close.

I would not, although I catch a lot of grief for things my kids do, so I know how this must sound.

I don't know if you are a woman or a man....but you know what we say?

when fathers are watching children....GOD is watching children, lol

seriously, this sounds like a *man question*

if not, my apologies, but you might want to check your estradiol levels?

Having said that, entire families ride mopeds in Bali, moms side saddle with newborns, etc.
weaving in and out of traffic.

owenh

[SIZE="5"]NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Dont even think about it
a newborn doesnot have the stregnth to hold there head up
Can you even imagine the damage that woulod be caused by jostling and
bumping the babys fragile neck around
If you want to seriously injure or kill your newborn this is the way to do it

This may sound melodramatic but it has happend
for the 1st year youll just have to ride without baby

as for the baby bjorn
How confident are you in your riding ability let alone everyone eleses
if you come of its useually head first with your chest weight full on the baby

Be safe with the most important thing in your life

spambait11

I did this for kicks with my 4 month old. Total distance about 200ft. roundtrip @ < 10mph. Didn't work well on a road bike because of the way his body had to stay tilted due to my normal riding position, while my thighs kept colliding with his legs. Even if I was sitting bolt upright, my thighs would still collide with his legs. This idea, on a scale of 1 to 10, is a 0.

Nycycle

I just got a brand new grand baby, and I never considered him going with, only way I could see it happening would be in his car seat tied down in a trailer, that just ain't gonna happen.

rmwkokomo

StephenH

A pedicab!

masiman

A sling works better than the Baby Bjorn. Not something you'd want to ride miles in, but it works for the occasional spin around the block.

sunflowerflyer

Chariot sells several accessories designed for small children in their trailers. They state one product is for infants 1+ months old, and another is rated for 6-18 pounds. Go to www.chariotcarriers.com and look at the accessories (Baby Bivy, Infant Sling,Baby supporter, bunting bag).

As far as Chariot trailers are as a brand, I believe they are the best ones on the market. We went through a couple cheap trailers with our kids. Once with a cheap trailer I dumped it over at low speed, and the seatbelts broke! So we looked at everything on the market, from Trek, Burley, etc., until we found the Chariots. They are a bit pricey, but looking back It's been one of our better buys.

We have now owned a Chariot Cougar 2 for several years, and it has been fantastic. The U shaped padded 5 point harness are great, as our son would unbuckle the cheap ones. The one downside is the time it takes to convert from 1 kid to 2, but we don't do that often. I also really like the suspension system. My daughter used to complain about bumps with the cheap trailers, that mostly went away with the chariot (Now she ride beside us). The hitch is also brilliantly simple.

The cheap trailers attached with a spring clamped to the frame; it jumped all over as you pedaled and scratched up the frame. The Chariots use a rubber ball, and a socket that attaches under the skewer. The first install takes less than a minute, and only seconds once the joint is on the bike. It pulls wonderful (no jolting) and doesn't damage the bike.

I don't know about the neck issue. To me it would depend on the child, and how strong they are. They would still need support for their heads so they can rest their neck. I don't know if you could get them to wear a helmet. Personally I might ride with them, once their necks are strong enough (not newborn), with appropriate support, in a trailer, on a bike path only (no cars).
Hope this helps

dedhed

Having had 3 kids, who the heck has time to ride in the first year?

hero419

I went through all this in the fall.

method: car seat strapped into trailer.

Vedict: It was to bumpy. (instep rocket)

My wife watched as I rode by and she didn't like the way it looked.

I can't wait to try it in may, he will be one year at that point.

JeffS

Strapping a kid in a car is about the most dangerous thing you can do. Funny how noone seems to give that a second thought.

Carrying one up or down stairs would be right up there as well...

I'm just saying that in the US, our perceptions of danger have been forever skewed by the media, the legal system, and lobbyists.

xeney

We are just revisiting this issue since our daughter is seven months old and my mother's group is starting up a cycling club for moms and babies. We have had a Chariot Cougar since before she was born, and she's just started to enjoy it as a jogging stroller. (She hated it until very recently.) My husband and I are on the fence about how seriously to take those warnings from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute. We've read them before, many times, and they do seem fairly alarmist. On the other hand, we certainly are not experts about infant development and we just don't know the right answer.

Among pediatricians the advice seems to be all over the map. I don't think being a pediatrician necessarily means that you know jack about this issue. One of the mothers asked her pediatrician about bike trailers when her son was six months old, and the doctor said, "Sounds like a great idea!" and left it at that. Others say fine as long as the baby wears a helmet, ignoring what seems obvious to me, that a helmet is far too heavy for a baby's neck. And others don't seem to want kids on bikes, period. So it's hard to feel like anybody is an expert on the issue.

I'm eager to get back on the bike and I really want to do this with my daughter, but I am reluctantly feeling like maybe we should wait another five months just to be on the safer side. She is very strong and stable for her size and age, but she is also quite small -- barely 15 pounds. My husband is concerned that she won't even get the benefit of the Chariot's shocks at that weight, since they are meant for a baby that weighs at least 25 pounds.

Does anyone have any further thoughts? I've read a whole lot and still not come to a conclusion.