Center Mounted Child Carrier
 

So it looks like I'm going to have to give up riding to work soon as my daughter will be starting at the Preschool on campus. It's a tough trade off, but I don't want to tell my little girl in years to come that I couldn't send her to the awesome daycare because daddy needed to ride his bike. I have a good Chariot Trailer, but I don't trust Los Angeles Drivers to see this behind me and not run her over, especially during rush hours.

I like the idea of a center mounted carrier like the one's I've seen in Amsterdam. Anyone have a line on those or even a great rack mounted one. I don't mind spending a little money to keep her safe.

Thanks,

Marcus

I would think good rear mounted carriers should be readily available at LBS's and big box stores. We used them for all three of our children. Never had a problem and they didn't cost that much.

On the other hand you could find out just how easy it is to order bike stuff from overseas, sight unseen, and hope it is good, as you have have previously suggested to others.

Actually Wally World carries a center-mounted carrier. :D
Did you ever ride with your kids in a city with the rear mounted carrier? Do they even have any real cities where you live?

Hey I know all about LA. I've read all of James Ellroy's books. That makes me as smart about LA as you are about anywhere else. Actually, when my kids were in child carriers we lived in Germany and PA. Heard of those places? In fairly small cities; relevance to use of front or rear child carrier escapes me; maybe its a BIG city thing.

If you talk with anyone who commonly uses a trailer of any sort, the consensus is that drivers give you more room and are more patient than if you were cycling without the trailer. I have found this to be true myself when towing my Flatbed. To gain some confidence, I'd suggest riding in some lighter traffic first and then work you way up to commuting with the trailer. Maybe try the commute with the empty trailer a few time first as an experiment.

If you just don't feel comfortable with your child in a trailer behind you then ignore my post :)

I've ridden a ton with my BOB trailer and found your observations to be true as far as motorists giving me room. I think the bigger issue is my wife letting me take our daughter in the carrier during rush hour.
Though I like your idea of taking a few empty runs without the tyke and seeing how those turn out.

I'll let you argue that one with your wife :) Good luck.

First item listed at amazon.com with search string "bicycle child carrier"

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

I was also intrigued by these in the Netherlands as they were very widely used, but I would think that you would need a bike with a VERY upright position to make this comfortable at all for you and the child.

Anyone used one of these?

Wow, that looks great. The problem I've had with the rear mounted kind is that my heels hit the kids feet sometimes. I have to keep remiding them to keep thier feet up. That one could put the kids feet close to the wheel depending on how tall your frame is. The squirts would probably love riding out front like that though...

No, but I see them everywhere around here. It seems like it would allow for better stability, but physics isn't my strong suit.

Hey I have that.

Anyone want to buy it? It has never seen use.

We too were intrigued by one of these types of carriers. We have a traditional back of the bike carrier as well as a trailer. Our daughter (3.5) loves the trailer, but our son is still a little young to go back in the trailer. My brother in law got us that exact seat.

Unfortunately it won't work in my situation. One thing is that it would really depend on the type of bike you use. In my case I don't seem to have enough space on the top tube, which causes 2 problems.

1. There isn't enough space for me to straddle the bike. I basically have to try and go straight up to the seat. This obviously causes problems in my case since I can't plant both feet on the ground while on the seat.

2. My knees hit the seat. I end up having to pedal with my legs splayed outwards. Very uncomfortable.

You can see a video of this seat in use on their site

http://www.kentbicycles.com/bikeacc_wee_carrier.html

I would suspect if I had a more relaxed type of bike (hybrid etc) then maybe it would work. But unfortunately it doesn't for me.

I wasn't even thinking safety really. I just thought it would be cool to be able to see him enjoying the ride.

-D

Adams Trail-a-Bike with the child carrier replacing the seat? Like the one here: http://www.amazon.com/Adams-Child-Se...sporting-goods

I second the observation that motorists are gentler and give you more room when you have a trailer. Another thing to keep in mind: as a parent, you have a responsibility to your child to maintain your own health. If you feel a certain route is dangerous, you shouldn't be riding it, with or without your child.

I did the trail-abike thing with the seat, I didn't like it because it puts the center of gravity awfully high. YMMV.

WeeRide makes several, including the one pictured.

I also ran across this one.


http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpghttp://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...._AA280_.L.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=1Y6PM2AE05INV

Why decide? Get 'em all. Even better, discuss with your wife a plan for filling them up.:)

Leiden, NL. 1999 or 2000

Or you can go full on Dutch style with a bakfiets:

http://bakfiets.nl/images_cargotrike...otrike_l_1.jpg

My brother-in-law's brother (no idea what relation that makes him to me, friend?) in the Netherlands just bought that model for his wife to cart their 4 year old and newborn around town.

The OP should just order it off the Internet. No sweat, easy! Eh, OP?:p

Yep it actually should be. So your point is Mr Obvious Contrarian?

-D

The point is obvious to those that aren't dense. Yeah it "should" be.

The OP knows the score on this issue and my comment was aimed to him, wasn't it, eh?

Edit 1: Then again, he does live in the Great Big City so why shouldn't he be able to find everything right at home.

Edit 2: Come to think of it no Big City Fellow with access to everything should ever need to use the Internet to find the right stuff.

You can buy them in Portland, now. :)

I like this bakfiet, http://bikeportland.org/wp-content/bakfietsRiver.jpg even has a top

And it's even for sale less than 500 miles from you.

One of my Dutch brothers in law is interested in buying one. Any idea what prices are like at the shop in Portland?

I do not know, as they don't have a physical shop yet. But you could contact them. BTW, these guys are well-known and respected in the local community. Nothing shady.

I have ridden with my daughter and grand-daughter on rear mounted seats (not at the same time but over 30 yrs apart). No problem apart from fogetting my daughter was there when dismounting which resulted in both of us and bike lying on the ground. The mid mounted seat means you have to pedal with your knees splayed out wide. +1 on motorists giving more room to trailers, but you could also mount flag poles at the back corners of the trailer with blinkies on the poles. Route could also be adjusted to take the sidewalk at lower speed in certain sections of the route.