Babies and bicycles; how soon did you start?
 

These days I'm doing daily walks instead of rides because of our five month old boy. And while I love walking, I am counting down the months (Days? Minutes?) until I can have our little guy on two wheels.

I'm not here asking for recommendations, but just for curiosity: how long did you wait until strapping your little riders into a trailer or cargo bike or top tube seat? Every parent, baby and cycling culture is a little different.

I waited until 1 year old, I think, for a frame or steerer tube mounted seat or trailer.

Don't ask us. Ask your pediatrician.

That's what I always said when a parent came in the bike shop looking for, e.g., a bike helmet for a 3-month-old baby.

If anyone is more ambitious than I am and wants a hook for a startup: I once disappointed a customer when I had to tell her that, as far as I knew, there were no dog helmets on the market. (Pekingese in a wicker basket.)

Edit: checked, and dog helmets are now available, with or without sunglasses or goggles.

We started with a trailer, but it wasn't a good one. Definitely recommend a Thule or Burley. The Walmart ones don't even have a floor. With my twins later we had a Chariot and it was great for a while but we had to discontinue it early as the boy had gotten so much bigger than the girl. They sell an infant sling but are clear they only want you to use it in stroller mode. Be warned, good or bad, a trailer is like towing a parachute. About two shifts down from what you're used to.

I tried a front seat (the Thule one before they bought Yepp) and the experience was poor.

Kiddo can go in a rear seat pretty soon, though, and those worked best for my oldest. We had two Copilot seats and bought extra racks so we had a choice of four bikes (commuter, MTB, wife, tandem). That worked out really well.

The Shotgun style seats hit after my kids were bigger so I can't comment much about those except to point out they will work a lot better if used along with a dropper seat post.

They will outgrow it all around age 4. Then you're in a bind as they are too big for seats or trailers and too small to ride fast with.

I will also say you might want to reconsider the idea you are going to "get back to normal" dragging the baby along, and shift your thinking to what your family needs from you. Especially if there are more kids coming. When the twins outgrew the trailer earlier than expected and oldest was still on a balance bike, and SWMBO bought a puppy, we were doing walks with the BOB stroller all the time, and I was cycling only for commuting

Essentially you want to make sure they are able to hold their head up and with a helmet but I would also check with their pediatrician. Start them early is always good but they have to be ready.

In the end make sure to keep your child in a safe place, don't use them as your air bag get a good quality Burley or Thule trailer or put them on a rear mounted seat if not doing a front load cargo bike.

If you have the storage space for it and a way to transport it if you so desire (we never did), then a trailer is hands down the way to go. Always felt very safe. We could leave a kid sleeping in it. We could throw a whole bunch of other crap in there with the kid. We put crap in there without the kid. We put two kids in it. Also the best solution for rain, cold, and wind. Kid size doesn't really matter. We had the cheap one. It lasted as long as we needed it to.

If you have older kids, kids can 100% tow their younger siblings. Buy an extra hitch. My kids even enjoyed towing the trailer empty.

Yup. I sucked it up through that bind. My youngest is now six and he can shift and go fast and stay to the right. My nine-year-old daughter did a full speed wipe out today coming off the driveway into our front lawn. Fortunately, neither she nor the bike was very hurt. A good life lesson, I suppose.

I believe there are one-wheel trailers on the market for three- to six-year-olds that let them ride with you at your speed. Not so good if you have twins.

"Get back to normal" isn't really my goal; just looking for a good way to get further afield in our morning walks.

We have a Burley that some friends have us when they moved, but I don't think it has attachments for a carseat.

We also had an Osprey Poco frame pack that was awesome for the first kid. I couldn't tell you what age he was for the last hike but it was surely past the 2nd birthday. (I remember him running his hands through a hedge and saying "high five flower!") These are high quality, as good as an adult expedition pack, but stupid expensive so finding one used is great if you can.

We didn't find a solution that was any good for carrying both twins. We bought a sling that was supposed to go front and back but it wasn't any good compared to the backpack.

I had a cheaper one-kid trailer (Schwinn, maybe?) and towed it for a lot of miles per dollar spent. It's some of the best money I've ever spent/saved. I started my daughter at 2 exactly, and immediately thought I should have started sooner. I then got a slightly nicer hand-me-down double trailer and towed that for many more miles with my daughter and her younger brother. We used that until they were far too big for it, and started bumping each other in the face with their helmets when they turned to look at stuff. I think I started my son in the trailer also at about 2.

After that, I skipped attached seats and went to trail-a-bikes. Those were great until they didn't fit. Then it was (is) child stoker kits on a tandem and a triplet. A quad is on my wish list . . .

Burley sell seat cushions for small babies. We had 2 in our trailer for the twins, and kept 1 in place as they transitioned out and when #3 came along. It won’t 100% hold their head up, but makes it a more snug fit. Definitely check with the doc if their neck muscles are strong enough to hold a helmet up. They can fall asleep in the trailer and have their head loll to one side or the other and it looks very uncomfortable.

For just 1 kid, a Yelp Maxi seat or similar can be hooked to a regular road bike. Again, make sure the neck is strong enough.

Our pediatrician said to wait until 1 year of age, regardless of whether they can hold their head up with a helmet on. The brain is undergoing so much development at that age and sudden bumps are not good for it (even with suspension on the trailer). Keep in mind you're also dealing with kids/adults on electric scooters and e-bikes now, so the risk of collisions at higher speeds is more than it used to be. And yes, they frequently fall asleep in the trailer and hang their head at a weird angle. To me, all things considered, it's a very short period and not worth the risk.

My kid was about 3 months when he was first in a bike trailer. A two wheeled trailer is best because of all of the crap you need to carry along with the kid. Wike makes good child trailers (wicycle.com)

mine were in a frame mounted rear seat (Thule yepp something or other) from around a year old, if I remember our doc said once they can face forward in the bjorn they could also be in a bike seat. they both really loved it. no way on earth would I ever put them in a trailer, seems insanely dangerous to me to have them down low and several feet behind me, unless you’re never riding near cars, like never ever ever ever.

they both started riding on their own 16” bikes around 4, first on select sidewalks and parks/playgrounds and then with me in the bike lanes and slow streets. we’ve covered a lot of miles, it’s been great. I do miss the days when they were small enough to be in a child seat on my commuter, and when my older daughter was really excited to take rides with me to fun places, often train + bike. now she’s a teenager…..

Check the law in your state as some say babies must be at least one year one to be on a bicycle, and for good reason. I suggest using a trailer as they are safer than a baby seat. Then I would start the child on a balance bike to start until they learn to ride with pedals. Once children are a little older and can ride their own bikes a Wee-hoo or an Adam’s trail-a-bike is a good choice for bringing them on longer rides.