Appropriate trailers for babies
 

I'm looking at trailer options for my son who is 3mo old. He loves riding along in his stroller on extended walks (45min+) so I think he could handle short bike rides as well. Obviously the stock seating position models are not acceptable because he can't fully support his head yet. However, it appears that Chariot, Burley, and others sell inserts for newborns that tilt the seating position back appropriately and have some cushion to support the sides of the head. All riding would be done on paved surfaces.

- Has anyone used a trailer for kids < 1yr old?
- Did the child enjoy the ride (too bumpy?)
- Has anyone used the baby inserts for the trailers? The manufacturers recommend using them for jogging only, did you feel safe using them in bike mode (at family travel speeds of 10-15mph)?

I have used trailer with multiple <1 year olds
All of them have enjoyed the ride
Never used an insert

Anecdotally:

• Some are against it, others are for it.
• Most that have taken <1 year olds have had the child enjoy the ride. Few to very few have children that dislike it. The few times I read about it was divided on the ride and the helmet, IIRC
• The inserts apparently work and fit well. I do not recall reading any negative feedback on them.

The trailer manufacturers and the CPSC recommends the child be at least 18 months old before putting a child in a bike trailer or bike seat.

I have a Chariot Cougar I for my son. He started in it at about 9 months with the baby supporter insert to stabilize him. We waited until his head was steady and neck strong. He loved it from the first time out although he'd usually fall asleep after about 10 minutes. Now, at 2 years old, he stays awake for all of the rides. If you're interested in the Chariot line, I'd be happy to pass the insert on to you and your son.

well, i'm "one of those parents"---i used a Chariot CX-2 with the baby sling. we had a lot of fun (my 4 month old daughter and i), riding slowly while she napped, exploring wherever we happened to be when she awoke (the Chariot lets you carry a lot of gear, thankfully); we did this for about 800 miles over 8 months---just looping around the local country side back in Ithaca, NY (three months lost to winter; so 5 months total of riding). she slept peacefully, and always awoke to find me close by. we never rode off-road (but many MUPs), and always took it slow over any kind of bumps. the ride in our little compact car is far bumpier than the Chariot.

to this day, my daughter (who is closing in on 2 years old) still thinks it's totally normal to get in the Chariot and ride around; it's those that never get to do this who are peculiar. she loves to go for rides, jogs, or walks; which makes me one of the happiest parents around.

in your case, in Oregon, the laws for transporting a child in a trailer are unclear with regard to safety devices (i.e., helmets). the vehicle/bicycle code does not mention trailer use---only attached seats, trail bikes, or childrens bicycles (clearly not for babies). For my own part, living in the place where Burleys are made, the Chariot is a more expensive but better machine. For me, the fact that my family has gone "car-lite" really has come down to the versatility of the trailer (the only place i can confirm failure is as a hiker on rocky terrain over narrow paths---stick with the baby backpack there).

feel free to PM me if you want; or if you're in Eugene, let me know, and you can try it for yourself. Happy trails!

You may also want to check state law. It is illegal to transport anyone on a bike or trailer who is less than 1 in NY.

http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bike-vt.htm#sec1238

Section 1238. Passengers on bicycles under one year of age prohibited;

It says "on bicycles", do they apply that to trailers? I'm curious what they would do if someone uses a bike as their transportation. That seems not unlikely to happen in NYC given the expense of owning and maintaining a car there.

There is ambiguity in the law, but my reading says that passengers under 1 are illegal. I would love to be proven wrong.

+1 for the Chariot Cougar. I have used the two seat carrier for my daughter since she was 16 months. It is heavily used, almost every day when the weather is good and is showing minimal wear after 2 years of use.

We took our kids in the trailer as young as 3 months old - we used a hard baby carrier/carseat inside a Burley D'Lite.

We had a Chariot Cougar (now passed on to our goddaughter) for our twins. I used the infant sling and used it as a jogger starting at 7 or 8 months, but waited until they were 11 months before using it as a bike trailer.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18.../July05023.jpg

[on edit: They were 14 months when this was taken.]

The reason to wait until a year old is neck strength. The kid could be fine just riding around, but in the case of a rollover or some other accident where they get shaken around, the weight of their head+helmet could be hard on their necks.

Obviously some 10 months old have more neck strength than other 15 month old kids, so it's pretty arbitrary.

If you ride carefully, and avoid risky behaviour, keep your speed down, etc etc. strapping a child seat into a trailer is a decent option.

If you want to be cautious, wait 'till junior is a year old and you can get a bike helmet that fits properly.

Thanks everyone. I was trying to understand why jogging with a child was fine but towing them in a bike trailer (same exact seat!) would be problematic. Yes, I would obviously be taking it slow and on paved MUPs. I think the first step will be to see if he can tolerate a helmet or not, then get a trailer. We're looking to start riding around in a few more months at the earliest (~7mo old or so).

My girl is 20 months, I'm looking to get a trailer, not sure i want to spend $400 on one thou, would a $100 trailer not do? also where do you get a helmet for someone so small?

I'm sure a $100 trailer would be fine, you'll probably just not get as many options. We went with the admittedly expensive Chariot because it seemed to be the best at switching to jog trailer. If that's not an important feature for you, than it's probably not worth the extra cash.

As for a helmet, you can get baby helmets at REI or City Bike Works. In fact, now that I think about it, both City and Mike's Bikes are having spring sales so it might be worth checking them out.

Oh, and check craigslist.

Does it matter if i ride a road bike or mountain bike, I have a road bike, plan on riding trails with the little one

Not really. The only thing I would be concerned about is the hitch. The Chariot has a ball and cup hitch that attaches through the skewer. I could pull the kids on my CF road bike. On the other hand, I think the Burley trailers have a hitch that clamps on the chainstay and seatstay. No way I'd put that on anything but a steel framed bike.

I have a mid 80's Peugeot, its not anything special as far as the frame goes, I think it is steel, should I be concerned either way?

Nope, it's definitely steel. No concern at all. You should be fine.

I had a trailer for my son and took him out once. He inherited dads motion sickness and barfed the whole way.

I used to trailer my daughter around starting when she turned about one. She always used to wear a helmet, and that was more her doing than mine as she wouldn't get in the trailer without a helmet on.

We used to go on a ride every Saturday and Sunday, about 30 miles each day. She's always fall asleep during the ride. (Which was why my wife and I started having me trailer her around - the kid wouldn't nap, and the only way we'd ever get anything done on the weekends was for one of us to keep the kid amused somehow...)

And I'll have to disagree with caloso on the merits of less-expensive trailers. When we were shopping for a trailer, my wife did a lot of research and, according to her, many of the less-expensive trailers were much more susceptible to rollover or other problems. When we got our trailer about 8 years ago, the best/safest trailers on the market - 8 years ago - were Burleys and Yakimas. That's the kind of argument I was NOT going to win, so we got a Yakima, and it was absolutely great. Hauled a ton of gear, too. And it folded up to only about a foot wide so it was easy to store.

And the best thing was dropping somebody while hauling the kid in the trailer, on an old beat-up Peugeot, and wearing ratty clothes that my 6th-grade gym teacher would have found unacceptable for gym class. :D

Unfortunately, Yakima has since ceased making their trailers, but you can sometimes find them on eBay or Craig's List.

I trailered my daughter around from the time she was about three months old untill now, about two and a half years old. In the begining, I would strap her into her car carrier and then strap that into the seat of the trailer. She loved it! Now, she puts her helmet on herself and jumps right in the trailer when it's time to go for a ride. It is second nature for her. Start out slow and go for a few short trips to see how it goes. Increase your trips little by little and you will have no problems. Good luck!

The new Burleys now have a hitch that is retained by the skewer.