Lightweight carbon baby carrier
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
Lightweight carbon baby carrier
So, I've been working my legs lately. Last year, 700 km in 6 days at 40 kph average with a simple MEC trailer while drafting a group of friends I've been racing with for 10 years.
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
#2
Aspiring curmudgeon
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Saint Louis
Posts: 2,686
Bikes: Guerciotti, Serotta, Gaulzetti
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 23 Times
in
11 Posts
Is it April Fool's already?
I have the Bell Co-Pilot. Works well, but you need rack braze ons.
I have the Bell Co-Pilot. Works well, but you need rack braze ons.
__________________
"Party on comrades" -- Lenin, probably
"Party on comrades" -- Lenin, probably
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Potomac, MD
Posts: 776
Bikes: 2012 GT Transeo 3 2014 Cannondale CAAD 10 105
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
pretty much any kid safe seat will require legit rack braze ons as they need to support 20-45lbs.
Get a weehoo to tow behind the wife and let the 3yr old pedal.
Get a weehoo to tow behind the wife and let the 3yr old pedal.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Cabot, Arkansas
Posts: 1,538
Bikes: Lynskey Twisted Helix Di2 Ti, 1987 Orbea steel single speed/fixie, Orbea Avant M30, Trek Fuel EX9.8 29, Trek Madone 5 series, Specialized Epic Carbon Comp 29er, Trek 7.1F
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Ok I'll bite. Is pulling your children in a trailer behind you at 25 miles per hour in a paceline really a good idea? And how are you going to carry enough supplies for you and those kids for three + hours of riding. The water you will need will weigh almost as much as the trailer.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,100 Times
in
1,414 Posts
40kph for 6 days pulling two kids in a Chariot? Incredible.
As in, this is not credible.
As in, this is not credible.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SW ONTARIO
Posts: 525
Bikes: P1 Domane Di2, SLR Emonda Di2, Trek Farley 9 Fatbike
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
Get trailers for the rest of your group. That way they can all drag one of your kids. It will slow them down from their normal 50kmph average so you and wifey can keep up. This way if group wrecks couple of you should survive.
#8
Banned
Join Date: May 2015
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 1,245
Bikes: 1975 Motobecane Le Champion lilac, 2015 Specialized Secteur Elite
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 97 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Too funny 
Could you imagine though if someone was so stupid and self centered to actually mean it lol?

Could you imagine though if someone was so stupid and self centered to actually mean it lol?
#9
Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 47
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I've definitely been thinking about one of these...that way you can race a crit and not have to find a babysitter. Might be worth contacting them to see if they can build a three seater.


https://www.scandinaviansidebike.dk/


https://www.scandinaviansidebike.dk/
Last edited by chupalt; 06-29-15 at 08:18 PM.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 4,768
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 628 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 367 Times
in
205 Posts
I've definitely been thinking about one of these...that way you can race a crit and not have to find a babysitter. Might be worth contacting them to see if they can build a three seater.


Scandinavian Side Bike - Forside


Scandinavian Side Bike - Forside
#11
Full Member
Thread Starter
Ok I'll bite. Is pulling your children in a trailer behind you at 25 miles per hour in a paceline really a good idea? And how are you going to carry enough supplies for you and those kids for three + hours of riding. The water you will need will weigh almost as much as the trailer.
And deceleration from a frontal impact having your baby in your car at 100 kph is 10 times more likely to kill your baby than you crashing at 40 kph in a bike trailer.
Velocity gets the total energy at the square level. Riding with a group you have been riding for 10 years is not what I'd call unresponsible and I know them so much that they were the ones pulling the trailer the afternoon after the lunch.
Anyways the point is not about inquiring if you think it's secure or not, I can judge myself. I just need to find out a good carrier that you can mount on the back of the rear seat.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,176
Bikes: ...a few.
Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1991 Post(s)
Liked 390 Times
in
221 Posts
Advice around these parts don't come without a small dose of judgment, you'll find.
I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.
Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.
Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
#13
Full Member
Thread Starter
Advice around these parts don't come without a small dose of judgment, you'll find.
I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.
Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.
Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,176
Bikes: ...a few.
Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1991 Post(s)
Liked 390 Times
in
221 Posts
As I said, the weight of the child, and I carried them as old as four years old, makes up the bulk of the weight. Mine were all around about 35 pounds at four years of age.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,176
Bikes: ...a few.
Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1991 Post(s)
Liked 390 Times
in
221 Posts
Sorry, you are talking about a trailer, but referred to a carrier. I re-read your post and you are referring to a carrier.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j...35768456239591
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j...35768456239591
#16
Senior Member
The same reason weight weinies spend 10 grands for a replacing every bolts by titanium ones and put carbon shifters when they are 20 pounds overweight.
I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
#17
pan y agua
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,229
Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike
Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1398 Post(s)
Liked 624 Times
in
331 Posts
We could actually move pretty fast once up to speed, on flat ground.
Probably not the brightest thing I ever did, but it made for great photo ops.
And while we could do 40kph, no friggin way we could sustain that for any distance, or come close to averaging it.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
#18
Thread Killer
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,237
Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2452 Post(s)
Liked 1,538 Times
in
940 Posts
I did it once. Once a year they do a ride on the Parkway from Williamsburg to Yorktown, with the road closed to car traffic. We did it once on our tandem, with our 6 year old daughter attached on a trail-a-bike, and burley trailer attached to the trail-a-bike, with our two friends children in it. We pulled a paceline in the low to mid 20's.
We could actually move pretty fast once up to speed, on flat ground.
Probably not the brightest thing I ever did, but it made for great photo ops.
And while we could do 40kph, no friggin way we could sustain that for any distance, or come close to averaging it.
We could actually move pretty fast once up to speed, on flat ground.
Probably not the brightest thing I ever did, but it made for great photo ops.
And while we could do 40kph, no friggin way we could sustain that for any distance, or come close to averaging it.
When I haul three, I use my Tanjor Aero inline 2-seater trailer (which, when pulling it alone, I've been quite comfy at speeds well north of 20mph) in conjunction with a Chariot Sidecarrier sidecar. Really nice getup, but the sidecar does increase frontal area significantly, and is perhaps not the best long distance/high speed hauling option when compared to a trailer or other in-line seating options.
Like the Tanjor, Sidecarrier is out of production, but still may be worthwhile to keep an eye out for on the used market, as would a Tanjor, particularly one of the 3-seat Aero trailers, which is the most elegant solution for how to pull three kids fast.

#19
Thread Killer
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,237
Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2452 Post(s)
Liked 1,538 Times
in
940 Posts

#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 4,387
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1872 Post(s)
Liked 2,112 Times
in
1,193 Posts
This reminds me of the guy who (successfully) sued Cannondale back in the late '70s because the manual that came with his Cannondale trailer didn't explicitly warn him that cornering at speed on a steep downhill grade could result in the trailer overturning and injury of his child.
#21
Thread Killer
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,237
Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2452 Post(s)
Liked 1,538 Times
in
940 Posts
This reminds me of the guy who (successfully) sued Cannondale back in the late '70s because the manual that came with his Cannondale trailer didn't explicitly warn him that cornering at speed on a steep downhill grade could result in the trailer overturning and injury of his child.

#22
Banned
Join Date: May 2015
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 1,245
Bikes: 1975 Motobecane Le Champion lilac, 2015 Specialized Secteur Elite
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 97 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
So, I've been working my legs lately. Last year, 700 km in 6 days at 40 kph average with a simple MEC trailer while drafting a group of friends I've been racing with for 10 years.
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
Aren't their undeveloped skulls amazingly susceptible to injury at that age? Helmet or not.
Still fairly certain the OP is having a bit of fun.
That or maybe his parents did too much racing back in the day with him tied to a bike lol.
#23
Senior Member
This is just a bad idea.
J.
#24
Thread Killer
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,237
Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2452 Post(s)
Liked 1,538 Times
in
940 Posts
I started hauling both my kids very young, probably around 5mos or whenever it was they could keep their head up. I did not attempt to fit a helmet until much later, like 1.5-2yr. Having kds wear helmets in bike trailers does not seem like a rational concern to me. I did take precautions againts sharp jolts and hard jostling, such as low tire pressures, foam seat pads, side- and head braces, and careful, slower riding speeds.
Here's the setup I had for both my kids, in the Chariot sidecar. The bracing system may have been Chariot, too, but I had to adapt it for the Sidecarrier, both with the strapping and additional pad spacers (seen on either side of the headrest. Worked great. I don't think my son's inability to focus and uncontrollable bursts of rage are related to head damage in any way...
...KIDDING!!
Here's the setup I had for both my kids, in the Chariot sidecar. The bracing system may have been Chariot, too, but I had to adapt it for the Sidecarrier, both with the strapping and additional pad spacers (seen on either side of the headrest. Worked great. I don't think my son's inability to focus and uncontrollable bursts of rage are related to head damage in any way...
...KIDDING!!

#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Central Louisiana
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 41 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
3 Posts
I suppose I'm still wondering when they came out with lightweight carbon babies. Are they stronger, stiffer, more laterally stiff and vertically compliant than regular babies? Do they asplode in a crash?