My tyke is going to be of age to "portage" soon and I just don't have room for another bike outside of the road bike I am saving for and my current Steamroller. If you were me, living in a largely flat city (NY), would you consider hooking a seat up to a fg bike? The only safety issue I see is the increased difficulty of unweighting the back wheel, but I will of course not be skidding and of course will use a front brake. Provided I ride like my child's life depends on it, do you guys see any problems with this combination?

Hook up a rear brake, and go for it.

You don't even need a rear brake, it won't help you stop any faster. You just need to realize that you aren't going to skid and that back pressure will be all you have in the back, but really there isn't any chance of going over the bars by using the front because your rear will be held down. You have to take going down steep hills a bit slower but I find this easier to manage using back pressure than brakes anyway. Make sure that your lockring is on tight and you are good to go.

The only other thing you might consider is whether you need a lighter gearing.

I think if I'm dragging a child in tow, a hybrid/cruiser/comfort or atb/mtb bike with a sturdier frame and wider tires is the bike of choice. Just me, but trailering a child on a skinny tire bike is like trailering a boat behind a sports car ? Wait until the lady of the house sees you trying to do this with her baby/child ?

^He could just throw fatter tires on the Steamroller? (I thought OP was about a child seat, not a trailer, though.)

+1 to lower gearing and (at least) front brake. If you're not very comfy with applying back pressure, brake in the back too, just for that extra control (and to convince the lady of the house). Just remember to adjust your speed accordingly...

Please just use one of the actual bike seats that mount on the bike rather than a trailer. I see people with those child trailers in New York and I just envision a crazy driver not seeing the low largely invisible trailer and running over the kid in a heartbeat. Not much makes me nervous but those trailer seem like death to me in a city like this.

Around my hipster neighborhood most of the fixed dads opt for the standard bike seat or the one that goes on the top tube. That's how I'd roll if I spawned.

If you go with a trailer, do make sure you put the flag on it. It should help some with the visibility issue. I'm pretty sure the surviveability of crashes involving a trailer are at least as good as those involving bike seats. Drivers who don't see the trailer are also not likely to see the bike and if the trailer crashes there is not nearly as much chance of head injury.

Mini-me turns 1 in a couple weeks; the bike seat came in the mail last week. So amped.

I agree with pretty much everything above. Fatter tires, especially since the Steamroller can take them, and definitely lower gearing. Most babies of legal portaging age will effectively double the weight of your bike; i couldn't imagine pushing more than 65 GI. Front brake goes without saying.

I was going to go this route but then decided to build up a 1x7 townie as the minivan. Had i stayed with the FG, I probably would've gone with 42/18 or 19.

As for seats, this is what we got. Maiden voyage this weekend so I can't tell you how it feels riding it i thought it looked the safest. Only catch is you can't use drop bars. Even if you get another non-top-tube-mounted seat, i'd strongly recommend upright bars on the SR.

Pro tip: buy the helmet way in advance. Get the lil' one used to wearing a helmet before anything. Think about the first time you tried to put a sweater on your pet. Hilarity will ensue.

EDIT: Babies + helmets = this.

I've had the Weeride for 4 years now and and my newest spawn just had her first ride. I would add brakes but that's me. I'm a fairly aggressive rider by myself but I turn into a huge candy-a$$ when I have my kids with me. It's time to build a dedicated kid bike. Mine will be a Yuba Mundo in a month or so.

Thanks guys, great advice.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (and Consumer Reports, in this particular article) recommends trailers over bike seats, while acknowledging the visibility and width issues of trailers. The biggest difference is if you fall, trailers are designed to stay upright, whereas seats go down with you. Also they don't impact the handling of the bike as severely.

^While I agree with the above the child is really removed from the experience of riding. Both my daughters loved riding with me because we could enjoy it together.

Sidecar.

https://www.chariotcarriers.com/engli...idecarrier.php

My now 2-1/2 year old has been in one since ~6mos and loves it, as do I. It's not a rigid platform like a motorcycle sidecar, so the bike leans in corners as usual. Kid is on the non-traffic side and next to you, not looking at the rear hub and eating dust. Drawbacks: won't work with many road bikes (with tight front ends, Steamroller might work), sidecar only (ie: no stroller/sleigh/bivy sack conversion kits).

You will want gears and brakes.

52x14 brakeless. Don't pose. Street cred man, street cred.

I also can't see garlic_rice's instagram photo without an account.

fixed.

This to me is such a tough call to make. The bike seat for a child or the trailer, whether to ride with a child at all even. I don't like the bike seat for several reasons. First the seat is loaded when the bike is on 2 wheels and changes the center of gravity while riding. Second, the child is strapped onto the bike as opposed to the rider who sits relatively unattached, so a parent would have to maybe need some help just to load the child into the chair and strap them in. Precious cargo as the payload is a living human being and not a sack of groceries, that while it would be unfortunate to drop a couple liters of soda, it would be more tragic to drop a bike with a child strapped in. Then there's a worst case scenario, I mean someone hits them with a car, the rider probably rolls onto the hood, while the child becomes part of the bike and goes down immediately to the pavement, maybe under the car ? With the trailer, the 2 wheel type, that's if there is even a single wheel trailer for an infant ? I don't know, but I could also envision someone trying to make something like this work for a 1 wheel trailer to modify it to carry a child and later be used for cargo ?

https://www.biketrailershop.com/bob-y...Fcyb7QodhBD8Vg

Anyway, the 2 wheel trailer makes the bike a more stable tricycle to load and unload, but like others pointed out, lower to the road and unseen. I'd definitely restrict riding to a safer neighborhood and park that has cycling paths if I was going to ride with a chid on any bike.

If carrying other human beings, Bakfiets is the only way.

LOL, yeah somebody needs to practivce birth control here:

https://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/wp-co...laaaaang-2.jpg

I find with my six year old on the back gears are my friend. On the flat I can pull off 48x12 no problem, but get a good uphill and gets very hard very fast. I'd at least go for 1x7-10 group on the back to give you some options. I like 3x7 because I can granny gear up anything with her on the back with that setup. The only problem is the extra weight on the back makes it very light in the front and if you get too steep its not very safe.

A buddy of mine attaches a seat to the top tube and has a bent bottle cage for his kid to rest his feet on. It works a charm for his three year old. He also runs front and rear brakes.

Can I just reiterate that no one should ever be using a trailer without a flag attached for visibility?


And on that note, I would personally use a trailer (with a flag) for the reasons that misskaz listed.