Advice for Riding with Babies/Young Kids?

[brewsmith]

So my son is now 4 months old(!) and starting to be able to sit up on his own etc.

I know it's a ways off, but I wanted to poll the Paceline to see when folks started riding with their young ones and what kind of seats etc. you have used and reccomend. Seems like the progression would go from front mounted seat to rear/trailer then tandem attachment? School me!

[Hank Scorpio]

I had my daughter in the chariot pretty early, don’t tell our pediatrician. I used the infant sling plus and head stabilizing pillow. She would go to sleep in the first or second lap of the lake. I recommend checking your local craigslist for the chariot/burley, you can get some great deals on there.

[Rafa]

What worked awesome for us was having a balance bike around. My kids started playing with it on their own at about 18 months. They went from that to an actual bike around 3YO.

[45K10]

Originally Posted by brewsmith

So my son is now 4 months old(!) and starting to be able to sit up on his own etc.

I know it's a ways off, but I wanted to poll the Paceline to see when folks started riding with their young ones and what kind of seats etc. you have used and reccomend. Seems like the progression would go from front mounted seat to rear/trailer then tandem attachment? School me!

I didn't do the front mounted seat but we started with a Thule Chariot he was about a year old. When he out grew that we got a Adams trail-a-bike to haul him around. He has been on a balance bike since he was two and he just started riding with the pedals on this past Friday. He is four.

[pdmtong]

I was not a fan of the burley cart simply because daughter would fall asleep in an awkward position and there I am on a heavy trek 820 pulling a load - no fun. I would have been better off just timing my ride (road) with her nap.

just let the kid ride a scooter or trike or balance until ready for a 16" and a adams trail-a-bike.

stick with it though. kids can ride. she started single tracking on a 20" hardtail at age 6 and by age 9 she was riding our benchmark 3.3/1300' climb and the advanced intermediates at lift-assisted northstar with me.

[stien]

I went straight for the trailer at 6 months. I strapped the car seat in there so she's be reclined when sleeping. Our Burley trailer has suspension and I literally had 2 PSI in the tires since they are so stiff. Very cushy and take it slow only on the MUP.

10 months now so helmet will fit soon. It'll be helmet + regular trailer seat, or seat tube mounted Thule Yepp (already have it). Then we can do some lightly travelled roads.

I can't just time my rides with nap time since Mrs has work.

[MattTuck]

Like most of my life, my plans have been derailed by minor impediments. I bought a used cadence trailer for the twins. But I am still in need of the mount that connects the trailer to the bike. Once I have that, I'll report back. My hunch is that they won't like it very much -- but we'll see.

My biggest concern is just whether they need helmets for a place like the rail trail.

[Dude]

There is an American pediatric recommendation out there for jogging strollers. Too much jostling on their organs or something er other. It’s not dependent on neck stability - I might be making that up but I look into it.

Lots of people use the top tube mounted seat. Every shop I’ve worked in has refused to carry them because they are an easy way to accidentally chop your kid in half in a crash. Rear mounted seats like a Yepp are safer and offer more protection from the sides.

I’ve used that style for 2 years and it was great. Daughter was up high enough to see everything and close enough for you to talk to each other. She is over the weight limit and now we use a Weehoo which is big, heavy and good enough. I’d opt for something that mounts by the dropout instead of on the seatpost but the weehoo was a good deal (used on Craigslist).

It’s a blast. An absolute blast and one of my favorite things riding with her. It’s slow, hard, sweaty and my favorite time with her.

So, that’s what I’d recommend.

[azrider]

I’d wait till his/her neck is strong enough to support itself in a burley instead of getting head stabilizing pillow. We got the pillow but still found ourselves stopping every half mile or so to readjust.

Our timeline below was 8 months in burley unassisted, 18 months for his “first” strider and by 2.5 he was pedaling on his own

Fun times !!!








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[dustyrider]

I love these threads because they remind me of my earliest memories.
My dad had one of those hard plastic seats you can mount to the back of a bike and sit at seat level with the rider. I can still see my 4 year old self strapped in watching his massive legs grinding up king brook road while I listened to the water rush over the rocks. There’s at least a dozen other rides that I can recall until I got my own wheels at 6 and started hauling myself everywhere he did.

I think a trailer, especially one that allows the bike to fall while the trailer stays upright, or a front mounted seat would be considered safer and more appropriate for younger kids, but being on the bike like a rider certainly made a large impact on me; one that I am forever thankful for.

Way to go cycling parents! Making memories to last a life time.

[Hank Scorpio]

If you do decide to go trailer and will be doing any type of cool/cold weather riding I would also highly recommend one of the 7am enfant 212. They look ridiculous but baby comes out toasty warm.

[Nooch]

Originally Posted by Hank Scorpio

I had my daughter in the chariot pretty early, don’t tell our pediatrician. I used the infant sling plus and head stabilizing pillow. She would go to sleep in the first or second lap of the lake. I recommend checking your local craigslist for the chariot/burley, you can get some great deals on there.

and if you do go this route I have the infant sling referenced that we're all set with

[rzthomas]

I have a Burley that I put my kids into (21 months and 4 1/2 years). I live adjacent to the University of Alabama campus, so I go over there and do short dadpower type workouts with them in the trailer (30 minutes max), with stops at playgrounds and the local donut shop.

[pdonk]

I have been riding with my 2.75 yr old daughter for most of the summer. We have a cheap Bell trailer I bought used (just in case she did not like it). It is on its last legs, I think we are teh 4th or 5th family to have.

We started with small rides around the block and to nearby parks and are progressing to multi use path rides with my wife of 10k round trip with a break in the middle.

What I have learned:

Bumps are a big deal, I hear about it every time a bump is too big. Thanks for tip about lowering the air pressure more.

Watch out for even the smallest puddle - if you don't have the screen up or fenders they will get sprayed.

Take snacks and water.

My daughter wears a helmet in the trailer, it is part of the process of getting ready to go.

Here is a picture of the set up.

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...81#post2578381

She also has a balance bike I made for her.
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=221654

We are going to do a paint up date as she wants a green bike to match mine.

Looking forward to getting her a trail a bike for next summer and her own pedal bike.

On the trail a bike who has experience with the adams or burley kazoo or another brand? Likely buying new so the burley would have to me significantly better for the price difference.

[Spaghetti Legs]

Our kid bike progression:

Rear mount upright seat (If I had a do over, I would consider a front mount)
Burley knock-off trailer
Tiny bike with training wheels
Adams trail-a-bike (awesome)
K2 Z 20
Redline Conquest 24
Small Performance bike aluminum frame built with some old Dura Ace 9