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I've become a dad. This is joyous, obviously, but we've yet to figure most of it out. In particular, we've not figured out the best way to transport him by bike. Trailer? Whole new bike with in built trailer thing? Front mounted on the top tube? Anyone have any positive or negative experiences of transporting a wee one about on a bike?
We're planning on doing a long distance ride in May when he'll be six months old, so that's the key age that we need to think about.
Trailer and pull him along, he'll be asleep in no time and at that age, you won't really notice the additional weight, just keep the proper offroad stuff for once you hvae unhitched.
'yet to figure most of it out.' - I'm pretty sure you'll be on your death bed and you'll still be trying to work it out!
Congrats by the way...good effort!
Just tried a trailer with our baby And she seemed to like it BUT the trailer was very sensitive to doad conditions which meant due to the crap nature of our cycle Infrastructure in the uk I can't see us using the trailer for another few months. Really disappointed but yet again the uk fails on any level of Infrastructure.
A double (2 kid) trailer with a car seat in while he's little. From 6 weeks with both mine.
I think 6 months is quite young for a rear seat and too young for a front seat
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A double (2 kid) trailer with a car seat in while he's little. From 6 weeks with both mine.
+1, but not for extended periods. OK for an hour to 2, but not a full day in the saddle (or car for that matter)
I wouldn't do a long distance ride with a 6 month old, just not fair on the wee one. Not even a full day out.
6 months you're talking a trailer in any case.
Once mine was 10 months old it was a front top tube wee ride, then around 18 months a MacRide/LOCT thing.
How long is long distance? A good trailer is the best answer, one with the proper insert for a 6-month-old. Chariot or Croozer would be my suggestion.
The baby seat arrangement for the Chariots is only suitable once the baby can support its own head. Far better is the earlier suggestion of a car seat strapped into a two seater trailer. That's what I did with our 4 and I was out riding with them at about 2-3 months. They all loved it and only woke up when they were hungry or when their nappies were full.
I had a Bafkiets cargo bike when my 2 kids were younger, which they rode in from about 7/8 months old, initially in a reverse facing car seat or Bafkfiets seat insert mounted on the floor of the cargo box. I liked the Bafkfiets because the kids were sitting in front of me, so we could have a conversation, and I could point stuff out. The long wheelbase and the central distribution of the weight seemed to give a fairly smooth ride for the kids.
The longest run we did was 50 miles when my youngest was about 10 months old. That was OK with lots of stops to eat and have a break from the bike. I think a very long distance ride might be a bit of a trial or just boring when you're 6 months old.
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A couple of years ago we saw a women riding a Glentress with a (roughly) 6 month old in a baby-version of a wee ride. It was more like a reclined car seat and right on top of the bars. She also had it setup with a go pro looking back at the baby's reactions. Was a cool looking setup (didn't look home made) but I can't seem to find any details on it at all 🙁
The long distance ride was going to consist of several days of about 20 miles at a time, at a leisurely pace with plenty of stops and potentially the grandparents in support following in either public transport or a car.
I'm torn between a trailer and a cargo bike. The advantage of a cargo bike seems to be that you can keep an eye on them, with the disadvantage being that you have to find somewhere to keep the Sam thing, and we'd need to find one that both me and my partner could ride.
my son will be 3 months old next week, and after quite a lot of research i'm pretty much decided on getting a chariot trailer. probably a 2 seater, for the extra room to carry changing bag, toys etc. his brother is nearly 5 and has just started riding on his own properly so he'll hopefully not want to get in the trailer too! there seems to be a vast array of inserts and seat supports available for the chariot range to accommodate more or less any age/size of small child...
I have got one of the weber infant inserts going spare if anyone would like to make me an offer.
We used it with our little one from about 3 months as it fitted in our trailer
The baby seat arrangement for the Chariots is only suitable once the baby can support its own head.
The seat insert, yes - but the baby sling is suitable for babies, 0-10 months.
Another vote for the Thule Chariot with baby sling. Been using ours since nipper was 4 months (9 months now). Younger than that and you might find yourself stressing over how much they're being jolted over every little bump (very little in reality, but that's not necessarily what it'll feel like).
xherbivorex - Depending on how you'll use it I'd recommend the single seater, unless you're going to be carrying particularly much. There's plenty of room around the inside for toys, and there's a surprisingly big 'boot' on the back for the change bag, shopping, spare jacket, etc. If you'll ever use it in the pushchair configuration (or on narrow-ish paths) the width of the 2-seater could be a bit unwieldy. For me, one of the best things about the chariot is being able to ride into town, tie the bike up, and have it converted to a pushchair in under a minute. There are also a couple of places I ride where the single-seater only just fits through gates - a 2 seater definitely wouldn't.
If you're anywhere near west Cornwall you're more than welcome to have a try with mine - it's a lot of money if you're not sure!
I'm torn between a trailer and a cargo bike. The advantage of a cargo bike seems to be that you can keep an eye on them, with the disadvantage being that you have to find somewhere to keep the Sam thing, and we'd need to find one that both me and my partner could ride.
You'll need garage space to keep a Bakfiets indoors, although they are built with marine ply to withstand outdoors storage, if you have a safe location to do that. It's a step through frame with a QR saddle adjustment, so it will accommodate all sizes of adult rider.
I'm selling a chariot CX1 if you're interested, email in profile.
Cute as the cargo bike idea is, is it any use in the rain?
Chariot cx1 and a baby sling worked for us
If you're anywhere near west Cornwall you're more than welcome to have a try with mine - it's a lot of money if you're not sure!
cheers for the offer, but i'm up north in't west pennine moors!
you're probably right though, the single seat version would be better.
Cute as the cargo bike idea is, is it any use in the rain?
Fold up hood pops on in a minute and covers the whole thing (you can see it strapped to the side of the box in the photo above).
The Dutch build them for everyday utility cycling, so they are really designed to be practical, rather than cute. I sold mine on to someone who is using it for the daily school run.
This photo shows the hood in use on another bike, and you can also see the big kickstand that keeps the whole bike upright, even if kids are clambering over the side.
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I've been using a WeeRide bike seat (bought from the classifieds ;)) for my son for just over a year. He's almost 2 now and absolutely loves it.
The advantage of having him up front is that we can talk, sing together and I can point out all sorts of things to him which he really enjoys and is learning so much more.
He's also high up so can see a lot more than if he was lower.
We didn't user it till he could comfortably sit up on his own and have full control of his head with the helmet on.
I now do 2hr rides with him (wrapped up really well) and he could do a bit more with more breaks, food and drink.