A question for all the Dadbikists out there… At what age did you start taking your little one out with you on the bike? And with what sort of setup? i.e. Rack + seat, trailer etc.

We just had a little boy about 8 weeks ago and I’m itching to get a Dadbike built up to take the little man out and about!

abouth 18 months in a rack + seat – avoid bumpy trails! Hit a pot hole and it put him off for weeks.

The love the motion if you keep it smooth though

My little one has just gone past 13months and I’m going to take him out for a gentle spin very soon. He already has a bike helmet (decathlon is your friend here) and I’m just about to take delivery of a Hamax sleepy seat which has the added advantage of reclining slightly to make life more comfy for the little one when they inevitably fall asleep.

about 7 months in a car seat strapped into a trailer. 8 months or so in a bike seat on the back of the bike. only very short journeys though.

Our first was about 18 months on a rack and seat on smooth trails.. We weren’t so precious about our second child though, and just gaffa taped him into a bucket at 3 weeks which I dragged along behind the bike on a bit of rope..

Or at least, that’s the story I will tell down the pub, the reality is that we put son number two in his car seat, in a trailer around three months

Chariot Trailer here, the suspension helps keep things smooth so I tried some very very gentle rides from 6 months.

By the time he was a year old we had the baby supporter in which basically meant he had a 5-point racing harness and a neck brace so was time to try off roading, much fun resulted.

He’s always loved it, in the early days it was a reliable insomnia cure, now I get a constant stream of giggles, squeaks and exclamations from the back as we ride along.

He wears a helmet now (Lazer P’nut) but more because we want to get him used to wearing one than because anything can actually hit his head in there.

We put ours in a Hamax seat when he was about 12 months and he loves it. Must be ok because he’s fallen asleep in it a few times. Could have done trailer earlier I reckon as there’s more support, but I’d still probably leave it till about 8 months.

Under 12 months for us for the seat – the key is heid size and being able to get a helmet that fits. First ride out saw the rear rim on my wife’s cross bike explode. Julia, however, was utterly unphased by this! After that, we used the Chariot Trailer until I got my Fargo.

It’s a wonderful excuse for a new bike – I’d say Fargo or a steel Jeff Jones or a Krampus for the win. I love my Fargo but the Jeff Jones would get the win for the upright position and the fact that you can rag it as a proper mountain bike (though to be fair, the Fargo has been ragged a lot too and has been a wonderful bike!)

Oh and congratulations by the way! I just passed my daughters nursery at lunchtime. She was out in the Park playing and saw me so I got extra Dad chat from her during the day which I don’t get when at work. Put a bloody big smile on my face!

Cheers

Sanny

New recently built up setup is…

.. though the hamax bracket has gone down a little and some padding inserted between it and the rack.

I am toying with the idea of an xtracycle conversion for when I have two that are older as this looks great to me…

I had another thread on this a while back that had some good photos and stories too about utility/dad bikes.

First one once he could hold is head up and was strong enough – he went onto a Hamax bike seat for a gentle spin ’round the park.

Second one as soon as he could hold his head up, bundled up and into the trailer with Udderlet Senior, who looked after him. I think this was at Centreparcs.

In both cases, it started with short, gentle rides close to home.

The other thing that has worked very, very well for both of them has been a Toddlebike – pretty much the best £25 we spent. I just took Udderlet 2 out to the garage to sort out some tumble drying stuff, and he made a beeline for the bikes. They get the message about independence and movement with the toddlebike.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/utility-bike-life-changing-stories/page/2

I have a double seat bike trailer. I’ve only had it a couple of months, my daughter had just turned 1 so that was the first time they came out on it

I’ve used a Hamax seat on my Cotic X (drop bar) and Cotic Soul.

It was around 10 months, in the Hamax bike seat. He was a little uncertain first time out but loves it now.

At six months in a sling in front of me to the nursery
At twelve months in a baby seat out along the lanes
At four years on a kiddyback tandem with one year old brother in a baby seat

First baby seat was a hamax clone. The second was a rhode gear taxi, as i needed low rack fittings for the tandem.

We rode thousands of miles on the tandem including rides of 100km at a time.