Would you take your child out in a bike trailer without a helmet on?

Interested in people's views here?

Better safe than sorry? Unless of course you subscribe to TJezza's views on helmets.

No

Def No!

no. Although they always get pushed forward by the back of the trailer, rendering them useless.

Yes! But I'd make the child wear one

I'll be interested to see what people think here, and I will reasses our decision depending on what people say
But I'll stick my head above the parapet and say YES.

We use a single chariot cougar, and if he is strapped in, then any roll will be protected by the cage of our particular trailer. Any roll that is not protected by the trailer, will prob not be protected by a helmet.

The cougar does have a recess in the back to permit 'comfortable' wearing of a helmet, but it tended to push the helmet forward over his eyes. So if the trailer falls somehow on it's back then his helmet would more than likely not protect him as it would have ridden forward.

Therefore we looked at the risk and decided that when in the trailer he does not wear a helmet. However we'll reasses depending on what people sya here

mine dont usually wear them when inside the trailer but i always ride on the pavement with it ( que backlash!!) too may pricks on the road cant even pass a cyclist let alone a cyclist with a trailer on the back.does this count?

No. And Stoner Jr gets ragged around in his Croozer.

When this subject was discussed in a previous thread, aracer and I seemed to concur with the idea that as long as the baby was protected from hitting the struts or the ground in the case of a roll etc by the harness then there was little point in a helmet and all it woudl do was ride over their faces making it uncomfortable and possibly undermining their enthusiasm for wearing one when they go out on their own bikes.

Yes – I have that trailer and it is great. It has a substantial roll cage and plenty of padding in the key areas. I find that my son falls asleep in minutes of setting off and when this happens, the weight of a helmet and the fact that it pushes his head away from the head rest means his head just flops forwards. I have tried to adjust everything to stop this but to no avail. A floppy sleepy head with the weight of a helmet on puts my son of being in the trailer and makes him uncomfortable and there is little risk of his head hitting anything.

That said, I am talking about off road use at moderate speeds on level bridleways (Wyre Forest trails) and I am always concious of the terrain and speed and risk of the trailer toppling over – which is extremely low.

IF I have to use it on road then I will insist that he wears a helmet, but that is not very often at all.

Like everything, it is about assessing the risks and making a choice based on those.

I expect I will be branded irresponsible and a bad parent for this, but this is from my personal experience of this particular trailer and the conditions in which it is used.

My son wears a helmet when he rides his own bike by the way.

I have a 2 year old and a 4 month old, the latter of which will go in a sling type seat like the one below. Not sure I'd get a helmet to fit him?

why bother taking the risk? For either an extra 10 minutes putting it on or £10-15 for a new helmet? i'm not sure i understand the question? seem obvious to me? 🙄

neil853 – it is not the time or the money that is the issue – try reading the responses above.

My experience is exactly the same as mugsys_m8 – Chariot CX1 in my case.

Started using it when they were too small for a helmet anyway. When we did find a helmet small enough it pushed his head forward too much for comfort.

The main risk seemed to be striking his head on the frame of the trailer and when he was still small there was very little chance of that happening as the 5-point harness held him in place so well. In other trailers that don't have such a "comprehensive" harness (eg Burley) I was keener on him wearing a helmet. And also keener when riding in traffic, rather than just off-road.

We rolled that trailer several times with no ill-effects (and no helmet). Once or twice he didn't even wake up!

As he got bigger it made more sense to wear one as the chance of bashing head on frame was higher, and he wanted to wear one as he saw us wearing them. Also we often had his bike strapped on the back too so were taking a helmet anyway.

Just starting on number two (4 months old) in that trailer – first ride was on Sunday.

Look at the trailer and the child and assess the risk depending on where you're riding.

AB – where did you get that from? Is the the Chariot one? I wander if it would fit in our Croozer being as they are essentially the same brand.

I ask as my son is coming up for 3 and our daughter is 1 month old (not that I would take her out yet) but it raises the possibility of all going out a bit sooner.

What is your opinion of them?

jonathan & monkeyp that's where I'm leaning towards.

Do you make your children wear helmets when you drive them around?

TBH if they are strapped in and there is a cage, then no – but I'd make sure that the cage (and any hard bits) were padded.

But as said, after a while they'll want to look like you anyway…

Monkeyp – I haven't bought the sling yet, but I've just been on the phone to a very helpful guy from Amba (who import Croozer and Chariot products) and apparently this Weber Baby Seat For Chariot & Croozer Trailers will do both types.

@jonathan – what do you use to hold the little one in your trailer – assuming they are too little for the standard seat?

AB

Jeez – that's a bit pricey!!!!!!

£82!!!

No.

We used a Burley bee for a few years, and the kids were always helmetted.

The Bee had a roll hoop, but we had two of them on board at the same time – and clashes of helmets are better than clashes of heads.

monkeyp – that's why I'm looking for alternative suggestions.

monkeyp – we use an older version of the Chariot Baby Support Harness – their sling (which isn't the one up there) isn't recommended for cycling.

The support harness just fits onto/around the 5-point harness, so if the Croozer one is similar it's likely to fit. Note the UK Chariot site says 9 months and up, but the US site says 3-18 months – and it was fine for us in just that age range.

Ok – I know I'll get shouted down.

If the child is very small then the extra weight of the helmet has its own risks – especially if as some people say the design of the seat pushes the helmet forward on their head.

If the trailer has a decent roll cage then will that not do the job of protecting them? its a choice for the parents obviously but I would be very wary with a small child where the extra weight of the helmet will be significant and if the trailer has a decent roll bar then what are yo actually protecting against?

AB – search for the Melia baby seat – about £55

This is what we've got – 48 quid apparently (that's not the latest version). Says it fits Croozers too.

we've got one of those too and it does fit the croozer that we have.

very handy bit of kit for the smaller payload.

Didn't have my kids in helmets, but they were in a hard based trailer with pretty substantial bars. Very sturdy thing.

I dont make mine wear helmets in the trailer due to the head pushed forward thing,
when mine are in the trailer i am not on the roads just nice smooth cycle paths and im taking it easy so never likely to roll it.

insist they wear them on their bikes though…

In the great scheme of things whether the child wears a helmet in the trailer, or on the bike, makes little difference to its survival.
If you're really a responsible parent you'll keep them well away from bikes, and instead make sure they're securely straped into the child seat in your Range Rover. 🙄
(this is more a response to some of the replies, rather than the OPs sensible question,BTW)

child in a trailer I wouldn't use a helmet, perhaps would consider it if it would be used on a busy road instead of gravel tracks / bridleways.

Child seats on the back of bikes, helmets are a must imho

answer to q "yes" and "no"
used above baby seat and burley on it own thereafter til both my kids grew out of it.

When little helmet hyperflexed the neck so dispensed with it till older and able to sit up a bit more.

My trailer only gets used on dedicated cycle trails away from vehicles so she doesn't wear a helmet in there.

For those who have answered no, in what situations would you expect a helmet to be of use? I am honestly simply asking the question and not trying to have a dig, I'm just trying to understand the logic.

STONER & JONATHAN – The idea of buying the child support you both have (pic below) certainly appeals as it is not only cheaper but will last my boy a lot longer. I guess I wanted to ask how young you found you were able to use it from – as it looks like it is more upright than the sling I linked to earlier, and therefore would their little heads not drop forward when they were sleeping?

Thanks!

We had the same 2 seat Croozer trailer. Kids are now 5 and 7 and apparently both alive despite rarely wearing helmets in the trailer.

Some reasons:-

Kids get bounced around in trailers. With very young one I was more concerned about extra weight strapped to their head.

You are going slow anyway – a crash is very unlikely. If you do crash they are well strapped in and very close to the floor.

We deliberately chose the Croozer trailer (pictured at top) because it has a very wide track and the kids sit very low down between the wheels – far lower c of g than Burleys and almost any other trailer we could find. Therefore in a number of years crazy use and occasional massive overloading we never came near to rolling it (I know plenty of people that have flipped Burleys).

The Croozer also has very supportive bucket seats – kids stay well positioned and supported (bench seats in other trailers resulted in slouching kids when sleeping with lolling heads due to heavy helmets).

Croozer has a very hefty steel and aluminium roll cage that is well away from heads.

AB –

I guess I wanted to ask how young you found you were able to use it from – as it looks like it is more upright than the sling I linked to earlier, and therefore would their little heads not drop forward when they were sleeping?

Our first one was from 5 months – would have been a bit earlier if we could have got hold of the trailer sooner. Just started with the bike with the 2nd at 4 months – but been using it in 3-wheeled mode for walking for a month or so.

They do flop forward a bit, but not too badly as (as the previous poster mentions) the seats are quite well shaped and they're not forced to sit too upright, and the harness stops their shoulders flopping forward. Never did him any harm anyway 😉