Do you use a child carrier on their bike?

[Sarah428]

I'm thinking about getting my bike out of retirement and was wondering if anyone uses one of those child carriers that you mount behind the seat (DD is 10 months old). I'm reading up on the safety issues but don't know anything about good manufacturers of carriers, helmets, etc.

Any info you can pass along would be great, TIA!
Sarah

[MandMs]

Hi, Sarah!

I have heard that those behind the seat carriers can be dangerous...though I've seen many people use them. I think it goes along the lines that the child can shift his/her weight and throw off the rider's balance. I actually have a Burley that is like a little trailer the rider pulls behind the bike. The child is strapped in, and even if the rider tips, the trailer is on a pivot and will remain upright.

Sorry not much help. Those carriers you are asking about always look scary to me. I keep picturing the bike dumping and the poor kid just dumping along with it. I've been cycling for many years and have seen some nasty accidents.

Good for you getting that bike out though! My DD is just coming up on 10 months and I need to see how she likes her Burley!

Lisa

[lhall]

We have one it's made by Rhode Gear. We've used it with both girls with no problems. It has things so you can strap their feet down. DD1 had a bad habit of kicking daddy. It's on DH's bike. We made the kids wear a helmet when they used it. The only time I had a problem was the one time DD1 convinced me to give her a ride. DH's bike is too tall for me. I got on ok, and rode around ok, but couldn't get off. The bike tipped as I was getting off it. I was able to contol the fall so it didn't hit the ground hard. Although that was a problem with me riding a bike that was to big, not with the seat.

It's fairly easy to get on and off the bike too. You mount a base on the bike, the seat then attaches to the base. Ours has a clip on the bottom of the seat, a strap around the back/bottom of the seat, and a strap that goes around the bike & under the seat.

As for a helmet, I'd go with one from a sporting goods store, or a bike shop rather than a toy store. I think all of ours are made by Bell. You'll either want to take DD1 with you or measure her head in centimeters.

Leigh

[MrsReber]

We each have a seat so we can take both kids for a ride. I wouldn't mind getting a trailer simply because we have 2 kids and (I think) I could take them both at once. However, people drive crazy around here so I think I'd be afraid to have the trailer as opposed to the seat. We have one Rhode Gear seat that SIL gave us- she used it with her son. The other seat we bought at Toys R Us. We found helmets in Target for the kids, but I think I'd probably feel better if we got ones fitted properly at a bike store. I still need to get myself a good helmet! DH says he doesn't want to wear one, but I think I have him convinced. First of all, we have to set the standard by wearing them so the kids know it's not an option. Also, if we did fall over, it's possible that I'd crack my head open, too. I think I'd like to be safe and be in a position to help my child if anything happened. We're all due for a trip to the bike store!

I have heard that the trailers are safer, but we've been just fine with our seats. DS does shift his weight around at times, but not enough to throw me off balance (he's 27 lbs now and almost 2) and if I tell him to stop, he does.

[Kristilyn1]

I loved my seat! I used to ride 15 miles a night after work in the summer with my son bobbing along on the back--half the time he'd be dead asleep! He loved going for rides.

I would have liked a trailer too but at the time we couldn't afford one. As far as weight shifting. I specifically bought a "girl's" bike so it would be easier for me to get both feet on the ground in a hurry if I felt off balance. It seemed to work very well. Ours was an older seat so it has no features worth mentioning--I'm sure every one out there now is better than the one we had. It was rated to 40 lbs and technically, my 5 year old is just at that weight. I don't use it with him anymore as he can ride his own bike......

Kristi

[breadmama]

We had the Rhode Gear seat for our first child, mounted on my husband's seat. I always felt that my reflexes weren't fast enough to save us if I had a fall, so when our second child came along, we bought a Burley (2 seater). It was a significant investment, but great for both kids. That was 8 years ago - it's held up well, and now child #3 has enjoyed it.

It also has a stroller attachment, which we used on hiking trails. The kids could hike as long as they were able, then could climb in for a ride. There's a compartment in the back for a picnic basket, and other gear. We've definitely gotten our money's worth out of it, even though it was sticker shock at first.

The Burley holds up to 100 lbs., which we tested out last fall. We wanted to go for a hike around a nearby pond, and our eldest had her foot in a cast. She got the royal treatment, riding in the Burley with her cast sticking out. Her brothers took turns hopping in and out to ride with her. It was a little goofy - but it was a gorgeous day, and we really wanted to enjoy it - regardless of the cast! :)

[KelLeg]

I've had the seat and the Burley and I would recommend the Burley b/c it lasts a lot longer. I pulled my second child until she was around 4 or 5. The seat doesn't last until their two even (I don't think, anyway). Plus, with the Burley, you could run to the grocery store or on an errand and have somewhere to put stuff.

[AvrilH]

We can't buy Burleys here, but I have the Canadian version, a Chariot. It is a very versatile piece of equipment, especially if you have the jogging attachment. I use it as a stroller for my heavy kids as often as I bike with it. Our nanny has been giving it a lot of use as well.

It was pricey (although thanks to my MOm ours was a gift) but we've had it for 5 years now and use it all the time. I've also heard they hold decent resale value.

[ellery]

I know this is an older thread, but wanted to bump it up to see if anyone had any more thoughts on kid carriers for bikes. Recommendations?

Thanks!

[Couperine]

We bought the Chariot Corsair XL pull-behind trailer; I loved using it until my pregnancy belly got so big my knees bumped my belly, so I'm on bike hiatus now.

I realize the OP is old, but they mentioned their 10mo - we couldn't find a helmet that properly fit DS at that age. He was a little over 1 yr when we could put him in the trailer with a proper helmet - we just waited until he was big enough for the smallest helmets we could find.

One of the reasons I liked the trailer is that we could easily switch it between DH's bike and mine - our particular model could be a 2 child stroller, so a good friend and I used it to go walking and riding together. You get used to the weight, but I just felt safer with him in the trailer since it has the tip-over ball so if you fall, the trailer stays upright. Just dump your empty bike with the trailer filled with 25 lbs of weight or so to see.

I ride such a small bicycle size that I couldn't mount a child seat onto my bike - the other big reason for the trailer. :)

[ellery]

Hi Nancy. :)

I'm trying to decide between a trailer and the bike seat for our DS. The bike seat looks more fun to me, as he'd be able to look out, feel the wind in his hair, etc. Then there's the safety thing, though (i.e. the bike tipping over). Trailers look really hot to me and I worry about kids bouncing around in the back of them. I know nothing, of course, about either option, hence me bumping this back up. I didn't know who to ask other than the BB. :D

Sarah - care to post on what you ended up doing?

Thanks for any and all input.

Leah

[granolagirl]

We are going to get a bike trailer for our son, which we need to do soon so we can enjoy it when it gets nice! My husband looked at a Burley which he likes and which is pricey. I know that they hold their resale value (just take a look on Craigslist), but....anyway. Any recommendations on specific models of Burley? Or other trailers?

[RunnerKim]

I think the best kid-bike solution depends on what type of riding you're planning to do - how often and where. I've seen some interesting bike seats that attach to the front of the bike instead of the back (this might be more European) which always gathers immediate "that's crazy" responses but has a lot of supporters too. I've also seen bikes built especially for hauling kids/stuff around that people opt for especially if they commute to school with their kids. Might be called Cargobikes. I can't find where i was reading about it but this is similar Cargo Bike (http://bike2work2live2bike.blogspot.com/2008/02/is-that-wheelbarrow.html) and there's this one another cargo bike (http://clevercycles.com/?p=215). Probably not the solution for most people but it seems to be gaining popularity here in Portland where there's a significant number of people who use bikes to get around/commute (vs. only for recreation).

Came across this comparing the different kid-hauling options:
Biking with Baby (http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/going/biking.html)

We have a 2-seat trailer. I'm not sure of the brand but know it's not a burley (ours was much less expensive). We don't ride our bikes that often (more now than a couple of years ago). We didn't get it until we had 2 kids so didn't really consider a behind the seat option - how old can kids use those?

We've really liked having the trailer because you can also carry other things along fairly easily - picnic lunch, change of clothing (gotta love potty training time!) etc. With kids there always seems to be stuff to take along.

We are now phasing out of the trailer but we'll keep it for the few times we'd want to take stuff somewhere via bike. DD (5) is riding a 2-wheeler now although not for long distances quite yet. We just purchased a trail-a-bike/trailer bike for DS (almost 3). Jamie really dislikes being in the trailer at this point - he's an active kid and never cared to be strapped down anywhere (we haven't used a stroller in over a year). Unfortunately he's short so he doesn't reach the peddles on the trailer bike. He still loved the short ride he had on it (didn't have any problems staying on) but I wouldn't want to go on a bike ride without him having better foot support.

Ideally for longer trips Lainey would probably use the trailer bike and Jamie in the trailer (he'd throw a fit about that though).

Happy Riding!
Kim

PS We have an InStep trailer. I was able to find a photo and see the name on it. We haven't had any complaints with it and the kids are comfortable in it. If we did more miles on our bikes we would have considered a Burley but it just wasn't worth it for us and no regrets.

[ecaucutt]

We have a chariot. I think they are made in Canada. We really like it because it easily converts into a jogging stroller. I use it to run in the winter and just go for walks when the sidewalks have snow and ice on them. We used it last summer to haul our daughter to daycare. It was nice because as someone else has pointed out, both husband and I have hitches attached to our bikes, so he can drop her off and I can pick her up. She was a little small for it last summer (turned one last May). They have to wear a helmet and it has a cut out in the seat so there is space for the helmet to stick out, but she was too short for that. As a consequence her head would get pushed forward. Plus she didn't really like the helmet! I am thinking it will be perfect this year. I did read while doing research that they don't reccomend you take kids less than one year on a bike. We got a high end model because it was a previous year's version and was on sale. So far everything has been great (although it was expensive).

Betsy