Transporting children

[cchris2lou]

I use this for my eldest ( he is 5 ) :

it is like a tag along , but you can use any bike so when they want to ride a bit it takes 2 minutes to get it off .

I would not use a trailer for anyone under 12 months old .

and yes , roads are a lot more dangerous than off road . :evil:

 

[zed]

oh im sorry for being irresponsible,what crap, ive ridden bikes all my life, i dont drive, so this is the only way i can transport my kids, i wouldnt go off road till there were over 2 , and i dont do north shore type riding :x just gentle single tracks, as for roads, i go on all the nice roads never main ones, so sorry for being so irresponsible, im such a bad parent, CRAP :x

 

[FSR-Si]

Ive been taking my little girl out on the bike since she was 1 year old ish, I got her a "Weeride" seat for on my FSR which has been perfect for off road use due to the suspension easing the ride for her. Living in a town makes it hard for her to see what the countryside is really like so what we do is head down to the local trails and disused railway lines that take us past farms and such where she gets to see real animals and burnt out cars etc, Much more fun and educational than on a road. Benefits of the weeride is she is sort of cocooned in my arms as its cross bar mounted. Sadly she is growing out of it now and i fear this year will be her last in it so i will be looking at other ways of biking for her for next summer :cry:

 

[cchris2lou]

oh im sorry for being irresponsible,what crap, ive ridden bikes all my life, i dont drive, so this is the only way i can transport my kids, i wouldnt go off road till there were over 2 , and i dont do north shore type riding :x just gentle single tracks, as for roads, i go on all the nice roads never main ones, so sorry for being so irresponsible, im such a bad parent, CRAP :x

:?:


Exbiker , I like this one .

the posh one we saw at MM is about £150 . lot of money .

 

[hamster]

I'd add my support on the Burley bee.

The first stage is to strap a car seat into the trailer. There's lots of head support, and no need for a helmet. Padding each side of the head a little with a folded cloth may be a good idea. DON'T start until he has good head control (at 6 months ish).

Secondly, remember that they can get cold quickly, so the cover needs to be on the trailer, and LOTS of clothing.

Thirdly, take it easy. Half a mile is fine fro the first time. Build mileage up gradually, then they will love it. Usually my sons were asleep after 10 mins.

After that you'll find that 10-15 miles is easy. You need low gears (22T front is essential for any road work with hills!) Offroad on forestry commission fireroad stuff is fine. If you have any nearby, Sustrans type stuff is ideal. Beware of overdoing it yourself. I needed 350 quid's worth of physio after popping a knee dragging the trailer up a hill.

Good brakes are essential - I have drop bar Maguras on the tourer. A mudguard is also nice as it stops the trailer getting pelted with muck. The best bike is probably a slicked up old steel MTB...nice retro project

As for safety on the road, make sure you use the flag, but in my experience car drivers are much more considerate.

Nowadays we run the trailer with 3 year old pulled by the tandem with me and 5 year old. :shock:

 

[ozpete]

I use the Weeride as well. Highly recommended, except for the 'knees apart' riding style you have to adopt. Fits damn near any bike. The fave ride was the LTS, plenty of nice soft suspension action. My little ones just loved it. They have even been known to fall asleep on a ride, as it has that front bit for them to rest their head on. Best part is they got to see more than just my back when riding, conversation is easy, and you can always see what they are doing. But, as it only fits one at a time, and I have two boys, fights ensured about who gets to go for a ride!! I'll be looking for some kind of trailer arangement when the weather gets warmer.

 

[dyna-ti]

the problem i see with trailer bikes[the pedal along type] is that if the towing strap fails and lets admit that they're flimsy at best ,then the poor kid is on a suicide run, hurtling along at breakneck speed, Without any method of steering or braking [no handle bars ]
happened to me as a kid[9]
I would recommend the two wheeled trailed type

 

[development_cycle]

I have used a rear mounted seat (can't remember the make), a Trek tag-a-long style bike, and a trailer.

I would not go back to a seat personally as the handling of the bike is so off due to the weight. Even stopping without toppling is tough, so as for actual riding!

Since buying a trailer (Burley Solo) I would never look back. I bought mine second hand because they are about £350 new, but built to last, so second hand Burley in my opinion is way better than anything else new!

I would have no worried taking the kids off road in that on a gentle ride, and have done it plenty of times; where i worry about safety is on the road, any road, because you can get complete w*****s on any type of road, and in fact the stats say that far more accidents happen on rural roads then elsewhere!

What I wouldn't do is take them at all until they can hold there own head up, and have been able to for a little while, which of course varies for most kids, anywhere between 6 and 12 months depending on the child. Once they have been on a few rides on a smooth surface, then start introducing them slowly to short gentle off road rides, they love it, and they can take toys etc in the trailers. Stop regularly and check that they are ok and enjoying it that's all.

If I were doing it all over again then I would have skipped the seat and gone straight for a trailer, and if they had been out I would have bought one of the arms to hold a bike out the back instead of a dedicated trailer bike with one wheel, cost, storage space etc etc.

 

[Pickle]

I'm definately going down the trailer style arrangement as apposed to a seat. I'd worry about the possible harm that could happen if there was a crash.

Also thinking covered, so if the weather turned there would be a certain amount of shelter.

 

[development_cycle]

My Burley solo has 2 covers, one with a mesh to keep out insects and to reduce the glare of the sun, and a waterproof one that goes on top of that. Seriously buddy, i would look out for a 2nd hand Burley unless you can afford new.

the solo as the name suggests is for one child, so is narrower than most out there, but has more room for that child than most do per child. I got mine for £85 collected, one of the first things I ever bought on ebay a few years ago. It also came with an optional extra to convert it into a stroller (push chair). Looks a bit odd as a push chair, but the best made damn push chair I ever saw!