# cycling with infant?



## galincognito (Nov 23, 2007)

we have a chariot cougar 2 that we use with dd (20 months old) and i was planning on putting an infant sling in it to accomodate (sp?) the little bean for the summer (babe would be 2-3 months old by the time i would be cycling).
we basically park our car for the summer and get around almost exclusively by cycling. anyway, i just noticed today on the infant sling that it is not recommended for use while cycling! they (chariot) also have a baby bivy but that doesn't seem appropriate either. ugh, now what am i going to do?
does anyone know of a cycling option (even if it's not with the chariot) that can be done with an infant or is this just a pipe dream? i'd really hate to have to keep my car running if there is any way possible to avoid it.
sorry, this wasn't supposed to be this long! thanks in advance.


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## paquerette (Oct 16, 2004)

There is no safe, approved method of cycling with a child under 12 months. You cannot get a helmet for them. Their necks aren't strong enough.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/carrababy.html is good for a laugh, though.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Nope, pipe dream. Bike trailers aren't safe for infants. The baby needs to be a year old and have an appropriate fitting helmet. Is it too far to walk?


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## galincognito (Nov 23, 2007)

i totally agree with the helmet thing; that was one of my other issues. we had a tough time finding a helmet with dd because she had a small head.
unfortunately most places are too far to walk; the grocery store is a 15 minute car ride and my parent's house is a 25 minute bike ride. those are our most frequent outings.
man, now i'm bummed!!


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## janasmama (Feb 8, 2005)

I posted something similar to your post awhile ago and some of the posters mentioned the fact that a lot of people cycle with infants in countries like Europe, etc.

I had my DD, 4 months in a jeep while visiting my sister and it was jarring. I honoestly don't think that it's that bad to have a baby in a bike trailer, I just wouldn't ride fast and I would stay on smooth pavement. If you have to go over a curb or dip you could always get out and just walk the bike...that would be exactly what you would be doing if you were strolling which is deemed safe.


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## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

The cougar has a suspension system on it, does it not? I don't know, I wouldn't be comfortable cycling in heavy traffic with an infant, but on quiet roads/sidewalks, I might do it with a sling and an older infant. A bike trailer like the Chariot Cougar can be used as a jogger which is what the sling is made for IIRC. The trailer is made so that if the bike tips, the trailer will stay upright. As I mentioned before, it has a suspension system. If the sling is safe for jogging, I don't really understand why it wouldn't also be safe for low speed cycling on residential streets/sidewalks.

I probably wouldn't do it with a teeny newborn, but with the sling and the suspension, I might be tempted with an older infant.


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## janasmama (Feb 8, 2005)

I'm not sure what the city you live in is like but the city I live in has a lot of cyclists, commuters, bikes with trailers, etc.

Cycling is very safe...even in traffic. Although I don't feel comfy with my young baby far away from me _anywhere_ I may be, they really are in less danger in a bike trailer than they are in a car.


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## Pippi L. (Jan 25, 2008)

Here's an blog post about cycling with an infant from the Netherlands:

http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2009/...orn-on-a-bike/

They suggest a cargobike plus carseat. It's a very expensive option and in North America you'll probably have to rig it up yourself.

I waited until my daughter was 11 months old and put her on a front seat on my bike. It meant that we missed the first summer cycling season and stuck closer to home, but I can't afford or store a cargobike, though I would love one!


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## nolonger (Jan 18, 2006)

ds is now 12 months old. He didn't care for the bike trailer for the same reasons he doesn't like carseats, so i'm still not back on my bike.

BUT

I have grown to love long, leisurely walks cuddling him all the way across town in a wrap-style carrier. I still have this link ;

cycling with baby

in my bookmarks.


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## Adventuredad (Apr 23, 2008)

I have biked a lot with my kids, not really sure when I started. Use a bike seat mounted behind the seat. Works like a dream. Most kids can sit up alright at around 6 months, biking at 12 months might be pusing it. Depends on the child.

Here are somebiking photos and biking adventures.


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## Malva (Nov 2, 2005)

I'm in the same situation as you Galincognito.

We'll have a new baby next month and biking is our main way of getting around from the time there is no longer any salt on the roads until they start salting them again...

In our case, we're car-free so I'll probably be walking a whole lot this summer.


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## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Adventuredad* 
I have biked a lot with my kids, not really sure when I started. Use a bike seat mounted behind the seat. Works like a dream. Most kids can sit up alright at around 6 months, biking at 12 months might be pusing it. Depends on the child.

Here are somebiking photos and biking adventures.


Trailers are much safer for small children than bike seats. I would never use a bike seat with a child under 1 personally, or at least until they can wear a properly fitted helmet.


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## Adventuredad (Apr 23, 2008)

Which is why I said "biking at 12 months might be pushing it". A trailer might be a little safer but it's also very restrictive, heavy, slow and boring. I'm sure it's safer to not bike at all compared to using a trailer so that's another alternative.

I'm an expert biker and don't bike on roads with lots of traffic so I consider the risks limited IMHO


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## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

I disagree that trailers are restrictive, slow and boring. A little heavy with a 6 year old and a 2 year old in tow, yes, but not heavy when my husband pulls it instead of me. Even less so when my 6 year old bikes himself







. We've put a lot of miles on our trailer with very little of it on anything paved. It's hardly boring. We have a chariot Cheetah2. The trailer itself weighs less than 22lbs.

It's not traffic that concerns me regarding the bike seat. It's the possibility of wiping out. At least with a trailer, only the biker wipes out and is potentially injured, but with the seat, you all go down. A child restrained in a seat has no means by which to brace or break their fall either. Granted, the risk of an expert biker wiping out isn't great, but it still exists.

This doesn't mean that I think a child seat is unsafe, but this is a thread addressing biking with an infant which was why I said I felt a trailer would be safer







.


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## Adventuredad (Apr 23, 2008)

I see your point. I still consider biking with a trailer sooooooo much slower and also restrictive in not being able to go on smaller trail etc. When I say it's boring I'm referring to the heavy weight making steep uphills very tough even for an expert biker.

I would consider the risk of injury greater on a bike seat just as you say. Being an expert biker doesn't exclude the risk of injury but I feel (subjectively) that risk for injury is small.

I like to bring my kids with me wherever I go and so does my wife. She can use the bike seat as well which makes it flexible. It's easy to drop the kids off on the way to wrok without worrying about a trailer etc.

Trailer or bike seat, use whatever suits best. But I would never bike with an infant 2-3 months. Better to wait until at least 12 month IMHO


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## vbactivist (Oct 4, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pumpkinhead* 
Trailers are much safer for small children than bike seats. I would never use a bike seat with a child under 1 personally, or at least until they can wear a properly fitted helmet.

I think bike seats are safer than cars, though. I wonder what the stats are on injury to infants in cars vs bike seats.

OP - we have taken our 6 month old's on the bike many times. In a bike seat. We don't use the helmet (when they are that little), and are very careful. I'm always weighing the risk vs the benefit.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

In my state biking without a helmet (even for children in trailers or bike seats) is illegal, for a good reason. If you wiped out for whatever reason, you child could suffer traumatic injury to their head. Not with the risk, IMO (re the 6mo in a seat without a helmet).


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## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

Helmets of any kind are not mandatory here (which irritates me to no end). In the province I used to live in, anyone riding a bike was required by law to wear a helmet but the trailers fell under the same category as wagons/strollers/joggers etc.


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## pumpkinhead (Sep 15, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Adventuredad* 
I see your point. I still consider biking with a trailer sooooooo much slower and also restrictive in not being able to go on smaller trail etc. When I say it's boring I'm referring to the heavy weight making steep uphills very tough even for an expert biker.

I would consider the risk of injury greater on a bike seat just as you say. Being an expert biker doesn't exclude the risk of injury but I feel (subjectively) that risk for injury is small.

I like to bring my kids with me wherever I go and so does my wife. She can use the bike seat as well which makes it flexible. It's easy to drop the kids off on the way to wrok without worrying about a trailer etc.

Trailer or bike seat, use whatever suits best. But I would never bike with an infant 2-3 months. Better to wait until at least 12 month IMHO


Have you seen the seats that sit in front of the driver rather than in the rear? I have heard good things about them. They are apparently less disruptive to a biker's centre of gravity and the other added benefit is that the biker's body sheilds the child's in the event of a wipeout. I haven't used one myself, so I don't know how they compare to the rear seat.


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## lovingmommyhood (Jul 28, 2006)

When I had a newborn this summer I strapped her into her car seat and strapped her carseat into the bike trailer. The trailer has a cover and we were biking on the bike trail. She was totally snug. I don't know if I'd recommend it to others but it seems completely safe to me. Now that DD is going to be 12 months this spring I will strap her into the bike trailer with big brother and be on our way.


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *paquerette* 
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/carrababy.html is good for a laugh, though.









It sure was! Thanks for that.


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