Child carrying advice please

In rec.bicycles.misc S o r n i wrote:
Jeez, between you and Monique, EVERYBODY'S PICKING ON ME!

i've been consciously holding back, fwiw. i'll be back when there's a
lull.
--
david reuteler

JohnB wrote:
pas wrote:

http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/misc/babyseat.jpg

here's how they do it in some countries. We built one like this
ourselves for around town, it's actually much more stable than over
the back wheel as the CG doesn't change a whole lot and the kid is
inside your arms.

I've never liked this kind of arrangement as it places the child at
some risk in the case of an emergency or sudden stop. At least the
example you show has a rigid back that should help prevent the adult
crushing into the child. the worst are those clamp on saddles that go
on the top tube with two foot supports attached to the down tube.
However I don't like the idea of the child being flung forward onto
the handlebar clutter or worse, which even with strapping is possible
with some arrangements. At least if they are on the back they have a
soft back to knock into.

John B

trust me, it's much more stable than the baby on the back of the bike.
After all, three million third world cyclists building them at home can't be
wrong!! The one we built had a little seat on the top tube, foot rest and
no back the kid just held onto the handlebars. I don't know about trails but
it was great for the bike path

The rear tyre thing is just - bad. You have to remember to compensate for
the weight of the kid everytime you stop. The kids' weight, and you could be
riding with an extra 30# back there, will really throw you off even if you
have to swerve. If you are really worried about "risk of emergency stop"
or a kid being flung around, perhaps you should not take your baby out at
all... there's going to be risk no matter what.

penny

doctormick wrote:

You've probably seen similar messages before but I can't find the
advice I'm after in any archive.

My wife wants to buy a bike to go cycling with my ten and seven year
old daughters but also want to be able to take my 21 month old
daughter with her. However we can't decide whether she should go for a
seat on the back or a trailer.
Can anyone tell me from experience which is the best/safest way to
carry my 21 month old daughter. She weichs approx 28 - 30 lbs

We went through almost exactly the same scenario with the result that I
would fully recommend you take the trailer option.
We took three of ours from six weeks onwards in a trailer then onto the
backs of tandems/tandem trike.
Our first daughter went into a kiddie seat from which we learned their
drawbacks. The centre of gravity is so high that it had a big effect on
handling, making the bike top heavy. Wheeling the bike became difficult
and great care had to be taken when parking.
Parking the trailer was a doddle.

My wife also rode a tandem with one child on the rear using kiddiecranks
and pulling the trailer behind with our youngest.
Another big advantage is that they can take other luggage - shopping,
teddy bears, camping equipment.
At 21 months you may need a light car seat strapped into the trailer,
depending which model is used (we had a Burley).

When able to pedal, say about 3 1/2 to 4yrs old I would also recommend
moving on to a tandem rather than using the pull along trailerbikes.
This will develop pedalling techniques whereas a trailerbike can have
the child just sitting there freewheeling.

We live in a rural location between Brighton and London, therefore
busy main roads and narrow country lanes. It's also pretty hilly
immediately around us. Any ideas would be gratefully received.

As much as it sounds odd, trailers are very safe and other vehicles give
*much* more room than they do to solo bikes and trailerbikes. Just make
sure you have low enough gears to be able to grind slowly up the hills.

John B
http://www.hampshirecycletraining.org.uk/

pas wrote:

http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/misc/babyseat.jpg

here's how they do it in some countries. We built one like this ourselves
for around town, it's actually much more stable than over the back wheel as
the CG doesn't change a whole lot and the kid is inside your arms.

I've never liked this kind of arrangement as it places the child at some
risk in the case of an emergency or sudden stop. At least the example
you show has a rigid back that should help prevent the adult crushing
into the child. the worst are those clamp on saddles that go on the top
tube with two foot supports attached to the down tube.
However I don't like the idea of the child being flung forward onto the
handlebar clutter or worse, which even with strapping is possible with
some arrangements. At least if they are on the back they have a soft
back to knock into.

John B

Child trailer.

I MTB 2004

Trailer for child or shopping.

I MTB 2004

Monique sez:

Un urm ill orl!

wtf does that mean?

In the movie 'Dreamcatcher', the character Duddits says "Un urm ill orl"
which his friend understands to mean, "One work can kill the world". In
the gag reel there's a bit where Duddits breaks from character (barely
able to move or speak clearly) in a normal voice says something like,
"Dude! I said, 'Un urm ill orl! What don't you get?'". It was funny, but
only after you sat through an otherwise crappy movie.

With that said, I'm not sure why that line has continued to stick in my
head. I wish that and the Oompa Loompa song would just stop for a minute!

--
T o m Dillon
Lakewood, CO
Z to S to email

"JohnB" wrote

When able to pedal, say about 3 1/2 to 4yrs old I would also recommend
moving on to a tandem rather than using the pull along trailerbikes.
This will develop pedalling techniques whereas a trailerbike can have
the child just sitting there freewheeling.

I have to disagree. I pulled my daughter for over 5 years with a trailer-bike
in every conceivable type of situation, from urban to very rough off-road. The
t-b's have many advantages over tandems, not the least of which is cost. My
daughter did some solo riding during that time, but not much. When she outgrew
the t-b last year she went solo full-time, and her stamina and bike handling
skills are superb.

As for the rear seat vs. trailer question, I think Frank K. got it right, the
seats can work well if the rider is reasonably skilled and there isn't too
large a weight difference. Trailers require a little less skill and don't
extract quite the handling penalty. One thing that bothered me about using the
seat with my son was that he would fall asleep and flop around. I don't expect
it's harmful, but it bothered me to see a toddler's head doing that.

wrote:

Child trailer.

What the pedophiles watch before the movie starts!

Bill "Crazy Word Association" S.

Can anyone tell me from experience which is the best/safest way to
carry my 21 month old daughter.

Just put her on the handle bars, no need for a helment or any of that safety
stuff ;-)