# Infants in a bike trailer... options



## DAnREal (Aug 29, 2009)

My Son is 7 months old and the weather is getting nice... The wife and I are looking for a Bike trailer that can be a running/bike trailer. I dont want to just have my son sitting in it alone rather with his car seat or a dedicated sling.... what options do I have? Im not saying im going to go mountain biking with him in the trailer.... rather just paved smooth trails with myself my wife and 5 yr old daughter... The Burley Cub seems like a good choice but still want some other input...


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## NYrr496 (Sep 10, 2008)

I had the Chariot Cougar for my son when he was young. It converted to a stroller, a jogger and if you were adventurous enough, you could get skis for it and use it like a rickshaw. 
At 7 months, you should probably have him in a car seat in any of the trailers. I didn't start taking my son until he was 16 months, so he just sat in the seat. The harness and the seat in the Cougar works well.


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## ReXTless (Feb 23, 2007)

Yep. You're going to need a car seat for this season's riding. Little necks don't work well.


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## hobiesmith (Mar 1, 2008)

Our grayco car seat carrier thing I am pretty sure will fit easy into our chariot either with the base or not. Give me a second and I will go check.

Returned. Okay not even close. The car seat is too wide. Our chariot is a single. In a two seater trailer, it would work perfect. If you can't do a two seater, get the skinniest infant carrier you can find and the widest single trailer you can find and see if that fits. 

Good luck! 

Btw I found the trailers to be really bumpy on the kids even just going down our street so I laced my trailer to 29" with mtb tires and it road so much better.


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## Attacking Mid (Dec 10, 2004)

Perhaps they've changed in the 20+ yrs since we bought our Burley trailer, but I never found it to work all that well for jog-strolling. I had to be careful to avoid hitting my shins on the back of the trailer, and the front caster wheel was frequently bouncing/spinning around. As a bike trailer, it was awesome. We hauled all 3 of our boys around in it when they were young (not at the same time) and sold it for about half our original cost years later. Great product.

AM.


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## rockbender (Jun 4, 2004)

We've got the infant sling for our Chariot and it works great, at least for jogging. I've taken my 4 month out a few times (on smooth surfaces) and don't feel like he is getting bounced around. Each kid is different though... mine is a solid 17 pounds. My wife also towed him around town a bit behind the bike. They are obviously too small to have helmets, so that is a risk you are taking.


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## blades2000 (Jan 2, 2012)

Another Chariot user here. We had the sling and no problems running or riding smooth trails from about 8 months. They are a big investment but totally worth it in my opinion. We changed the standard tyres to some schwalbe ones Big apple for the jogging wheel and marathon plus for the main wheels which have better puncture protection. Sling is five point harness from memory. Think there are some pictures in my history if you look.
http://forums.mtbr.com/families-riding-kids/trailers-chariot-burley-vs-everything-else-775303-2.html#post9367393


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## indianadave (Apr 27, 2010)

I just won a Baby Bivy on Ebay for my Chariot Cougar. Says it's for babies 6-18 lbs. and says it's safe for newborns. I've got a 3 week old baby, and will be trying her out in it soon. It does say it's for jogging/strolling only. Not biking.
I won't pull her behind the bike for a few months.


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## asbefore (Jan 11, 2013)

has anyone tried the Instep, or the Schwinn trailers?
I love the idea of getting such a trailer/jogger, but am not sure how it'd work on New York City streets..


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## Dirty Bastard (Jan 23, 2008)

I like the look of the schwinn trailers. Side by side the instep looks like a toy and the schwinn defiantly wins. I purchased the corsaire 2 from chariot and feel it is the biggest(most visible) and the suspension is a must for me. If I was road only I would have gotten a schwinn or the cheaper ones made also by chariot. Personally I feel money shouldn't be a factor with a bike trailer. I am poor as all hell making under 20k a year and totally would rather bite the bullet than have doubt about my kids safety while riding.


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## jrogs (Sep 2, 2012)

I have the burley solo. It works well for a bike trailer. I hade the infant sling also which protected him well. The only problem was with his helmet on the sling keeps pushing it over his eyes. It is really big for a jogger. I wanted the chariot but the price deterred me. My done loves it though.


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## Levi_501 (Apr 24, 2012)

Go for a Chariot Cougar, 2 if you can they are a lot more stable.

They pull very well and have suspension, which just make sfor a better ride.


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## Shmoo (Mar 9, 2008)

I also agree to go with a double seater for the stability. We have the Burley Bee. I'm not sure if your son will enjoy it at 7 months. I started trailing our son at 7 months, and even at the season's end when he was 9 months, he still wasn't at the point where he could enjoy rides. He just looked uncomfortable, so I ended up trailering him only a few times before putting an end to it. He is 14 months now, and as the weather is coming up, I'm curious to see if he'll enjoy it this time around.


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## DAnREal (Aug 29, 2009)

So the wife and I did a little experimenting with our current InStep trailer, we put his carseat in it and buckled it down for security. He enjoyed the ride quite a bit and we have done a few rides this way around the block. So we went ahead and ordered the Cougar 2 with baby supporter, so we are looking forward to this coming in the mail


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## BATRG3 (Dec 11, 2012)

Should be obvious, but is it correct that a child seat in a bike trailer should be rear facing? And does anyone have a feel for minimum age for this setup on a flat trail? Assuming speed is moderated, say 10mph max or even lower.


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## GrayJay (May 16, 2011)

BATRG3 said:


> Should be obvious, but is it correct that a child seat in a bike trailer should be rear facing? And does anyone have a feel for minimum age for this setup on a flat trail? Assuming speed is moderated, say 10mph max or even lower.


Rear facing is for crashing a car head-on at 60mph. If you keep bike speed reasonable and don't go crashing head-on into any walls, I think you can probably secure the car seat into trailer better if it is forward facing. Also nice to be able to turn around and see if the baby is awake/asleep.


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## BATRG3 (Dec 11, 2012)

Makes sense, any guidelines on minimum age or size/weight? Or other milestones to determine if they're ready?


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## DAnREal (Aug 29, 2009)

Your trailer will tell you the Recommended weight Etc... For my now 8month old son I don't go any more then a few miles and try to stay a steady pace and smooth as possible, I had my son rear facing in my instep trailer because I was able to strap his car seat in better. In the cougar we got a infant seat attachment to keep him facing forward and with out the car set ( Chariot Carriers Baby Supporter - Free Shipping at REI.com )


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

BATRG3 said:


> Makes sense, any guidelines on minimum age or size/weight? Or other milestones to determine if they're ready?


I started at 6 months, front facing car seat in a Burley d'Lite. Asphalt, and the occasional non-chunky gravel at slow speeds. He slept most of the time. 
Now my son is 19mos and wants nothing to do with the trailer, so he's in the iBert instead.


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## trailbrain (Feb 22, 2005)

Good info here. I have a Burley D'Lite and my 10 month old son seems to love it so far. The only issue I have is his helmet. I bought one of the performance house brand infant helmets and no matter how I adjust it still keeps pushing forward over his eyes.

Anyone have suggestions for a child helmet that is more stable on the head?


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

trailbrain said:


> Good info here. I have a Burley D'Lite and my 10 month old son seems to love it so far. The only issue I have is his helmet. I bought one of the performance house brand infant helmets and no matter how I adjust it still keeps pushing forward over his eyes.
> 
> Anyone have suggestions for a child helmet that is more stable on the head?


My Burley's an '04, so more recent models may be different:

With mine, I transitioned my son from car seat to no-car seat at about 12 months, last October. We only got 4-5 rides in before it got to be too cold. He always did really well in the car seat, but when we switched to no-car seat I had similar problems with the helmet, so much so that on a couple of occasions I took his helmet off (obviously not the greatest idea.) This spring I bought an iBert for him, so I don't plan on pulling out the Burley again for a few months when my younger son turns 6 months.

I suspect (but haven't tested) that the helmet issue could be solved by putting a pillow/folded blanket on the seat to get their heads just high enough that the back brim of the helmet clears the netting. Alternatively, a blanket/pillow behind their back may work to give the helmet some extra room as well.


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