# How do you take your kid riding with you? Younger then 1 year



## skipnay (May 8, 2012)

Ok guys my daughter is 9 months old. I have thought about this numerous times. I'm not getting anywhere. Do I take my daughter in a bike trailer or a bike seat behind me. Also I have the Trek Paragon. Can I even mount a bike seat on that bike? I know if I buy new it will be expensive either way probably. I won't be going far off road and if I do it will be on the road that cars drive on with dirt and stones.


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## TwoTone (Jul 5, 2011)

You don't. There neck isn't strong enough for a helmet. Talk to you pediatrician, not random strangers on the web. :thumbsup:


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## skipnay (May 8, 2012)

TwoTone said:


> You don't. There neck isn't strong enough for a helmet. Talk to you pediatrician, not random strangers on the web. :thumbsup:


Well thank you. I really was looking more towards the future because before long it is going to be to hot for her anyway. She will be a year old in August. My girl comes first so I will keep this thread going if I can for when she does get old enough!!! :thumbsup:

Added some rep power for you!!! Thanks again


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## skipnay (May 8, 2012)

Can I get a moderator to change this to older then 1 year?


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## Seanbike (Mar 23, 2004)

I rode with my son in the trailer from 6 months on. Dr was fine with it and so was he. While he still fit in the infant carrier car seat he was put in the carrier and then that was strapped into the Burley.


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## Tanin (Apr 12, 2006)

I started mine in the Burley Solo and graduated them to an Adams Trail a Bike. Both can handle moderately technical single track and the kids love it. I've even connected all three for fire road climbs and easy descents.


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## mhkang (Nov 1, 2008)

trails in hawaii very rutted, baby seat on back of bike was pretty rough on my 2 yo. He complained of a sore butt at the end of a 3 mile loop. But he loves the chariot, if it can fit on the trail.


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

Started at 6 months with infant car seat strapped into Burley trailer. Asphalt and hard pack gravel only, and careful about hitting any rough patches very slowly.


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## wahday (Mar 23, 2012)

Started hauling my kids around also at around 6 mos. We used a trailer mainly because it was given to us, but one advantage is that it can also be used to haul things (with or without the kid - it was a two seater). So, makes it easy to run to the store with kid or without. 

We still have the trailer though the kids are too big for it. I use it as a stuff-hauler.

I have never tried the attached seat behind, so I can't say one way or the other about that one.


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## bmoney (Jul 12, 2007)

+3 on the car seat strapped into the Burley. I have been riding with my daughter strapped into her car seat and then strapped into the Burley since she was 4 mo old. I have however stuck to paved trails. She is now 7mo old and I am considering taking her on some easy smooth gravel roads that see little traffic. She is pretty strong for her age, almost walking on her own. I figure I will be cautious about where I take her. I would hate to bash her around too much or wipe out with her in tow. And getting out on pavement is still better than nothing at all. I can do 2+ hour rides with her if I bring a bottle along and maybe stop by a park for a few minutes for her to get out and stretch a bit. More often then not she just sleeps.


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## SimpleJon (Mar 28, 2011)

Yep, I didn't ride off road with mine at all at that age, I got a bike baby seat second hand mounted off the rear axel / seat tube and stuck to Tarmac. Then they were on their own bikes not long after they started walking - I've never fancied pulling kids in a trailer off road - seems too much like hard work to me.


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## tcr (Apr 16, 2012)

Another car seat strapped into the 2 seater Burley at 6 months old on paved trails. We also do the attached seat over the rear wheel and the trail a bike. My preference is the Burley over the attached seat. You can't use the tag a bike and seat at the same time because they interfere with each other. With our 3 kids and #4 on the way it's just a mix and match between my wife and I on what kid is where.


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## blades2000 (Jan 2, 2012)

So we use a Chariot trailer, started pulling daughter at about 6 months on cycle trails canal tow paths, note these are smooth. I would have had no problems taking her at 1 year old off road. She is now nearly two and still loves the trailer though there is no offroad riding where I currently live so its all cycle paths and roads. 
I think once she is big enough we are going to get a tag along I can ride singletrack trails with her, hopefully by that time we will live somewhere that has trails available. 
Good luck with your decisions.


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## Triton Bikes (Jan 6, 2010)

Tanin said:


> I started mine in the Burley Solo and graduated them to an Adams Trail a Bike. Both can handle moderately technical single track and the kids love it. I've even connected all three for fire road climbs and easy descents.


Haha! Three in one!
Nice

Is it hard to pull such a carriage?


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## ballerina18 (Jul 29, 2010)

We didn't take our daughter biking at that young of an age, but her first bike was a strider bike that she really enjoyed.


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## coldbike (Feb 24, 2011)

I used a chariot from about 6 months on. The chariot is no worse than my car for jolts to the baby's neck. By the time my daughter came around, I had a cargo bike which was even better.


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

At first I used a bike trailer as pictured in post #6. First rides were when she was around 14, maybe 15 months old on smooth stuff. I used to pack her in there like a sardine with stuffed animals, with no helmet (too heavy for the neck at that age), and strapped to the harness. As she got older the stuffing got less, and the terrain could be rougher. Then when she was around 3 we got a tag-a-long, and a helmet. she's now 9 and has been riding on her own since 4 but still enjoys the tag-a-long sometimes.


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## intheways (Apr 19, 2004)

We started riding singletrack at around1yo with a Weeride Kangaroo. Our daughter loves it and are planning to hit the trails again soon.


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## bsparker33 (Jul 11, 2012)

My little dude loves the Wee Ride because it's like he's riding by himself, hes not stuck looking at my rear end the whole ride, and i can interact with him directly pointing out things he might like to see. Your legs have to be wider than normal, and i wouldn't recommend going "off road crazy", but for a flat trail or asphalt, it's a great time.


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## jamerson9 (May 1, 2012)

bsparker33 said:


> My little dude loves the Wee Ride because it's like he's riding by himself, hes not stuck looking at my rear end the whole ride, and i can interact with him directly pointing out things he might like to see. Your legs have to be wider than normal, and i wouldn't recommend going "off road crazy", but for a flat trail or asphalt, it's a great time.


Wow! It's a pity that I didn't know about the Wee Ride. My kids would have loved that and would have made my youngest happy when I started riding out with his older brother. He as quite vocal about being left at home.

The head/arm rest is a great idea.


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## burnedthetoast (Oct 30, 2009)

We have the Yepp Mini - it is similar to the WeeRide but mounts a little closer to the bars. My 1 year old loves it! Right now we have it on my wife's Electra Townie (which has a threaded stem), but they make a fitting that allows it to mount on threadless stems - the only place I know of that sells it is the Xtracycle shopping site (their Peapod seats and the Yepp seats are the same). I would imagine if you put it on a bike with a decent suspension fork it'd be a pretty plush ride over moderate singletrack - especially as the seat itself already has a decent amount of cushioning due to the design.


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## bsparker33 (Jul 11, 2012)

jamerson9 said:


> Wow! It's a pity that I didn't know about the Wee Ride. My kids would have loved that and would have made my youngest happy when I started riding out with his older brother. He as quite vocal about being left at home.
> 
> The head/arm rest is a great idea.


I never realized exactly how important the head/armrest was until "this" ride...


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## bsparker33 (Jul 11, 2012)

The Wee Ride also runs like $50.00 at Walmart or Academy so its affordable and easy to find. I also felt more confident knowing that he was basically "in my arms" the entire ride.


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## speedmetal (Feb 28, 2007)

Great thread! We have twin boys, just got to 6 months. I'd love to take them riding, but how? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

speedmetal said:


> Great thread! We have twin boys, just got to 6 months. I'd love to take them riding, but how? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!


The trailer, like the one in post #6 fits 2, with harness for each.


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## ser jameson (Jun 24, 2012)

Burly trailers are great. My daughter is has been riding in one since her little head was stable enough. She's now 16 mo. , and loves to ride in that thing, she just sits quietly and watches the world pass by.
I stick to rail trails and pavement, but I've experimented with short sections of single track, neither her or the trailer seem to mind.


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## cmags (Jul 25, 2012)

Folks with the WeeRide Kangaroo setup - could someone post a closeup pic of the head tube mount? I saw some reviews on Amazon that said many head tubes didn't have enough space between the top tube and the head set bearing race to mount securely. My bike and my wife's bike both look to have narrow clearance there, and mine is complicated more by having all the cables routed on top of the TT. It looks to be a much better solution than a rear-mount rack, but am concerned about placing an order if it won't fit.

Thanks!


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## bopApocalypse (Aug 27, 2005)

cmags said:


> Folks with the WeeRide Kangaroo setup - could someone post a closeup pic of the head tube mount? I saw some reviews on Amazon that said many head tubes didn't have enough space between the top tube and the head set bearing race to mount securely. My bike and my wife's bike both look to have narrow clearance there, and mine is complicated more by having all the cables routed on top of the TT. It looks to be a much better solution than a rear-mount rack, but am concerned about placing an order if it won't fit.
> 
> Thanks!


While I don;t have pics, they've engineered it pretty well - the underside of the back of the front clamp (that's awkward to write!) is clearanced so you really don't need much height above the top tube - not much more than the ~1/8" steel that it's made of.

Like others have said - it's available at wal-mart etc. for a similar price as amazon. While we've got prime so we didn't pay for shipping, I'm wishing we had bought it locally, since it looks like I'm not going to be able to use it... 

(for me - 5'6", on a somewhat agressive XC setup, using the weeride would involve too many compromises - even without changing anything, I had to swing my knees way out to pedal, and to actually use it with her in it I'd have to lower my seat ~3" so I could put my feet down without getting out of the saddle. I really wanted it to work, but don't have a way to make it work for me.)


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## maxnik (Aug 11, 2012)

speedmetal said:


> Great thread! We have twin boys, just got to 6 months. I'd love to take them riding, but how? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!


Hello,
We use Chariot Cougar 2. It takes 2 kids. We started ours when the older just turned 2 years and the younger was about 8 months. Chariot sell harness that would accommodate even 3 months old babies. We did not need the harness for our daughters - they were big enough. I'll post some pictures when I'm able to.


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## maxnik (Aug 11, 2012)

cmags said:


> Folks with the WeeRide Kangaroo setup - could someone post a closeup pic of the head tube mount? I saw some reviews on Amazon that said many head tubes didn't have enough space between the top tube and the head set bearing race to mount securely. My bike and my wife's bike both look to have narrow clearance there, and mine is complicated more by having all the cables routed on top of the TT. It looks to be a much better solution than a rear-mount rack, but am concerned about placing an order if it won't fit.
> 
> Thanks!


Hi this is how my WeeRide is attached to the front. Let me know if you need more detail, i'll try to come up with some thing.


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## maxnik (Aug 11, 2012)

Some pics of Chariot carrier.


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## jonz (Mar 23, 2009)

My boy and I just went for our first ride today in the Burley using the Burley five point harness. Up until now he had always ridden using the car-seat-strapped-into-the-Burley method. As always, he fell asleep after about 5 minutes. He's 10.75 months, and fairly strong for his age.


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## bing! (Jul 8, 2010)

Warning: depending where you ride, dust can cause serious repiratory issues for a child riding a trailer or a trail a bike. hard pak clay or paved is best.


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## TroyS600 (Mar 29, 2007)

**I know this is an old thread but it's still good info**

Good point about the dust. I just started riding with my daughter and it isn't dusty yet this early in the season, but it won't be long...

So far i've tried an older Burley trailer (narrower than most), a rear seat carrier, and a wee-ride. They're all a compromise in one way or another. 

The wee ride pros/cons:
-requires me to stick my knees out to the sides when pedaling, 
-I have to use my dropper seat post to stop because I can't slide forward off the saddle to reach the ground
-Can't stand and pedal
-When standing and coasting, have to keep my upper body high, or smush the kiddo if i get my upper body low at all
-minimal structure/support for kiddo - means it's more fun in a way, but also she can't sleep in it unless maybe we were on the smoothest of surfaces.
-great to have the kiddo in the center of the bike because it affects handling less than rear seat and is smoother ride for her also
-mounts to my full suspension bike which means nice smooth ride for kiddo
-Kiddo gets spectacular view of the action, may feel more involved. My (11 month) little girl seemed a little scared by this when going fast or through swoopier sections on her first ride. I think pretty soon she'll love it though.

Rear Carrier pros/cons
-doesn't mount to full suspension bike
-throws balance of bike off quite a bit
-Kiddo gets swung side to side quite a bit when maneuvering the bike
-kiddo gets a lot of bumps, partly because on a rigid bike and partly back-of-the-bus syndrome
-doesn't interfere at all with my body positioning or movements (very nice)

Trailer pros/cons
-least affect on the handling of my bike and my body positioning, basically no affect at all.
-roughest ride for kiddo (2 wheels hit twice as many bumps, hard to pick a smooth line for the trailer, hits bumps on the edges of singletrack)
-can't ride real narrow singletrack
-can close up kiddo to protect from wind, rain, cold, etc. Maybe still quite dusty as pointed out by bing!
-can ride with younger child in car-seat, no helmet. Still don't want to go too young.


I'm sure there are other important points to consider but those are some of the things i've noticed by using all three of these methods in the past couple of weeks with my very large 11 month old.


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## TroyS600 (Mar 29, 2007)

Also, one very important difference between the Yepp and the Wee-Ride: I think the yepp mounts in a way that means you are turning the kid when you turn your handlebars, and that a wiggling kid could cause steering inputs. The wee-ride is mounted to the frame and does not affect steering.


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