# Question for the moms out there...



## jodyams (Jul 7, 2005)

Hello! 

I don't post here very often at all - mostly just lurk around. I live in Austin, TX... 

Anyway...

I'm a new mom (my son is now 4 months old), and I bought my Burley trailer before he was born off of craigslist - pretty much brand-new condition!

I'm curious how old your kids were when you could ride with your baby in the trailer. I checked out the Burley faqs, and it said that he should be able to sit on his own and hold his head steady with a helmet on... I'm just wondering *approximately* how old that would be?


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## shwinboy (Jan 13, 2004)

Sorry I'm not a mum but a new dad. 18 months old is what is generally recommended. My son is 9 months old now and he's just sitting by him self but still not ready for the bike trailer yet. It's an excruciating wait but I'm sure it'll be awesome once I can take him out.


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## jodyams (Jul 7, 2005)

Yeah, once I posted my thread, I realized I should have addressed it to dads as well.. 

I figured I still have some time to wait, but just wanted to know approximately how long.

Congrats, btw!


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

The recommendation we heard was something like 12 months.


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## jalopy jockey (Jun 7, 2007)

A year give or take a couple months. It really comes down to being able to support the helmets weight.

18 month would definatly be an extreme. my 18 month old has hundreds of miles logged from this summer. At 12 months it was only a couple miles, now he's good for a couple hrs. 

FWIW I'm a dad of 2 boys who love to ride.


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## Christine (Feb 11, 2004)

I'm nowhere near being a mother yet somehow I knew it was one year. Why do I insist on retaining all the info I *don't* need?! 

Anyway, I would be tempted to ride/hike/ski with a baby in a backpack or one of those front slings. Which I suppose is not the right thing to do, but tempting nonetheless! For hiking I suppose it would be fine.


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## mtbrae (Oct 11, 2005)

*well..*

as most things in parenting it's a matter of opinion and comfortbility, and as you have to already know for every question there are101 answers.

I didn't start riding untill my youngest was 1 and oldest 4 so iput thefour year old on a bike and the 1 and two year old in a trailer. He was fine - he loved it and out did any stroller anyday.
we are now expecting our fourth and it was suggested to me to put the entire carseat in the stroller - they had done just that. BRILLIANT!!
good luck.


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

Well... we cheated and took her in the trailer before a year without a helmet in quiet, smoothly paved areas. Carrying her while biking didn't seem wise, but she's booked a few miles on skis in the Ergo carrier (which I HIGHLY recommend FWIW). Which reminds me... next payday I need to order a pulk kit.....

There's also something called a kicksled, made in Finland. They're good as another fitness toy by themselves, but you can take the kid along. If you're very brave, you can even use dogpower (note that this dog had been worn out for 8 miles and has thousands of miles of training in his lifetime- I WOULD NOT trust just any pooch to this stunt).


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

front packs are way more stable that a backpack. While backpacks are great for hiking, I would not use it for more active sports - they have a high center of gravity. Through our ski patrol activities, I have seen some very unfortunate accidents involving babies and backpacks.

Verslo - the back carrier you have pictured looks more lower/closer to the body than your typical frame type kid backpack.(which is a good thing!)


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## Scubee (Apr 11, 2004)

formica said:


> front packs are way more stable that a backpack. While backpacks are great for hiking, I would not use it for more active sports - they have a high center of gravity. Through our ski patrol activities, I have seen some very unfortunate accidents involving babies and backpacks.
> 
> Verslo - the back carrier you have pictured looks more lower/closer to the body than your typical frame type kid backpack.


I wondered about this too. Twice this summer I saw a family of mountain bikers at the trailhead with the youngest in a frame-type backpack on dad's back. It caught my eye because firstly, I don't think I could ride safely like that. Not sure if my husband could or not and we're pretty competent riders. Secondly, the baby sits high and if you had to duck a branch the baby could get still catch it.

Each time I saw them they were just finishing up a ride. For all I know they were just cruising the easy fire roads since the park has trails for every ability. However, where they came out of the woods is fairly tight singletrack with some low branches, small log piles, rooty banks and little wooden bridges for a 1/2 mile or so before you get to the fire roads.

Anyway, made me say "hmmmmm". The backpack on a bike doesn't seem like a very safe thing to me.

Scubee


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## MTNgirl (Jul 20, 2004)

that pic with your pointer pulling your SO and daughter is so wonderful! the dog looks proud and happy to pull the load. looks like fun. i want to try skijoring (or however you say that) someday. 

on the burley trailer topic, i'm sure they have made improvements since my son was in one 10 years ago, but we started commuting (poor college student, no car) with the burley and it was really great. we lived in rainy eugene, oregon and i especially appreciated how we could be out in the pouring rain and elijah would be snug as a bug in a rug with the plastic cover down. 

i even laid my bike down on a slick manhole cover one rainy day and the burley stayed upright! i was so freaked out, i jumped up and ripped back the snaps on the cover...only to find eli with a big grin on his face, snuggled in with his book and his bunny.

they recommended i wait until he was 12 months, at which age he was a behemoth compared to most babies his age, but the helmet is key. i'm willing to bet they have improved a lot on the sling seat/harness setup since i had mine. 

those cougar chariots are pretty slick, i like the xc ski conversion option. man, what lucky babies! and smart parents to figure out that there isn't a lot you can't do outdoors if you have some good tools. and plenty of warm dry socks and snacks:thumbsup:


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## LyndaW (Jul 22, 2005)

I put my babies in the bike trailer at about 6 weeks old - basically as soon as I could sit on a bike seat myself... I'm not advizing this - just what I did. I put them in their car seat and strapped it in backwards just like you do in the car. I kept them in the car seat like that until they were about 2 yrs. Even when they can hold up their heads they fall asleep and slump over in a real uncomfotrable looking position. They were always much happier snoozing in the car seat. They are 5 and 7 yrs old now and seem to be normal kids...


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

The Ergo is basically a modern twist on asian baby carrier designs. The kid rides right up against your back. The best thing for winter is that I could stick her in the Ergo then throw a big wool coat I had over the two of us.










Her pulk kit is going to be our collective family Christmas present this year I've decided. I'm going to get the skijoring option on everything but the sled itself from skipulk.com, then whack it together with some plastic sled(s) I can find around here.

I also need to put out the word for a used car seat I can strap into my regular dog sled since this year she's sturdier and also vocal about getting too cold.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

this is a REALLY old pic, said kid just turned 21 (omg)
This is a Mountainsmith pulk, with a car seat strapped into it. A sleeping bag works so much better than a snow suit, at least under the sled cover, because their extremities stay warmer.

I knew a few families that xc skied with kids in front packs, under the coat.


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## jodyams (Jul 7, 2005)

Wow! This forum is great! Thanks for the replies!

That Ergo thing looks cool, and those pictures are great! Very cute kid! 

I have all kinds of carriers - my mother in law makes slings, but I don't use them much because I like to distribute the weight across both shoulders, I also have a Baby Bjorn and a thing called a Moby. They can get pretty hot in the Texas summer though. Luckily, it's cooling down now.

Since I haven't been able to ride with my son yet, we've been taking lots of walks/hikes, which has been a lot of fun - but I can't wait until I can share my love of biking with him! 

Our car seat is pretty huge, so not sure it would even fit in the bike trailer. hmmm...

Again, thanks!


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

I did the trailer on streets with the car seat strapped in it. I think D-Belle was probably about 6 months. She's far from normal, but I think it has to do with genetics rather than any trauma from the trailer. Both kids were on trail-a-bikes and singletrack by the time they were four and as soon as the training wheels came off, they were on their own bikes for the dirt.

Now the 15 year old is an accomplished rider and the 9 year old has ridden more places than most avid mountainbikers (Moab, Sedona, Phoenix, Hurricane, St. George, Fruita, Park City). J, the 15 year old, can add Tahoe, Downieville, British Columbia, and Las Vegas for dirt and France, Italy and Switzerland for pavement.

What does this mean? Parenthood doesn't mean the end of your riding days, it just means that you have more riding partners.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

screampint said:


> What does this mean? Parenthood doesn't mean the end of your riding days, it just means that you have more riding partners.


Ain't that the truth. Once you have kids there's two ways to view the world.
1.our life is over
2. how can we keep on what we do, and share our world with the munchkins?

#2 for us included continuing to camp, ski, river trips and so on. I even backpacked with kid #1 but wow is that a lot of work.


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

FWIW my in-laws did a packpacking trip with all three of their kids back in the day.... the kids were 11, 4, and 3 at the time, and they all carried something in a pack. They didn't make many miles of course but they still talk about that trip. I think it sounds utterly nuts, but such is the price of priceless memories, LOL!

The morning after last Saturday's trailer ride to town- probably the last of the season- 2 year old BabyCakes was in on our bed when she suddenly piped up quite unprompted with a very serious expression: "Bikie. Bike. Bike ride. ssshhhhew! (picture flat hand passing in front of her body) Fast!" I can't tell you how cool it was to see that even now her idea of 'A Very Cool Day' included doing something with the bikes.

Now since we're all in an "awwwww, kidz are so cuuuuuute!" mode, I'll skip the story of going to the ER this morning when our smallest riding partner fell down and split the top of her head on a wall corner. After 4 staples for BC and a stiff shot of Baileys for mom I think we're all doing OK. :bluefrown:


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## CycleMainiac (Jan 12, 2004)

Hi Jody,

As big as your little guy is already, I bet it wont be long until he can sit up with the helmet on. I like the idea of strapping the car seat inthe the trailer.



screampint said:


> Parenthood doesn't mean the end of your riding days, it just means that you have more riding partners.


I love this quote, I hope you don't mind, I added it to my mojo signature.


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## autoduel (Feb 2, 2004)

My little guy started at 9 months on paved roads, at 10 months we were doing smooth fireroads. Everything I've read says 12months, but the way my guy jumps up and down on the exersaucer, he was ready earlier. He dosn't wear a helmet yet, bu he's straped down on the center position on a 2 seat trailer. I put pillows on either side to lean on when he falls asleep to keep his head in an upright position.


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## jodyams (Jul 7, 2005)

So.... Just curious... for those of you that strapped the car seat in the trailer... Did you strap in the base and then click in the seat, just like you would in the car, or did you strap in just the seat somehow? If I end up trying this, we have a nice paved pathway in our neighborhood - mostly walkers/runners, and a few bikers on the path...


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## itsdoable (Jan 6, 2004)

We strapped and bolted a base into a trailer, and had the baby bucket forward facing, not rear-ward. I think our girl had her first ride in it at around 6 weeks. On the multi-use paths and roads, the trailer was no worse than the ride in a car. It's a good thing, since she likes being outside, and hates being in the car.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Dad here. This may not be for everyone, but we jumped the gun and started riding with her strapped into the car seat in the trailer at about 5-6 weeks. Bundled her up since we lived at 9000' and it was January. She was usually good for about 5 miles the first month or two. She didn't start wearing a helmet in the trailer until she was out of the car seat. (Child seat visible in the photo was strapped in for over a year.)

I didn't ride with the trailer off road until about 6 months, but after that some mild, wide single track and fire roads would provide a rocking motion that would put her to sleep if we rode near nap time. The funny thing was watching her try to hit her mouth with her thumb while the trailer was bouncing around.

She took her first gondola ride at 8 days. First XC ski trip on my chest at 3 weeks. Skied on her own at 2 years 6 days. She didn't turn out any worse for the wear and is now a smart, healthy and normal 13 year old. Younger brother had similar experiences and has survived to age 10 so far.


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## LyndaW (Jul 22, 2005)

jodyams said:


> So.... Just curious... for those of you that strapped the car seat in the trailer... Did you strap in the base and then click in the seat, just like you would in the car, or did you strap in just the seat somehow? If I end up trying this, we have a nice paved pathway in our neighborhood - mostly walkers/runners, and a few bikers on the path...


I had an extra car seat. I strapped in the seat only (no base) backwards just like in the car then added a few extra straps just to be sure. I co-ordinated my rides to their nap times and they would snooze the ride away. I always rode bike paths tho. I've never pulled the trailer around near cars - that freaks me out... Your bike path sounds perfect. I kinda miss seeing my babies peaceful and sleeping in the bike trailer while I was all happy outside riding. Now they have learned to talk and all...


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

Sounds about the way I did it. Strapped the seat in, used extra straps and just cruised about town (small town, low traffic). Both kids loved it. Then when they were about 3 they started riding the trail-a-bike and we would hit some real trails. J was 5 when he started riding singletrack by himself, D was almost 6.


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## mtbrae (Oct 11, 2005)

We rode on both dirt roads and paved. In fact I brought the trailer to Fruita before moving here and rode the dirt roads on 18 rd and rabbit valley then decided to move here. never having actually ridden singletack.but I knew there was single track that my kids could ride.
and they did. So our oldest who was never in the trailer started riding singletrack @ 5 Nina learned how to ride a bike on the bottom of [email protected] and Nicco started singletrack @3.They get a bit bored now since they are so short they are limited to the same 2-3 trails. but it's fun to take em places- they have ridden literally in as many places as me.
WE never did the trail a bike thing - it scared me.I tried to put our youngest in one and it was all over the place, he couldn't reach the pedals and i couldn't see him. But he wanted singletrack so he inhereted his sisters 8" pink butterfly walmart bike and we were off.
have fun and let the passion begin!!


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## Dwight Moody (Jan 10, 2004)

My doc said 12 months. I started my daughter at 11 months because she was ahead on all the physical development. We still take the trailer to school a few times a week, she's four now. Pretty soon she'll be too big for the trailer, but I've got the trail-a-bike waiting.


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## Dwight Moody (Jan 10, 2004)

Scubee said:


> Anyway, made me say "hmmmmm". The backpack on a bike doesn't seem like a very safe thing to me.
> 
> Scubee


Sounds insanely dangerous to me. Like criminally dangerous.

I hiked with my daughter in a backpack which held her head just below my head. Her weight was up high and unbalancing, but I never did anything steep or dangerous, just nice smooth trails and dirt roads. I would never have put her in the pack for biking.


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## lhwood (Jun 14, 2006)

*strapped*

we strapped the car seat in as well and then our little girl at 11 mos. We started out with rides on asphalt and advanced to wide single track and fire road. She would simply fall asleep everytime we took her out. We actually have to stop for some scenery beause she is so knocked out her neck is kinked. I would go buy a carseat and give it a whirl. Make sure you go at the little one's pace!:thumbsup:


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## brownieinSC (Apr 19, 2004)

We actually emailed Burley and they recommended at least nine months old. Our pediatrician was all for it as soon as she could sit up well. We waited till closer to nine months anyway for the spring weather.
She is sixteen months old now. She thinks the trailer is okay but her favorite part is the break at the park.


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## jodyams (Jul 7, 2005)

Thanks again, everyone!

I like the idea of riding around at nap time - seems like napping is a bit of a battle with our little boy - but motion of the stroller or car does seem to make him sleepy after a little while.


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