Infant / Baby / Kid; Bicycle, Trailer, Backpack, Child Carrier, Helmet & Bike Safety

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Bigger Kids: Which Bike to Choose As Children Grow

Infants: Child Seats Vs. Trailers Vs. Backpacks Vs. Third-wheel Cycles

The primary determinant of when an infant can join his or her parents on bike rides is the strength of the the child's neck. Because of the jostling and the additional weight of a helmet (8-10 oz.), this is a few months after a baby can first hold their head up. Note: Some jurisdictions have laws requiring passengers on bicycles to be at least one year old.

Usually by age 12 months parents can start checking with the child's physician to see if they have the neck development to safely go for a bike ride. Most toddlers' neck and shoulder muscles can tolerate the weight of a helmet and absorb shock from bumps in the road at 1 years old.

We know of no comprehensive study on the best method to carry an infant on a bike and there are risks associated with all of them.. Here are some factors to consider:

Backpacks

Taking an infant on a bike in a backpack is potentially very dangerous -- and illegal in some jurisdictions. Some of the issues are: The center of gravity is higher; if you wear helmets -- as you should -- your helmets may banged together; the child is quite vulnerable in a fall because the distance is higher and there is a greater chance of the infant ending up underneath the adult in a tumble; and the backpack provides less protection than a child seat or trailer.

Child seats / Baby Carriers

Physics tells us that a child, in a child seat, mounted on a bike, raise the center of gravity of the bike. This changes how the bike handles and adds instability. The bicycles frame geometric also play a roll in stability -- longer chain stays are an element that helps. The heavier the child the greater the impact. But, the weight of an infant is negligible compared to the size and strength of most adults so usually the change in balance is not unacceptable. If you want to practice before you put you kid into the child seat, load a book back with the child's weight in books and strap it into the seat and take it for a ride.

Kid seats tend to work well for children 1-3 years old. There is anecdotal evidence of children of 15-20 kgs., or 33-44 lbs., being carried in child seats. In fact kids usually get too tall for child seats before they get too heavy.

For all users the most difficult aspect of child seats is usually getting the child into and out of the seat, especially with rear rack mounted seats (as opposed to front top-bar mounted seats). One danger of bike seats is not when the bike is being pedaled, but when it is stopped. When the rider gets off the saddle, or dismounts, it takes more effort to maintain the bike's balance and keep it upright. Smaller adults generally have the most trouble loading and unloading the child. If the parent can manage this usually they are able to ride safely with a child seat.

Child seats certainly have the advantage, especially in an urban area, of not adding to the size of the "foot print" of the bike, which may lessen harassment by motorists.

In the event of a crash, with rear child seats -- even a well designed one with heaps of safety features -- the child is likely to suffer at least minor arm and neck injuries. With poorly designed rear mounted bike seats, there is also some danger of the child's foot getting caught in the spokes. In the USA, kid seats should meet the ASTM 1625-00 safety standard.

A variation is "front-mounted" child seats. They are very popular and have been used in Asia and Europe for decades. They are less common in North America. Many people swear by these because it is easier to keep an eye on the child and have a conversation with them, and get the child in and out with greater ease. Front-mounted child seat have some unique hazards associated with them: An object dropped by the child can catch in the front spokes, seize the wheel and cause a head-first fall, or be kicked back up into their face. The solution is to make sure that the child doesn't carry anything. In the event of a fall, in some ways the child is more protected than with a rear mounted child seat, but the adult is also more likely to land on top of the child. Child seats on the top tube can also create clearance problems for the riders head/body and/or knees. If the child seat interferes with the adult's pedaling motion they are arduous for long rides. The front-mounted child seat product we know of are listed in the chart below. A couple product we have seen are: The Safe-T-Seat is a contoured plastic seat (max. 32 lbs - 14 kg) that is mounted above the top tube on a stinger attached to the handlebar stem, so it provides more knee clearance. It initially installs in about a minute and can then be detached and reattached in seconds, if you don't always need it on the bike. The more highly engineered Bike-Tutor (max 44 lbs - 20 kg) is more like an very padded English saddle and has a very narrow profile, so it offers even more knee clearance. The installation instructions are vague and it took us an hour to initially install and adjust it. It then takes a couple minutes to detach and reattach.

Note: We have one report of the convergence of an infants size, with his helmet getting hooked on the top lip of a rear seat causing the straps to cut off his air way. The emergency was caught in time so that a tragedy was averted. If your child is behind you, this highlights the need to monitor them frequent, possibly with a rear view mirror.

Child bike trailers

Trailers are more stable and affect the handling of the bike much less that bike seats. Trailers with chain stay (rear triangle) hitches affect bike handling less than trailers with seat post hitches. Trailers also have the advantage of being able to carry larger children (1-4 years) and multiple children. (several trailers are rated to 45 kgs. or 100 lbs.) Kids can be set-in the trailer with toys, books, drink, food and other amusements. The fact that the child is surrounded by so much entertainment and can nap in comfort in their royal coach, the child can accommodate longer trips. Trailers can provide more weather protection against rain and sun . Sitting low, with a low center of gravity, falls are rare and short. The typical brightly colored fabric used on trailers is very visible to motorists. The down side is that the child sit low and has a restricted view. And, trailers have a larger foot-print, which may be a problem on narrow roads and in congested urban areas -- instead of sharing a lane, you are more likely to have to take-up a lane for safety. But, rather than inciting harassment, trailers more often seem to generate friendly curiosity. The best trailers have the added safety features of a five-point harness and roll-bar. Face forward designs allow easier communication between the cyclist and the child, than rear facing designs. The child is also easier to monitored with the use of a handlebar bar-end mounted rear view mirror.

Tip: If you have a bike trailer with a chain stay attachment and are carrying two kids, be sure to put the heavier kid on the side where the hitch extends out. If you hit a bump or curb just right the trailer can tip. The seatbelt/harnesses are good, as is the roll cage, but if the heavier kid landing on the lighter kid, it may be bad. If the smaller kid lands on the larger kid, well, they usually just giggle a lot.

We don't know of any independent testing that has been done on child trailers, so we can't say which is best or safest. Things to look for are:

Is the child prevented from interacting with the wheels in any way while in motion?
Is the trailer stable, with a low center of gravity?
Is the child protected from sand and grit thrown up by the bike tires?
Is the hitch to the bike well designed and sturdy?
Is the point where the hitching bar is joined to the trailer (a stress point) sufficiently strong?
Is the harness for the child well designed and secure?

Other nice features:

Can the bicyclist communicate with the child easily?
Is there sufficient storage space to carry the child's supplies and other items (i.e. a bag of groceries)?

In some areas of Europe and Asia, cargo tricycles are used for transporting children.

Rough Risk Analysis Child Seats vs Trailers

Child seats create a higher center of gravity than trailers so in terms of physics and stability they have a high risk. But we haven't heard of enough accidents involving either to say that any higher risk is statistically significant. The smaller the child, and more proficient and safety conscience the cyclist, the more the risk for a child seat is reduced to about the same level as for a trailer. Road and traffic conditions can also affect risk. Some road and traffic conditions favor trailers and other conditions favor child seats. Road and traffic considerations may be a more significant factor than stability issues so it can't be said that one method is better than another in a given situation.

Some manufactures of child seats:

Bike Tutor" (North America -- tell them you learn about it from Ibike)	" Bike Tutor" (UK & Europe)	CoPilot Limo
Kettler	Kool Stop Bobike	Safe-T-Seat (front mounted)
2BudsBikeSeat (for AdultTricycle)	Topeak	WeeRide

Some manufactures of child trailers:

For links to child trailer providers go to our link section and click on "technology & innovation".

Post Child Seats and Trailers -- Third Wheel Cycles

If you want to have a family outing with a distant destination, as you child outgrows their child seat (~ age 3) or trailer (~ age 4), there are a couple of options to consider: tandems (and even triples and quads) with child stoker kits (a.k.a kidback, kid-back or kid kit) on the rear seat(s) and third wheel / trailer cycles. In both cases your children will be right with you no matter how fast you ride. People have done some serious bike touring on both kinds of set.

On a conventional tandem both cyclists have to pedal together, so when the adult pedals the child will have to pedal, unless they take their feet off the pedals. DaVinci Design has engineered an "Independent Coasting System" which frees the riders from having to pedal in unisons and has other benefits.

The third-wheel cycles are designed to be free wheeling so the child can just sit back and enjoy the ride whenever they want. Generally, it is easier to fit a child to a third wheel cycle (about age 3) than to an adult tandem stoker (rear) seat (about age 4 or 5). And if you don't already have a tandem it is a much bigger investment.

For links to tandem and thrid wheel equipment providers go to our link section and click on "technology & innovation".

Infant, Toddler and Child Helmets

Does an infant need to wear a helmet when he or she is traveling by bike?

Regardless of where the infant is transported, we favor the use of a bike helmet designed for infants whenever they are traveling by bike -- in some areas it is the law. Because of the fontanel -- soft spot in an infants skull -- infants are susceptible to more head injuries than adults. Regardless of regulations, in a child seat it is strongly advisable children wear a helmet. Hopefully, you won't be involved in an accident, but should you be, a helmet can reduce injuries.

The use of a helmet in a well designed trailer with a good harness/restraint system it is more debatable. One argument for using a helmet is it starts a good habit (but then there are those who argue that wearing a helmet is not a good habit.) Most trailers have good enough harnesses (if properly used) and cages that if the trailer should roll over the child's head is never going to come in contact with anything hard, so a helmet is superfluous. In such an accident, any injury is going to come for jostling the head and neck. In which case, theoretically the weight of the helmet might exacerbate the injuries (but a good infant helmet weighs only a few hundred grams).

The counterpoint is: If the baby's neck is not strong enough to handle some jostling, he or she shouldn't be in the trailer (or child seat) yet. Check with the baby's physician about when is the right time to start taking the baby by bike.

Children often fall asleep in trailers and the helmet can help to cradle and protect their head as the lean over.

When selecting a helmet, it is more important that the helmet meets a recognized standard (i.e. ANSI) and fits properly, than who makes the helmet. The helmet should sit so that it covers the forehead, not worn like a yarmulke or skullcap. For helmets worn in a trailer, the helmet should be rounded in back -- not flared. If the back of the helmet is pointed, it prevent the infants head from resting back in a natural position and will tend to push the helmet forward over the child's eyes. Helmets for infants and children are generally available from Bell Sports, Seven Star Sports and Met. For more information on helmets go to www.ibike.org/education/helmet.htm.

Feedback clipped from our inbox

Submitted by () on Friday, June 15, 2007 at 11:26:16
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MessageType: praise

Message: I must commend you on providing such thorough and un-biased information on kids safety. I came across your site randomly looking for a kid seat for my wife's bike. Many of the topics you cover I had not even considered like trying to get off your bike when a kid is mounted in the front. I found your information extremely useful and spot-on for my shopping needs.

Thank you for taking the time to educate people on these issues. In this day and age you can not trust feedback on amazon.com-like sites where people will give high ratings because they have a formal association to the product. I can now go and buy a baby seat in confidence!

Submitted by Benjamin C (***@yahoo.com) on Friday, September 14, 2007 at 14:12:52
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MessageType: praise

Subject: Baby Bike Safety Info
Message: Thank you for your wonderful info. I came across this site randomly after a google search, and found your summary of trailer-vs-bikeseat discussion exactly what my wife and I were looking for. It was both complete and well-presented. Keep up the good work!
- Ben

Submitted by () [from Australia] on Friday, October 5, 2007 at 21:43:50
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MessageType: praise

Subject: child carrier
Message: Thanks for the great info, I had been looking at my options and hadn't considered some of the safety and practical points made in this article. Great work keeping kids safe with good advice, thank you!

submitted by Jill B (***@hotmail.com) [from Scotland] on Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 13:52:58
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MessageType: praise

Subject: Teaching kids to cycle
Message: My 4 1/2 year old was pedalling on his own after just 15 mins of using your advice - thank you! Saved my back a lot of pain!

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