You love the outdoors and you worry about taking your child out of the safe confines of the den or baby’s room. Surely, there must be a better way to enjoy to sun and fresh breeze with the little munchkin.
If you love to cycle, there is a way, even when they are not old enough to ride in a tandem bike, or mature enough to handle one of the numerous childrens bicycles in the market today. Yes, a tandem bicycle is a tempting way to go, but if they’re too young, there is an alternative.
If you’re a cyclist, have you considered a bike trailer for kids? In case you are wondering, child bike trailers are chariot-like carriages which you attach to the rear of your bicycle. With this add-on gizmo, you will be able to take your child along with you. The kids bike trailer mounts to your existing bike, attaching to the rear axle or to the frame of the bike itself. With it, you can take along a child of age 1 to 5 or somewhere thereabouts. The child is strapped in, and depending on the model can be zipped into a mesh compartment. The trailer itself is constructed out of a rigid frame, and this frame is enclosed in durable fabric which is breathable but also, on some models, weather resistant.
You may wonder why not a simple child bike seat that mounts either fore or aft of the rider’s seat. Critics would argue that this setup is potentially less safe than the kids bike trailer. The reasons include: ride height, which is naturally higher than that of the trailer, lack of surround cage, lack of mesh enclosure and not to mention the added difficulty of managing a bike with an added weight on the top of the bike as opposed to low to the ground behind the bike as is the case with the baby bike trailer or child bike trailer. Finally, getting on and dismounting a bike with a baby bike seat mounted fore or aft is an added challenge and potentially an unnecessary hazard.
As previously mentioned, bike trailers attach to the either the frame of the cycle or to its rear axle, and its weight thus does not contribute adversely to the handling of the bike. Because of its position you may be able to carry slightly older, thus heavier children, relative to what you could carry in a child bike seat. The protection it offers is often the primary reason parents choose it over the child bike seat, as the child is securely strapped into the trailer, which itself is a rigid cocoon wrapped in breathable, zipped mesh material. Wind, bugs and fine debris kicked up by the bike or floating in the air are more of than not prevented from entering the trailer’s chamber where the child is seated. Regardless, you will of course need to equip the child with a bike helmet as well. The bicycle child trailer is inherently safer because of its lower profile, riding close to the ground as opposed to the child bike seat which can be three or more feet off the ground when mounted. There are some models that are cleverly designed to isolate the bike’s fall from the trailer, so that whatever happens to the bike (i.e. if it falls over), the same fate is not experienced by the kids bike trailer.
Nonetheless, bike trailer for kids have their own safety issues inherent in their low profile. Because they hug the ground, kids bike trailers are difficult to see, and a motorist may miss it, particularly in low light conditions. To mitigate this risk, the trailers should be equipped with a four to seven foot tall, high-visibility, preferably reflective orange flag. Bike trailers also track wider than the bike itself, so they occupy more of the road, necesitating care when taking turns and curves. Despite being low to the ground bike trailers can tip over during aggressive turns, or when the trailer itself encounters anomalies in the road such as potholes and uneven roads. Additionally, the added mass of the trailer means that bringing the entire package of bike and trailer to a halt becomes progressively more difficult, particularly on slick surfaces such as wet roads. Finally, trailers may become entangled on shrubs, debris or other materials protruding from people’s property.
Some of the well known bike manufacturers also produce kids biker trailer products. The popular brands that produce bike trailer for kids include the Burley Bike Trailer, Instep Bike Trailer, Chariot Bike Trailer and the Schwinn Bike Trailer. These manufacturers produce variations on their bike trailers to allow for other uses for their kids bike trailer when not attached to the bike. For example, some models allow the kids bike trailer to be operated as an independent stroller, and they market these products as bike trailer stroller. In other words, you may attach them to the bike like a typical kids bike trailer, and then unhitch them and push them around like a typical child stroller. This is a particularly useful feature if you like to take a leisurely stroll with your child, in addition to taking them out on the bicycle child trailer.