i have really enjoyed seeing this thread. My wife and I live on our bikes and we had our first child 12 weeks ago. Amongst all the life changes hence ensued, was a big set back to being able to just ride everywhere we wanted. We wanted get our son SAFELY on a bike as soon as possible and searched around heaps for different options. We have a trailer, but I am skeptical to put him behind me - essentially between me and traffic i can't constantly watch. I like the front mounted child carriers (the idea anyway if not the specific materials / construction). However none of those are supportive enough for an infant.
I have a good friend who uses an old "butchers bike" and like the idea of the load in the front over a smaller front wheel. Those (and their dutch 'bakfiets' equivalent) are hard to come by in New Zealand. So we made what we wanted. I ended up taking a child car seat with an infant insert and building a custom set of handlebars that attached it to the front of the bike. I will try to insert a pic here, but some more pics can be seen at: http://lovespreads.smugmug.com/gallery/3703321_weRTA
The angle of the seat can be rotated from flat to upright and it is very sturdily attached to the front of the bike. All of the protection you have in a car is there (except the car, of course). On a test ride with a stuffed monkey (as photographed) and a few kg of groceries the bike is very comfy and handles like a dream. visibility is not an issue as i dont need to see what is under my front wheel at every moment. Bumps have to be negotiated with care for all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread. Ideally a custom made frame with a smaller front wheel and a suspension fork would sort that out (maybe for the second child). The bakfiets page mentions issues with kick stand and high center of mass - one of those kick stands that mounts farther back on the chainstay will sort that out.
Still a bit nervous about going out in traffic with him, but we can get to town via parks and paths for the most part. Any comments questions appreciated
cheers, chris
> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:07:06 -0700
> From: shea@cityacademyslc.org
> CC: community@slcbikecollective.org; thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
> Subject: [TheThinkTank] babies and bikes
>
> I'm just looking for advice. My husband and I have been carfree for 12 years and are not interested in changing that status even though we're expecting a baby in June. I've been looking into bike trailers and would like one that we can haul the kid when it's still tiny. But they all say no kids before one year and no car seats in the trailer. I'm not really comfortable gerry-rigging something... but also a year with no biking would make our lives very sad and tricky since it's our main form of transportation.
> Suggestions?
> Thanks,
> Shea
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