SPOKES, The Lothian Cycle Campaign
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SPOKES, The Lothian Cycle Campaign
SPOKES Factsheet 23 (Also PDF)
Carrying children on bikes
Revised February '99
SPOKES, The Lothian Cycle Campaign, 232 Dalry Road, Edinburgh EH11 2JG
Answerphone: (0131) 313 2114 email:spokes@spokes.org.uk
Web site http://www.spokes.org.uk
If you have suggestions for improvements/changes to this factsheet, please write to the above address. or email:spokes@spokes.org.uk
Having young children needn't curtail your cycling. With suitable equipment, cycling can be an enjoyable activity for the whole family, even including the baby! Journeys by cycle are more stimulating for children than sitting in a car, quicker than walking. It's also a great way to get fit and healthy.
Rear child seats
The best rear child seats are made from high-impact, rigid moulded plastic and have headrests to support a child who has fallen asleep. They should also have a safety harness and footguards and straps to prevent feet getting caught in the rear wheel. If your saddle has springs either cover them or replace the saddle so that little fingers do not get caught. Suitable for children from the age at which they are able to sit unsupported (usually 7/9 months) until they get too heavy for the seat (varies with manufacturer but usually 22kg - approx. age 4/5). Makes: Rhode Gear, Hamax. Prices from £50
Front child seats
There are two kinds: Crossbar seats where the child sits on a seat clamped to the frame and holds onto the middle of the handlebar. The child puts their feet on footrests mounted on the downtube. As the child is not strapped in, this seat is only suitable for children who have enough sense not to fidget or put their feet near to the front wheel. Suitable for children from 2 years to 22kg. - approx. age 4/5. Price: £24
Another kind of front-mounted seat is a smaller version of the moulded plastic rear seats with footstraps and harnesses. Suitable from 7/9 months (when the child can sit unsupported) - 3 years. Price: from £30
Front seats are really only suitable for short distances as they do tend to make pedalling slightly awkward.
Trailers
These are two wheeled buggies that attach to the rear stays of an adult bike. The fixing device allows the adult bike to be laid on its side without tipping the trailer up. Most can carry two children from nine months to 5/6 years with the limiting factor being the weight of the children - the maximum combined weight is usually 50kg. A very young baby can also be carried when strapped into a child seat although this will leave no room for a second child. Most of them also have a luggage space at the back.
Trailers usually come with a rain and suncover and a visibility flag. The best also have quick release wheels and can be folded down for easy carriage in trains, buses and cars. They are fairly expensive but they do have a high resale value. They also make very useful shopping and luggage carriers long after families have grown up! Makes: Bike Trax Burley, Adams. Price: £180 - £500
Trailer-bikes
These are becoming increasingly popular and have come down dramatically in price recently. They consist of a special frame, without front wheel and forks that attaches to an adult bike (or tandem) either at the seat post or rear rack. The child can help with the pedalling, but braking and steering are left to the adult. They are excellent for taking children out cycling in situations where either it would not be safe to let a child cycle independently or where a child wouldn't be able to cope with the distance or hills. It's also a great way for a child to learn about observing traffic, signalling and road positioning whilst being safely controlled by the adult. Some models have gears so that children can learn how to change gears while not having to worry about steering at the same time. The great advantage of trailer-bikes is their versatility. You can buy a second tow hitch (£15) which allows the trailer-bike to be quickly swapped between adult bikes. It can also be carried easily on trains by simply detaching and storing alongside the adult bike in the storage cycle area. Suitable for children from 3 or 4 years up to age 9 years. Makes: Bike Trax, Adams, Ally Cat Price: £140 - £200.
A variation on a trailer-bike is the U+2, a tandem-tricycle trailer, made by Brilliant Bicycles. This has two child seats one behind the other allowing children to pedal in tandem whilst being pulled behind an adult bike. Price: £500
Also available is a two-seater one wheel trailer-bike tandem made by Adams (price to be confirmed), available at Bike Trax.
Tandems
There are several options:
The advantage of a tandem over a trailer-bike is that a few of them can also be fitted with a rear child seat to carry a very young child in addition to the older child that is pedalling. The disadvantage is that they are not easy to store or to carry on trains. It is now possible to fit S+S couplings into a tandem so that it can be dismantled although this does add considerably to the cost (at £200 each plus respray - you need 4!). S+S couplings can be fitted into a custom-built frame (a cheaper way of doing it - Thorn charge £500 for this) or retrofitted into your existing tandem frame. There is also a folding tandem available (takes 40 mins so not instant!) called the Green Gear Twosday Tandem - Price from £1400
Kiddy cranks
For use on a tandem. Provides an extra set of pedals for a child whose legs are too short to reach the "normal" pedals. It consists of a tube, pedals and chainwheel and is attached to the seat/downtube. It can be adjusted as a child grows. Suitable for ages 4/5 to 10. Price: £120+
Crank shorteners
Again for use on a tandem, but is used when a child has outgrown kiddy cranks but still can't use "normal" pedals. Fitted to cranks to shorten distance between pedals, making a shorter turning circle for short legs. Price: £50+ a pair
A variation on this is to use wooden blocks, placed above and below the pedal, and screwed to one another through the pedal with long wood screws. These raise the whole pedalling circle by the thickness of the blocks and can be used alone or in combination with crank shorteners.
Tricycles
A tricycle fitted with one or two child seats at the back is made by W.R. Pashley. Suitable for children from 12 months to 5 years. Price from £550
Conversion kits
Convert a child's bike into a trailer bike by removing the front wheel, fixing the front forks of the child's bike to the rear forks of the adults and fixing a strut from child's handlebars to adult seatpost. Brakes on child's bike are disabled. These have not received very favourable reviews in cycling magazines with the handling often criticised. Price from £70
Baby slings
Babies up to 6 months may be carried in a front sling only never on your back!
Helmets
Though not compulsory it is a very good idea for all children to wear a helmet. Look for one that has a European or American standard, preferably both as these standards have superseded the British one. To make them more acceptable for children - and hence more likely to be worn - go for the coolest-looking one that you can afford. Children who are putting in effort at pedalling will also appreciate one with plenty of ventilation. Makes: Met, Hamax, Cateye, Specialized, Giro, Bell. Prices: £13 - £35
Cycling during pregnancy
If reasonably fit and used to cycling, there is probably no reason not to continue cycling during pregnancy - but do follow doctor's advice. Consider lower gears and inverting dropped handlebars to enable more upright sitting position for greater comfort.
General safety
Keep children's shoelaces short and tucked away. The same applies to scarves and other loose clothing. Dress children in brightly coloured clothing so that they are visible to motorists. Think twice before carrying a very restless child. Beware of very cold and wet weather - remember if the child isn't cycling they will feel the cold a lot quicker than you, unless well wrapped up.
Make sure that the adult bike is kept in very good mechanical order. Especially ensure that the brakes are always working well to cope with the additional weight that the bike will be carrying.
A good tip!
It's a good idea to try out some of the more expensive items like trailers or trailer-bikes before you buy to make sure that you are happy with the handling and that it's the right bit of gear for you. Try and borrow from another family or consider hiring for a weekend - you could save yourself an expensive mistake!
Contacts
Bike Trax, Lochrin Place, Tollcross, Edinburgh 0131 228 6633 http://www.biketrax.co.uk Bike shop with specialist section for family cycling. Can supply child seats, trailers, trailer-bikes, tandems, tricycles and many accessories. Will hire out trailers and trailer-bikes and then deduct hire fee from a subsequent purchase. Can also order specialist items.
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, 8 Alvanley Terrace, Edinburgh 0131 228 1368 http://www.edinburgh-bicycle.co.uk/ Has a small selection of child seats and trailers/trailer-bikes. Does not hire bikes out.
Swallow Tandems Ltd., Llanhaeadr ym Mochnant, Shrops. 01691 780050 http://www.swallow-tandems.co.uk/
Thorn Cycles available from St. John Street Cycles, 91-93 St. John Street, Bridgewater, Somerset TA6 5HX 01278 441500 Specialist frame and tandem builder http://www.sjscycles.com
Longstaff Cycles, Chesterton, Staffs. 01782 561966 Custom framebuilder and tandem manufacturer
Tandem Club UK Membership Secretary, Wendy Haxell, 3 Catherine Close, Chafford Hundred, Thurrock, RM16 6QH 01375 480179. Regional Officers (covering area including Lothians) Graeme & Tracey Short 01899 221425 http://www.tandem-club.org.uk/
Please e-mail us with your comments and suggestions.
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