Earliest age for a bab y to go on a bike seat

weirdyboy

Hi, I'm planning on using my bike with a Limo Co-Pilot bike seat to pick my daughter up from her nursery. She is 7 months old.

I'm just wondering what the youngest age you should take a child out on a bike is?

I've found lot's of variances from 6 months to a year.

pansy_pots

I would say it is variable child to child- hence the range in recommendations- but some things to consider:

How well can she hold her head up with a helmet on and for how long?
How far is the journey?
How big is her head? (my 12 month old is only just big enough to fit into the smallest helmet I can find online)
Is it a time of day when she is likely to sleep and if so is the seat well designed for this?

I have used a trailer with all three of mine when they were little but also have a weeride centric which I normally use with my 3 year old. I have tried my 1 year old in it but she does look very small and so I always end up putting her in the trailer - which she is very happy with. I may be being overly cautious though.

ride_whenever

generally they need to be able to hold their head up with the helmet on for a decent length of time. A helmet isn't really debatable for children.

If you are unsure, something like a croozer will take two children and when i tried a customers the other day I was amazed how easily it turned and how light it felt on the back of the bike.

robertjmiller

We started using our Limo Co-Pilot to take our daughter to and from day care when was 17 months old and have used it almost every day since. I am not sure what age is best to start putting your child in a bike seat but I can say that the older the child the easier it gets. Specifically, our daughter used to drop her gloves on the ground and we'd lose them but now that she can talk she lets us know when drops something (most of the time). Also, she can let us know if she is uncomfortable whereas when we first got started we put her helmet on too tight and pushed a plastic hair tie against her head .

Wooliferkins

The Croozer Kid One (pg4)has a baby seat. Speak to the good people at AMBA they'll be able to help.

thedirge

anyone recommend a child helmet for a toddler? Mine isn't ready yet at 6 months however I don't think it'll be too long before she'll want to be out and exploring.

thedirge

bump

weirdyboy

We bought a MET ELFO helmet which seems to fit well, and has a lot of adjustment. No complaints from the small one yet either.

thedirge

Thanks very much mate I'll look into it

thedirge

oh also i notice that the child seat you looked at was rather expensive, i know money is no object where my baby girl is involved however, that attitude often leads to parents paying over the odds.

£40 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=7576

£58 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=7575

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24357

The bottom one interests me, i prefer the idea of a front mounting seat so she's still between my arms, is it practical however?

pansy_pots

The helmets we have are a Raleigh Rascal which goes down to 44cm so just small enough:
http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/biz/p ... rls_helmet
It is pretty basic but seems OK

We also have a Bell Bellino:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=23468
This is from 48 cm and I prefer this one as has an easy adjuster on the back

I use a front mounted seat - Weeride - and love it. Just been on a 5 mile ride this morning with my big 3 year old in it and it was lovely to chat. I think my 1 year old is just big enough for it and would be happy to use it for shorter journeys with her. It doesn't get in my way much at all but it will depend on the space you have available on your bike.

thedirge

Thanks ordered the first helmet as the second one only really had boy colours.

Also have my eye on a second hand weeride in the newcastle area on ebay, will see if that goes for a bargin on sat