Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on September 15, 2009 at 6:03am

We received similar advice from our pediatrician (although she said one year). She simply wanted to ensure that the neck and back muscles were strong enough so that our baby could sit upright without support, hold his head upright, and handle being jostled.

At slightly less than 1 year, our boy had the necessary control. I think waiting for the ability to be jostled was good. While Gabe was pretty well strapped into the font-mounted seat we still use, I would have been concerned about him not being able to correct himself if he somehow got jostled to the side.

I will say that I really love having the front mounted seat. (I use the Ibert Safe-T-Seat. Link = http://www.ibertinc.com/) I wanted more interaction and abiltity to watch Gabe than I could get with a trailer. This thing has been fantastic. Gabe just turned two, and we still use it. While at some point I'll have to get a trailer because he's too big for the Ibert, it has been really nice to ride and talk and point with him right there. Of course, having him in that seat made the whole control thing even more important.

Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on September 16, 2009 at 10:25am

We started about 9 months, but I do know people who did the car seat in the trailer thing (rearward facing of course).

Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on October 2, 2009 at 4:19am

First...Hurray! for biking throughout your pregnancy! And for your doctors being okay with it. I rode throughout my pregnancy as well.

I think the "official" recommendation is 12 months but, if your daughter has the neck/head strength you can start riding a little earlier (9-10 months). Keep in mind that she will have to deal with the weight of the helmet plus the jostling and bumps of the ride. I found a Giro brand helmet that fit if he was also wearing a hat.

I started riding with my son when he was just over 10 months old. I had him in a front-mount seat (Bobike) that was awesome! I attached it to an old Raleigh step-through. Not only could I talk with him, I could also monitor his response to all the bumps and jostles. And I didn't have any of the balance issues of a rear seat. I would highly recommend you consider a front-mount seat when your little girl is ready to ride with you. My son is now 3 and we had to switch our ride set-up. I now ride a Surly Big Dummy with xtracycle set-up (www.xtracycle.com). He rides safely on the back of my bike and I still have plenty of room to carry all sorts of stuff.