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Riding with a monkey on your back

OK, not a monkey but a small child (8 months).

I'm in the process of trying to figure out how to get out for some family bike rides whilst away for long weekends of BMX racing. I'd be riding my BMX cruiser and my wife would be on her 'cross bike. We have a child trailer and although it seats two (we have a 3 year old too) I think that the bumps and jolts might be a bit much for the younger child. A rear mounted child seat seems like a poor option too as fit on a BMX cruiser is likely to be problematic and the nature of the bike means frequent out-of-the-saddle riding and I imagine him being thrown side to side as we go up hills etc. I don't really want to try to shoehorn another bike into/onto the car.

This has led me to considering using our backpack child carrier. This would insulate him from road bumps (via my body) and the side-to-side issues would also be reduced. It obviously wouldn't work on a road bike but the upright position on a BMX seems to lend itself to this method. The only information that I can find online about this comes from the US where there seems to be a disproportionate paranoia about the accident risks associated with cycling (and very little about the health risks posed by jolting/jaring on young children).

So, does anybody have any experience of carrying a child in this way on a bike?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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22 comments

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700c | 8 years ago
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Lol people seem keen for someone to interject here, with criticism along the lines of 'irresponsible parenting/ poor health and safety / no helmet' etc so they can indignantly shout the odds, but it just ain't happening!

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farrell | 8 years ago
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What are people's thoughts on cycling with a child in one of these:

http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1...

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KiwiMike replied to farrell | 8 years ago
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farrell wrote:

What are people's thoughts on cycling with a child in one of these:

http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1...

Done it loads. It's AWESOME. Our son used to go bananas, flapping his arms/legs and laughing like a loon. Do it. It will give you a most precious parent/child cycling memory. And thanks for reminding me to dig this up from 5 years back  1

(Only really works on a Dutch bike, as you are bolt upright. Could work OK if the child was asleep and faced towards you and was small enough that the carrier cradled their head)

WARNING: Photograph of extreme parental irresponsability follows.

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farrell replied to KiwiMike | 8 years ago
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KiwiMike wrote:
farrell wrote:

What are people's thoughts on cycling with a child in one of these:

http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1...

Done it loads. It's AWESOME. Our son used to go bananas, flapping his arms/legs and laughing like a loon. Do it. It will give you a most precious parent/child cycling memory. And thanks for reminding me to dig this up from 5 years back  1

(Only really works on a Dutch bike, as you are bolt upright. Could work OK if the child was asleep and faced towards you and was small enough that the carrier cradled their head)

WARNING: Photograph of extreme parental irresponsability follows.

That looks smashing that man!

I wouldn't be using any of my road bikes or my singlespeed, although my lower down position would put him in an almost Superman pose which he would probably flipping love, however I know that I don't have the patience to deal with the busy bodies that would inevitably stick their beaks in.

It would, on some occasions, be an MTB with front suspension or more frequently my not-really-Dutch-but-still-a-town-bike bike (3 speed Sturmey Archer, sprung saddle, swept back bars type affair).

I may give it a go this evening round the park!

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KiwiMike replied to farrell | 8 years ago
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farrell wrote:

I know that I don't have the patience to deal with the busy bodies that would inevitably stick their beaks in.

In 13 years of cycling with kids in all sorts of irresponsible ways, I honestly can't remember anyone 'sticking their beaks in'. Most people, when faced with a child in a pack like that or on a Dutch bike seat up front, smile, wave, or have a n 'I remember that' (if they're over 40) or 'wish I'd done that / were brave enough to do that' if under 40.

And *had* anyone felt it their right to voice off, by christ they'd have copped it  1

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joemmo | 8 years ago
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Matt - only you can decide about what level of risk you will tolerate (people are prone to being judgemental from *both* ends of the safety spectrum) but the risk is mainly external - i.e. being hit by something else - rather than from you falling off, so if you are on traffic free paths then its probably pretty safe.

The jolting aspect is something you can judge from a test ride. If your little one is sitting up and crawling or shuffling about then they are probably strong enough in the neck already and its unlikely to be worse than going for a hike with them in backpack.

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ciderman_100 | 8 years ago
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if you were asking this question 10 years ago you would have had replies giving you advice but because of all the born again cyclists who have now arrived they use their fears to try and instil them on other people. I have on here before said that nobody has the right to tell other people what to do if you feel happy with your method of carrying your child and the mother is happy then go with it by all means listen to the opinions but remember that they are like arseholes, everybody has one, me included. best of luck to teaching your child/children about life, I think I was fortunate that my dad had me cycle touring from the age of 11 carrying 20lbs of camping gear and associated items those memories will stay with me forever and helped form me into the person I am today. so once again go for it every thing in life is a risk you just have to make an informed choice.

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WiznaeMe | 8 years ago
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If it was a penguin rather than a monkey maybe this would work for you.

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twowheeltoys | 8 years ago
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TBH riding with your child on your back is probably the safest place whilst you can take the weight. On a bmx/cruiser with it’s lower seat position, you tend to stand and spin for a bit before sitting and freewheeling with a good low centre of gravity.
Much better than putting it in a basket attached to the handlebars!
BMX forever.

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PonteD | 8 years ago
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I wasn't saying don't, just I wouldn't because I KNOW I'd fall off at some point!

As Mungecrundle said, if you're confident then go for it, just be ready for a ton of judgemental shit from "I told you so's!" if you do take a spill and hurt your little one.

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Matt eaton replied to PonteD | 8 years ago
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dazwan wrote:

I wasn't saying don't, just I wouldn't because I KNOW I'd fall off at some point!

As Mungecrundle said, if you're confident then go for it, just be ready for a ton of judgemental shit from "I told you so's!" if you do take a spill and hurt your little one.

To be fair, given the way cycling is viewed generally I expect the same level of judgemental nonsense if I were involved in any sort of crash on the bike where my kid was hurt; trailer, child seat, backpack or shoulder carry.

When my wife and I bought a trailer to take my daughter to and from the childminder a lot of our friends and family questioned the safety of it. I have to confess that we eventually stopped using it due to the hostile road conditions. I've had a couple of solo incidents with cars in the last year or so which have also contributed to us deciding that the risks are too high.

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antigee | 8 years ago
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I'm sure some people who saw us thought me irresponsible but the alternative would have been to have taken the car which, in my view, is a pretty undesirable alternative.

high five here  1 spot on

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Matt eaton | 8 years ago
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Thanks again for your views on this. You'll probably be unsurprised that my feelings chime with Mungecrundle and KiwiMike. I think I'll take the lad for a roll round the block in the backpack and see how it feels; maybe give it a go with the backpack and a bag of spuds first just to make sure I'm comfortable with the weight. Plan A of not falling off usually works pretty well for me so with a suitably careful approach I rate the risk of injury from falling off very low compared to any other risks.

It's funny that KiwiMike mentions shoulder rides. Just the other day I took my 3 year old daughter out for a bike ride. We went about a mile to our local BMX track and then came back via a few play parks and a football field. By the final leg of the journey she was too tired to ride or walk so I put her on my shoulders, hung her balance bike from my bars, and scooted us home. Because of the amount of stuff we had with us I couldn't walk and carry/push all of the bikes and gear easily whereas 'riding' my bike (at about walking pace) with her on my shoulders was manageable. I'm sure some people who saw us thought me irresponsible but the alternative would have been to have taken the car which, in my view, is a pretty undesirable alternative.

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Olionabike | 8 years ago
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KiwiMike, you and your wife are my parenting heros. Cycle on (unhelmeted).

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antigee | 8 years ago
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be prepared for vigilante cyclists to film you:

Is this parental neglect?
Postby Grgic » Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:07 pm

I've seen this guy on two separate occasions now carrying his child in some sort of harness on his back while riding his MTB. Managed to have the VIRB on the bike the second time I came across him. I can only think of how bad it would be if he has an off

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=83226

from the land where kids wear helmets to scooter to school and cars reverse out of drives over them

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gmac101 | 8 years ago
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Center Parcs have a minimum age limit of 6 months with their trailers and I'm sure they don't take any chances, you also have to think about the child in question our oldest had a big head and a skinny neck and struggled to hold her head up for any length of time until she was few months old, the youngest could hold her head up from almost the moment she was born.

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KiwiMike | 8 years ago
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Matt, go for it.

The reality is that there's SFA difference between what you want to do and giving your child a good, wholesome shoulder ride. I've seen parents smack their kids into low signs in town centers, tree branches, etc etc. If you trip and fall with a child on your shoulders they are coming down from probably twice the height as what yours would be at in a backpack, seated on a BMX. I'm totally up for the public argument should any person think to berate me / my wife for choosing to let our kids cycle unhelmeted, or climb to the top of the frame / tree, or a million other things we did as kids that have now been ruled out of order by the H&S Nazis.

Fuck 'em.

Anyone replying here that I'm a bad parent yadda yadda can correctly guess my response. So don't say you weren't warned. And no, I don't want to hear your own anecdotal story of woe. Life's too short to curtail the excitement and freedom childhood used to have and has been mostly been strangled of by the creeping opprobrium of the 'what might happen' worrywarts.

Assess the risk, take appropriate precautions. Anyone telling me a kid's at more risk of death in a parent's backpack on a carefully-ridden bike than in a small car at 70+MPH on UK roads better come armed with peer-reviewed stats.

Roll on.

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Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
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Coming from the school of negligent parenting, I took both my children out in backpacks for gentle rides from around 8 months. Of course you do have to be fairly confident that 'plan A' (not falling off) is going to work for you and accept that any accident, injury or incident will be used against you forever after.

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Matt eaton | 8 years ago
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Cheers for the advice all.

On the centre-of-gravity thing, I don't actually think this would be a big problem for me, but maybe that's because I'm a relatively big guy. Thinking about my wife in the same situation I can imagine it being a potential problem though so it's a valid point.

When it comes to safety in the event of a crash, I find it a bit difficult to get too worried about this as a possibility when I regularly strap him into a car seat and drive at 70mph. Even with all the normal precautions the prospect of a baby being involved in a 70mph car wreck is probably more concerning than a slow speed bike crash strapped to dad's back. We'd only likely be riding motor-free cycle routes at a very modest pace.

The trailer is great, so maybe I'll try him in there but I am still concerned about the potential for brain and spine rattling (myelin sheath not fully formed etc.) and this concern still outweighs any worries about crash trauma. It might be that I just forget the idea until he's a bit bigger and explore more locally on foot.

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Nat Jas Moe | 8 years ago
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When our daughter was about 3 we used an Adams trailer bike and she never came off due to bumps. The only time she did was when we first set off and because she wasn't holding on to her handle bars she ended up on the deck. Nothing major just a bit of a shock for her and me. After that just some coordination was required, 'are you ready and holding on?' And she loved every minute of it. If you go for this option a rear mudgaurd is essential.

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PonteD | 8 years ago
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Considering how your centre of gravity will be really high this could really affect your handling. I'd hate to come off a bike with a small child strapped to my back. If I were to roll I dread to imagine the damage this could do to the child. Just consider how much it hurts yourself when you take a fall, now imagine that PLUS the additional trauma of having an adult that is several times your weight land on you with force.

I personally even shied away from using those seats that attach to the bike for kids for the same reasons. If I were to have a fall (I've had many over the years), I'd fall off the bike and only suffer some minor grazing, but a child in one of those seats is now strapped into a bike that is sliding/rolling down the road. Even just falling off at a junction could result in the child either dropping and hitting the kerb or even worse, being laid in the middle of the road in front of traffic.

When the kids were little I accepted that if I wanted to use my bike I would have to use a trailer. I never found the jolting too bad, after all they have pneumatic tyres which take the sting out of the bumps and I just took it really easy and tried to choose routes that were as smooth as possible. Not always possible to avoid bumpy bits of road, but at least I'd try and go slow over those parts. Plus, the kids loved having all their crap with them in the trailer, so I'd often be pulling around two kids plus lots of lego and soft toys and other assorted kid tat.

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Namasteve replied to PonteD | 8 years ago
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dazwan wrote:

When the kids were little I accepted that if I wanted to use my bike I would have to use a trailer. I never found the jolting too bad, after all they have pneumatic tyres which take the sting out of the bumps and I just took it really easy and tried to choose routes that were as smooth as possible. Not always possible to avoid bumpy bits of road, but at least I'd try and go slow over those parts. Plus, the kids loved having all their crap with them in the trailer, so I'd often be pulling around two kids plus lots of lego and soft toys and other assorted kid tat.

I second this wholeheartedly. Part of my commute involved towing my son to and from daycare. In a Chariot trailer with pneumatic tyres and some suspension, he is comfortable. With his blanket and a snack, he's entirely happy.
I know that some trailer brands have slings and headrests for younger children, if you are concerned about injury.I don't think we ever found that to be much of an issue.

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