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Riding with a monkey on your back

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  • April 10, 2015 at 4:28 pm #23709
    Matt eaton

    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?

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  • April 21, 2015 at 7:59 pm #841013
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    700c

    Lol people seem keen for
    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!

    April 21, 2015 at 2:08 pm #841011
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    KiwiMike

    farrell wrote:I know that I

    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 🙂

    April 21, 2015 at 1:26 pm #841009
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    farrell

    KiwiMike wrote:farrell

    KiwiMike wrote:
    [quote=farrell]What are people’s thoughts on cycling with a child in one of these:

    http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1k/babybjorn-baby-carrier-miracle-carry-your-child-facing-outwards-from-five-months.png%5B/quote%5D

    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 🙂

    (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!

    April 21, 2015 at 12:39 pm #841007
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    KiwiMike

    farrell wrote:What are
    [quote=farrell]What are people’s thoughts on cycling with a child in one of these:

    http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1k/babybjorn-baby-carrier-miracle-carry-your-child-facing-outwards-from-five-months.png%5B/quote%5D

    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 🙂

    (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.

    April 21, 2015 at 12:13 pm #841005
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    farrell

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

    http://www.babybjorn.co.uk/ImageVault/publishedmedia/19o00u5ui6ffhidwpf1k/babybjorn-baby-carrier-miracle-carry-your-child-facing-outwards-from-five-months.png

    April 21, 2015 at 11:33 am #841003
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    joemmo

    Matt – only you can decide
    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.

    April 21, 2015 at 7:10 am #841001
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    ciderman_100

    if you were asking this
    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.

    April 20, 2015 at 10:44 pm #840999
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    WiznaeMe

    If it was a penguin rather
    If it was a penguin rather than a monkey maybe this would work for you.

    April 15, 2015 at 9:43 am #840997
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    twowheeltoys

    TBH riding with your child on
    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.

    April 14, 2015 at 9:13 am #840995
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    Matt eaton

    dazwan wrote:I wasn’t saying

    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.

    April 13, 2015 at 6:45 pm #840993
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    PonteD

    I wasn’t saying don’t, just I
    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.

    April 13, 2015 at 1:14 pm #840991
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    antigee

    I’m sure some people who saw

    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 🙂 spot on

    April 13, 2015 at 11:57 am #840989
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    Matt eaton

    Thanks again for your views
    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.

    April 12, 2015 at 6:45 pm #840987
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    Olionabike

    KiwiMike, you and your wife
    KiwiMike, you and your wife are my parenting heros. Cycle on (unhelmeted).

    April 12, 2015 at 10:27 am #840985
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    antigee

    be prepared for vigilante
    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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