Best option by far is a cargo bike (long john, not long tail type). Trailer (Singletrailer) wasn’t bad. Hated the Ride Shotgun.
2 Likes
I had a Kettler like this one. It was great. The trailer is good for very young children (<2) but you need to be very conscious of bumps and vibrations.
Just chiming in here to agree with everyone recommending cargo bikes. We have a Riese & Müller Load4 60, which is a full suspension frontloader. My daughter started riding in it around 12 months old and I was pretty nervous about crash safety, so I semi-permantently installed an actual baby car seat (with a proper safety rating) in the cargo bike’s front bucket. Now that she’s a little older I’ve installed a toddler car seat and my daughter wears a helmet as well (Giro makes a nice one in a toddler’s size).
Edited to add: The first time you ride a frontloader cargo bike it feels crazy, but you get used to it very quickly. It’s both more comfortable and much more engaging than riding a bike with a Thule or Burley trailer.
1 Like
This: FollowMe Tandem Review - Kids Ride Bikes on the back of this: Family Pack: Canopy /w Twin Seat & Honeycomb Board – Larry vs Harry?
Welcome to biking-with-kiddos!
Here’s a plug for using a front actual-child-seat, as opposed to a front-child-saddle. We used a Yepp Mini for our first kid (from 10 months til nearly-3 when he got too tall) and will use it again for our 2nd kid (about to start at 9 months).
The upside, like Shotgun/MacRide/doLittle, is that you have a shared experience with your kid (unlike trailer or rear seat, which we also have). Our older kid was very disappointed when he started staring at Daddy’s lower back. Plus, an actual front child seat straps your kid in, so works at younger ages.
The main downside, as Caley mentioned, is splaying your knees out to avoid the seat. More stack and (especially) more reach helps here, and of course your biomechanics may vary. But after a few months I simply avoided pushing high watts on climbs with the child seat.
We made sure our bars are wider than the seat, in case of the bike falling on its side with kid in the seat. This doesn’t protect against an endo, but we also aren’t taking it on mtb-trail-steep-grade descents.
We also find everyday trailer use to be a big faff, moreso for us with commute bikes & trailer in our building basement (which rules out weight of ebikes or the length of cargo bikes, for us).
2 Likes
Having said in another post how great it was to have a weehoo trailer, I’ll now disagree with myself and instead agree with Jonas. Cargo bike is a brilliant option, as it’s way more than just a kiddy carrier.
1 Like
The yepp mini is a great option for younger kids if you don’t want a trailer. As long as the geometry of the bike allows it can be fairly tolerable, and you get to have a load of interaction with your kid.
I found a dripper post to be really helpful with the front mounted seats.
2 Likes
Yes, the cargo bike can be used for a lot more than riding the kids around, if you live in the right environment for it. I like that you can interact with you kid easily during riding. Also, once the kid grows older and starts to ride, it is the perfect bike to accompany it. Cars tend to give a lot more space to cargo bikes, and if the kid get tired, bike and kid go into the bucket and you can continue riding.
1 Like
I tried a trailer and the Thule front mounted seat and ended up with a Cube Cargo front loader. If you can afford it and have a place to store it, a front loader is game changing.
I didn’t like the trailer because it would get stuck in a couple narrow points on my commute (which the front loader fits through fine) and also I prefer being able to talk to the kids in front.
The front seat was better but I could only ride it for 15 minutes because I would get sore due to splaying my legs to fit around the seat. Also I have 2 children now, so it’s not an option.
2 Likes
I had great success shifting between a Shotgun seat and also a Weehoo blast depending on the ride we were doing. (Weehoo TURBO Bike Trailer — USA Weehoo Kid Bike Trailers | Trailer Bikes | Bicycle Trailers)
The weehoo was great for the kids between 2-6 yrs for longer rides. And the shotgun I loved on the trails, my son is small so he fitted on it until he was 5
2 Likes
We are using the Thule Chariot, I did connect it to a Robert Axle Project thru-axle on my Rove, seems pretty solid. We’ve also used the Chariot while skiing, it isn’t perfect with the push-pull feeling others mention but its great for getting everyone out of the house
Riding with the kiddos is such a highlight. We had a Chariot when they were little - it is an enclosed space for them but you can’t really interact with them when you ride. The hills are also hard. When they were ~1 we put a Yepp (now Thule) seat on a Surly Big Dummy and that was much more fun, because you can talk when you ride. There is also room to put the older kid on the bench - with a handlebar attached to the seat post. The Big Dummy is hard to load because it is high so it can be a bit tippy getting everyone settled and when moving slowly. When we lived in Belgium we got a bakfiet (bakfiets.nl) and that has been the best option. We brought it back to the US with us and rode it all year long. The rain cover keeps them warm in the winter and the low center of gravity makes a big difference when it comes to stability. It is also easier to make the grocery run in the bakfiet than the Big Dummy. Eventually the kids got bigger, I got older, and the hills here are bigger than Belgium so we replaced the bakfiet with a Ferla e-trike. Riding a trike feels different than the bakfiet… more like a truck than a car. My kids (now 10 and 13,) still love riding in it, but it is a tight squeeze to get them both in.
If I was starting now, I would get an electric bakfiet style bike, like the Urban Arrow.
2 Likes
Saw this article on the BBC today and thought of this thread. I believe it’s a big +1 for the front seat!
1 Like
For those using a front seat like Kids Ride Shotgun or Mac Ride, is there enough space to stand in-between your saddle and the kid seat/saddle when you stop… or are you lowering your seat so you can get your foot/feet down while stopped… or are you using dropper posts? Or something else?
I’ve just bought a Kids Ride Shotgun and am wondering how this is going to work, as there’s no way I can touch a foot to the ground when sitting on my saddle at my usual saddle height.
I think you hit the nail on the head. I am building a hardtail XC at the moment which crossover as a commuter with a KRS and I am going to be using a dropper for this very reason.
1 Like
Having flipped(rolled over) one of those with a two-year old inside, I can confirm that the Thule Chariot is pretty safe 
.
It wasn’t my favourite thing to take out on the road, but it worked well 
1 Like
Started my eldest son in a Thule chariot trailer around 6 months old. We are in NZ and use it to commute to daycare and my office (only a few km each way) so the trailer provides the best all-weather option. It was also great as a way to get out on the weekend and give Mum a break, baby a nap and me a ride. If you’re lucky you might even be able to down a coffee while they stay asleep… might. The trailer is very supportive when they fall asleep compared to a seat.
Around 18mths (can’t remember exactly) we got a Kids Ride Shotgun Pro (the easily removable one) front seat which is fantastic, so many conversations and things to see and look at, still using it now at 3y + for daycare comutes and all kinds of adventures.
In terms of bikes, started out with the trailer behind a Focus Atlas gravel bike, but switched to a Giant Talon 0 aluminium hardtail for the shotgun seat for extra reach/space in the front end and the front suspension is good with the shotgun seat.
Enjoy, lots of fun to be had!
1 Like
Dropper post makes life much much easier with the KRS
3 Likes
I’ll second the WeeHoo. I had both single seat and double seat models and would tow my kids (with dr approval) from the time they were 15 months old. Lots of trips to the farmers market and local rail trails. My son’s favorite was when I would put him on the single and take him on the roll out of our weekly group ride (30-70 rider groups). He loved talking to people as we rode.
The WeeHoo is the best option in my opinion as it balances practicality and safety. It is not as wide as a traditional trailer so the keeps roughly the same silhouette on bike paths and trails (single track is a little rough, but smooth gravel or true beginner trails were ok). The kid is well protected from fall overs with a good harness system and decent frame around them. My favorite part was that the child is not enclosed but is immersed in the experience.
I did sell my carbon gravel bike and switch to alloy and steel models with alloy seat posts for towing purposes. The heavier steel bikes towed better with their heavier weights and longer wheelbases being less influenced by the WeeHoo.
My kids are a bit too old now to ride them and they have been passed on to family members with younger kids, but I have lots of fond memories of them and highly suggest them to anyone.
I have an almost 2yo and use the Thule rear seat but have been yearning for a shotgun so we could talk and enjoy more (I also feel like her experience is less good cuz she can’t see anything on the Thule!).
But I’ve gotten preoccupied with figuring out how I will pedal with her on a seat in front of me?? I have a Cannondale Quick CX3 and I am having trouble imagining how this would work.
Did you have difficulty accomodating the kid and actually pedaling?