Child bike carriers are a great way to expose your little ones to the beauty of the outdoors. There’s no reason to limit your own ability to go for a bike ride when you have numerous options available for bringing your child along. Child bike carriers come in a number of different setups including a rear mounted child carrier which is a lot like a mini car seat attached to your bicycle either behind you or, the other option is to have it on the bike frame in front of you. This is normally limited to children of roughly 40 pounds or less. The other option is to attach a bike trailer and pulled them along in their own little vehicle environment. No matter which option you choose, getting your children out of the house, into the great outdoors, and away from the television is something you’ll both appreciate tremendously.
The nice thing about the frame mounted child carrier mentioned above that you may not be aware of if you haven’t looked into these yet, is that they are made of very well, with a lot of adjustable components to keep your child snug and safe, including things such as a five point harness and adjustable foot rests (this allows the seat to grow as your child grows).
Many parents prefer the rear mounted child carrier to the one that rests in front of them. This makes sense when you consider how many times you’ve been writing and taken a leaf, bug or paddle to the face. The thought of your child’s receiving those impacts instead of you is often more than enough to sway parents to purchase the rear mounted carrier. In addition, the thought of the ever possible crash has to cross every parent’s mind. The thought of crashing into and on top of your child is just too freaky for many parents to accept.
On the other hand, some parents don’t like the idea of not being able to keep a eye on their child while they ride, and not being able to interact with them. This is led to a growing popularity of front mounted bicycle Child carriers. Some of these amounts directly in front of the saddle and while they might require a slight alteration to your stance and pedal stroke, most have been designed well enough to keep its alteration to a minimum. One popular model with a slightly different mounting position is the iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat. This has been particularly well received by taller riders who had to adjust their riding style just too much with the other style of front mounted carriers (to the point of not even being able to ride reasonably well). By mounting this carrier on the stem, and with its uniquely angled and positioned design, you as the rider can easily keep an eye on your child and interact with them while they are protected from oncoming debris.
Advancements in mounting bracket technology also makes these Child carriers quick and easy to mount and dismount, so you’re not stuck with it if you want to go for a solo ride. In addition, consumers seem to report that despite repeated mount and dismount tank of the hardware on their bikes, the mounting brackets and screws remain snug and secure, at least on the better-known brands. Some of the brands most highly ranked by consumers inclued Bell (such as the Bell Classic Bicycle Child Carrier or the Bell Cocoon Rack Mounted Bicycle Child Carrier), and the CoPilot Limo Bicycle Child Seat.
The other way you may choose to bring your child along on your bike rides is with a bicycle trailer. While you may not have the same ability to interact directly with your child, you can ride constantly knowing that they are completely protected in their own little cocoon. A few of the other added benefits of this type of bicycle Child carrier is that you can bring along more than one child at a time. In addition, many can quickly convert into a stroller making it a very versatile option.
By finding the right child by carrier for your needs, accompanied by a proper car bike rack for your vehicle, the outdoors and the wonderful world of bicycling really is your oyster for you and your child (or children).