Getting my 9 month old onto a bike

[cyclingnolycra]

Hi guys,

I was hoping to get my 9 month old son onto a bike seat or trailer of some sort. My wife enjoys riding too so it'd be great to have the boy with us so we don't need baby sitting and it'll (hopefully) be fun for him too.

We both currently ride carbon road bikes.
I don't mind getting another bike that doubles as a commuter with say mudguards, panniers, that would be better to have him sit on.

1. Are trailers that fit via the QR skewer a bad idea with our frames? A friend is potentially passing a trailer onto us. Trailers also seem annoying from a storage space perspective, weight too - and many bike paths are very poorly designed for trailers (think those bollards/gates)
2. Opinion about front-mount seats vs rear rack seats? It seems that front-mount seats are pretty annoying for your own pedaling. I'm 175cm so not super tall and am guessing the top tube mounted seats would mean you gotta splay your knees out to the side. But is having them on the back nowhere near as fun because you can't talk to them while riding around?
3. If you were going to buy a bike that doubles as a commuter too, any suggestions? I prefer drop bars. I was thinking something like this: https://www.reidcycles.com.au/collectio ... ravel-bike as it has all the mounting points, full 105, and cheap. Sure it's a bit heavy but who cares if it's going to have an 8-9kg boy on it with seat etc.

[P!N20]

9 months is pretty early - I found my kids just slumped in the seat and couldn't pull themselves back up. Mine were closer to 12 months before they could be carted around on the bike. YMMV.

1. I don't like the sound of trailers on carbon frames. I have nothing to back that up, but it just makes me uncomfortable.
2. I used a rear mounted seat for my kids over a span of seven years and I loved it. It does have an affect on handling, especially when they get bigger, and some people prefer the front mounts because of that.
3. I think the Reid looks pretty good for hauling kids.

[fat and old]

I started with a rear mount when the first bloke was maybe 18months? I hated it, always worried I'd get home and the wife would scream where's the baby? Front mount, and I can see and talk to him all I want. Handling, pedalling etc not a concern.....I was taking my bloke out for a looky see, not riding a crit.

[brumby33]

I'm no doctor but i would have thought that a 9 Month old's neck muscles wouldn't be strong enough yet to cope with the bouncing of a solid bicycle seat or trailer.

[baabaa]

Cargo bike? - few $$ upfront but when you go the long term and even up to school drop offs...

[cyclingnolycra]

I started with a rear mount when the first bloke was maybe 18months? I hated it, always worried I'd get home and the wife would scream where's the baby? Front mount, and I can see and talk to him all I want. Handling, pedalling etc not a concern.....I was taking my bloke out for a looky see, not riding a crit.

Ah but the first issue wouldn't be a problem, the idea is that I could ride with my wife and son. So she'd spot anything wrong with him.
The handling issues aren't that big a deal yes, but if it's not comfortable pedalling that's a bit annoying if my wife wants to do a half decent ride with me having the boy in tow. Was thinking if he's on a seat + have panniers on the rear rack we could do a little trip with his nappies + food etc. Like how much of an issue is the pedalling? Is it something small that just means you won't be going for sprints (perfectly fine), or is it genuinely uncomfortable for say a 1hr ride or more? (I suspect it also depends on how large size bike you use, larger means less chance of the seat getting in the way). (I ride a size 54cm frame.)

The neck muscles thing seems to depend on the baby, he's sitting quite well at the moment. We'd obviously test it on some short rides first to see how he goes.

I'm not as big a fan of trailers/cargo bikes since bike paths are often terrible in Sydney and make it hard to use long wheelbase bikes thanks to the stupid chicanes/bollards they put everywhere which are clearly designed by people who don't ride. (end rant)

Thanks for the advice btw!

[P!N20]

Typically you can’t run a rear seat and rear panniers.

[RonK]

I find it a little surprising but WeeRide reckon it their seat is suitable for 6-9 months old if their neck muscles are strong enough.
It's not recommended for use on a drop bar, but you can get a pretty sharp flat bar these days, for example the Giant Fastroad Advanced.

https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/bikebug-w ... eat-37390/