Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Lightweight carbon baby carrier

Search
Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Lightweight carbon baby carrier

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-29-15, 01:44 PM
  #1  
dr_max
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
dr_max's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Montreal
Posts: 436

Bikes: BMC SLC01 Promachine with full DA grupo on Ksyrium ES/ BMC Roadmachine 01 One disc Ultegra with DT Swiss

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 154 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 37 Posts
Lightweight carbon baby carrier

So, I've been working my legs lately. Last year, 700 km in 6 days at 40 kph average with a simple MEC trailer while drafting a group of friends I've been racing with for 10 years.
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
dr_max is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 02:04 PM
  #2  
icepick_trotsky 
Aspiring curmudgeon
 
icepick_trotsky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Saint Louis
Posts: 2,486

Bikes: Guerciotti, Serotta, Gaulzetti

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 111 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 26 Times in 13 Posts
Is it April Fool's already?

I have the Bell Co-Pilot. Works well, but you need rack braze ons.
__________________
"Party on comrades" -- Lenin, probably
icepick_trotsky is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 02:21 PM
  #3  
cderalow
Senior Member
 
cderalow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Potomac, MD
Posts: 776

Bikes: 2012 GT Transeo 3 2014 Cannondale CAAD 10 105

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
pretty much any kid safe seat will require legit rack braze ons as they need to support 20-45lbs.

Get a weehoo to tow behind the wife and let the 3yr old pedal.
cderalow is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 03:36 PM
  #4  
spdracr39
Senior Member
 
spdracr39's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Cabot, Arkansas
Posts: 1,538

Bikes: Lynskey Twisted Helix Di2 Ti, 1987 Orbea steel single speed/fixie, Orbea Avant M30, Trek Fuel EX9.8 29, Trek Madone 5 series, Specialized Epic Carbon Comp 29er, Trek 7.1F

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Ok I'll bite. Is pulling your children in a trailer behind you at 25 miles per hour in a paceline really a good idea? And how are you going to carry enough supplies for you and those kids for three + hours of riding. The water you will need will weigh almost as much as the trailer.
spdracr39 is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 03:48 PM
  #5  
f4rrest
Farmer tan
 
f4rrest's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 7,986

Bikes: Allez, SuperSix Evo

Mentioned: 38 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2870 Post(s)
Liked 28 Times in 23 Posts
What kind of idiot pulls kids in a trailer at those speeds with a group?
f4rrest is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 03:50 PM
  #6  
caloso
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
40kph for 6 days pulling two kids in a Chariot? Incredible.

As in, this is not credible.
caloso is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 05:39 PM
  #7  
Up North
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SW ONTARIO
Posts: 525

Bikes: P1 Domane Di2, SLR Emonda Di2, Trek Farley 9 Fatbike

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Get trailers for the rest of your group. That way they can all drag one of your kids. It will slow them down from their normal 50kmph average so you and wifey can keep up. This way if group wrecks couple of you should survive.
Up North is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 06:50 PM
  #8  
bakes1
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 1,245

Bikes: 1975 Motobecane Le Champion lilac, 2015 Specialized Secteur Elite

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 97 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Too funny
Could you imagine though if someone was so stupid and self centered to actually mean it lol?
bakes1 is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 08:10 PM
  #9  
chupalt
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 47
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I've definitely been thinking about one of these...that way you can race a crit and not have to find a babysitter. Might be worth contacting them to see if they can build a three seater.




https://www.scandinaviansidebike.dk/

Last edited by chupalt; 06-29-15 at 08:18 PM.
chupalt is offline  
Old 06-29-15, 09:30 PM
  #10  
Elvo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 4,770
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 630 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 369 Times in 206 Posts
Originally Posted by chupalt
I've definitely been thinking about one of these...that way you can race a crit and not have to find a babysitter. Might be worth contacting them to see if they can build a three seater.




Scandinavian Side Bike - Forside
3rd wheel and fairing isn't legal in USAC. But take those two things off and it should be fair game.
Elvo is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 08:29 AM
  #11  
dr_max
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
dr_max's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Montreal
Posts: 436

Bikes: BMC SLC01 Promachine with full DA grupo on Ksyrium ES/ BMC Roadmachine 01 One disc Ultegra with DT Swiss

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 154 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 37 Posts
Originally Posted by spdracr39
Ok I'll bite. Is pulling your children in a trailer behind you at 25 miles per hour in a paceline really a good idea? And how are you going to carry enough supplies for you and those kids for three + hours of riding. The water you will need will weigh almost as much as the trailer.
Well since it's an organized tour there is a lunch after 50 kms and my wife breastfeeds so we had the bottle of milk for the older one in the trailer and he serves himself and the younger one gets his chunk of breastfeeding every 3 hours like he's used too.
And deceleration from a frontal impact having your baby in your car at 100 kph is 10 times more likely to kill your baby than you crashing at 40 kph in a bike trailer.
Velocity gets the total energy at the square level. Riding with a group you have been riding for 10 years is not what I'd call unresponsible and I know them so much that they were the ones pulling the trailer the afternoon after the lunch.

Anyways the point is not about inquiring if you think it's secure or not, I can judge myself. I just need to find out a good carrier that you can mount on the back of the rear seat.
dr_max is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 09:12 AM
  #12  
mcours2006
Senior Member
 
mcours2006's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,204

Bikes: ...a few.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2012 Post(s)
Liked 409 Times in 235 Posts
Advice around these parts don't come without a small dose of judgment, you'll find.

I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.

Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
mcours2006 is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 09:34 AM
  #13  
dr_max
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
dr_max's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Montreal
Posts: 436

Bikes: BMC SLC01 Promachine with full DA grupo on Ksyrium ES/ BMC Roadmachine 01 One disc Ultegra with DT Swiss

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 154 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 37 Posts
Originally Posted by mcours2006
Advice around these parts don't come without a small dose of judgment, you'll find.

I thought it was troll post, but maybe you're being serious. Don't have any suggestions. All the child carriers I've see are the standard plasticky ones. But I don't know why a few hundred grams would make much of a difference anyway. The weight of the child is much, much heavier than the carrier itself.

Maybe some ultra-chic Euro retailer might carry something like this. I doubt you'll find it here in Canada.
The same reason weight weinies spend 10 grands for a replacing every bolts by titanium ones and put carbon shifters when they are 20 pounds overweight.

I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
dr_max is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 10:25 AM
  #14  
mcours2006
Senior Member
 
mcours2006's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,204

Bikes: ...a few.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2012 Post(s)
Liked 409 Times in 235 Posts
Originally Posted by dr_max
The same reason weight weinies spend 10 grands for a replacing every bolts by titanium ones and put carbon shifters when they are 20 pounds overweight.
Are you saying you are such a person?

Originally Posted by dr_max
I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
Twenty pounds is considerable. But I'm quite skeptical. The two child carriers I've owned for my three children are about 7-10 pounds, maximum, so when you say 20 pounds difference I say I don't think so.

As I said, the weight of the child, and I carried them as old as four years old, makes up the bulk of the weight. Mine were all around about 35 pounds at four years of age.
mcours2006 is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 10:35 AM
  #15  
mcours2006
Senior Member
 
mcours2006's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Toronto, CANADA
Posts: 6,204

Bikes: ...a few.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2012 Post(s)
Liked 409 Times in 235 Posts
Sorry, you are talking about a trailer, but referred to a carrier. I re-read your post and you are referring to a carrier.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j...35768456239591
mcours2006 is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 12:10 PM
  #16  
JohnJ80
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,673

Bikes: N+1=5

Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 875 Post(s)
Liked 244 Times in 181 Posts
Originally Posted by dr_max
The same reason weight weinies spend 10 grands for a replacing every bolts by titanium ones and put carbon shifters when they are 20 pounds overweight.

I used to race a lot and do many crits, now the weight of the children make me at the same level as my wife on the ground but on climbing some baby carriers may vary as much as 20 pounds between them, this make a huge difference actually.
Not to be judgmental or anything....
JohnJ80 is offline  
Old 06-30-15, 01:57 PM
  #17  
merlinextraligh
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,303

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1447 Post(s)
Liked 727 Times in 372 Posts
Originally Posted by f4rrest
What kind of idiot pulls kids in a trailer at those speeds with a group?
I did it once. Once a year they do a ride on the Parkway from Williamsburg to Yorktown, with the road closed to car traffic. We did it once on our tandem, with our 6 year old daughter attached on a trail-a-bike, and burley trailer attached to the trail-a-bike, with our two friends children in it. We pulled a paceline in the low to mid 20's.

We could actually move pretty fast once up to speed, on flat ground.

Probably not the brightest thing I ever did, but it made for great photo ops.

And while we could do 40kph, no friggin way we could sustain that for any distance, or come close to averaging it.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
merlinextraligh is offline  
Old 07-01-15, 03:53 AM
  #18  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,440

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII, 23 3T Strada

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3143 Post(s)
Liked 1,707 Times in 1,031 Posts
Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
I did it once. Once a year they do a ride on the Parkway from Williamsburg to Yorktown, with the road closed to car traffic. We did it once on our tandem, with our 6 year old daughter attached on a trail-a-bike, and burley trailer attached to the trail-a-bike, with our two friends children in it. We pulled a paceline in the low to mid 20's.

We could actually move pretty fast once up to speed, on flat ground.

Probably not the brightest thing I ever did, but it made for great photo ops.

And while we could do 40kph, no friggin way we could sustain that for any distance, or come close to averaging it.
Yeah, the "train" is probably the way go, quite superior to putting a kid on your bike...for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is much better handling.

When I haul three, I use my Tanjor Aero inline 2-seater trailer (which, when pulling it alone, I've been quite comfy at speeds well north of 20mph) in conjunction with a Chariot Sidecarrier sidecar. Really nice getup, but the sidecar does increase frontal area significantly, and is perhaps not the best long distance/high speed hauling option when compared to a trailer or other in-line seating options.

Like the Tanjor, Sidecarrier is out of production, but still may be worthwhile to keep an eye out for on the used market, as would a Tanjor, particularly one of the 3-seat Aero trailers, which is the most elegant solution for how to pull three kids fast.

chaadster is online now  
Old 07-01-15, 03:56 AM
  #19  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,440

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII, 23 3T Strada

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3143 Post(s)
Liked 1,707 Times in 1,031 Posts
chaadster is online now  
Old 07-01-15, 04:00 AM
  #20  
Trakhak
Senior Member
 
Trakhak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 5,373
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2482 Post(s)
Liked 2,955 Times in 1,678 Posts
This reminds me of the guy who (successfully) sued Cannondale back in the late '70s because the manual that came with his Cannondale trailer didn't explicitly warn him that cornering at speed on a steep downhill grade could result in the trailer overturning and injury of his child.
Trakhak is offline  
Old 07-01-15, 04:32 AM
  #21  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,440

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII, 23 3T Strada

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3143 Post(s)
Liked 1,707 Times in 1,031 Posts
Originally Posted by Trakhak
This reminds me of the guy who (successfully) sued Cannondale back in the late '70s because the manual that came with his Cannondale trailer didn't explicitly warn him that cornering at speed on a steep downhill grade could result in the trailer overturning and injury of his child.
Negative camber is one of the cool features of the Aero.

chaadster is online now  
Old 07-01-15, 06:51 AM
  #22  
bakes1
Banned
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: North Jersey
Posts: 1,245

Bikes: 1975 Motobecane Le Champion lilac, 2015 Specialized Secteur Elite

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 97 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by dr_max
So, I've been working my legs lately. Last year, 700 km in 6 days at 40 kph average with a simple MEC trailer while drafting a group of friends I've been racing with for 10 years.
100 km rides last week in uphills with a double Cheetah 2 carrier from Chariot with my 2 y.o and 7 months old boys.
Next year we'll be adding the 3rd kid in the cycling train. My wife is happy right now because she manages to follow me when drafting the double trailer, next year I wanna add those carrier that mount on the road bikes. Anyone has used those and have suggestions?
They make helmets for 7 month olds?
Aren't their undeveloped skulls amazingly susceptible to injury at that age? Helmet or not.
Still fairly certain the OP is having a bit of fun.
That or maybe his parents did too much racing back in the day with him tied to a bike lol.
bakes1 is offline  
Old 07-01-15, 08:58 AM
  #23  
JohnJ80
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,673

Bikes: N+1=5

Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 875 Post(s)
Liked 244 Times in 181 Posts
Originally Posted by bakes1
They make helmets for 7 month olds?
Aren't their undeveloped skulls amazingly susceptible to injury at that age? Helmet or not.
Still fairly certain the OP is having a bit of fun.
That or maybe his parents did too much racing back in the day with him tied to a bike lol.

This is just a bad idea.

J.
JohnJ80 is offline  
Old 07-01-15, 09:28 AM
  #24  
chaadster
Thread Killer
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 12,440

Bikes: 15 Kinesis Racelight 4S, 76 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, 17 Dedacciai Gladiatore2, 12 Breezer Venturi, 09 Dahon Mariner, 12 Mercier Nano, 95 DeKerf Team SL, 19 Tern Rally, 21 Breezer Doppler Cafe+, 19 T-Lab X3, 91 Serotta CII, 23 3T Strada

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3143 Post(s)
Liked 1,707 Times in 1,031 Posts
I started hauling both my kids very young, probably around 5mos or whenever it was they could keep their head up. I did not attempt to fit a helmet until much later, like 1.5-2yr. Having kds wear helmets in bike trailers does not seem like a rational concern to me. I did take precautions againts sharp jolts and hard jostling, such as low tire pressures, foam seat pads, side- and head braces, and careful, slower riding speeds.

Here's the setup I had for both my kids, in the Chariot sidecar. The bracing system may have been Chariot, too, but I had to adapt it for the Sidecarrier, both with the strapping and additional pad spacers (seen on either side of the headrest. Worked great. I don't think my son's inability to focus and uncontrollable bursts of rage are related to head damage in any way...

...KIDDING!! ��

chaadster is online now  
Old 07-01-15, 10:53 AM
  #25  
doctor j
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Central Louisiana
Posts: 3,055
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 41 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 3 Posts
I suppose I'm still wondering when they came out with lightweight carbon babies. Are they stronger, stiffer, more laterally stiff and vertically compliant than regular babies? Do they asplode in a crash?
doctor j is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.