Riding with Kids

Getting your little ones around doesn’t need to involve an SUV! There are many resources out there for parents who want to get their kids cycling. Before you ride with your kids, make sure you’ve brushed up on your bike handling skills, best practices for cycling in traffic and multi-use trail etiquette!

For more information check out our webinar “Family Cycling: Riding with Kids” below.

Carrying Kids?

For brands and other tips, essentialbaby.com has some great recommendations.

Bike trailers

A trailer offers some protection from the weather for your kids, but doesn’t allow any communication between you and them. The width of the trailer makes navigating some paths and obstacles tricky.

Kids seats (front and rear)

Centre-mounted front infant seats keep your child between your arms, where they have a good view of where you’re going; it makes chatting with your toddler easy, too. The rear-mounted seat is the more popular choice. These usually have a higher max weight limit, so you can use it for longer as your child grows.

A trailer bike (or tagalong) 

This is half a bike that hitches onto the adult’s bike, with its own handlebars, and is suitable for kids of around five or older. Your child can pedal along with you, making them feel like they’re contributing to the effort.

For families looking into buying cargo bikes we recommend two styles: 

Box bikes

For kid-carrying purposes, they usually have a (wooden) box attached to the flat front deck which has a bench seat and, possibly, some basic clips as harnesses. This style of cargo bike is driven by linkage steering, which means that the front tire is connected to the steering tube by way of a link, or long metal bar. So, instead of your handlebars directly controlling which way your front tire moves, the response to your handlebar movement in a bakfiets is amplified by this link.

Long-tails are what they sound like: the rear end of the bike is longer than normal which means that you can haul more stuff on the deck and/or beside the deck. In short, they ride how people expect a bike to ride; they “feel like a bike” is what most people will say after riding one.

More options for cargo bikes can be found here: https://rascalrides.com/cargo-bikes-kids/, also check out our E-Bike tab!

Need more support? The Victoria Family Cycling Facebook Group is a great resource for interpersonal advice for families who cycle. From buying gear, to route suggestions, to cycling meet-ups, the group is an excellent resource!