# Intro

My wife and I recently had our first child. It was important to me not to rely on our car for transporting him. We only have one car, and living in San Francisco, it’s often more convenient not to use it. I never liked driving; even though I got my driver’s license at 18, I didn’t drive again until I was 22. If I could, I wouldn’t have a car at all. I admire those who can live completely car-free.

I quickly learned that despite my desire to take my baby on a bike as soon as possible, there is extreme aversion to it and little information on how to do it safely. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises against putting a child under 12 months on a bike. Despite this, I have many friends who take their young children on bike rides. I believe the AAP is considering only traditional bikes and not front loader bikes.

I talked to many friends who took their young children on bikes before 12 months, and I want to share what I learned and how I decided to carry my child.

# The First Ride

The first ride with my kid was short, but magical. He was 9 weeks old on his first bike ride. There was a lot of anticipation because I spent probably the entire pregnancy (and more) planning how to get him on a bike. Eventually, the day came when I got the bike, but for the next two weeks, the weather was too cold where I felt uncomfortable putting him on the bike. I spent the time perfecting the car seat installation so that I felt it was as safe as it could be and getting comfortable riding the bike by myself and eventually with our 50 lb dog.

He already did well in our car (so long as he had his pacifier), so I wasn’t too concerned with putting him in a car seat. We only rode around the neighborhood for maybe 10 minutes, but it was an amazing feeling to be able to ride a bike with him, and I could think of all the amazing things we will be able to do when he is a bit older, like go to the park/playground or explore the city.

We will also be taking him to daycare on the bike and hopefully eventually to school, skipping those horrible car drop-off and pick-up lines.

# My Bike

My current bike would not work. It is a “hybrid” e-bike. I could attach a child seat, but that would not work until he can hold his head up and wear a helmet. The next option is a child bike trailer, but at least for me, I don’t like the idea of not being able to easily see him. Manufacturers also do not provide clear information on how to use a child bike trailer with children younger than 9 or 12 months.

The best way to carry a child younger than 12 months on a bike is in a front loader, but even then, there seems to be concerns from manufacturers about providing clear information on how to bike with a baby. Some manufacturers like Urban Arrow sell car seat adapters, and this is a really good no-fuss option for people wanting to just get on a bike and go.

My personal goals for choosing a bike were that:

• It needs to fit at least one child, ideally two.
• Max speed should be 28 MPH (I don’t plan on traveling this fast with a baby, but it is useful when riding on busier streets with cars without the baby).
• Should be able to handle San Francisco hills with a large range of gears.
• I want to be able to easily take our dog along with one child (not a requirement when using an infant car seat).

The bikes on my short list were the Riese & Müller (R&M) Load4 75, R&M Packster, and the Urban Arrow Family. After borrowing or trying each, I settled on the Riese & Müller Load4 75. The Packster was too small for both a dog and child, and the Urban Arrow maxes out at 20 MPH.

Each R&M bike is built to order, and you choose all your accessories and options. The configuration I chose was:

• Touring - High Speed (HS)
• Single (725 Wh) Battery
• High Sidewalls and Low Sidewalls (self-swappable with proper tools)
• Bosch ConnectModule (GPS Cellular Tracking of the bike via an App)

# Why a Single Battery?

I have a Trek Allant+ e-bike using the older Bosch System with a 500 Wh battery. I have only run out of battery once and only been extremely low a handful of times. With a front loader bike, I could buy a second battery later if I find that I am running the single 725 Wh battery low often and just carry it. Additionally, when I rode a friend’s R&M Load, the gap between my foot and the second battery was very narrow. The newer 725 Wh battery was taller and would have less space.

# My Setup

With the R&M Load, there are places to route straps. If you don’t have a way to route straps under the bucket, you can probably install a couple of tie-down anchors (that was my plan before I figured out how to route the straps).

You should try to follow the manufacturer’s car guidelines as closely as possible. For our car seat, I put the strap through the belt path. It says to only use a seatbelt, but I used two straps: one goes down similar to a car seatbelt, and the other goes back closer to how a car’s seat anchor system works.

I tried using only one strap similar to the car seat’s instructions when using a seatbelt, but found that I could not tighten the one strap enough to stop it from moving. I added a second strap following the route where the car seat’s anchors would be. Having two straps made it feel significantly tighter, but it was still sliding around. The problem was the base and the box where I was trying to mount the car seat were both plastic. When you install a car seat in a car, you have some give with the car’s seat to make it more secure. I had some grippy furniture pads that I was able to stick to the bottom of the car seat’s base, and now there is no/minimal movement.

Make sure when you are installing the straps that you don’t go around any cables or the steering bar. You can see in the image below that I routed the straps as close to the box as possible. I had to lie down and get under the bike to make sure it was not caught anywhere and that it was properly tightened.

I also added reflective tape to the sides of the bike’s cargo box to increase low light visibility.

# Comfort

Babies are fragile. When looking at other setups for younger children, they almost always have some sort of suspension. If you are going to ride anywhere that isn’t a perfectly maintained road, you are probably going to be hitting potholes or other bumps. They should be safe with minor bumps, but having suspension is probably a requirement. Urban Arrow’s child seat adapter has built-in suspension. Luckily, the Load is a full-suspension bike, so no additional suspension is needed.

You should also be aware of the weather. Most front loader bikes have optional child covers to keep them out of the wind/rain, but even then, it can be cold or too hot depending on the season. Make sure to dress the baby appropriately. Just like with any car seat, they should not wear bulky jackets under the seat’s straps. Bring a blanket to put over them after securing them instead. For sunny weather, you are not supposed to put sunscreen on a baby younger than 6 months, but there are options out there. I haven’t done much exploring of this since we were getting our baby on the bike in the middle of San Francisco’s second winter (June/July).

# Creating Your Own Setup

# Guidelines

# Bike

If you are fortunate enough to pick a bike, you will want to follow some of these guidelines:

• If you plan to ride with your child before 12 months or when they can wear their own helmet, you will need a front loader.
• Consider adding reflective tape in addition to lights for increased visibility.

# Car Seat

I think using a car seat with a base would be easier, as it makes it simpler to get the baby in and out. The ones that are advertised for easy transport in and out of taxis or ones without a base all appear to have the belt going over where the baby will sit, which could be harder to get them in and out on a bike since the straps will be more fixed than a seatbelt.

# Safety Tips

• Always check the straps and the car seat before every ride to ensure everything is secure.
• Make sure your bike is well-maintained and the tires are properly inflated.
• Use reflective gear and lights to increase visibility, especially when riding in low-light conditions.
• Avoid busy streets if possible and use bike lanes or quieter roads.