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Note: I tried to comment on a friend's entry, but LJ decided it was too long, so I'm posting the full comment here.
(deep breath)
I actually have done this, and still have the nice trailer that you can probably borrow to see if/how you like it. I actually feel quite strong about being able to travel like this. For me, it was basically a necessity, since my bike is my commuter vehicle; I strongly feel that it is our duty to not only make this world more environmentally friendly, but to do away with this insanity of driving everywhere. On top of that, the alternative commute would mean sitting/standing in a train/bus for almost double the time it takes to ride, which was absolutely no fun for Karin at all - physically restrained in a carrier and emotionally pressured to be quiet because all the damn commuters cringe at kids in the morning.
Yes, there are many pros and cons, and I'll try to address a few. Below is a link to pictures, and a description of the trailer.
Maneuverability: It hardly changes that. Yes, you're longer and wider, and that does take some getting used to. Having ridden [sp?] a bike my whole life, my level of comfort on it is virtually endless, so the only part I had to adjust to was slightly wider turns. Note that the connection of the trailer to the bike is a ball-joint. This means that if the lead bike falls over, the trailer still just sits there, unharmed.
Too low, drivers would seem to be less likely to see them: Not if the trailer itself is bright, screaming yellow, and has a tall pole with ditto flag on it. I have to admit that I think most of the drivers gave me a wide berth because they are terrified of liability if they hit me, but I hope it also made them aware of sharing the road. I have never had anything even resembling an accident because someone didn't see the trailer.
I hear that plenty of parents in California do this on a regular basis. Bike trailer manufacturers don't, I believe, officially condone it, but I cynically believe that that's for liability reasons. Yes, our trailer actually came from either California or Oregon, I think. And yes, they did just that - not condone it, but provide an accessory called an infant-sling that you could hang on one side of the seat. I have forgotten the name of the place, but can look it up (as in, look on the side of the trailer!)
children are required to wear helmets, and the tiniest baby helmets are not all that tiny
Yes, I absolutely agree that they should wear helmets. And no, they don't exist for infants. Unfortunately, they hardly exist for toddlers either, and we weren't able for a long time to find a helmet that fit Karin's relatively small head. I truly wish that they would make helmets for smaller kids. All that being said, the main reason for wearing a helmet is that when falling, you want to protect your head. Mostly because it would get seriously hurt when you fall at high speeds on the asphalt. If a car were to drive over your head, helmet or no helmet, you stand no chance. With an infant in this trailer, she was never more than, say, a foot above the ground. And my speed wasn't that astronomical, considering the weight and traffic and such. Strapped into a 5-point harness, she wasn't really going anywhere either.
the vibration and general jiggling around: trailers are allegedly a rough ride and a kid's head can snap forward and back.
Yes, this one I was actually the most concerned about. The design of the trailer helped a lot in this. The "back-rest" of the seat could be put in 2 settings: more upright or more lying down. The 2nd picture show the angle best; she would be well reclined, kind of like in a carseat. I don't think there was any snapping forward or back, seeing at that would mean braking real hard, or speeding up real fast. Just going over a regular Boston Pothole (tm) doesn't cause snapping. Yes, there is jiggling and vibration. We decided to try it, and evaluate how bad it was. In the end, it was not too bad. Remember that the trailer has 2 wheels, and balances on 3 points (the 3rd being the connection to the lead bike). It was actually quite stable.
Pictures of the trailer are on my picasaweb.
The first 3 pics were taken just as we had gotten it, and were setting it up and playing with it. Karin was 5 months old. The last picture was taken after we got home from our regular commute. As you can see, she would just sleep through a large part of the ride!
It is a trailer meant for 2 kids, sitting next to each other. There are 2 5-point harnesses in there, so they sit extremely securely. With Karin, I usually had a blanket stuffed next to her to lean against and/or sleep up against. In winter, as long as there was no snow or ice on the road, we would frequently ride, just with more blankets and winter gear on. The trailer has a complete cover, so it is protected from the wind (although not completely, of course), and from slight rain. It's definitely not waterproof, and the most water actually came in from the bottom, puddles and splashing water. So, after trying that a few times with different configurations of fenders and mudflaps and plastic bags covering parts of the trailer, we gave up on riding in the rain.
it's made of aluminium tubes, and canvas cloth. Folds flat, quick-release wheels with pins to secure them. Also securing-pins at all the other junctions where you would take it apart for folding.
(deep breath)
I actually have done this, and still have the nice trailer that you can probably borrow to see if/how you like it. I actually feel quite strong about being able to travel like this. For me, it was basically a necessity, since my bike is my commuter vehicle; I strongly feel that it is our duty to not only make this world more environmentally friendly, but to do away with this insanity of driving everywhere. On top of that, the alternative commute would mean sitting/standing in a train/bus for almost double the time it takes to ride, which was absolutely no fun for Karin at all - physically restrained in a carrier and emotionally pressured to be quiet because all the damn commuters cringe at kids in the morning.
Yes, there are many pros and cons, and I'll try to address a few. Below is a link to pictures, and a description of the trailer.
Maneuverability: It hardly changes that. Yes, you're longer and wider, and that does take some getting used to. Having ridden [sp?] a bike my whole life, my level of comfort on it is virtually endless, so the only part I had to adjust to was slightly wider turns. Note that the connection of the trailer to the bike is a ball-joint. This means that if the lead bike falls over, the trailer still just sits there, unharmed.
Too low, drivers would seem to be less likely to see them: Not if the trailer itself is bright, screaming yellow, and has a tall pole with ditto flag on it. I have to admit that I think most of the drivers gave me a wide berth because they are terrified of liability if they hit me, but I hope it also made them aware of sharing the road. I have never had anything even resembling an accident because someone didn't see the trailer.
I hear that plenty of parents in California do this on a regular basis. Bike trailer manufacturers don't, I believe, officially condone it, but I cynically believe that that's for liability reasons. Yes, our trailer actually came from either California or Oregon, I think. And yes, they did just that - not condone it, but provide an accessory called an infant-sling that you could hang on one side of the seat. I have forgotten the name of the place, but can look it up (as in, look on the side of the trailer!)
children are required to wear helmets, and the tiniest baby helmets are not all that tiny
Yes, I absolutely agree that they should wear helmets. And no, they don't exist for infants. Unfortunately, they hardly exist for toddlers either, and we weren't able for a long time to find a helmet that fit Karin's relatively small head. I truly wish that they would make helmets for smaller kids. All that being said, the main reason for wearing a helmet is that when falling, you want to protect your head. Mostly because it would get seriously hurt when you fall at high speeds on the asphalt. If a car were to drive over your head, helmet or no helmet, you stand no chance. With an infant in this trailer, she was never more than, say, a foot above the ground. And my speed wasn't that astronomical, considering the weight and traffic and such. Strapped into a 5-point harness, she wasn't really going anywhere either.
the vibration and general jiggling around: trailers are allegedly a rough ride and a kid's head can snap forward and back.
Yes, this one I was actually the most concerned about. The design of the trailer helped a lot in this. The "back-rest" of the seat could be put in 2 settings: more upright or more lying down. The 2nd picture show the angle best; she would be well reclined, kind of like in a carseat. I don't think there was any snapping forward or back, seeing at that would mean braking real hard, or speeding up real fast. Just going over a regular Boston Pothole (tm) doesn't cause snapping. Yes, there is jiggling and vibration. We decided to try it, and evaluate how bad it was. In the end, it was not too bad. Remember that the trailer has 2 wheels, and balances on 3 points (the 3rd being the connection to the lead bike). It was actually quite stable.
Pictures of the trailer are on my picasaweb.
The first 3 pics were taken just as we had gotten it, and were setting it up and playing with it. Karin was 5 months old. The last picture was taken after we got home from our regular commute. As you can see, she would just sleep through a large part of the ride!
It is a trailer meant for 2 kids, sitting next to each other. There are 2 5-point harnesses in there, so they sit extremely securely. With Karin, I usually had a blanket stuffed next to her to lean against and/or sleep up against. In winter, as long as there was no snow or ice on the road, we would frequently ride, just with more blankets and winter gear on. The trailer has a complete cover, so it is protected from the wind (although not completely, of course), and from slight rain. It's definitely not waterproof, and the most water actually came in from the bottom, puddles and splashing water. So, after trying that a few times with different configurations of fenders and mudflaps and plastic bags covering parts of the trailer, we gave up on riding in the rain.
it's made of aluminium tubes, and canvas cloth. Folds flat, quick-release wheels with pins to secure them. Also securing-pins at all the other junctions where you would take it apart for folding.
