Cycling with Children

Many people consider the arrival of children in their life to be the end of their cycling, at least until the kids are ‘older’. Fair enough, if your idea of cycling is a 90-mile road ride or 6 hours of off-road slogging through the Peak District then chances are that parenthood will curtail your cycling activities, you’ll just have to make the time (somehow!). This life change shouldn’t be the end of cycling, get the whole clan out, cycling is nearly always better in a group and what better group to go riding with than your family.

If you’re reading this thinking ‘yes’ I have young children but was never into cycling in the first place’ then now might be the ideal time to start. How many other free (once equipped!) healthy outdoor activities are there that the entire family can be involved in? We’ll assume that the adults amongst you, and any kids who can already ride have your own bikes already, but if not then please check out our buying guides for some simple advice. What we’re interested in here is how to get younger kids involved in the action. There are various options depending on the age of the child/children, their ability on a bike or lack thereof and what you consider the most attractive/practical solution.

Learning/teaching to ride

First suggestion is that learning to ride is one of the highlights of any childhood and teaching a child to ride a bike is hugely rewarding, you are teaching a skill that will last a lifetime and something that for many gives them their first taste of independence; so if one of your family is old/big enough to learn to ride, get out there and teach them. Visit ibike for some excellent, simple and practical advice.

For anyone who is definitely too young to ride his or her own bike or who haven’t got the legs for longer rides here are some suggestions of how to go about it…

Trailers

An excellent, relaxing and exciting way to travel (for kids, not us honest) under parent supplied pedal power; trailers are a lot more luxurious than they sound, check out these beauties…

Recommended models:

Bumper adventure duo

Adventure AT3

Childseats

Childseats are another way to get the youngest out and enjoying a cycle ride, and all in effort free comfort and usually involving a snooze. Designed to carry children between 9 – 22 kg’s (roughly 9 months – 5 years of age) they are simple to fit, safe and a lot of fun for the occupant. All our childseats conform to BS EN 14344 so you can buy in confidence, however for further advice see what ROSPA has to say about road safety when carrying children.

Recommended models:

Hamax Kiss

Hamax Siesta

If somebody is 5 years old we’d suggest they’re too old for childseats and trailers and it’s high time they got on their own bike, but they aren’t quite ready for a longer ride then the following should be the solution…

Tag Alongs

Tag alongs are effectively half a bike that attaches to the rear of an adults bike. These give the child the feeling of being on its own bike complete with handlebars and pedals but leaves the all important control of where you are going and how fast to the adult. They are especially useful on longer rides in case the younger members of the party get too tired to pedal.

Recommended models:

Adams Steel Folder 7 Speed 24w Trail-A-Bike	Adams steel folder single-speed	Adventure Ditto 1

Tow bars

Tow bars are a means of attaching a child’s bike to that of an adults by means of a rigid bar. The front wheel of the child’s bike is held of the ground with the steering locked effectively turning a child’s bike into a tag along. The advantage of this method is that unlike a tag along you still have two bicycles able to be used independently of one another, they are however nowhere near as effective or robust as a tag along.

Where to go?

If this has whetted your appetite for family cycling then once you are kitted up you’ll need somewhere to go riding. Thanks to the cycle charity Sustrans most of us live within easy reach of a dedicated cycle path, check them out! Or try British Cycling for ideas about events and activities suited to riders of all ages and abilities. Whatever you go or whatever you do, remember, the whole family can go as well.