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From: fish@ihlpg.UUCP (Bob Fishell)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle
Subject: Re: Concerned Beginner
Message-ID: <1341@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 8-Oct-85 17:55:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpg.1341
Posted: Tue Oct  8 17:55:10 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 13:47:16 EDT
References: <1445@utcsri.UUCP> <380@varian.UUCP> <894@burl.UUCP>
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> I guess my biggest concern is safety with my baby girl riding along.
> My wife and I want to get back into riding our bikes (Raleigh's) and
> would like to be able to take are baby daughter along. I feel very uneasy
> about this and any suggestions on the right/wrong/not at all ways of
> doing this would be appreciated.

Most veteran bikers prefer to use trailers such as the "Bugger" to the
more commonly seen bicycle child carriers, which are a much greater risk
to the child.  The trailers can hold two toddlers, who ride facing
backwards, securely belted in.  The child is much safer with this arrangement
rather than a child carrier because of the tendency for a bike to pitch
forward and flip in a front-end collision.  I've taken a dive over the 
handlebars once, and although I came out of it fine (I just tucked and
somersaulted), the bike had fork and wheel damage.  Had I had a child
strapped in behind me, I'd hate to think of the consequences. 
Most likely, the kid would come down head-first with the bike
on top of him.  By the way, I was only going about 10 MPH when I
crashed; it doesn't take much to flip a bike.  In a similar situation
with a Bugger, the worst that would be likely to happen is for the
trailer to turn on its side. Since the child is surrounded by an
energy-absorbing shell along the most likely impact vectors, the risk of
injury is much less.

The trailers are expensive compared to the seats, but what is your kid's
safety worth to you? Besides, the kiddie seats are semi-permanent
arrangements, while you can decouple a Bugger from the seat post in a 
matter of minutes.  Furthermore, you don't have to balance the bike
and the kid both when mounting or stopping.

Whatever you wind up with, get a helmet for the child, and it's a good idea
to have one for yourself as well.
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				Bob Fishell
				ihnp4!ihlpg!fish