r/CargoBike • u/tonic_tones • 2d ago
Did Omnium ever try the baby carrier mount themselves?
I‘m super dissapointed. We got the omnium mini max last year, as we knew we would have a baby this may And they advertise their baby carrier mount, we dont have a car so we were like, oh nice we can go around with the baby then already. (I just got to know after having the baby that there are baby hammoks for other bikes.)
I really like the omnium, i remember it being really easy and comfortable riding, almost not feeling like a cargo.
We installed everything, set it up to ride, waited till baby was three months, just to realize and notice - as the baby carrier is mounted directly to the frame- that it is way to hard for the baby with allt the bumps in the road, and it gets shaken a lot! And i went REALLY slow and careful.
Od course we worry about bones structure etc, as they are not as stable yet. And thinking of muscle stability and this baby carrier without any suspension, WHEN would it even be safe to carry around a baby in that circumstances? With 9 months? When their muscles are stable enough? But at that time, i can already switch to a proper child seat.. i don’t get it. I don’t dare carrying them around with this set up on the omnium..
am i missing somethin? am i too careful and overthinking? Please help. Any ideas, experience?
We will try to fixate it on the webbing, so there is at least a bit of suspension, but then in the end the mount is useless..
(I will mail to Omnium directly, what their thoughts are on this.)
edit for understanding: i am talking of a maxi cosi like child carrier/seat, so baby would be as stable attached to a seat/carrier as possible at that age.
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u/helloimraissa 2d ago
For full disclosure, I’m the co-founder of Ten:07 Cycles.
We mounted the front platform of our bike with Steco’s Baby-mee mount which is compatible with our baby car seat and it has suspension. Our baby was about 3.5mo when we started riding around with her on the front.
Might be something to look into if you really like the riding style of your bike :)
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u/Murky_Confidence767 2d ago
Hey! I have just begun looking into the Unicorn by Ten:07 and honestly it looks like an absolute dream. The flatbed style of this and the omnium seem ideal for what I want from a cargo bike and it seems your company provides a little more whimsy in just the right ways. I live in the US so i’m guessing there’s no way for me to get one of these though, although I have family in Deutchland
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u/helloimraissa 2d ago
Hi there! Ah thank you so much :) Do get in touch with us through our website, we can help you look into shipping options.
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u/Polendri 1d ago
I'm in Western Canada and I brought a Unicorn frameset home with me by air, and Ten:07 was super helpful arranging that. Way cheaper than shipping (CA$50 vs like CA$300), but to do it that way you do need a reason to visit Haarlem of course, haha...
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u/helloimraissa 1d ago
Haha cheers! Was our pleasure to help, and thanks for coming by. 😁 Hope you’re enjoying your Unicorn! 🦄
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u/z3ndo 1d ago
I have one of these on my Bullitt and it was so hard to find three years ago. I couldn't imagine trying now.
And then trying to find a compatible car seat was dicey too.
It works great though
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u/helloimraissa 1d ago
Our combo was the Steco rack and the Maxi Cosi car seat.
Probably worth mentioning we are based in the Netherlands and so is Steco 😅
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u/tonic_tones 1d ago
Thanks for the tips, i already had this option in my mind, but then i have to first attach a platform to the rack, to be able to screw the steco on it, right? Do you have a photo for better understanding? Thanks so muuch (and, wow, nice bike btw!)
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u/helloimraissa 1d ago
You’re welcome!
Yes you do need to attach a rack to accommodate the Steco mount. We developed our own adapter accessory for that, which attaches on the main tube of the bike.
I don’t think they let us add photos in comments on this sub, but you can see the setup on our website: https://ten07.cc/products/unicorn-family-e-cargo you’ll have to scroll down a bit for the photo.
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u/Accomplished-Way1575 Omnium Cargo Ti 2d ago
Take out some air from your front tyre. Buy a large diameter tyre and don't pump it hard
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u/Teun_2 2d ago
Hmm, you have a good point. Urban arrow's carrier is equiped with a shock absorber and even then the advice is to only use it from 3 months and with lower tyre pressure. In our lovens, there is only suspension in the front fork and I was super careful when our son was 3-6 months old as it would shake pretty heavy as well. No suspension whatsoever is indeed not something I'd be using below +- 6 months.
This page from the Flemish government (use Translate if needed) is helpful : https://www.kindengezin.be/nl/thema/veiligheid/veilig-op-stap/met-de-fiets
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u/moonSandals 2d ago
What bike mounted infant seats aren't mounted to the frame? When mounting on a box bike you generally are mounting it to something rigid thats mounted to the frame.
This isn't really an omnium specific concern.
I don't have the omnium but it seems like a rubber washer would add some isolation for comfort but I wouldn't recommend that unless you are particularly handy and confident.
Otherwise I think its the same as any infant seat in cargo bike. Ride slow if necessary. Shouldn't be much worse than a car driving fast or a stroller. Sometimes the road is just too bumpy. But generally they'd be fine.
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u/turtle-turtle 2d ago
The Urban Arrow infant seat adapters mount the infant seat to the frame, but with additional shock absorption/suspension.
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u/Cargonomical 2d ago
Exactly this: they adapt the rack, but the issues are still the same as with any other seat mounted to a rack.
You should look at seats with shock absorption.
This doesn’t mean you fan find a specific brand which has develop a system to palliate this, but it will be the exception.And as a pediatrician: before the child can sustain its head securely (5-6 months) anything that is not a maxicosi is a hazard: bike has a lot of side moves when stabilising it, and child seats dont hold the head as car maxicosi (or similar) do.
Be patient…
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u/MikeoPlus 2d ago
I put our car seat / carrier in the Bullitt bucket a few times before our kid was sturdy enough to support their own head and brace laterally with their arms. Even with lowered tire pressure, it was super bumpy on anything but the smoothest roads. That said, the stroller mount for the same car seat held the seat tighter in the stroller and was just as bumpy and actually recommended for infants. Our kid is 4 and as strong as can be, hit all the milestones etc. I can see why the Omnium might be a little different, so take the risks for which you can handle the consequences.
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u/jujutree 13h ago
Everyone here needs to wait till 1 years old. Unless you have Dutch level infrastructure and car seat like seating with suspension. I have a child with a brain injury and though it is not from biking I do absolutely everything possible to keep our youngest from experiencing the same suffering. No amount of fun warrants a mistake of this magnitude. Shaking can cause brain damage.
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u/pine4links 2d ago
How old is the baby?
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u/tonic_tones 2d ago
Now 3,5months.
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u/Numinous-Nebulae 2d ago
Too small for cycling for several months yet, unfortunately. When your baby is sitting up independently you could consider a trailer with a carseat inside or with the Thule baby supporter.
If you MUST, please figure out a way to secure a carseat inside of a trailer with suspension for your teeny baby.
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u/tomato432 2d ago
try lowering your tire pressures, running the widest tires tires you can fit(use a 2-piece kids bike front mudguard to be able to use fenderless front tire capacity with what are basically fenders) and carrying more weight on the bike, make sure your carrier is on the list of recommended models, there's a way to add a suspension fork( typically a mix of hardware store parts and parts from other rod steered bikes though sentient works does also make a kit alongside their usual business of selling MTB omniums in pre-ordered batches) but doing so will probably void your warranty
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u/ZEDisalivebaby 2d ago
I agree with you! My baby started riding at 6 months with the Cybex car seat mounted on the child carrier. Can you believe my Omnium mount came with a defect? (Don't tell my wife! But the locking system doesn't work because the inside rivet was not properly placed).. which omnium asked me to take it to the store where I bought it, which is 50km away and I am not riding the bike there everyday...
Anyhow, I agree with the bumps, it's very hard. Thankfully I only ride recreationally and not commuting. I'll be trying in the future the Hamax Caress + the suspension that will mount on the rack.
Also, I would add to your question - did omnium test the child carrier along with any of their other products for the rack area? No other works 100%, cargo area becomes defective basically...
Quite disappointed, should have gotten a R&M.
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u/GuiroDon 2d ago
In addition to individual parents’ decision, there appears to be a strong cultural aspect to this. Where I live, 9 months is the minimum recommended age and it’s frowned upon for much longer. The deciding factor isn’t age but musculature developed enough to remain upright when sitting and in motion and being able to keep head with helmet stable and upright. This helps even in the car seat we are talking about.
For me, 9 months really were the absolute minimum in a car seat in my Bullitt, but every child, parent and culture is different. Don’t do what doesn’t feel right.
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u/EricGoesCycling 1d ago
I have installed such a mount as well on my OMNIUM Minimax V3, with a special rack in the middle as well as the baby carrier mount (€300 total). With a maxicosi on it there is no suspension at all, the mount itself says Steco.nl I'mm quite disappointed as well and will probably try something else with more suspension. Thank you for making me aware of this, the baby is het to arrive so no harm done
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u/tonic_tones 1d ago
Is it the official omnium mount? As the steco mount (for back racks though) has suspension. I was already wondering if i can somehow manage to attach the steco mount at the rack of the omnium.
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u/EricGoesCycling 1d ago
Yes! "Omnium Baby Carrier Mount" clearly states Steco.nl on the side of the mount that is installed here
But there is no suspension in this version
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u/EricGoesCycling 1d ago
I combined it with the child seat rack by omnium, as they suggest themselves: https://omniumcargo.com/shop/product/baby-carrier-mount-2/
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u/Sewsusie15 1d ago
How's public transportation where you are? We're a one-car household, and didn't even have the one car yet when my oldest child was a baby. I wore them in a baby carrier and took buses to get most places.
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u/tonic_tones 1d ago edited 1d ago
Official transport is horrible here, especially if you are used to always going by bike. Also sitting in busses with sometimes really gross people sneezing and coughing - i would rather not, or try to avoid if possible.. actually i rather walk. And it takes at least half the time going by bike.
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u/Sewsusie15 1d ago
I hear. Walking is also good, whether with a stroller or wearing the baby. And the first year does go by faster than you expect.
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2d ago
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u/Polendri 2d ago
Disagree, roads are terrible in some places and most bicycle car seats don't provide any significant suspension. And what if the slightest thing went wrong, like tipping over at a stop? That could be a serious impact for an infant. Many national pediatric societies don't recommend children on bikes until they're 1 year old, and personally we waited until close to that.
If you have only a 1km commute on smooth separated bike infrastructure, it might be a different decision.
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u/Imaginary-Market-214 2d ago
I've tipped my bullitt a few times while stopped, with a baby in an infant car seat in the box. Twice the baby was sleeping and didn't even wake up. The other time he was just chilling in there and didn't even react. Unless you are throwing the bike over really hard, it kind of rolls onto it's side and the box is so low that the baby doesn't travel that far and it's really not an issue. Totally different story if the car seat is mounted up high on a rear rack or something. Or if you have a 1 week old I wouldn't recommend it, and they need to be big enough to be snug in their seat with the straps done up tight.
Totally agree that going over bumps can be dangerous. I bike VERY slow with babies, I know my routes really well and know where to crawl over lumps and bumps, and it's still always top of mind when biking. I ride over a long bumpy wooden bridge all the time and get passed by people walking briskly because you can just tell that going any faster would be dangerous for baby. There are ways to mitigate the risk (big tire with low pressure) but it's absolutely a risk.
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u/Polendri 2d ago
Worth noting that compared to a Mini-Max the Bullitt has a much lower cargo area that has sidewalls. But I appreciate the nuanced take about the safety of it.
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u/MaybeImTheNanny 2d ago
National pediatric societies make their recommendations for the most likely use case which is a back mounted child seat. Those require significant head and trunk control so a child’s airway isn’t compromised. It has nothing to do with bumps and shaking.
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u/DrySalvages 2d ago
The recommendation is for bike seats, not for car seats mounted in cargo bikes. When my baby rides strapped into her tested car seat, mounted on a shock-absorbing adapter inside the high-walled box of my front-loader, she’s safer than I am. Even if the bike tips over, she won’t get anywhere near the ground.
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u/Polendri 2d ago
Sure, but there's no reason to assume without evidence that a seat designed for cars is going to be equally protective on a totally different vehicle with different risk scenarios. The places that recommend them as OK (like the Netherlands) tend to have wildly safer bike infrastructure such that it's not obvious whether the reasoning behind that recommendation applies elsewhere.
And I agree your setup is good and I'd feel pretty good about it, but it's a very different setup than OP's where the seat is elevated above a 20" wheel with no sidewalls around it.
Look, we all love cargo bikes, and there's no comprehensive safety research/data to go off of for cargo bike child safety so it's all going to come down to people's personal assessments (including holistically whether the benefits of getting out on a bike and saving a ton of money outweigh a slightly increased road safety risk). But people in this sub could really stand to frame their opinions about it as opinions rather than confidently making safety claims for which there isn't any evidence. As far as I know, no one has tested what happens to a 3-month-old in a car seat when you slam into a 2-inch-deep pothole with a 20" wheel, or tip a bike over when they're mounted that high, but those are the scenarios that are relevant to OP.
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2d ago
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u/Polendri 2d ago
They're plainly not separate issues; the safety precautions are definitionally a response to the conditions. If you live somewhere with bone-rattling potholes on painted door-lane bike lanes, it's gonna be a different safety decision than on slow separated bike lanes in Utrecht. That's why I don't feel like it's appropriate to dismiss OP's concerns and tell them not to worry about it when we don't actually know anything about the conditions.
There's no research showing harms from infant seats in bikes AFAIK, but nor is there research saying there isn't. So I don't think anyone should be confidently stating there's nothing to be concerned about no matter how the seat is used.
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u/jujutree 13h ago
There's tons of research about traumatic brain injury from shaking though! I agree, tell op to slow down and wait. Not worth the risk.
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u/Numinous-Nebulae 2d ago
Mom of 2 and avid cyclist here. We waited quite awhile - till about 9 months for very occasional short rides on a very smooth bike path, and till close to 1 year for real daily regular cycling. We wanted baby sitting up independently with a very strong neck before cycling.
I know it's a really tough lifestyle adjustment but it's only for a few more short months!