Want to share your love of riding with your kids without forcing it? From the best first helmet to the ultimate trail tow-rope, here is the gear that makes family rides enjoyable.
Gear That Makes Riding With Kids Easier
- Best First Helmet: Giro Scamp Mips II
- Best Front Child Seat: Kids Ride Shotgun Child Bike Seat
- Best Ride Saver: TowWhee Adventure Bungee
- Best Trailer: Thule Chariot Sport 2
- Best Tiny Problem-Solver: Toy Safety Strap
You love riding bikes and want to share that with your kid, but you do not know where to start. How do you keep doing the thing you love and invite your child into it in a way that feels approachable, not forced?
I have spent my life riding bikes and raced at the professional and Olympic level, but when my own kids were born, I had to learn how riding fit into family life. I wanted to ride with them, not someday when they were “old enough,” but right from the beginning.
There are a lot of ways to start. For the youngest kids, a toddler helmet and a front-mounted child seat can be enough to begin sharing rides together. A trailer gives you a more enclosed space for snacks, stuffies, favorite toys, and naps. Once they are riding on their own, a tow rope can help expand the terrain you can cover together. And for families who want bikes to become part of everyday life, an e-cargo bike can turn school runs, playground trips, and short errands into small adventures.
This is a simple starter guide to the gear that makes riding with kids easier, based on what has worked for my family and other active families in the Kitli community.
The Best Gear for Riding With Kids
Giro
Scamp Mips IIWhat We Love
- • One of the smallest true bike helmets available
- • Mips adds rotational impact protection
- • Comfortable enough that kids will actually wear it
- • Adjustable fit accommodates growth
- • Wide range of colors and designs
Worth Knowing
- • Costs more than the standard Scamp II
- • LED version is a separate model
- • Giro Scamp II Vent Light can be added separately
- • Best suited to toddlers, balance-bike riders, and early pedalers
A good toddler helmet is the first piece of gear to get right. The Giro Scamp Mips II works well for very young riders because it comes in small sizes, adjusts easily as kids grow – my four-year-old daughter still fits into hers and we keep it now as a backup helmet – and is comfortable enough that they are more likely to actually wear it without protest.
This version adds Mips rotational impact protection over the standard Scamp II, which is an upgrade I’d prioritize. If visibility is a concern, Giro also offers Scamp models with rear LED options, or you can add the Scamp II Vent Light separately.
Kids Ride Shotgun
Child Bike SeatWhat We Love
- • Fits most modern bikes, including carbon frames and dropper posts
- • Front-mounted position keeps kids engaged and aware of the ride
- • Optional handlebar adds stability for young riders
Worth Knowing
- • Expensive accessory
The Kids Ride Shotgun seat is for parents who want their youngest rider up front and part of the ride. Your child sits between your arms, where they can see the trail, feel the bike move, and stay engaged instead of just coming along in the background.
Friends of ours have used one to get years of trail time with their kids before they were ready to pedal. It works with most modern bikes, including carbon frames and dropper posts, and the optional handlebar gives young riders a better place to hold on.
It is expensive, but it can open a stage of riding together that otherwise might not happen yet.
What We Love
- • Keeps bottles, toys, and snack cups from getting dropped
- • Works across a wide range of situations
- • Simple and easy to use
Worth Knowing
- • Not load-bearing; meant for lightweight items
- • Another small item to keep track of
A silicone strap is not exciting, but it solves one of the most annoying parts of riding with little kids: dropped stuff. It drove us nuts when we'd have to stop because our kids couldn't reach their water bottle or snack cup inside the trailer, or when their pacifier fell beyond their reach. This simple device solved all of those problems instantly, and also solved the same problems in many other places: high chairs, strollers, airplanes - it became an indispensable product for us.
Tow-Whee
Adventure Tow BungeeWhat We Love
- • Strong enough to tow an adult
- • Packs small enough to fit in a hip pack or large jersey pocket
- • Stem loop for the child's bike is easy for them to manage
Worth Knowing
- • Only safe for riding on uphill for flat terrain–not on downhills or at higher speeds
The TowWhee is for the kid who can ride, but is not always strong enough, motivated enough, or patient enough to finish the whole ride under their own power. One end loops to the adult bike, the other attaches to the child’s stem, and you can give them help on climbs, flat stretches, or the final push back to the car.
I use it two different ways with my kids. My son uses it to ride trails that are beyond his current fitness. I tow him up the climbs, then unclip him for the flats and downhills. My daughter uses it more like a reset button on longer rides: a little help for a mile or two, then she is ready to pedal again.
It packs small enough for a hip pack or large jersey pocket, and the child’s stem loop is easy for kids to manage once they understand how it works. Used correctly, it removes a lot of the guesswork from family rides because “too tired to keep going” is no longer an existential threat.
Thule
Chariot Sport 2What We Love
- • Disc brakes and integrated tail light
- • Padded seats
- • Vented windows
- • Jogging and ski attachments available (sold seperately)
- • Available infant sling and baby support for safely transporting the newest members of your family
Worth Knowing
- • Very expensive
The Thule Chariot Sport 2 is the trailer for parents who are going to use it a lot. It is expensive, but it is built for more than the occasional path ride, with padded seats, vented windows, disc brakes, an integrated tail light, and optional jogging and ski attachments sold separately.
We put more than 10,000 miles on an earlier Chariot over five years and two kids. And that's the reason to spend this much: it's an investment in years of family adventures.
It also gives you room for the kid stuff that always comes along. Snacks, extra layers, toys, and backup supplies like wipes and a change of clothes (for you or them) all fit either inside the trailer or the cavernous rear storage compartment.
Aventon
Abound LRWhat We Love
- • Approachable price for an e-cargo bike.
- • Plenty of accessories for carrying kids, groceries, and daily gear.
- • Turns errands into family rides.
Worth Knowing
- • Still an expensive investment
- • Takes up a lot of space in the garage
An e-cargo bike turns ordinary family logistics into a reason to ride together. School drop-offs, playground trips, library runs, and short errands are usually just car trips. On a cargo bike, they become small adventures your kids will love.
That is where the Aventon Abound LR fits. At around $2,000, it gives families an approachable way into cargo bike life, with room for kids, groceries, school bags, snacks, and the everyday gear that comes with leaving the house. It is still a significant purchase, and it will not replace every car trip for every family. But if you want riding to become part of the rhythm of daily life, not just something reserved for weekends, the Abound LR is one of the most practical places to start.
The Kitli Promise
We earn commissions through affiliate links. That’s how we fund our testing and keep Kitli free. But commissions never influence what we recommend.
“If we wouldn't use it with our own families, we don't recommend it to yours.”
Read Our Story →Bobby Lea
View Profile →-900x1190.jpg)
