Comfort and vibration level of children in cycle carriers

by Malte Rothhämel

This paper presents an analysis of comfort measurements taken in a bicycle trailer for transport of children. The vibration level was then compared to that in a cargo-trike and in a passenger car. The current research contributes to the rare literature on passenger comfort in bicycle trailers through measurements with accelerometer sensors between the seat in the trailer and a dummy representing an infant child. The varied parameters were the tyre inflation pressure, the driving velocity, as well as the additional load in the trailer. The results show a quite high weighted acceleration of 1 . . . 3 m s 2 on asphalt and 3 . . . 5 m s 2 on cobblestone pavement, which is similar to that in a compared cargo-trike but significant higher than the vibration level in the compared car.