This Bicycle Sidecar Hauls Your Kids in Style, and Can Transform Into a Sled

The Scandinavian Side Bike can turn your bike into a cargo & kid hauler, and doubles as a snowy weather transport option.

Carrying your kids on your bike trips can be a challenge if you don't have the right gear, but luckily, the world of cargo bikes, bakfiets, and trailers offers plenty of choices for getting tooled up, whether you're looking for a purpose-built bicycle or just an add-on. For those who'd prefer not to always be saddled with a bike that's overkill for most other solo rides, and for whom the traditional bike trailer is just too pedestrian, there's a really sweet alternative, which also happens to convert to a sleigh for pulling kids and gear across the snow once it's too deep to pedal through.

Sidecar With Style

The Scandinavian Side Bike company, a small family business in Denmark, has just the solution for stylishly carrying your young kids along on bike rides, and its sidecars are available with either a fiberglass body or a carbon fiber body mounted on a steel frame, complete with seat cushion, seatbelts, and a windshield. The fiberglass sidecar, which is the more affordable of the two, weighs in at just under 12 kg (26 lb), and projects about 75 cm (29.5 inches) to the side of the bike on a pivoting mounting bracket. This pivoting bracket helps keep the sidecar's wheel from coming off the ground when cornering, and from affecting the steering and handling on the parent bike. Mounting brackets can be attached to multiple bikes, allowing for the easy swapping of bikes or riders.

As a bonus for those who live in snow country, the sidecar is also available with an optional set of draw bars and harness, which converts it into a pulk, or pull-behind sleigh for winter travel. This could be a huge boon to those who live in a northern climate and enjoy backcountry adventures with their little ones, as the runners on the bottom of the sidecar are said to be built to fit cross country ski tracks "perfectly," and the transformation from sidecar to sleigh and back "only takes a few minutes."

Options and Pricing

The sidecars from Scandinavian Side Bike come in red, black, or white (other colors available at additional cost), with the fiberglass version priced at €1410 (~US$1500) and the carbon fiber version at €1950 (~US$2000). Accessories, such as a cover or the pulk kit, are available separately.

Now for the bad news, at least for those of us across the pond. Scandinavian Side Bike currently only sells its products in the EU, so if you want one, perhaps its time to make some more European friends who could ship one to you. Learn more at the company website.

h/t Fatherly