For years it has been a common sight to see parents running while pushing a special sports baby jogger stroller. For those who like to ride a bike the only option is to put young children in a trailer and tow the tots along. That doesn’t give the kids much to look at, and makes it hard for the parent to see their child, so that’s why we were impressed with Zigo’s new Leader, the first hybrid carrier bike system.
It integrates traditional bicycle technology with a front-positioned child carrier. And we it is worth noting that this is a five-in-one system. It can be converted quickly to be used as baby jogger, stroller, rear trailer or urban cycle.
The other notable facet of this design is that as a front-mounted ChildPod it provies a direct line of sight between the parent and child. This means that the parent doesn’t need to turn to look at the trailer.
The Zigo Leader can quickly do the transformer thing, and with a quick disconnect of the cycle from the ChildPod you have two devices in one – a multi-speed city bike and a stroller. It further can be used as a jogger – as the pod has the large single front wheel for speed workouts, which doubles as the front city bike wheel, as well as two smaller wheels for causal strolling around town.
“The design of the Leader is simple, compact and speaks to the needs of every parent,” said Michael Ehrenreich, M.D., Founder of Zigo. “We wanted to break through traditional design and provide parents with one system that offers an array of applications—I designed this for my own family.”
When not in use both the cycle and ChildPod fold up easily, a real bonus for urban dwellers. The aluminum frame is also durable yet lightweight, while the ChildPod can fold flat so it can be tucked away in a closet or transported with ease in an economy car trunk.
The Zigo Leader Cycle is available as a three-speed or with a seven-speed Shimano Nexus Hub, and the Zigo Leader X2 is designed for carrying one or two children. MSRP: $1,399 to $1,549 based on model.