Riding with toddler on your bike

There are some days when I can't manage to find someone to watch my (small 25lb) 3 year so I can go out and ride. I was thinking about getting a child seat to go on my bike.

It is a little scary to think about her riding with me over gravel, but I think she would like it. I'm not sure what would be better, the front or back mounted seats.

I really can't do a trailer because we only ride on the roads.

I'd appreciate any input on this situation. It would be really nice to just be able to take her with me and she love love loves to be outside so I'm sure she would enjoy it.

Thanks

I have heard that the front mounted seats are better because you can keep an eye on the little shaver and they get a much more bikey bike experience at a young age.

Lots of people use trailers on the road around here. If you are worried about visibility get a flag (one of the orange triangle ones on a long pole), but don't worry about being too wide.

Really ~ everything I've read says trailers are for off road only. hmmm. I'd really rather have a trailer.

I see lots of people with trailers on the roads around here, and my sister regularly used one with her toddler when she went car-free for a summer. I've never heard anyone claim that they are for off-road use only.

Sarah

I see trailers all over (on roads) and I think it has to be much better for handling of the bike.

Regardless, be sure she has a helmet on - trailer or bike carrier.

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Originally Posted by momtohanna

Really ~ everything I've read says trailers are for off road only. hmmm. I'd really rather have a trailer.

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If at all posible see if you can borrow one first. My neighboor tried to use one several times and their daughter cried each and everytime they went out. They eventually stopped trying. The parents were not sure why so was so upset over it as she loved to ride her little bike.

I ride a mountain bike and when my daughter, now 11, was a toddler, I used to ride her around the lake in a baby seat attached over the back wheel. She liked it a lot, up until she fell asleep, and her big baby helmet made her lean forward and her little big helmeted-head would loll onto my lower back and roll around and I'd be worried about her falling, even though she was securely buckled in.

Roxy

I looked at the ride on seats, and it just scared me too much, so I decided after some research on a bike trailer. I picked it up today and thought I'd have it all put together and we'd be out riding this evening, but the nut on my back tire is so tight I can't get it off to put the trailer thing on there. :(

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Originally Posted by momtohanna

Really ~ everything I've read says trailers are for off road only. hmmm. I'd really rather have a trailer.

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I wouldn't dare take a typical trailer off road (well, a paved MUT yes, but not trails). I have a Burley and though not a child trailer (it's a dog trailer) it is on the same frame as a double kid trailer. It fits fine in a standard bike lane and if anything cars give me a wider berth thinking it's a kid I'm towing. The flag is helpful since it helps the cars realize you are longer than average since the trailer does sit low in comparison to them. I've even seen some (perhaps that people made?) on recumbents that are a triangle of fabric the whole length of the pole (instead of just a small flag on top). Highly visible and theirs were very pretty and looked like kites.

I would also suggest seeing if you could borrow one. They are quite a bit more expensive than other options (the seats) so it would be bad if your little one then refused to ride in it!

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Originally Posted by momtohanna

Really ~ everything I've read says trailers are for off road only. hmmm. I'd really rather have a trailer.

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We pulled my son in a trailer until he was nearly 6 years old. And only on the road. He had a great time! We'd ride to the library, the store, the park, etc. He had a stuffed animal in the trailer with him, and he would always put on his helmet and put a "helmet" (yogurt tub) on his stuffed animal.

Awwwwww :D

We got it put together and went for our first ride this morning. Out the gravel she was saying "This is NOT fun" but I encouraged her to hold her judgment until we got to the road. Once on the pavement she was all about it. We took a road with even less traffic than the one I usually take and only encountered a few cars/trucks and a big tractor/sprayer which was pretty fun.

I took her a little over 5 miles ~ we got a late start and it was getting pretty hot. But the ride was not much different then when I go without her, so that's cool.

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...iketrailer.jpg

My kids get squirrelly around mile 4, but then they're both squished in the back of that trailor together and they're only 4 and 2. They start to fight around mile 5. Good for your daughter! Cute.

cute!!
keep hauling!! that's a good workout!

Took the bike and trailer to town yesterday. Had decided to do a long ride for me (10 miles) today but the weather was gonna be bad and hubby was gonna be working. So we went to the great bike paths in the park in town. Plan was a 10 mile ride, some breaks to eat a picnic and play at the playground.

after 5 awesome miles (who knew bike paths were so AWESOME???) we stopped for lunch and I ended up running the bike and trailer through a bunch of sand burrs and gave the trailer a flat. grrr.

Hubby's fixing the trailer flat, but I was so frustrated. I thought I was really gonna do 10 miles, maybe tomorrow since for once the weather man was right and it's rainy today.

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Originally Posted by momtohanna

Took the bike and trailer to town yesterday. (snip) I ended up running the bike and trailer through a bunch of sand burrs and gave the trailer a flat. grrr.

Hubby's fixing the trailer flat, but I was so frustrated. I thought I was really gonna do 10 miles, maybe tomorrow since for once the weather man was right and it's rainy today.

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Oh, that is super-frustrating! Hopefully you can get back out there ASAP. How did Hanna enjoy the ride?

She had her portable dvd player so she thought it was great. We also saw (almost crushed) a turtle crossing the path. We stopped to check it out so that was kind of cool for her to see as well. :)