My bike, and how to make it mine and carry toddler/groceries?

[Crankin]

Have you thought about getting a trailer for your daughter? They are much safer than a seat. It makes me nervous to think of this. Many people here have used trailers for their kids and could explain it better than I!
DH had a seat on his bike, for our older son, back in the 80's. He hardly ever used it, as he said it didn't feel safe. And he is a very skilled rider with good balance.

[moonfroggy]

i was going to also suggest a trailer. we have a chariot and i love that thing. i can even put my sons balance bike in the back part of it so that when we get where we are going he can ride his bike around! it is also easy to take on and off the bike and can be a jogging stroller, regular stroller used cross country skiing and has an attachment for backpacking! i have only used it as a bike trailer though.

[Zen]

I don't think I'll be using a trailer, she would want to be up with me on the bike. She has a helmet, as do I.

just sayin'

[jenniferh]

My Kids LOVE their trailer. Room to stretch out, they can eeverything we pass, there is a little drink holder and they put a snack next to their legs. It works perfectly and is the safest option. I'd highly recommend a trailer over a seat. Plus, since you only have 1 kid,you could use the 2nd seat to hold your food.

[jdubble]

I'm going to chime in and say that I have both a trailer and a seat and both are great in different situations. The trailer is definitely great for protection from the weather, for hauling additional gear or groceries, or an additional kid. But I first got the rear mount Bobike seat when we lived in San Francisco because I did not feel comfortable biking in traffic with a trailer to my son's daycare. It was too low, too far behind me, and we couldn't communicate with each other over the sound of the wind and traffic. I felt much more comfortable with him right behind me, at my level, and we could easily talk to each other on the ride. It's never ever felt unsafe to me, or made me feel like the handling of my bike was compromised.

[Grog]

Just curious: Is there any evidence about the safety of various bike seats? I agree with jdubble that in urban traffic a trailer would feel much less secure to me than a top-tube mounted seat like the one Irulan showed.

[hebe]

Thank you so much for all your replies.

That mtbr link is really useful, I shall spend some time there reading.

The weeride is one of the front mount seats I was thinking about, also the Ibert which seems to be a bit lighter and fits on the stem rather than the top tube. I think the bottom line will be to try rear and front mounted and see which feels safer as clearly they'll change bike handling in different ways. I did think about trailers but would really want B close to me. I appreciate all your comments, there is a lot to think about.

[Irulan]

Just curious: Is there any evidence about the safety of various bike seats? I agree with jdubble that in urban traffic a trailer would feel much less secure to me than a top-tube mounted seat like the one Irulan showed.

In 15+ years of various assorted bike/web discussion ( starting with usenet that's how old I am) I would say that rear mounted seats really get the thumbs down for instability and backweighting of the bike, and front mounts like the wee ride get the thumbs up. Plus, I have done IRL both ways.