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

[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.

[jdubble]

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.

here's a great page that has reviews with pros/cons of several different front-mount seats. it's a great family biking website in general

http://totcycle.com/blog/all-about-f...ike-seats.html

[tpb]

+100 on the trailer suggestion

We had a trailer for both our kids and they loved it. They could still chat with me as well as stretch out, play, look around, sleep, etc. Also, it was very secure. Even if I wiped out, they didn't.

[trista]

FWIW, we have two trailers for 3 kids, and there are a lot of times I wish I had a Wee-ride carrier for our toddler. Trailers are great in certain instances, but not the best choice for every situation.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My advice would be to first get some riding skills under your belt before you consider riding with your toddler. Read traffic biking safety websites. Ride in traffic, get the skills to do hand signaling and to stop suddenly, veer, learn about when to 'take the lane', and defensive riding.
Between your somewhat heavy bike, groceries and panniers, and a small child, you are talking about a lot of weight...which can be tricky for even an experienced rider to keep balanced, especially in traffic or unexpected situations.
Do some riding first, learn safety skills. Then start adding groceries to the mix and see how it changes the whole feel. Take one step at a time...great that you are riding!

[buffybike]

Today I purchased an iBert (the green front-mounted seat) for my toddler and a Weehoo iGo pedal trailer for my 6 year old. That way I can take them both to school/the store/whatever. The iBert has lots of reviews--nearly all positive. The Weehoo was expensive, but I figure I'm going to get at least 5 years of use out of it AND I can take it out on singletrack. When my kids outgrow it, I'll sell it.

http://www.weehooinc.com

[shootingstar]

I'm sure you will be riding more often with your child in tow, hebe. Precious, fun times with her.

[hebe]

Thank you! I love that cartoon. I used to carry small girl in a fabric carrier and would put in miles walking along the tow path with her asleep on my front or back. Her nursery is at the top of a hill, and I know that I'm going to end up riding it for at least one of the drop-off/pick up trips every day. It's about a 3mile round trip so really should be do-able.

[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.

[hebe]

Thanks again for the replies. I'm going to read all the reviews I can find. I'll be offline for a few days now, but will update this thread later.