bike seat or trailer? for toddler

[neeleymartin]

wondering which you prefer and why. we have a bike seat that we used with ds last year. he LOVED it. but i remember reading that they are not as safe.

i worry about a trailer only b/c we live in a VERY, VERY seasonal area filled with tourists for the warmer months of the year. dh and i both thought that the trailer was too easy/large a target for people who don't have the slightest clue where they are going and sightseeing in the meantime.

does it matter that we live in a busy area? should our choice be different for that reason? either way we have to invest. either a new seat for the back of my bike or a trailer for either.

and for those wondering a helmet adorns my son's head. :)

[arivecchi]

We live in Chicago and chose a bike seat because of all the traffic. I was just afraid someone would not see the trailer. We also use a helmet and DH is super careful when riding with DS. DS love it because he can ride up high.

[neeleymartin]

that's just how we felt. i am interested to hear the other side. wondering if it depends on the area in which you live. thanks.

[o_mom]

We have both and use them at different times. We live close to a rail-trail and our city has 'sidepaths' along the major streets - they are 6 ft wide paved paths in place of sidewalks. They aren't completely connected yet, but we can go plenty of places without having to use the street for riding. For those times we use the trailer.

We use the seat sometimes when we have only one kid with us and we are going places where we have to ride in the road. The seat got a bunch of use when we had just one, but once we had two old enough to ride, the trailer was needed. The trailer gets more use now, but we also have used the seat when we are taking a friend along or when we are going on a longer ride than DS1 can take on his bike (DS1 and DS2 in the trailer, DS3 in the seat).

With just one that can ride this year, I would get a seat and see how it goes. The CoPilot Limo is the one we have - it has sides that wrap around and keeps them well restrained. Once the baby is old enough next year, you might find that you need a trailer for solo rides, but you could use two seats when you have two riders.

One last thing.... I prefer the trailer for myself, but Dh likes the seat. He has more upper body strength, though, so it is easier for him to hold it up when starting and stopping. When we use both on a ride, I pull the trailer and he gets the seat.

[MamaKath]

When we lived in a more populated area we did a seat, we were concerned someone wouldn't see dc in a trailer. In the rural area we are now we ended up doing a trail along bike that attached to the bike once dc was able. Having used it, I would not use it or a trailer in a more populated area!

[WatchingThemGrow]

We have both, and we like both equally. Well, DH does. I'm always pg or recovering and can't ride or the youngest one isn't old enough to ride yet. That seems like it will be your situation for a good portion of the next year though, too.

BUT...our Burley is bright, bright yellow and has a tall orange flag on it. Pretty obvious! We see times in the future when we'll be wanting to take picnic rides and the space in the back of the trailer will be great for our supplies!

DD wasn't a fan of the trailer until closer to 2.