Family biking question...

[BillK]

Zach's doing really good riding his bike w/o training wheels and we're hoping to do some short "family" bike rides.

The problem is Ben - he's so tiny - and he can't ride a bike yet (or even a tricycle really) because of how short his legs are.

The options we're looking at are a Topeak Kid's seat for the back of either mine or my wife's bike, a pull along mini-trailer or possibly a tag-along bike that attaches to the bike.

Any comments on any of these 3 options from anyone that's used any of them? Thanks!

[hannah]

We have 2 tag-a-long bikes that I got for DD (6) and DS (4). I got them last summer off of craigslist when DC were 3 and 5. DD did okay on it. DS was a little too small to use the pedals. I am hoping this summer we can use them more with the kids although DD might want to ride her own bike (she lost the training wheels last summer). I am not sure how old your kids are but you might want to see if they can reach the pedals on the tag-a-long before purchasing. We also have a double burley which I think we are done using since the kids weigh so much now. I think we will prefer using the tag-a-longs this summer over the burley.

[robinsmommy]

It's one of those "it depends" kinda questions -

where are you going to be riding? Bike lanes on a street, dedicated nice smooth bike trail with no traffic, sides of roads w/no bike lane, quiet neighborhood streets......

And also depends greatly on the size and age of the child. The bike-mounted seats have a limited life span. A kid that wiggles a lot a weighing more than 25 pounds makes it really challenging for anyone- for a small "driver", a 25-30 kid leaning/wiggling at the wrong time (turning, etc) makes the balancing really dicy. If the bike tips (even while it's not going), it's a long way for a little head to the ground from one of those seats.

If you're somewhere reasonably safe and quiet, I like a trailer - won't tip if you go down, probably more comfy for the kid, usually have a bug screen, allows you to easily haul snacks/picnic gear what have you to the park or such.

Can't find it now, but I did see a trail-a bike thing that has a nylon seat (kind of like a small lawn chair), allows a kid to rest if they get tired.

Here 'tis:
http://www.bicycletrailers.com/Weehoo-iGo.pro

Might be worth a look.

[Tondi G]

ok call me crazy but I sware I just saw something recently in a store that was like a bike trailer but the child was in front of the bike rather than being towed behind. I remember thinking to myself..... I would be so much more comfortable having my child in front where I could see them. tried to look for it but so far no luck.... I will keep looking.

this is pretty cool though, I think having them in front will make the bike more steady. How old is your little guy now?

http://www.amazon.com/WeeRide-Kangaroo-Child-Bike-Seat/dp/B000FIH0EG

[robinsmommy]

There's a lot of front-mounted seats these days. I'm so short that I don't think they are even an option for me - maybe y'all are taller?


http://www.amazon.com/iBert-Safe-T-Front-Mounted-Bicycle/dp/B000H4E7EO

Some of the other options are displayed on the page, too. I'd research carefully and try to see if you can try one out first - there are some that you have to pedal around - very awkward. Might be a possibility for Ben, too - but these are also a short-term thing for most kids.

The REI dividends just came out - I need to see what bike trailers are not allowed for the 20% discount. Might need to look into a whee-go. ETA: oops, it's a Weehoo. They shoulda called it a wee-go, I think.

[o_mom]

The trail-a-bikes are nice once they are big enough. For a kid on the small side, they will probably need to be about 5 yrs to use one, though.

Between a trailer and a seat, I think it really depends on your preference and where you will be riding. Both have pros and cons and there was a recent thread here on some of them (as well as many older threads). A bike seat will be outgrown before the trailer and maybe before they can ride a trail-a-bike or their own bike.

If you are only doing short rides, you would probably be fine with a cheaper trailer. Our InStep trailer from Target has held up fine, but most of our rides are in the 5-8 mi range with a few 10-15 mi ones over the last few years. Also, keep in mind for Zach, we have found that they really need to be on a 20 inch or larger bike to be able to keep up over longer rides or if you want to go more than a snail's pace on shorter ones.

[american_mama]

[QUOTE=Tondi G;3085506]I sware I just saw something recently in a store that was like a bike trailer but the child was in front of the bike rather than being towed behind.

Was this what you saw?
http://store.myzigo.com/

It looks so weird and amazing at the same time.... and it's only $1,400, lol! I wonder if it's safe; nothing like leading with your child in a front-end collision.

If you mean a front mounted bike seat, there are several. iBert seems to show up on a lot of my google searches.

For others, how safe do you consider front-mounted seats? A bike tech once told me he thinks they are un-safe, mounted on a weak part of the bike. Now that I have been beginning my research, I see that some bike shops consider back-mounted seats un-safe. Just wondered if there is any consensus.

[robinsmommy]

All the bike store people I have talked to prefer trailers for safety, because of the height a child would fall from. (When I have the call the nurse line yet again because DD has whammied her head again, one of the standard questions is how high they fell from - DD1 needs nose insurance, DD2 needs head insurance). Plus I would think the weight of the bike might add to the force on the child in a bike seat when they hit the ground, since they are fastened in, unlike an adult who can sometimes fall free of the bike.

I've never heard an opinion on front vs back seats. I do wonder what would happen with a front child seat if you got something stuck in your spokes and flipped. Probably really ugly.

For safer transportation of kids, there are all the lovely but $$$$$ cargo bikes. But those are also made in western Europe, where the terrrain is flatter than flat, so it's much easier to pedal a big load.

Here's some eye candy:

http://www.practicalcycles.com/

Also, bike safety laws are MUCH stricter over there, for bikes and cars both.

I am glad that we are getting more options over here, esp with the gas prices going thru the roof (seems like it goes up a dime a gallon each week here).

[mrshalco]

We have the Wee Ride Kangaroo seat. We bought it when DS#1 was young and now we use it for DS#2. We bought it on a whim and it's been great for us! We are trying to bike more often as a family but when he have used it we've gone for 5 mile bike rides. When DS#1 got too big for the seat...we did get him a trail a bike. He loved it but I felt better having him up front. (my disclaimer is the boys ride with DH. I am too short and not comfortable enough to have them on my bike!)

[Tondi G]

[QUOTE=Tondi G;3085506]I sware I just saw something recently in a store that was like a bike trailer but the child was in front of the bike rather than being towed behind.

Was this what you saw?
http://store.myzigo.com/

It looks so weird and amazing at the same time.... and it's only $1,400, lol! I wonder if it's safe; nothing like leading with your child in a front-end collision.

If you mean a front mounted bike seat, there are several. iBert seems to show up on a lot of my google searches.

For others, how safe do you consider front-mounted seats? A bike tech once told me he thinks they are un-safe, mounted on a weak part of the bike. Now that I have been beginning my research, I see that some bike shops consider back-mounted seats un-safe. Just wondered if there is any consensus.

YES! I think that may have been it! YIKES it is super expensive... but what a cool idea!

[94bruin]

Here's some eye candy:

http://www.practicalcycles.com/

Also, bike safety laws are MUCH stricter over there, for bikes and cars both.

I am glad that we are getting more options over here, esp with the gas prices going thru the roof (seems like it goes up a dime a gallon each week here).

Wow, I didn't realize those cargo bikes were so expensive. I've seen them around DD's school - I know that one of her classmates has one. Or I should say, her classmate's dad has one.

[robinsmommy]

I kinda see the cargo bikes as a car alternative - you can also haul a big load of groceries or whatever in them. In Europe, where owning a car is much more expensive than here in every respect that I can think of (gas, insurance, taxes, parking, etc), cargo bikes are a good investment for a young family, esp if they want to have one car or no car. I could see these being more useful in the US if you lived in a city where parking is limited.

I don't see us getting one - our kids are too old and our area too hilly.

Interestingly, though, most of those western European countries have such a low birth rate that a family that could get good use of one of those bikes is uncommon. I only can think of one cousin who has more than 2 kids, and that was 20 years ago.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I would get a trailer. The tag-a-long bikes are good for older kids. They still have to sit on the seat and balance somewhat. And pedal if they want to.

The trailer will let him enjoy the ride and relax. Much less whining that way.

We have a tag-along for our 8 year old for long rides and a trailer for our 2.5 year old.

the cheap trailers are okay for short rides. We started with an In Step brand but gave up after a few 20 mile rides. It's just too bumpy and the seat is not comfortable. We now have a Burley.

same goes for the tag-along bikes. InStep brand lasted about 50 miles before it totally gave up and died. Now we have a Burley piccolo and it has gone on a 205 mile ride (over 7 days) with no problems.