Family biking

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The last time I was riding a bike was 10 ye… wait, it was 20 years ago. Wow, it sure feels strange to have something happen to me 20 years ago. Anyway, they say you never forget how to ride a bike and that’s quite right. I still take wide turns (and I do mean a full-trailer-truck wide turns!) but other than that, I’m OK and feel confident enough to be riding with my little one.

Naturally, the next question was how is he going to ride with me, and there were 3 options: a tandem, a bike seat or a bike trailer.

Tandem

I’ve quickly understood that a tandem was too early to use for my 2 year-old. Mainly because he can’t be strapped into it and can get distracted and fall any time, not because he wouldn’t have loved it – this child has an amazing affection for bikes.

One of my Googling attempts resulted in a great page that explains everything about tandem bikes and all kinds of solutions for older kids at an awkward stage – when they are too big for a trailer, yet too small to be riding for miles on their own bike. An amazing resource, couldn’t keep it to myself, so if you’re into bikes and want to share your passion with your kids, click here and learn how to take’em along.

Child Bike Seat

The next thing to consider was a child bike seat and for a while I was leaning towards this solution.

Pros

1. The child has great visibility and chances he’ll enjoy the ride are much better.
2. The child sits close to me and initially it felt safer than having him towed in a separate trailer.
3. The seat has a good support for his back, neck and head

Cons

1. Child’s weight affects the rider’s balance.
2. Child’s movements affect the rider’s balance as well
3. Bike seat is only fit for kids under 18 kilos, and mine weighs 15 already.
4. You can’t give the kid a toy in a bike seat, because he might drop it. You have also no control over his shoes – and my Eric loves throwing them :)
5. And the main concern – if I fall, we both fall.

Bicycle Trailer

A trailer was the option we decided to go with. Why? The main reasons were safety and that we’ll be able to use if for longer. My worst fear about a bike seat was that Eric would make a sudden move, I’d be thrown off balance and we’d both fall. Also a trailer would last us longer, because it takes much more weight (up to 40 kilos as opposed to a bike seat, 18 kilos maximum).

Later on, after we’ve already bought a trailer, I discovered all kinds of additional pros, and what other people defined as cons didn’t bother me at all.

Pros

1. A trailer can take 2 kids, or one kid and lots of toys.
2. It’s sitting low – even if it would flip over, no major fall.
3. Even if I fall of my bike, my kid is safe.
4. There are safety straps for a child.
5. He has support for his legs and therefore feels more secure.
6. You can put some finger food in the inner pockets to keep him occupied.
7. There is room at the back of a trailer to put his bag – great for our trips to his child care center.
8. There are 3 big clear plastic windows for visibility
9. There is plastic storm cover for rainy days (yesterday I wished there was one over my bike :) )

Cons

1. The wheels have no suspension. In the beginning it felt strange, but later I learned to go around all the bumps on the road and Eric now enjoys smooth rides.

The downside of not having suspension is that we can’t go riding on bumpy trails, but hey – riding a bike with a trailer beats the hell of pushing a heavy pram. Yes it does!

Do you like riding a bike? Would you like to share that with your kids?