Recreational & Family - maternity bike?

i am a commuter and have been a cyclist for many years with a sweet fast road bike. now, i am pregnant (yippee), but suddenly, i am finding my belly is beginning to hit my thighs. i only have a few weeks left of my beloved roadie. so, i am on the search for a good maternity bike. i have been looking for a good upright bike without too much leg swinging over the bar action, so i can still ride the 2.5 miles to work. i am not looking for fast. i am resigned to be slow during my gestation. i test rode an electra townie, which was so plush and comfortable. i just worry that i won't ride it at all after i have the baby, and it will sit in the garage. anyone have any experience with pregnant riding/commuting? how long did you ride for? will the townie be a good commuting bike after the baby, and keep my roadie for training rides after i give birth. any cool ideas and bikes suggestions are most welcome.
thanks!

Maybe a hybrid with 700C wheels and an adjustable stem. When you are not pregnant it can be a good utility, errand-runner, fender-for-rain kinda bike. Might even pull a kiddie trailer. Eventually, it'd be a good bike to ride with the kids on their own bikes. That slow sidewalk riding is most comfy more upright w/ a little bigger tire for some cushion.

Maybe something like this
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bikes/full_specs.asp?series=path&bike=Nirvana

It can do light trails, if that becomes a family thing. Also, if you go for the step-through, you can attach a big old milk crate on a rack and take a picnic lunch or shop for diapers.

Personally, I'd probably chuck the suspension fork and seatpost and let the tires do the smoothing. The adjustable stem might be nice b/c now you want upright and other times you may want a little lower handlebars.

Good Luck!

My wife rides a giant hybrid with middle of the road components. The big comfy seat with suspension post and adjustable handlebar height are the big bonuses for pregnant riding. She rode and pulled a trailer right up to her due date. Once things have settled down (don't expect to get back on the bike for a month or so) she moves the stem back down for faster riding. You would not lose any time going to a hybrid for a 2.5 mile commute. Good luck! Congratulations on a growing family. Then you just need a trailer to clip your infant car seat into!

How about something stable and comfortable enough you could pedal yourself to the hospital?

http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/media/pavimage.jpg

They have a three speed and a singlespeed model.
http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/specialty.html

I think from what you wrote that you are at least 6 mos along, probably 7 or 8.

Do you have the extra money to purchase a bike that may only be used for a few weeks? It sounds like you do. Is it worth the time and effort to find a potentially temporary bike now?

If you could find something used that would be your most cost effective route. If you could find an old mixte or english ladies bike, they'll have about as much step through as you can find.

My wife has ridden some but is not a dedicated rider so she gives it up while she is pregnant. She probably would rider our tandem but we have that set up for the kids to be stoker. I have read stories of women who have ridden through their pregnancies but have no direct or personal experience with it. One article I remember was in Bicycling magazine in the late 70's or early 80's.

If you are thinking about a trailer, you can hook those up to almost anything. I hook our trailer up to my roadie. I have never ridden with a child carrier, but mounting options might be more problematic on your roadie. A mountain bike might give you more options. You could set it for a more upright position for the pregnancy remainder, have a good platform for carrying kids and be able to hit the single track this time next year, lol.

Alot of options available. It is doable to ride through the pregnancy.

Good Luck and congrats.

You could get a used one. Or sell it after you have the baby. Is this your last child? You may just need that maternity bike later.

actually, i am only 3 months along, so i have another 6 months of riding left in me, if i am lucky. but gosh, maybe i should be a little concerned about that, masiman.

thanks for all you insight. currently in the running is a hybrid with adjustable handlebars or the townie, which is just a sweet ride.

actually, i am only 3 months along, so i have another 6 months of riding left in me, if i am lucky. but gosh, maybe i should be a little concerned about that, masiman.

thanks for all you insight. currently in the running is a hybrid with adjustable handlebars or the townie, which is just a sweet ride.

I thought the "i only have a few weeks left of my beloved roadie" plus the growth of your belly meant you were further along, mea culpa.

My wife and I were listening to a sales pitch once when the saleslady asked when my wife was due. I about fell over laughing. Our youngest was about 8 mos. at the time, she still had some weiight from the pregnancy at that point. Fortunately, my wife and I are not bothered in the least by those type of comments.

Good Luck choosing a bike. I hope you find one that you can use now and after the pregnancy.

Any of the crank foward bikes will be a good choice, and may help transition you back into your regular riding after you have your child. You may even need it as a baby hauling bike with a seat or trailer. Then, once your little one starts to ride, it will make those early rides easy with him/her, as you will be constantly getting on and off the bike. (Assuming you'll be teaching the child how to ride)

I assembled this reply from the experence of a fellow rider who had a child two years ago and my wife, a vetern labor and delivery nurse.

masiman, absolutely no offense taken. i thought it was funny, and i was just teasing. i'm actually at that point in the pregnancy where people aren't totally sure if i'm pregnant or just putting on some weight. i think i need a baby with an arrow down t-shirt.

but my road bike does only has a couple of weeks left, it's true. because being in the position i am in riding to reach the brakes is just way too uncomfortable at 3 months already. mama is ready to be upright. and dammit, i have earned it.

i'll let you know how it all turns out. i'm already scoping out trailer for the post-pregnancy rides. the kid might come out in a helmet.

:). My wife ran into a coworker she sees occasionally. Turns out she is due in about 3 weeks and my wife is due in about 5. My wife had to keep looking at her belly because she could not tell that she was pregnant. Meanwhile, my wife has that "if you touch it with a pin it will pop" appearance.

Sounds like you are on the way to finding a bike.

If you plan on having more kids get a trailer that can fit two kids. Also consider the better quality trailers. They are kind of expensive (~$250-$500) but worth it if you will be using it for 3 to X number of years. The search function does not work, but you can search the Bike Forums using Google for trailer. Your search string would look like this "trailer site:bikeforums.net". Google has an advanced search feature that better displays other options to better target searches but this one should suffice.

Hey! There is a thread about 8 above this one, today, that talks about how comfortable an Electra Townie is for use as a maternity bike! I have no experience with this bike, but thought it might help you! Congratulations!