Great Lakes - Commuting with a kid
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Shoopee
08-06-08, 10:08 AM
I've been riding my bike to work for years, but my bike is really crappy and falling apart and now I have a baby to tote along to daycare as well. So I want to: 1) buy a new, nicer, reasonably lightweight commuting bike. The commute isn't too intense -- a couple of flat miles each way; 2) I'll be attaching some sort of little-person transportation system to this bike as well. So I'm curious about how folks weigh in on the great trailer v. rear seat debate, specifically for commuting in-town. I'll be riding on reasonably busy and relatively narrow streets. So there are two questions: what kind of bike do people recommend for commuting (something under $1000) and do folks recommend lugging the kid in a trailer or a seat?
Thanks for any and all advise!
P.S. I'm in the Chicago area if that helps to know.
I imagine the big yellow trailer is safer. The idea of losing my balance for a second, or slipping, or whatever, and falling off the side of the road (or worse) with my baby riding shotgun scares the living **** out of me....
Shoopee
08-07-08, 11:54 AM
thanks for the input -- I think the balance to strike is between the non-tippability of the trailer and the fact that it's so low to the ground that cars often don't see them.
Congrats on commuting for two!
You might want to try posting this request at forums.teamestrogen.com (yes, you can even ask this if you're a he, not a she). There was a recent lengthy thread on cycling with kids over there.
[[My apologies if it is verboten to mention another board, but, heck, I've sent TE'ers over here, too--forums, they're just travelling social parties, aren't they?]]
black_box
08-07-08, 02:41 PM
even if its low to the ground, I'd think a bright yellow trailer would be easy to spot. You could also put some flag poles on it.
good call, definitely a flag on it. I had the yellow trailer when my youngest was a baby, felt much safer. I was never comfortable with a baby in a baby seat way off the ground like they are. They got soft skulls, you know?
I guess my only concern then is the "relatively narrow" streets.... would you feel comfortable with a trailer on those streets?