Originally Posted by
LordFoo
On topic: My wee guy is nearing the 1 year mark (wow, has it been that long already?) and I definitely think he'd appreciate coming along for a bike ride.. from those of you with little ones in tow, I'm looking for advice on buying trailers -- sliding seems safer than falling from a high mounted seat in case of a crash. Also, where does one get a helmet for a 1 year old noggin? Finally - is there anything particularly interesting to consider about riding fixed with a load (i.e. trailer+kid)?
Wow, a year old - nice!
I used a Little Tikes trailer from Toys 'R' Us - kinda meh in terms of the range out there, but definitely did the trick - has good weather shelter including an raincover rolldown for the front. Attaches to the bike without needing to install anything extra. I used a thick cargo bungee between my saddle/frame to the hitch as an extra "just in case" thing, but it has it's own safety loop as well. Mine came off once (luckily it was only groceries in the back) due to not tightening it properly (at all, in fact).
I first grabbed a young helmet, I think from Canadian Tire - it was specifically smaller for the younger ranges (1-2years, IIRC) - then after that are the regular "infant/toddler/child" sizes from what I gather. I'm sure there's a bunch of places that'll have helmets for younger kids. Make sure there's padding, obviously.
I rode my old CT mountain bike and my fixed beater during the winter when I towed her around, just have a fully operational brake and obviously don't get carried away with the speed, as you've got a lot more to slow down. My only problem was fitting the trailer in the snow ruts, or rather, fighting it through the snow. I should note my riding is a LOT different with the trailer on the back, as I can't fit through nearly enough of the same spaces, so I tend to ride a lot more casually/slowly anyway.
Otherwise I've had great success with it - used it for moving some of my stuff, getting groceries, carting bike frames/parts to CBN (one of the only times that it rolled over... due to massive weight imbalance
) and I used it at least every two weeks carting my daughter from the east end to the west and back.
I actually miss having that, as we now have to take the TTC while I build up a trail-a-bike for her (and wait for the weather to be a little more friendly for her) and it really sucks not having the transportation freedoms that we had with the bike/trailer combo - we'd go all over the place
This looked very uncomfortable, but she seemed fine (as kids do):
High Park Zoo '07:
Anyway, /ramble.