oboeguy

I'm interested in others' experience as well as bikes and seats that were used. My commute will likely go this way at some point in the future but with a folder and a carbon racing bike I currently don't have a suitable bike, though our Burley trailer has led to many fun family rides. I'm curious especially about how a big a kid can go on a rear seat in practice. There seems to be a dizzying array of rear seats available with different retention systems and weight ratings. Thanks in advance.

CJ C

I did my first commute with the little one on friday. I got a used topeak babyseat off craigslist, but was actually going to get a iBert front bar thing before wife veto'd it.
I found most only hold kids up to 40lbs and after that you need to do a trailer which when i was looking all held up to 100lbs (so two 50lbs kids or one fat kid).

once your rolling it doesnt affect my balance and at stops and starts you feel the weight but nothing that will change your habits.

but i do ride slower not due to the weight just a subconscious safety thing knowing i have precious cargo.

JeffS

My daughter is a young 4, but is very large for her age. She still fits well in the Topeak rear seat. I don't commute with her, but she's logged a ton of miles since about 10 months, in a variety of seats. The trailer was the only thing that she didn't care for. I don't blame her. I didn't like it either.

sggoodri

I've used a Burley D'Lite to pull kids up to age 4, depending on height, and a sit-on trailer-bike type trailer (mine is a Burley Kazoo) from age 5 to 8(currently). I am looking at tandems for the future.

I've used these to take the kids to and from school, distances of a couple of miles each way, when I don't need to transport more than one or two of my kids at a time. I stick to streets posted 25-35 mph. I drop off the trailer at the house before I ride the rest of the way to work, and pick up the trailer from home before I go tto the school at the end of the day. Sometimes we stop by the ice cream store on the way home. My son wears his backback on the Kazoo trailer; other days I use panniers for extra gear.

There's more discussion about trailers in the Recreational and Family forum.

Surrealdeal

This guy does:

oboeguy

Thanks. I've heard of a Dutch brand of rear seat (name escapes me at the moment) on BF that has a seat for kids bigger than 40lbs. My little man is past that, being very big for his age.

I wish the trailer were an option given the length of my commute (25+ urban miles RT -- trailer would slow me down too much to make the commute feasible) and the lack of trailer parking options.

CJ C

thats the reason i passed on the trailer, storage, theft and urban commute. to me they also seem like a mini parachute that on a windy day would suck azz.

what i did on friday was wife drops him off at daycare/school and leaves the topeak seat with him. so the commute portion to the school was lighter and quieter.
you could try the same with your trailer if the school wont mind?

oh and for comparison purposes my kid is only 30#'s so he has awhile before he will hit the recommended limit.

I am hoping by the weight limit i can get one of the trailer bikes where he can help pedal.

jamesdenver

I pass an elementary school and see a few regulars during the nights parts of the year. I think the simplest would be the '"half rear bike" that attaches by bar to the main bike making it a tandem of sorts - and allows the child to pedal along. They seem less bulky and cumbersome than trailer and lower center of gravity than a seat.

The funniest thing is seeing the girl slumped over sleeping while her Dad's biking

sggoodri

The "trailer bike" rear-half-bike systems (like my Burley Kazoo) have much, much less drag than the sit-inside two-wheel trailers (like my D'Lite). On the Kazoo, my son is sitting directly behind me, in the draft zone, with minimal added wind resistance. I keep the tire pumped up to maximum to reduce rolling resistance. And, he helps pedal! It's a lot like a tandem in terms of fast cruising speed on level terrain, although braking and steering stability are not as good as with a tandem. You won't accelerate as fast, and you'll want to stay under 25 on downhills, but on a rail trail this shouldn't matter.

The narrower width of the Kazoo also makes passing on greenway/rail trails easier than with the D'Lite.

tjspiel

Just curious. Why didn't your wife like the idea of an iBert?

The thing I didn't like about the rear seat is that it was difficult for my wife to get on and off the bike with our chubby kid on the back. It made things pretty unstable when the bike wasn't moving. It wasn't used very long. We preferred the Burley because you could stick books, toys, and a bottle back there with them. After the Burley, the kids "graduated" to the tag-along which both of them liked quite a bit.

oboeguy

I don't doubt the efficiency and look forward to riding with one of those in the future. It won't work yet, though. Despite the hefty weight, the little man only just turned three (kid is tall and made of muscle).

Edit: an having seen a Burley Piccolo in person, I want one! It's pretty hilly where we live so the gears would be a great thing to have.

CJ C

she says it "looks" too unsafe, what happens if someone opens a car door, or you hit a pothole, or a rock flys up from a car tire, or if he gets Fabio'd (hit in the nose by a bird, or a crazy clown has a pie.

ok i added the last two but she even was against a BOB trailer too! why she comes to the decisions she does i try not to dig into it. you know pandoras box can of worm theory.
she said it didnt seem safe i had no real argument against it so topeak babyseat it is now.

I will say i would rather have him infront to interact with him, the smacking me in the back to tell me "red car dada" or "big dog dada" and not being able to see what he is pointing at sucks

JeffS

My wife didn't trust herself to ride with the kid in the bobike mini (much better seat than the ibert btw).

My daughter absolutely loved it though. We had the optional windshield so she could even ride in the rain without getting wet. She rode in the cold, rain, on roads and dirt. This seat is probably the reason she wouldn't ride in the trailer. After sitting upfront on the bike, who would choose to get in an enclosed trailer?

---------

The whole "seems safe" argument is weak. Statistically, the kid's most likely to die in the car, yet I doubt she thinks twice about putting him in there. My wife grew up with and irrational and overprotective mother and has the same tendencies. While I don't always choose to fight about it, I will not let it affect my choices, and am doing my best not to let it pass to another generation.

tjspiel

Ok. I was just wondering if there were actual studies that proved them to be less safe. I would have preferred to have our kids up front too and BETWEEN the wheels. I can understand the "rock getting thrown" argument. Actually, I don't recall ever getting hit by anything thrown up by the wheels of a car while on a bike, though it's certainly happened while I was driving.

CJ C

I have learned in marriage that none of the battles are worth fighting over. cause even if you win you really lost. or at what cost did you get your way?

i agree what kid would want to ride in a trailer after having a great view. how fun would it be to sit in a trailer on the ground with a book. so far all kids in trailers i have seen have been sleeping, so there is my answer

CJ C

the local LBS guy said there are countless studies to say the trailer is safer and he was wiling to print them out for me he said. I would have looked into them if i was going that route.

JAG410

My 20mo old LOVES riding in the iBert. I highly recommend it over a rear seat. It allows interaction and communication with my son, and I can hear his laughs and "weeee's" easier. He gets to be involved with the sights and sounds of cycling, without obstruction (like a rear child seat..or a car seat). I find it safer too, if we're gonna fall, I can wrap my arms around and sheild him. Plus the best part...I have an automatic bell and lights

CptjohnC

I never commuted with kids, but let me join in the 'no rear seat' brigade. I rode with my kids in them, but I think I always stopped well before the weight limits of the seat. I found them to be very hard to load (you have to put the kid in before mounting your steed, and then you have to mount with 25-40 lbs of child sitting high above the rear wheel), dismount (same problem in reverse) and they do affect stability (I've never had my panniers throw themselves to one side when they see something cool -- but my kids have!)

I'd definitely advocate for either the front seat (which should improve on all of the above problems) or a trailer.

However, if you do elect to go with the rear seat, expect more wheel suckers -- riding behind a bike with one of those lets me draft from way back ;-)

hubcap

I have a 5 and a 3yr old. They are too big now to both feasibly fit in the trailer that we have used up to last year. I wanted to be able to continue to take both of them on one bike though. That was probably the biggest driver for me getting a cargo bike (Yuba Mundo) last summer. It is great that they both can ride on the bike behind me. My 5yr old sits on a padded seat on the deck right behind me and holds on to stoker bars. My 3yr old is in a child seat behind the 5yr old.

They both far prefer it to the trailer, especially since it is easy for me to communicate with them. The bike is designed to haul many times more weight than they add up to, so I have no concerns about the capabilities of the bike.

irclean

My son started out in a dept. store Schwinn-branded child carrier, but has since graduated to a Trail-a-Bike (Original Compact model) with optional backrest. Had I known at the time that I was going to buy the TAB I would have invested in the Adams Baby Seat that integrates with it.

In my research I was also very impressed with both the aforementioned iBert and Topeak seats, as well as the Kettler Flipper.

oboeguy

So many good, thoughtful responses so far, thanks everyone! The idea of a trail-a-bike is tempting but I really think the little man is too young. We're just now teaching him to ride with pedals (having long-ago mastered, and now nearly outgrown his balance bike). I'd be extremely hesitant to take him on NYC streets until he was older and more in control. He's at a weird age and size combination where a rear seat seems ungainly, a front seat is impossible, and he's not mature enough for a trail-a-bike.

irclean

You mentioned in an earlier post that your son is over 40 lbs and "big for his age." My son will be 4 in August, weighs just over 30 lbs, and fits just fine on his TAB. Again, it's the "Compact" model, which makes a big difference. With the backrest attached I feel very secure having him back there. The backrest clamps to the seatpost, raising it about an inch, so I added a set of blocks so his feet can reach the pedals.

CJ C

just a FYI,

My son for reasons that he doesnt like when we hit a bump that the back of his head hits the seat will now not go into his seat without the promise of chocolate milk or a toy.

i went and bought a iBert and will be selling the Topeak.