cycling with young children

Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks Maria

On May 25, 6:37*am, maria wrote:
Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks Maria

Go to a decent bike shop, it's what they do. Burley is one
manufacturer.

maria wrote:
I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
You could ask this on the nl.fiets newsgroup too: this is a Dutch language
bike newsgroup (but all will understand a question in English).
These trailers are very popular here and I know there have been tests in
consumer magazines in the past.

Derk

maria wrote:
Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks Maria




My wife and I rode with a trek trailer behind us for both our youngest
kids same trailer used it for about 6 years without a problem
excellently built IMHO

On May 25, 8:37 am, maria wrote:
Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

You should give more information. How old are your kids? Do they
ride at all, or are they still too young? Where are you located?

Don't neglect the possibility of a bike-mounted kid seat instead of a
trailer. In many ways, they are much more convenient than any
trailer. Our family used those for thousands of happy miles. Here's
one: http://tinyurl.com/3hxcny

Also, don't restrict yourself to trails. There are real benefits to
hopping on the bike at your home and riding quiet streets or country
roads. For one thing, there's much more chance you can take the kids
to a destination they'll enjoy (an ice cream shop, a playground, etc.)
and make the bicycling a normal part of life, instead of a complicated
car-supported expedition.

At a certain age, you may be able to get the kids onto one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/2ay3xj so they have the option of pedaling on
their own when they want. (I have no direct experience with them,
though.)

If you really get into this, the best solution is a tandem bike with a
"kidback" modification - the rear cranks modified or moved upwards so
a kid can reach them. We started that when our daughter was not quite
four years old, and were doing multi-day tours on the same bike when
she was a teenager.

- Frank Krygowski

On May 25, 10:58 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On May 25, 8:37 am, maria wrote:

Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

You should give more information. How old are your kids? Do they
ride at all, or are they still too young? Where are you located?

Don't neglect the possibility of a bike-mounted kid seat instead of a
trailer. In many ways, they are much more convenient than any
trailer. Our family used those for thousands of happy miles. Here's
one:http://tinyurl.com/3hxcny

Also, don't restrict yourself to trails. There are real benefits to
hopping on the bike at your home and riding quiet streets or country
roads. For one thing, there's much more chance you can take the kids
to a destination they'll enjoy (an ice cream shop, a playground, etc.)
and make the bicycling a normal part of life, instead of a complicated
car-supported expedition.

At a certain age, you may be able to get the kids onto one of these:http://tinyurl.com/2ay3xj so they have the option of pedaling on
their own when they want. (I have no direct experience with them,
though.)

The Trailgator has one major flaw - the kid's bike will almost always
have a rear brake, and usually a coaster brake on the bikes that are
likely to be used with it. A simple moment of inattention on the
child's part could lock the rear wheel, resulting in a lot of drag at
the very least.

Special purpose single wheel tag-along type bikes such as the Adams
Trail-a-bike seem a better choice. We used one after graduating from a
rear-mounted bike seat -it's a significant change in drag and in the
fact the child can 'steer' the bike somewhat, so be careful! I
recommend you have a good mirror on your bike as an accessory to any
child-carrying device, and have good brakes and wide handlebars.

On May 25, 6:59*pm, Brian Huntley wrote:
On May 25, 10:58 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:





On May 25, 8:37 am, maria wrote:

Hi

I have two small children and normally go cycling on my road ike but
would like my kids to be able to join me and my fiance, we both have
mountain bikes but they are a little old. I was hoping to be able to
get one of those child trailers but not sure which one is the best
orif they are any good.
My kids are quite young so they would not be able to go on a bike for
very long themselves.
I also wanted to find out if anyone new of any good trails for these
type of outings?

Does anyone have any ideas?

You should give more information. *How old are your kids? *Do they
ride at all, or are they still too young? *Where are you located?

Don't neglect the possibility of a bike-mounted kid seat instead of a
trailer. *In many ways, they are much more convenient than any
trailer. *Our family used those for thousands of happy miles. Here's
one:http://tinyurl.com/3hxcny

Also, don't restrict yourself to trails. *There are real benefits to
hopping on the bike at your home and riding quiet streets or country
roads. *For one thing, there's much more chance you can take the kids
to a destination they'll enjoy (an ice cream shop, a playground, etc.)
and make the bicycling a normal part of life, instead of a complicated
car-supported expedition.

At a certain age, you may be able to get the kids onto one of these:http://tinyurl.com/2ay3xjso they have the option of pedaling on
their own when they want. *(I have no direct experience with them,
though.)

The Trailgator has one major flaw - the kid's bike will almost always
have a rear brake, and usually a coaster brake on the bikes that are
likely to be used with it. A simple moment of inattention on the
child's part could lock the rear wheel, resulting in a lot of drag at
the very least.

Special purpose single wheel tag-along type bikes such as the Adams
Trail-a-bike seem a better choice. We used one after graduating from a
rear-mounted bike seat -it's a significant change in drag and in the
fact the child can 'steer' the bike somewhat, so be careful! I
recommend you have a good mirror on your bike as an accessory to any
child-carrying device, and have good brakes and wide handlebars.- Hide quoted text -

I had a Burley Piccolo, which is a multi-speed version of the Adams
trail along. And before that a Burley trailer. And then our son went
on the tandem. In fact, my wife and I used to pull the trailer -- and
later the Piccolo -- with the tandem, and we would commute together
to work and daycare. I would collect everyone at the end of the day.
Ahhhh, those were the good old days -- kid as luggage. I agree with
Frank that it is important to get a kid in to the patter of riding to
get places.

With that said, my son, who is now 12, rarely rides his bike anywhere.
I had to cajole him in to riding a few miles to the library with me
today to return a book. It is very frustrating . The roads around my
house are not that friendly, and some are pretty hilly (his route to
school is both narrow and hilly), but with gas prices where they are,
he is going to ride whether he likes it or not. Now I just have to get
my over-protective wife on the same page, along with all of the
parents of my son's friends. Parents drive kids everywhere these
days. My son even wants to drive to the store, which is like 500
yards from my house. -- Jay Beattie.

On May 25, 10:05 pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
With that said, my son, who is now 12, rarely rides his bike anywhere.
I had to cajole him in to riding a few miles to the library with me
today to return a book. It is very frustrating . The roads around my
house are not that friendly, and some are pretty hilly (his route to
school is both narrow and hilly), but with gas prices where they are,
he is going to ride whether he likes it or not.

Amen! My son rides _around_ a lot, in the neighborhood, but to go to,
say, the library, or Ontario Place (each about 2km each way) requires
a certain amount of persuetion.

We've been carless for years, so I can't use the "gas price"
argument.

Considering what a symbol of freedom bikes were when I was a kid, it's
rather surprising the way kids think now. (Story of the ages.)

On May 25, 10:05 pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
With that said, my son, who is now 12, rarely rides his bike anywhere.
I had to cajole him in to riding a few miles to the library with me
today to return a book. It is very frustrating . The roads around my
house are not that friendly, and some are pretty hilly (his route to
school is both narrow and hilly), but with gas prices where they are,
he is going to ride whether he likes it or not.

Amen! My son rides _around_ a lot, in the neighborhood, but to go to,
say, the library, or Ontario Place (each about 2km each way) requires
a certain amount of persuetion.

We've been carless for years, so I can't use the "gas price"
argument.

Considering what a symbol of freedom bikes were when I was a kid, it's
rather surprising the way kids think now. (Story of the ages.)