My son is almost 8 months, and I have a few months Paternity leave coming up. I’d like to take him out for bike rides and debating the trailer vs bike seat? Anyone have a preference looking at the Thule RideAlong vs Thule Cadence. Advice from moms and dads appreciated 
Watching this one with interest, got a little kiddo coming in about a month, so I’m looking forward to towing him around on some of my rides.
Best thing I’ve run across so far is this link (they have a few suggestions with cliff notes towards the end):
http://www.icebike.org/the-truth-about-bike-trailers-for-kids-and-babies/
.
It’s been a long time since mine were little. At 8 months, how long is he capable of sitting up?
That said, I like the trailer better. The seat changes the bike’s center of gravity and it’s too easy for arms to protrude should you crash.
I have craptons of kid miles with various devices. I would go with the seat mounted on the bike for one major reason: the conversations you will have with your child are priceless. As soon as they drop back, any possibility of conversation ends. With the bike seat, you be riding along, and all of a sudden, you will feel their hands on your back, and you will have a smile from deep inside. You will frequently get taps to look at something they see that you would miss with the trailer.
I had kids on a bike-mounted seat until their legs were so long that they were regularly kicking my my calves. Bike handling is not a really a problem. My wife, who is not a very strong biker, had no issues with bike handling. When the kids were bigger, we switched to one of those 1/2 bikes that the kid can ride and pedal if they want. Those are fun too, because you will be going along, and suddenly your kid decides to pedal, and it feels like a turbo boost.
IMO, trailers are safer, more convenient (space for bags), offer shade/screen, and a better workout.
My kids were all in trailer and loved the rides.
We also used a wee-ride for a while, but i was always worried about falling. it is also an adjustment having to cycle with your knees pointed out.
We went with a trailer primarily for safety. I like the fact that if you happen to lay your bike down the trailer stays upright. It’s also convenient to have a little extra storage room, and since my daughter pretty much always wants to carry a stuffed animal, it’s nice that when she drops it it stays in the trailer.
If you’re looking at the Cadence, check out the Schwinn Trailblazer as well. From what I can tell they are almost identical and the Schwinn is half the price. We love ours.
With our 1.5 and 4 year old, we have used:
The Yepp Mini front mounted seatThe Yepp Maxi rear mounted seatA Chariot Cougar 2 (wich can double as a (heavy) jogging stroller)A Surly Big Dummy with the Xtracycle Hooptie bars
In general, I’d say the following:
We started both kids in the trailer around 6 months. We stuck to the trailer because Chariot makes a head bumper and core supporter that are great for helping a baby/toddler who may not have the greatest sitting ability. The Chariot is also lightly suspended, which may or may not make any difference, but made me feel better! In freezing Wisconsin, it is also easy to put a blanket on the kid.
Once they can sit well, I think the front-mounted seats are really the way to go - you can talk to the kid and point things out - they love it. The major downside of the trailers is that the kids are low, can’t see much, and you can’t talk to them. The front mount seats solve that.
Once they are too big for the front-mount, move to a rear seat - again, primarily because you can talk to them.
Once they are too big for that, either a trail-a-bike or a long tail is great, but is a larger investment.
As long as your kid is sitting well and has decent head control, they should be OK for one of the seats - if not, I’d stick to the trailer.
This all sounds really pricey, and it can be, but I’ve found that most of these items hold their resale value very well.
We live in Wisconsin and don’t have a car, so travel daily in all conditions with the kids on bikes (it was below zero on the ride to daycare and work today). When winter rolls around, I use the trailer for a couple of reasons: first, I can layer them up with blankets, and second, if I fall (which has never happened with the kids), I’m not worried about the trailer flipping. And even if it did, the kids are harnessed in.
We don’t use helmets in the trailer - they are always in the way, and are unlikely to actually help much if we were in a bad crash. On the bike, we always use helmets. Finding toddler helmets is tough - I went with a Casco model from Europe for our youngest as she is a bit petite, and it was the smallest helmet I could find.
Don’t let all the “you should never bike with a kid before they are one” messages on the web dissuade you from taking your kid out. Manufacturers simply say that because they are unwilling to test stuff on younger kids and are worried about liability. In Europe it is common practice to bike with younger kids, again as long as they have decent core and neck strength.
Let me know if you have questions!
Kevin
Not to worry you but I have flipped a Chariot CX-1 once, the good news was my son thought it was a pretty fun ride, he was 3 or 4. He was wearing a helmet although I don’t think his head hit anything solid. I never found the helmet in the trailer to be a big deal and the extra bit of safety was nice.
Ben
Don’t know if you guys can get these where you are, but over here in the UK I am loving my Weeride. It is a front-mounted kids seat, which may not sound like the best idea at first glance, but;
Pros
- Your kids gets to see where they are going, instead of staring at your arse
- You can interact with your kid much more easily, point things out, talk to each other
- It may actually be more safe. If you fall over or are going to have a collision you can actually protect your kid with your arms
- Possibly better for balance, although I haven’t ridden with a rear mount seat
Cons
- Forces your knees out wide if you have a fairly short top tube
- Bit tricky getting on the bike if you can’t first stand over the frame (maybe not an issue with longer frames). Dropped my saddle so I can get straight on
- Kid not shielded from the wind, not great on a very cold day (as I found out)
Really pleased with mine but I wouldn’t want to do miles and miles in this riding position. I’m unlikely to ride much more than an hour with my lad on the bike with me anyway. On balance, I’d buy this type again.
link for info…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/9jt/WeeRide-Classic-Front-Mounted-Childrens-Safest-Bike/B002MCYWHG
Rich.
Oh, I’ve seen them flipped, but it doesn’t worry me. The double is a good bit more stable than the single, and in either case, they are harnessed within a roll cage, so unlikely anything much will happen…
Kevin
+++1 on the trailer
If your are considering a Thule carrier they sell what is called a baby sling. Our little one liked it a lot. We used it until around 15 month.
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/strollers/accessories/thule-infant-sling-_-20101000
Happy riding.
U
Wow thanks for all the great info! The trailer certainly seems safer but the idea of him being able to see more is really enticing…decisions…
I have had both. I am now left with the yepp rear mounted seat. This is set up is fine for back and forth to school / daycare, but I wouldn’t log any serious miles on it. Like others have said it changes center of gravity especially as your kid gets older and approaches the weight limit.
IMO trailers are best for first 4 or 5 years, but start them out early so they get used to entertaining themselves. The bonus is the trailers often double as a running stroller. Running with your kid allows for way more conversation and bonding time than riding. That said, I loved when my boy would yell at me to go faster on the bike as I was grinding up a hill.
Either way you will have hours of enjoyment. Be prepared to cut some days short or to stop at a park or for a snack or, or, or… just be flexible…
YMMV
Both my kids LOVED the ibert carrier, we also had a chariot but the ibert allows you to talk to your child while you ride,
I used to take him to childcare about 3km each way and we would go though the park and along the ocean and
talk about what he was seeing.
Another vote for front mounted WeeRide - although it is really tiny - maybe the similar Thule products fit slightly bigger kids. Child #1 lasted from 10 months til about 18 months, Child #2 I think never even fitted in the WeeRide.
Being able to converse and point things out is much easier in a front-mounted than behind-the-seat mount.
Also bike handling is easier with the front mount.
Never tried the trailer as worried about it hanging in the breeze at traffic lights/road crossings!
Guess this is all highly depending on what type of usage:
- for “commute”, or bring to/get from daycare, short trips to town/woods nearby: front or rear seat are really nice (on a normal city-style bike).
- for longer rides (> 30 minutes) having a trailer is much better. They sit more comfortable (my two kids (2 and 4 years old) are actually “reading” books in there), you can hang it even a the back of a road-racing bike and do some strength-endurance type work. Car doubles for running as well. We also do some day trips with it sometimes (when weather is nice).
So, like some people before have mentioned, having multiple styles of kids-carrying devices makes you flexible for various types of usage. And resale values are generally good (trailer especially, got mine second hand ~4 years ago, will sell it in a few years again).
surprised no one has suggested a cargobike, yet.
I see them around more and more often. both styles - cargo in front vs cargo in back. checkout xtracycle, yuba mondo, bullitt for examples. also the surly big dummy.
I have no personal experience to add. just the observation above.
No experience with a kids bike seat, but we have a lot of experience with a trailer. We thought we might have two kids so we opted for a two kid Burley D’Lite. The nice thing, at least with the Burley, is that you can change the seat harnesses if you are carrying on kid such that they sit in the middle. Simply put, it’s been awesome. I’ve never had a problem conversing with my kids in the trailer while riding. Plus there is room for them, books, stuffed animals, etc. We always use a helmet and have had great experiences with Bontrager helmets (Little Dipper and Big Dipper).
We first put our oldest in the trailer at ten months. He was fine for short trips, but you could tell that the neck strength wasn’t quite there. That was in September/October. In March of the next year there was a huge difference in his ability to sit up. Not sure if you live in a cold climate, but most major trailer manufactures offer cross country ski kits too. We never did that, but have friends that love it. Also, the quick stroller conversion kits make it super easy to ride somewhere, lock up your bikes and still have a stroller. We would take our kids to the farmers market and use the stroller feature all the time.
Another bonus of the trailer is that it can double as a cargo trailer. I’ll take the trailer to the grocery store, sans kids, and can fit five bags of groceries in the trailer comfortably.
my daughter is 15 months and we have a Thule Ridealong. Its great. highly recommend.
Argh, I am completely torn between the Ride Along and the trailer option.
PROs of a trailer: Safety, extra storage, option for multiple kids (we only have one), and converting to a running stroller
PROs of Seat (rear): The experience just sounds way more personal and exciting for the kid
The riding will only be on paved, safe trails no traffic involved. I will be on leave from work for 3 months so will have tons of cycling time, realizing I’ll probably be limited to 1 hr trips given he’ll only be 9 months old.
Any more thoughts would be greatly appreciated!