s/o - seat vs trailer for bike

Dochas · July 2011

Hi! My DH and I want to get something for the fall. Would a seat or trailer be better? Is there an age/weight limit for the trailer? I would be doing bike paths - paved and unpaved. My DH thinks it will go on his bike but it seems like it would get more use if he rode with me and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with him in a seat. Thanks!

chelwig89 · July 2011

I haven't looked at them at all, but DH and I plan on getting bikes this summer and I think I would be more comfortable with a seat than a trailer.

JOEBunny · July 2011

I have an Ibert seat and a chariot trailer. I prefer the Ibert for a younger, single child. I used it with DD until about 3.75 and DS still uses it. Depends on the height of your child. It is super easy to install, unlike others, so it makes the "whose driving the baby?" flexible. I think the front seat is more stable and I can hear what he is saying and talk to him about what is going on.

spunkyprincessmande · July 2011

We have a seat for Micah. My dad is an avid biker and he told us that he thought a seat was better because it's higher off the ground so LO doesn't have to experience all of the bumps and such. Plus, whenever I've ridden a bike with the trailer behind I feel like it's pulling the bike a little and it makes it harder to ride. With the seat we have no problem. I asked our pedi about it b/c we wanted to rent a bike when we went on vacation back in May. She said Micah had good enough head and trunk support that it would be okay as long as the seat had a 5 point harness. The bike seat we rented was an Co-Pilot. We loved it so much that I got it for DH for Father's Day. Micah does great in it. If we have another LO before Micah is old enough to ride on his own we'll probably get another seat to put on my bike. I guess eventually we might get a trailer (if we have enough kids close enough in age), but I'd prefer not.

MommyMich · July 2011

We just got a trailer for our kids. Only been using it for about a week, but we haven't had any problems with it so far. We ride on a county trail so there is no risk of a visibility issue because there are no cars. I probably would have preferred the seats, but the trailer allows me to ride with both kids even if DH cannot join us and our kids are tall so the seats would not have lasted very long.

kcisthebombdotcom · July 2011

If you're doing bike paths, I'd go with the trailer. That's what we use. I do agree with the PP that I'd be nervous with using a trailer in areas with traffic because of visibility, but that's a moot point in your case. Plus, if you're having more than 1 child, you can put both kids in the trailer in the future.

ballet84 · July 2011

We have the Burley Encore trailer and love it. I never even considered a seat on the bike because I didn't want to risk losing my balance and falling over. I can lay the bike on it's side and the trailer still stays in upright.

We don't tipically ride on the street but do occasionally. We mostly take it to the greenway and ride. The greenway connects all the park in our city and is about 12 miles long (I think). We usually start at one entrance and ride for a while before letting Colin out at one of the parks to play.

We find the trailer comes in handy in this instance b/c we can pack a lunch, bring drinks, toys, balls...anything that we might use on the trail. He has pockets for his toys and drinks inside.

He's an only child, but I recently pulled him and his cousin in it. Pulling two is not much more difficult than pulling 1. We had a cheapie model to start and I do notice it is smoother and easier to pull with the nicer model.

We are very happy with the trailer and wouldn't change our decision. We use it 3-4 times a week (when it isn't 100 freaking degrees out at least.)

Dochas · July 2011

Thank you all so much for the info. A lot to think about!

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