CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Child bike trailer advice needed

(3 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by LivM
  • Latest reply from wingpig
  • This topic is not resolved

  1. LivM
    Member

    I'm coming along to the demo day on the 13th, but wonder if I could ask a few questions on the subject first, to focus the mind.
    Is 6 months too early to have a child on the back of a bike? (People say their necks aren't strong enough to support a helmet at that age?)
    What is the difference between a £100 trailer and a £500 trailer? We could afford the latter, if it's worth the difference. But don't want to just spend money on a brand. What are the key things to look for? My only experience of a trailer so far has been a Center Parcs hire thing and hire bike - seemed heavy and hard to get up hills, but not sure how much of that was the rubbish bike,
    Safety and convenience- is a trailer safe for reasonable Edinburgh use? Near misses? Respect from other road users? I will mainly be commuting on the NEPN (from Jan) and also think a trailer might be snugger than a rear seat.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  2. SRD
    Moderator

    - age for seat -- 6 months fine, as long as they can hold their head up/sit up. (helmets should be light!). my youngest was on the bike from 6months (or earlier) and loved it. he was mainly in a front seat though.

    - trailer v seat -- some suggestions that trailers safer (won't tip even if bike tips). we preferred seats because you can chat with the kids/they sing to you etc. i'd think you'd want a seat too - for rides when you can't be bothered with the trailer. easy to get a not much used second hand one (people seem to buy them for holidays and then notes them...)

    - price of trailer. we got a £100 worth one for second hand. didn't use it much for kids. handy for kids kit though. we got a double, and i think a single would be handier for getting around/through things. did wish we'd got a better one though, mainly because the cheap ones don't convert to buggy - I thought we didn't need one, because we already had buggy. what i didn't count on was that kids would fall asleep on the ride. handy to be able to convert to buggy to push through botanics etc until they wake up...

    Posted 9 years ago #
  3. wingpig
    Member

    Mine was fine in a seat at seven months, though he did need a bit of padding at first to stop him settling/scrunching down when going through cobbly bits.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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