Do You Have a Bike Trailer?

When my daughter was 4 1/2 I got a "Trail-a-Bike" for us to ride tandem. It worked really well! http://www.trail-a-bike.com/ We used it until she was old enough to ride with me by herself (about 7). This way she was peddaling and not just sitting and we could go farther.

If you did the tandem with your older child on one of your bikes, you could look for a more baby-friendly seat for your little one to ride with the other: http://totcycle.com/blog/all-about-front-child-bike-seats...

More info from a biking family: http://totcycle.com/blog/baby-on-a-bicycle.html

I would not put a child under a year on a bike. I think we got ours (through freecycle) when DD was 18 mo. old. She will be 4 this summer and fits well in it. Another consideration is they don't typically make really tiny helmets and/or children who are too small can't hold their heads up with a helmet. Even in a trailer, the child should have a helmet.

What DD did before that was take DD in a jogging stroller. Are either of you runners?

It'll be great for the 4 year old, and next year the 1 year old will be able to ride too - definitely can't ride this year though. We had one, I think it's a Step Two or One Step Ahead or something. We got it when we had a 7 year old, one year old and one on the way. We used it until the youngest was 4 and still have it. Ours wasn't a huge investment - I think we bought it from a friend for $50 and new it wasn't much more than that. There are really expensive ones our there (like Burley) but if you're not commuting to work and using it every day, the less expensive ones are just fine. We liked that in addition to being able to bike further with the kids, it was a great way to store things like snacks, drinks, diaper supplies and picnic blankets so that we could turn a ride into an outing. It was roomy enough that I used to be able to tow my oldest to school when he was in first or second grade. He loved arriving in "the bike taxi."

We LOVE ours! I actually got a Kids First one very cheaply (about $100) from WalMart, and it's been great. The decent ones used to all be expensive, but that's not the case anymore. It's also incredibly lightweight.

My oldest is now 6, and he's always been on the taller side, so when he was 4, it was still a bit of a squeeze with his brother (then 2). You may want to look into this hookup that we do -I got a tandem attachment for my oldest, so he pedals and rides that, and we attach the cart to that with the youngest (3) in it! The trailer has held up very well. I also know people with Schwinn trailers (also much cheaper than others) that love them. I'm not sure if they all do this, but mine folds up for easy portability when going on vacation or to a bike trail.

Babies should not be in trailers until they are 1 year of age. (In my city, there are ordinances in place about that, but it's different in any city. It's actually a punishable offense here.) It's very dangerous for their neck, spine, head and brains. Please wait until your child is of the right age. Do some reading up on why it's so dangerous. All seats and trailers say right on them that the minimum age is twelve months. (And they should have a baby helmet on at 12 months in a trailer.) As for the 4 year old, it depends on her size. Most trailers can hold up to 100 pounds, so her weight shouldn't be a problem. Depending on how tall she is, that could be an issue. If she is tall, she could find it uncomfortable. When you are buying, make sure you have her sit in it, or you measure the inside dimensions. Also, most trailers fit two children very snugly. Don't expect lots of room for them, but with your other being younger, it probably won't be uncomfortable.

no child in the trailer until he is facing forward in a car. also be sure to have the right helmets for everyone (adults included). kids whose parents do not wear helmets don't wear helmets either when they're older!

ok, that's off my chest....

spend the bucks.....we bought a used trek - still about $200 (and this was 9 years ago!) but it only weighed 18 pounds while still having a full safety cage. you get what you pay for! on the plus side, we sold it for $174 after 5 years or so!

your 4-year old is not going to ride in it very long. I think the weight limit was 100 pounds of child+gear. the last time we used ours, I think we had maybe 70 pound of child (my kids were/are super skinny) and it about killed us on the long hills. seriously, the youngest was 4 or 5 when we got rid of it. there were just a couple years where we found a sitter or we kept our rides under 6 miles. part of parenting! even with the trailer, you're not going to do more than 12-15 miles - the kids just don't want to be in there for more than 45 minutes to an hour - can't say I blame them!

good luck

since there is such a difference in age would their weight be uneven in the trailer? I'd get the trail a bike and an attachable bike seat. I would think you could use the seat 2 or 3 summers then graduate the youngest to the trail a bike. Ours are close in age and fought like crazy when you put them side by side in a stroller OR trailer

We had a double Burley for years that converted to a jogger/stroller. I bought it gently used so I got a good deal altough I invested $100 in the jogging attachement. Even after using it ourselves for years I was able to sell it for $100. When our youngest was about 4 or 5 and the oldest 7 or 8 we switched to a ride-along for the younger one. (Helmets while using both the trailer and ride-along.)

My precious husband found one on ebay for us when my first son was about 8 months old. It was a double, so when #2 came, he got to ride with brother.
It was a Bell (?) brand, I believe. Since pre-owned we got it for about $50. It was great. Heavy, though. Especially when I was carting a 4 and a 2 yo around, but I believe that would be the case with anything.
The boys loved it. It had a rain shield that could be rolled up and a screen was underneath.
the one thing I wish I would have had was a flag - the long penant style ones that alert drivers that there is more to your bike than just you:)

Best of luck finding what you need. I seroulsy loved ours and would mail it to you tomorrow for free if I hadn't sold in a garage sale in the Fall.

EDIT _ Once my kiddos could sit up and be engaged with surroundings (8 - 10months) I started biking them. I was unaware of any rules, but that is what we did. . .

I just bought one! If you are looking for a good price, I would recommend Amazon . com or Costco. I like Amazon since their prices are always quite low and they mail it to you, plus you can read customer reviews on their site, which helped me pick which trailer was the best for my needs. The one I purchased was an InStep Take 2 It can carry 2 children, up to 100 lbs. It was $100 approximately and was very easy to put together. My only pet peeve was that Amazon recommended I buy a coupler to attach it to my bike, so I did at an additional cost, but the trailer actually already came with one.
I just barely got it today, but I did take the kids for a ride already and it was a very smooth ride for me and for them. They really enjoyed it. I had 2 4 year olds in there and while they were snug next to each other, there was planty of foot room and room for their stuffed animals and water bottles and matchbox cars and all the other junk they had to bring along, lol! Pulling the extra weight was a workout for my legs, but not too difficult. I think it will be cool to also be able to bike to the store or my food co-op and be able to carry groceries in the trailer. The trailer also folds up easily and is fast to attach and detach to the bike. Here is a link to the one I bought, you can also get a similar one that doubles as a jogging stroller.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QAVQ14/ref=oh_o00_s0...