Conference moira::parenting

    Re .0
    
    If a car runs you over from behind, I don;t think any plastic bike seat
    would help. We have a 2.5 year old daughter that we go biking with. We
    live in downtown Nashua and there's not a lot of places there that we
    feel safe. BTW, we have a Fisher Price bike seat. We usually go biking
    in the neighborhoods and at Mines Fall park, we don't feel safe on ANY
    busy road, doesn't take much for a drunk or somebody just tuning
    they're radio to swerve off the road and hit you. Our daughter were's a
    helmet, and I keep a mirror on the bike so I can see whats coming
    behind us, I feel very nervous when biking on any semi-busy road. I
    don't really think one bike seat is going to make that drastic of a
    difference over another. The safest thing is a bike trailer, but cost
    big bucks, Toy 'r' Us had some bike trailers that were about $100.
    I have heard that most children have gotten hurt from the bikes falling
    over with them in it. I personally would like to have a bike trailer
    for my daughter instead of the seat on the bike.
    
                                            Jeff
    

    Any extra seat on a bike is an iffy business because of the
    issue of stability.  One lurch from a larger child and bike
    and riders can go flying or swerving into the path of a car.  
    Never mind the safety issues of flailing hands and feet.
    
    The bike trailer is definitely the way to go, but it is 
    important to have a universal joint hitch, such that the bike can
    be on its side with the trailer still vertical.  A lot of hitches
    have only a little flexibility here and if the bike falls on its
    side the trailer may well follow suit.
    
    Stuart

    We have used the Fisher Price bike seat for three years - my
    husband only quit carrying my son when he approached the weight
    limit for the seat. Daniel was taught not to move around while 
    on the bike, and that the bike doesn't move until helmets are on. 
    Now we carry our eleven-month-old in the seat.
    
    I actually thought the FP seat looked as good or better than 
    other brands I've seen - but I didn't do an exhaustive comparison.
    
    I agree that biking on curvy, narrow country roads is nerve-
    wracking. We do most of our biking in the Boston area and 
    actually feel pretty safe, as long as we are off the big, fast
    roads. Visibility is good on most city streets for both riders 
    and drivers as long as you follow the rules of the road, and the
    drivers are used to bikes. There are also bike paths in some 
    places.
    
    Lucy

    I think there's an extensive discussion of this issue in the
    bicycling notes conference. 
    
    Try covering the inside of the seat with netting to keep your kid
    from sticking his/her arms out.  
    
    We used the seat with Steven and biked extensively on Nashua-area
    back roads.  (I should say "Neil used the seat..." because I only
    rode with it a few times.)  We had a couple of scares but the only
    real accident was when I had to hit a ditch when two cars happened
    to meet on a spot where there wasn't enough room for all three of
    us.  I had plenty of time to react even on the narrow curve.  
    
    Now we've got the trailer for two boys, and I agree with Stuart
    that it's quite superior.  There's no balance problem, the kids
    are more comfortable, they're more visible, they come with a cover
    so the kids don't get drenched if a storm comes up when you're ten
    miles out.  And they aren't as wide as they look at first.  If you
    measure them, they're only slightly wider than the width of the
    bike at the pedals.  
    
    We haven't done much biking lately because Steven is at the
    awkward age of being too heavy to ride in the trailer and not
    quite big enough to keep up on his own bike.  But we hope to get
    back into it in a year or two.  
    
    --bonnie

    I'd like to hear comments from others who ride a bike with a child on
    the back.  A couple areas I'm interested in are which kind of bike to
    you use, a 10 speed street bike or a mountain bike?  Do you ride with
    upright handle bars or bent over the handle bars?
    
    I got a seat second hand and don't know much about it except that the
    weight limit is 40 pounds.  I haven't decided if I'm going to use it or
    not.  I'd like to hear from others on pros and cons of biking with a
    child, do you like it, do you feel it is safe?  I've read that the
    trailers are much safer, true, but more expensive. 
    
    Thanks for any comments,
    Lisa Cozzens
    Tuxedo::Cozzens

    
    I used one on my 10-speed, and found it to be very unstable.  I had a
    difficult time using the handle-bars "bent over", so sat straight up
    most of the time.  The hardest part is getting on/off, and when the
    child decides to get "wiggly".
    
    We probably were safe, but I didn't FEEL safe, and was nervous if I
    crashed, what might happen to the child.  I also don't have a lot of
    upper body strength, which only added to my anxiety, because if the
    bike started to tip, with the baby, it would be very difficult for me
    to right it.
    
    My husband did fine with it .... he used it on his 10-speed, and rode
    however he wanted (bent/straight).
    
    Maybe it depends more on how strong of a biker you are.

>which kind of bike to you use, a 10 speed street bike or a mountain bike? 

How about a 10 speed mountain bike?  :^)  I assume by "mountain bike" you 
mean the type of handlebar.

10+ speed bikes can be configured with (or as I did, modified to have) 
"straight" handlebars. 

I've never used a child carrier (would you believe that both of my kids 
learned to ride a bike before I did), but I feel much more stable with the 
straight handlebars, and I never used the bent over part anyway.

Clay

    A timely topic, my husband and I were just discussing this the other
    night.
    
    I would definitely not take our daughter (2) out on my bike, I'm a
    runner not a rider and I while I can handle myself on my 10 speed
    racing bike I would not feel comfortable at all having my daughter in a
    seat.  Maybe I would feel differently with a mountain bike, but I doubt
    it.
    
    My husband is the one who takes her out for rides, he IS a rider and is
    substantially larger than I am (6'2" large frame vs. 5'6" small frame). 
    He was just commenting that he would much rather have a mountain bike
    to ride and take her out on than his racing bike.  He finds that being
    bent over with the extra weight in the back (she's 26 lbs) can easily
    throw his balance off and it's a lot more work, even sitting up "straight" 
    is work.  Sometimes he will go for a solo ride and take the seat off,
    he says the difference is quite noticeable.
    
    Susan

    We have been discussing this also...
    
    We are planning on taking our bikes on vacation to the Cape this July.
    Nicholas is going to be 7 mos then. We have been contemplating what
    type of carrier to use for him.  
    
    We have decided to rent a "cart" that you pull on the back of the bike.
    That way, if he falls asleep and/or gets tired, I/we won't worry about
    him slouching. 
    
    We (John and myself) both have mountain bikes, so when Nicholas gets a
    little older, we will probably purchase a carrier for the back of his
    bike. Not mine, becasue I can just handle myself, never mind someone
    else on the back!
    
    Anne Marie
    

    I've had Andy on both my road bike ("12-speed") and my mountain bike. 
    Having done both, I would DEFINITLEY recommend the mountain bike over 
    the road bike.  Two reasons.  First is that the handle bars on my mt
    bike allow me to ride a little more upright (allows me to be a little 
    closer to him, and breaks the wind as well).  Second is that, since
    most of the roads around New England are very narrow, I feel much more
    comfortable knowing that I can quickly and easily get off the road with
    the mountain bike, if a car gets too close.  I wouldn't feel at all
    safe doing that with my road bike.
    
    I have never used the type of child trailer that can be pulled behind 
    your bike.  I've talked to several people who really like them, and can 
    see that they'd be a benefit if you are nervous about having a squirming 
    child behind you.  Personally, I perfer having Andy right behind me, 
    and not hauling the extra length and width of a trailer (again, due to 
    the narrow and busy roads around here).
    
    By the way...  If you DO decide to put a child carrier on a mountain
    bike, be aware that not all carriers are made for this type of bike.  
    Our original child seat didn't fit the mountain bike right.  The breaks
    on the mountain bike sit a little higher than the road bike, and collided 
    with our first seat.  We ended up buying a Rhode Gear seat, and I'm 
    really happy with it.  One nice feature is that it slips on-and-off of 
    a rack on back.  We have two racks, so that we can easily move the seat 
    between mine, and my husband's bikes.
    
    Peggy

    
    If you can afford the trailers - get one!  We got one with our first
    and it's been a godsend - not only can we take two kids, but we can lug
    diaper bags, snacks, water bottles, favorite stuffed animals, etc.... 
    
    The only drawback is that you can't hear - or talk with the child as
    well as I think you might be able to with the mounted seat.  The way we
    get around this is that whoever is not pulling gets alongside or
    behind; we have some great singalongs!
    
    Jamd

Reading through these notes caused me to wonder -- has anybody seen or heard 
of *renting* a bicycle cart?

They seem to me to be an ideal thing for rental.  They are expensive, but 
buying one may not be that good an investment, since you may not be using it 
that long; they must be made fairly sturdy, so it's unlikely that they will 
come down much in price; they may be something that you'd like to have for a 
weekend, but not necessarily something you'd want to keep in your garage; 
something that you might want to have at a vacation site, but not necessarily 
something that you could easily transport there.

Clay

    Clay
    
    We have been pointed to a bike shop at the Cape (in Eastham) where we
    are vacationing to rent one.
    
    We were going to purchase one, but the price was a little out of our
    range. Also, there was the question of how to transport the thing???
    When Nicholas gets a little bigger, we will able to put him in a seat
    on the back, but for now, we are going to rent one while on vacation.
    
    If anyone wants the Bike Rental information for the Cape, let me know.
    the Person I am renting a cottage from got it for me.
    
    Anne Marie

    When I checked last summer, Llandry's, a bicycle shop 
    in Westboro and Framingham was renting them.
    Llandry in Westboro is located in a shopping plazza
    just off Route 9 (very close to the Stop & Stop and
    BJ's plazza), about 3 or 4 miles west of Rt 495.

    I second the trailer.  Whiole they are pricy, they are much more stable
    than the bicycle seats, according to Frank (I am a non-bicyclist but he
    has been biking our kids all over.  He feels safer if he should wind up
    taking a dive, and the trailer flags and colors make the trailer much 
    more visible than the seats.
    
    meg

    I have a no-name child seat on my mountain bike. While I am not nearly
    the rider I used to be (and never was a hard-core cyclist), I do not
    have any trouble with my 3 1/2 yr old son in the seat. There is some
    wobble as he shifts around, but it's easy to deal with. The only real
    annoyance is when he moves his feet out of the seat and bumps my heels.

    I did lay it down one time while stopped with him in it. He was just
    about 2 yrs old, and it scared him quite a bit, but the seat was big
    enough and surrounded him well enough to prevent injuries. Make SURE you
    have a kiddie helmet, and get a seat that can protect the arms when
    the bike falls over (not if, *when*). I think Fisher-Price has one with
    some sort of outer rails that look pretty good. And of course, keep the
    speed down.

    If you have some fairly flat terrain with low traffic, it can be a lot
    of fun. My son loves it, and he looks around and points stuff out. The
    great part is that you get excellent quality time together and excellent
    exercise at the same time!

    We got a "Huffy Tow and Stroll" this weekend. Its great..
    
    Its a "cart type" carrier that is pulled behind the back of the bike.
    It is real nice becasue its a canvas type frame, and its breathable.
    
    We went out for a ride on Sunday, and Nicholas loved it.  He didn't
    like wearing his helmet, but once we started riding he loved it. I 
    could hear him lauging from behind (hubby pulled the carrier).
    
    The only problem I have is the helmet. The smallest we could find was a
    childs 1-4 years old....it was still way to big, so I stuffed it with a
    cloth diaper, which seemed to work.
    
    All in all, it worked out great. I think its going to be great on
    vacation..
    
    Anne Marie

    Anne Marie,
    
    Check out some more places for helmets.  A lot of them now have inner
    "padding" to change the size of the helmet.  There's velcro strips
    inside the helmet, and foam pads attach to the strips to make a more
    comfortable fit.  Lechmere used to have a very good selection, and Toys
    R Us does as well.
    
    I think that the biggest key is making sure it stays in place if it's
    bumped, so the diaper is probably okay.