Child seat or trailer?
Discussion
OK, planning on doing a few gentle runs with my little'un fairly soon. He's 18m but quite big/tall for his age (90th percentile) and quite gung-ho. Trying to decide between buying a basic Aldi trailer, and a Hamax rear seat which I've already been given.
Bike is likely to be either older 26" wheeled Trek Fuel EX7, or an On-One inbred. I do have a WeeRide top tube seat, but TBH riding so "knees out" is horrible and there's not enough room for me to drop off the front of the saddle, no matter how I set things up. WRT "posh" trailers, I simply cannot justify the cost.
Most likely to be going on very quiet roads, cycle paths, or some family green trails at trail centres.
So it's a simple decision between an Aldi trailer or that Hamax seat...thoughts and experiences welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Bike is likely to be either older 26" wheeled Trek Fuel EX7, or an On-One inbred. I do have a WeeRide top tube seat, but TBH riding so "knees out" is horrible and there's not enough room for me to drop off the front of the saddle, no matter how I set things up. WRT "posh" trailers, I simply cannot justify the cost.
Most likely to be going on very quiet roads, cycle paths, or some family green trails at trail centres.
So it's a simple decision between an Aldi trailer or that Hamax seat...thoughts and experiences welcome.
Thanks in advance!
Personally, I'd go for the trailer.
When he gets a bit older and wants his own bike, the bike seat will be useless for everything else, whereas you'll find that the trailer can take on a whole new lease of life as a cargo carrier for picnics, beach gear and whatever else you might want to take with you on family outings.
When our kids were younger, it quite often made the difference between riding to the beach on summer holidays or taking the car and then having to find and then pay for parking, and we all know how much fun that can be in a holiday location at the height of summer!
When he gets a bit older and wants his own bike, the bike seat will be useless for everything else, whereas you'll find that the trailer can take on a whole new lease of life as a cargo carrier for picnics, beach gear and whatever else you might want to take with you on family outings.
When our kids were younger, it quite often made the difference between riding to the beach on summer holidays or taking the car and then having to find and then pay for parking, and we all know how much fun that can be in a holiday location at the height of summer!
We have both (Hamax seat and Halfords trailer) and the seat got used a lot more.
I felt that the whole experience was much better with the seat:
-I wasn't dragging a big wide thing so could go where I wanted without restriction.
-The trailer felt like it stuck out into the road the few times it was used there. I felt a lot safer on the road with a seat.
-On the seat we could have a chat as we rode along and he would point out things we passed. In the trailer he would just want snacks and sit there eating them until he fell asleep without any interaction.
-We put in a lot of mileage together over a couple of years on that seat as we only had one car and the mrs used that some weekends to work so we just had the bike, I also used it to pick him up from nursery.
-The trailer has been used 4 times, two of those I made sure I had another adult behind us to provide a buffer and the other 2 were uncomfortable bumps along trails.
I felt that the whole experience was much better with the seat:
-I wasn't dragging a big wide thing so could go where I wanted without restriction.
-The trailer felt like it stuck out into the road the few times it was used there. I felt a lot safer on the road with a seat.
-On the seat we could have a chat as we rode along and he would point out things we passed. In the trailer he would just want snacks and sit there eating them until he fell asleep without any interaction.
-We put in a lot of mileage together over a couple of years on that seat as we only had one car and the mrs used that some weekends to work so we just had the bike, I also used it to pick him up from nursery.
-The trailer has been used 4 times, two of those I made sure I had another adult behind us to provide a buffer and the other 2 were uncomfortable bumps along trails.
Kermit power said:
Personally, I'd go for the trailer.
When he gets a bit older and wants his own bike, the bike seat will be useless for everything else, whereas you'll find that the trailer can take on a whole new lease of life as a cargo carrier for picnics, beach gear and whatever else you might want to take with you on family outings.
When our kids were younger, it quite often made the difference between riding to the beach on summer holidays or taking the car and then having to find and then pay for parking, and we all know how much fun that can be in a holiday location at the height of summer!
Thanks for the insight. TBH I live in the land-locked Midlands so the beach specific thing isn't really relevant, and there's too many fWhen he gets a bit older and wants his own bike, the bike seat will be useless for everything else, whereas you'll find that the trailer can take on a whole new lease of life as a cargo carrier for picnics, beach gear and whatever else you might want to take with you on family outings.
When our kids were younger, it quite often made the difference between riding to the beach on summer holidays or taking the car and then having to find and then pay for parking, and we all know how much fun that can be in a holiday location at the height of summer!
kwits on the roads for me to really think of the trailer as a viable alternative to the car from a transport perspective. So any secondary use is not going to apply here...it's purely a "here and now" thing of what will be nicer for him and I...trailer or child seat.At a guess, I think the child seat might give a very "boingy" ride, where the trailer will ultimately be a bit harsher but less vomit inducing. I also don't really like the idea of having to take him out the child seat every time I want to put the bike down, however the trailer seems a better option especially if I fit (horror of horrors) a kickstand to the tractor bike.
Weeride is great whilst they are small but only good for short, lazy journeys due to the knee spraying you mention. Mass is centred very nicely.
Hamax is pretty good but the weight out the back is not ideal. OK when riding but easy to tip the bike up when manoeuvring. Would work well with front panniers.
Trailer I'd not use on anything but the quitest roads. Too vulnerable and other traffic may not expect it. Slowest and heaviest.
If you've got the Hamax why not just give it a go?
Hamax is pretty good but the weight out the back is not ideal. OK when riding but easy to tip the bike up when manoeuvring. Would work well with front panniers.
Trailer I'd not use on anything but the quitest roads. Too vulnerable and other traffic may not expect it. Slowest and heaviest.
If you've got the Hamax why not just give it a go?
We have both and the benefits and drawbacks of both have been well detailed already.
We got the trailer free, bit battered, but full functional and my Daughter loves it, it is a twin one rather than single. For popping to the shops etc, a seat on the back of my wife's shopping bike, for runs further a field then I trailer her using my 29er, previously before special axle converter (qr versus bolt thru) I used my road bike.
BUT, we currently live in the Netherlands and I don't have to trailer her on the open roads, which I wouldn't enjoy at all. If you can mainly use cycle paths and very quiet country roads great, but otherwise I'd use a seat.
We're 5kms from the beach and the trailer is awesome, pile in the stuff, ride over and back without ever touching a road per ce and my daughter enjoys it, but you don't get the interaction which I miss - except "Daddy how fast can we go?" Which now stands at 45kmph and it's as stable as a rock, she's strapped in and has her own roll cage. You can happily cycle along without effort at 12-15mph.
Edited by Johno on Thursday 6th July 19:32
I was in a similar position to you a few months ago, although my son is a bit younger.
I have been lent a Hamax seat by a colleague (he also offered me a trailer, but it won't fit my bike). So far I've only used it around Kingsbury waterpark a few times, as I've been banned from taking him out on the road or anywhere too offroad
The ride must be fairly smooth as he managed to fall asleep last time. This cut the ride short a I didn't like how his head was just flopping around, I understand a trailer would have been better in this respect.
I have been lent a Hamax seat by a colleague (he also offered me a trailer, but it won't fit my bike). So far I've only used it around Kingsbury waterpark a few times, as I've been banned from taking him out on the road or anywhere too offroad
The ride must be fairly smooth as he managed to fall asleep last time. This cut the ride short a I didn't like how his head was just flopping around, I understand a trailer would have been better in this respect.Where in the Midlands? I'm near Droitwich.
I have a trailer you could try out. I have pulled it (and another one) a few thousand miles. It was one of those things I wish I had bought earlier, when my first child was born (we bought it for our 2nd).
My daughter used to curl up and sleep in it. We could go out on cold days, put her in a small sleeping bad, and enjoy rides in crisp weather.
By contrast, when she moved to a half bike I hated the way it exerted sideways movement on my bike. I tried a child seat and found that far worse. The trailer was never hard to drag but I'm not a fast rider anyway. We could cruise round all day with it, and even use it to stash additional tools and bike spares if we went on a long ride. And we even went shopping with it when we were holidaying in France.
I was slightly disappointed when my daughter started riding because we stopped using the trailer so not long after my wife bought a puppy, we bought a doggy trailer for him, and mounted a brace of GoPros on it and the bikes to show his enjoyment of being out with us.
I have a trailer you could try out. I have pulled it (and another one) a few thousand miles. It was one of those things I wish I had bought earlier, when my first child was born (we bought it for our 2nd).
My daughter used to curl up and sleep in it. We could go out on cold days, put her in a small sleeping bad, and enjoy rides in crisp weather.
By contrast, when she moved to a half bike I hated the way it exerted sideways movement on my bike. I tried a child seat and found that far worse. The trailer was never hard to drag but I'm not a fast rider anyway. We could cruise round all day with it, and even use it to stash additional tools and bike spares if we went on a long ride. And we even went shopping with it when we were holidaying in France.
I was slightly disappointed when my daughter started riding because we stopped using the trailer so not long after my wife bought a puppy, we bought a doggy trailer for him, and mounted a brace of GoPros on it and the bikes to show his enjoyment of being out with us.
Craikeybaby said:
I was in a similar position to you a few months ago, although my son is a bit younger.
I have been lent a Hamax seat by a colleague (he also offered me a trailer, but it won't fit my bike). So far I've only used it around Kingsbury waterpark a few times, as I've been banned from taking him out on the road or anywhere too offroad The ride must be fairly smooth as he managed to fall asleep last time. This cut the ride short a I didn't like how his head was just flopping around, I understand a trailer would have been better in this respect.
Carry a roll of Duck tape!I have been lent a Hamax seat by a colleague (he also offered me a trailer, but it won't fit my bike). So far I've only used it around Kingsbury waterpark a few times, as I've been banned from taking him out on the road or anywhere too offroad
The ride must be fairly smooth as he managed to fall asleep last time. This cut the ride short a I didn't like how his head was just flopping around, I understand a trailer would have been better in this respect.It seems mental but on a couple of rides a few well placed strips of tape to the back of the seat and his helmet held my lads head up well enough that I didn't have to worry about the floppy head whilst I got us home.
Aldi have the 2 in1 jogger/trailer, 2 person size in at the moments for £99, decided against it as the box weighs a bit so will be inconvenient (Will be taken in the car to a park/forest rather than urban use). Instead will be looking for a lightweight easily collapsable trailer.
Have seem some complain about the issues OP has with WeeRide, but others seem very happy so I am going to try it out to see if works for me.
Have seem some complain about the issues OP has with WeeRide, but others seem very happy so I am going to try it out to see if works for me.
Edited by hyphen on Tuesday 11th July 13:19
Installed the Weeride Safe Seat today, well almost.
It comes with 2 spare longer bolts, however on my Mountain Bike both my seat post and also my head tube are thicker so need to find 2 more bolts. Anyone know if they are just standard metal, or do I need some toughened version? Think they are m6 bolts which use allen keys.
Also is it safe to leave child seats on the bike, whilst on a roof rack travelling at 70mph?
It comes with 2 spare longer bolts, however on my Mountain Bike both my seat post and also my head tube are thicker so need to find 2 more bolts. Anyone know if they are just standard metal, or do I need some toughened version? Think they are m6 bolts which use allen keys.
Also is it safe to leave child seats on the bike, whilst on a roof rack travelling at 70mph?
hyphen said:
Installed the Weeride Safe Seat today, well almost.
It comes with 2 spare longer bolts, however on my Mountain Bike both my seat post and also my head tube are thicker so need to find 2 more bolts. Anyone know if they are just standard metal, or do I need some toughened version? Think they are m6 bolts which use allen keys.
Also is it safe to leave child seats on the bike, whilst on a roof rack travelling at 70mph?
I wouldn't unless a last resort tbh It comes with 2 spare longer bolts, however on my Mountain Bike both my seat post and also my head tube are thicker so need to find 2 more bolts. Anyone know if they are just standard metal, or do I need some toughened version? Think they are m6 bolts which use allen keys.
Also is it safe to leave child seats on the bike, whilst on a roof rack travelling at 70mph?
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