Cycling with 4.5 and 2.5 yr dc-what's best

[TheMildManneredMilitant]

My dh and I want to start cycling more but need to work out the best way of taking the dc. Can anyone suggest the best combination of seats/trailers/ tag alongs etc? We've barely been on a bike in 5 yrs so aren't exactly avid cyclists but will be mainly on very quiet roads and cycle paths at least while we get the hang of it. Hopefully it won't take that long to pick up again!

It depends on how far you want to cycle.

Does your 4.5yo have a bike already? If so you could consider a trail gator so that you can tow him/her for a while but you can take it off so they can ride independently.

With the 2.5yo, maybe a rear bike seat would be best until you all get a little more confidence. Bear in mind that a child on a seat is going to add weight and make your bike less stable.

We had a front child seat on my DH's bike because he couldn't fit a rear one on his full suspension bike. The downside of this was that my DH had to ride with his knees out.

We found on long rides both DC would nod off on the seat (as they did on the trailer we had). Once DS progressed onto the Trail Gator he got lots of admiring glances. DD had progressed to riding on her own bike by then.

It does get easier though and is great fun. I have just signed us up (as a family) for a 30 mile ride this summer with a view to doing a long distance 3 day ride later in the year. DC are now 11 & 8 and starting to take their cycling seriously!

2.5yo in a seat & 4.5yo on a trailer bike (pick up a good 2nd hand one on Ebay).

Thanks for the replies, will definitely look into seats and trail bikes then, hope they go for it (and we manage it!).

We're not avid cyclists either, but we do enjoy it. We had a 4.5yo on his own bike for the most part on short flat rides of less than 3 miles, and on the tag-a-long for anything greater. We picked up the taggy secondhand for £35 and it's been a brilliant buy. With a 2.5yo I agree that a rear seat will be worth the money and again they do come up secondhand. Do you have a local independant bike shop? Ours often has second hand kids bikes and other bits of kit, or check your local paper small ads.

By 5.5 yo ds1 could manage about 5 miles himself and so we mixed those rides with longer ones of about 8 miles or so again with the tag. At 7.5 he can now manage those 8 milers himself. We're hoping to do a cycling holiday in the Peak District in the summer - cycling with kids is great fun!