bike seats for a 3-year-old

[kleist]

I've got dd's new pre-school place for January and it's a good 30 minute walk. Seeing as she's only there for 2.5 hours I'm going to end up with no time at home if I walk it. We don't have a car. So I've been thinking of getting a bike with child seat. Does anyone know anything about them? Dd's about 2.5 stone I think - would that make her too heavy?

TIA

there is a biger one try halfords

I think most of the seats are OK up to about 4 stone. my nearly 6 and 4 year olds fit in them fine, they are both about 3 stone.

I will try Halfords, thanks!

I would recommend a rhode gear seat, (not sold at halfords, but lots of independent retailers have them,).

Rhode Gear are fine. Centric Safe Haven are better, they go on the front of the bike, between your legs (but have straps etc). Better for balance, and more interesting for your dd.

Other non-car options: put her on her own bike with stabilisers, or a like-a-bike. Or put her on a tagalong on the back.

If you go for an option where she's on your bike, you need to make sure you get a fair bit of practice on the bike, on your own, before you put her on your bike.

And yet another alternative is one if those towbars, to turn a child's bike in a tagalongbike - like those because dd gets to cycle herself if she feels like it but can hitch a ride if too tired..

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look at the other mentioned seat options online. Does anyone know if you need to have a specific bike for any of the seats?

I'm avoiding options like dd biking herself because she's totally uninterested - got her a bike for her 3rd birthday and she hasn't used it once!

I've been doing a bit of research and I have to say I like the thought of the Centric Safe Haven seats a lot. Do they impinge one's ability to ride at all though? I'm finding it hard to imagine how one would balance with the child right in front of you? Would it take a lot of practise?

kleist, the only real impact the centric has on riding is, you are forced to ride with your knees out a bit. Oh, and your seat needs to be fairly low, as you can't pop off the seat when you stop. So you have to be able to put a foot on the ground while still sitting on the seat. But then, if you're starting up riding again, yourself, you're going to want a low seat, anyway.

The Rhode Gear requires a specific type of luggage rack, which comes with it. It's a standard rack. I don't think the Centric has specific requirements. I would buy it from a speciality bike shop, if you can, unless you or your partner is very mechnical. I think it's a bit of a bugger to fit.

Wherever your child sits on your bike, you have to adjust to them wiggling. I think this is more of a problem if you weigh 8 stone, iyswim. I'm a big girl, so it's not really caused me much trouble. Whatever your size, if your child is in front, you can at least see the wiggling, which helps.

Your DD might become more interested in biking if she sees you biking.

Did you used to ride a bike a lot? You do need to go out without a child on the bike at first, to get back in the habit, if you haven't been doing it lately.

kleist, as NQC said, I think her weight is only a problem if it is out of proportion to yours. My ds is 15kg and I find that if he moves, my whole bike moves with him so he is under strict instruction not to wriggle (in fact, I bought him a seat with handlebars, the Beto Delux I think it's called - so there is less chance of him moving about).

It is far better to go to a proper bike shop where they should fit it all for you to make sure it's done properly.

Personally, I couldn't manage the front fitting seat - ds was too heavy and too tall and it distorted my riding too much so I would see if you can find a friend/bike shop who will let you try it out before you decide whether the rear or front fitting seat would suit you best.

Thanks all!

In hindsight although I like the idea of the front seat it only goes up to weight 40lbs and as dd's already 35lbs it's not going to be worthwhile I think. Especially as it's quite dear.

I've phoned Decathlon which is our closest bike shop and they've said they've got a bike called a Riverside 3, a hybrid, and a rear child seat which goes up to 25 kilos (55lbs) and they'll fit it. So I'm going to go for that.

I am slightly worried about the cycling aspect and feeling unstable. I'm only 8stn and although I used to cycle absolutely everywhere (from NE London to SW every day to work and back) I haven't even sat on a bike since dd was born. I gave my bike away about 2 years ago and wish I hadn't!

Is it very hard to learn to cycle with a child on the back?

It's not that hard, particularly if she sits reasonably still. You'll need to get a bit of practice on your own, and then you'll be fine.

When I bought my bike seat for dd 10 yrs ago, I put a couple of bags of potatoes in first and rode around to get used to the weight, I agree the main problem is when the child wriggles, but at your dd age I'm sure if you talk to her she will sit still for you. I'm now on my 3rd child on the back of my bike and wouldn't be without it,I even have a tag along in the shed for when ds2 is old enough, Happy cycling

It just makes such sense to me to give it a go because even if I virtually jog it's a 30 minute walk with dd in the buggy. If I let her walk it'll take us over an hour. As she's only there 2.5 hours I'll spend the whole time getting there and back whereas I could cycle it in around 10 mins.

Cycling with some bags of spuds is a good idea. Dd's not a terrible wriggler in general so hopefully we'll be coasting through Southwark Park before you know it!

Cycling will be faster. But be aware, you lose some time getting the bike out, finding the helmets, wrangling child onto seat, etc etc. Also, locking up at the other end. So it doesn't end up saving you quite as much time as you think, in my experience.

I've been to the bike shop and picked out all the stuff and now feeling very nervous about it all, hoping I'm doing the right thing, we can't afford to get it and not use it ...

Some of the things you mention NQC we have to do anyway - i.e. getting buggy out, wrestling into it etc. so no change there. And as we're in a flat, the bike is literally just outside the door and we'll keep the helmets etc. just inside the door. I'm mostly worried about being very rusty when I try to cycle ...

You'll be fine, just do some cycling on your own first.

I gather the trip is at least partly through a park?

If it reassures at all, I've run into a car, at a slow speed, with two kids on my bike. I had some bruises, but both kids were entirely unharmed.

it is amazing how rusty you get when you haven't cycled for a while so definitely do as NQC says and have a fair few practice rides through the park on your own. I found (rather embarrassingly) when I bought my bike, I couldn't pump up the tyres - turned out a whole new valve thing had been invented since I last rode a bike (yes it was that long!). It's much better to be confident on your own before you start with dd.

You'll have a great time - it's such a good way of getting around.

Thanks for the reassurance. I just suddenly got into a total panic in the shop when the guy asked me to sit on the bike so he could adjust the saddle and I realised I felt way too rusty to attempt to ride it there and then!

Dd, incidentally, is thrilled by the idea. She chose a bright pink helmet.

It's hard for me to practise alone actually as dp is out at work every day til 9.30pm or later so I have to do it all with dd in tow. I even have to get the bike back from the shop with dd. I'm vaguely hoping to get her in the seat and just wheel it home?!

One thing that also bothered me is that as I'm tall (5,8") he recommended quite a large frame bike with crossbar rather than a women's frame bike which I'd thought would be easier to get on and off from. What do you think?

Sorry to be such a useless piece of stuff asking all these obvious questions. i really am appreciating your patience and help.

how about a trailer here

With a child on the back, no crossbar is easier. But crossbar-less frames are less stable, from what I know. Just practice getting on and off without putting a leg behind you and kicking DD in the face.

Can you practice riding on the weekend? I think it's best to get a few hours practice in, before putting your DD on it.

Also, your first rides with DD on the bike should be in the park etc, not in traffic. But you probably already knew that.

You can walk the bike home with your DD on it, of course. And once you feel confident on the bike, you may find it very practical for getting around. I like biking with one child. (I find it a bit daunting with two, the one on the back goes on a tagalong, but that makes me nervous.)

IOTA, I love the thought of a trailer but they're way too pricey for us, plus we live in such a dodgy area I could never leave it anywhere if I needed to park the bike for a while.

NQC dp works over the weekend, I really am virtually a single parent most of the time. So I'll have to practise with dd around unfortunately but we do live 3 minutes from the park so it's not the end of the world. I'm planning on doing almost all the journey off the road as the traffic is dire round by us. I can basically scoot through the park (10 mins or so), then push over a very very busy road, through the shopping centre carpark and over onto a pedestrianised area the rest of the way.

By the way, I'm going to purchase the lot tomorrow morning ... wish me luck!

Well, once your DD is at preschool, you can get some good practice in then!

I think it'll come back to you fast, I've gone 6 or so months without biking at a time, and it only took a ride or two to feel comfortable again.

I would just add that I used to be a fairly frequent cyclist when I was younger but pretty much gave up once we got a car. I took it up again after the children were born and bought a bike specifically to put a child seat on (a standard ladies road bike plus child seat is fairly un-nickable, BTW ).

It took me next to no time to get back into cycling (say 30 mins to feel comfortable) and also next to no time to get used to having a child on the back. DS (4.2) and DD (2.3) absolutely love going on the back of our bikes and we have never had a problem with wriggling at all. Ds is a fairly large 4 year old, and I think the length of his legs will be what makes him outgrow the seat, rather than his weight.