Those baby seats for the back of bikes

You can get seats that go between the seat and handlebrs, rather than on the back. I think Lizze on here had one for her wee boy, maybe ty pming her.

I've heard around 1 is when you can put bubs in a bike seat. But not sure exactly on that.
My DH has looked into them, and the rear ones fit most bikes and last the longest in terms of child fitting them. Apparently some of the front ones they grow out of too quickly and can be uncomfortable for them as wind goes straight into there face.
Bike shops sell helmets that fit small babies. We got a little nutty helmet for DS, which doesn't quite go as small as the ones from bike shops.
Oh and I think the warehouse also sells small helmets.

Lots of people in our area have the one in front. Looks much better as then you can chat to them and they can see where you are going. Also the extra weight is over the centre of the bike that way so easier to control. Bike shops sell them.

I've got one on the back of my bike. I looked at the ones that sit up front but DD was nearly 2 before I got my act together and I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to reach around her (after watching my friend who had one). That and the fact that the cheapest one I found was about $200 and the one I have cost me $50.

The one I have is just from Kmart - nothing flash. I love it and DD loves riding in it. The only issue I have is that if I stand up when going up hills the bike rocks from side to side heaps. Other than that it takes a bit of getting used too coz the center of balance is different but its not hard to ride with or anything. I thought it was a good cheap option.

I got DD's helmet from the Warehouse but Kmart and Toyworld also sell toddler helmets. Helmets for toddlers aren't cheap though - I was expecting $20 but I think I paid $40 and that was the cheapest I could find.

The other thing to think about is that it's not exactly easy to fit the seat to the bike yourself. I had my Dad's help but the instructions weren't great and it took the 2 of us about 3 hours! Might be easier if you brought another brand but we wanted to make extra sure we were doing it right so DD was safe. My friend brought her seat from a bike shop and paid for them to fit it for her.

The other thing I thought too Bowie was it might be quite bouncy for Max on the back of your bike if you are doing the rail trail? I have thought about doing it with DD but I thought given its a trail it could be a bit rough for her - with the extra weight on the back of the bike it does bounce around a bit. Although I don't have suspension on the bike I have the seat attached to, its just an old bike my sister was given when she was at intermediate, so might be different depending on the type of bike you have?

I forgot to say that the seat I have can detach from the bike when you are not using it so you can still ride the bike without the empty seat. It sits on a carrier type arrangement and just unclips from it. I have several bikes so don't need this but it is a useful option if you want to use your bike when you don't have your DS with you.

You could splash out bowie and get one of those bike trailers (I called it a carriage in my other post ), except every time I see one, the passenger always seems to be a pampered pooch!!

I've only ever seen them with dogs too! I considered a trailor but i wondered if id hear him if he was crying all the way back there! And he'd have to lie down in it and that might be a bit boring for a 11 month old, at least on the back of the bike he's sitting up and looking around. There was an article in a treasures mag a few editions ago about a couple that biked halfway round NZ with their toddlers on the back, i should look that up and see what they had.

I was reading about someone who just manducas and bikes but i reckon we'll bang helmets and we'd get disgustingly sweaty! Let me know what you find out

"One suggested that if a parent falls off a bike while wearing her baby, she will be able to manipulate her body in mid-air to land with the baby on top. Last I checked, we're humans, not cats."

I lol'd! And no plans to baby wear and bike, don't worry. In fact i don't even plan on biking on the road. Just the railtrail with the foolhardy plan of not training before hand because i'm fit as (sarcasm plus).

we have a trailer that has 2 seats it goes on dhs bike and i bike behind. its got 2sets of seatbelts for each child wet weather covers and suncover its fantastic although we never go for huge rides so not sure what it would be like on the rail trail. A friend also has a flasher one which can unhook and be like a pram for when she gets to town. The are around $400 in the bike shops.

We liked the trailer option better cause we think it has better balance and they are secure if for any reason we were to fall over it has metal framing Dh calls it there roll cage lol