[Peachwater]

My husband and I finally agreed to upgrade from a jogging stroller to either a bike seat like one of these or a bike trailer similar to one of these.

The weather is getting colder so I am going for a bike trailer though I also agree with my husband that our little one can wear extra warm clothes. He also doesn't like the idea of being too far from our baby. Our toddler is a bit hyperactive and we're kinda worried that she cannot just sit still inside the bike trailer. In that respect, I am afraid she will just try to slip up or be too restless and disrupt the balance while biking.

Has anyone here have experience on the use of both? Which would you recommend for a 20 lbs active toddler?

 

[mumto1]

trailer?

I may be wrong, but won't your child outgrow the bike seat soon? The bike seat is something you will have to get used to, it does put more weight on the bike, but my kid was never able to tip or control my bike no matter what he did (I had a back wheel one). The up side of the bike seat is that it was attached to the bike and did not take up too much more room. The downside is that it can only be on one bike (unless they've come up with something new?) whereas the trailer can be switched. If you are going with a bike seat, you can get yourself mentally ready by riding your bike with it sans child, load it up with a heavy knapsack or a bag of potatoes. A bike seat needs to be loaded while the bike is upright obviously so it takes a little trial and error getting that sorted. A trailer adds a lot of weight to the back, expect it to be harder going uphill, faster downhill, needs a bigger turning radius etc. The bonus of the clunky trailer is that you can load it up with stuff and it doesn't have to be carried on your body. I see a lot of these here:
http://babboecargobike.com/product/babboe-city-cargo-bike/

 

[Letitia]

I loved the closeness of having my kiddo on the bike with me. I know there are theories that trailers are safer, but I don't know any studies or numbers.

I think we would have loved having both. The bike seat limited us after we had our second child - we could only go by bike if both parents were going (our kids are very close together in age). On the other hand, trailers are a lot more cumbersome on the road than the seat.