Hi, Firstly I know nothing about bicycles & this is my first time posting so please bear with me.
I’m looking for a commuter style upright bicycle that I can attach a child’s seat to ferry my 2yr old to nursery then I would cycle to work and back. Each stop is 2 miles each so I would be cycling 8 miles in total. I’m in London and the routes would be flat.
Of course if I got very confident I’d also cycle with my 2yo in the weekend.
I can’t afford a cargo bike (although I would eventually love to get one) and not keen on a trailer so I would use a rear child’s seat on the bicycle. I’m about 5”3 and my little one 12kg.
I’m not a regular cycler but I will have to be once I start.
I’m not trying to spend too much money although I’m aware I seem to like some more expensive models unfortunately.
I was thinking about either
1. Tokyobike- although from other threads the small tires and lack of mudguards may not be so favourable
-
Temple bicycles
https://templecycles.com/products/step-through-lightweight -
Odessa bicycle
https://bellsbicycles.co.uk/products/odessa-brick-lane-bikes -
Electra loft
-
Electra townie Go- electric bike
-
Raleigh e bike
Any help as to what I should be considering would be useful
For example
– does it matter if you have a very lightweight bicycle and attach a child seat (does it cause significant problems with stability?)
– should I be looking specifically for bicycles with disc brakes ?
– do you think getting an electric bike (not cargo) is maybe a better option to get (rather than a pedal bicycle)- as I would get more use out of it? (I’d like to cycle more outside my commuting bubble once I get more confident)
- also realistically going into winter how easy is to ferry a child in the rain and cold.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!
by Jubilant_swallow
4 Comments
Smaller wheels tend to be much more stable which is why you see many cargo bikes with smaller wheels so that you carry the weight down lower. At 2yo (and growing!) I feeeeel like you may possible wish for a different bike pretty quickly. I would encourage you to test it out with any bike with standard size tires before committing to any of these!
It’s also super helpful to have a good kickstand when needing to load your kid on the bike
I had a Raleigh e-bike for a couple of years with two kids on (a yepp mini on the handle and a yepp maxi on the rear rack) and it was heavy but absolutely fine – similar length commute but not in London.
They got too big for the seats so ended up getting an electric cargo trike!
Really useful having an e-bike to be honest, I don’t really use the car very much cycle a lot more because you don’t have to think about hills etc.
That being said, I do like the fact the Temple bikes are steel framed which is probably a good fit for regularly carrying a child on the back? (I’ve got a couple of steel framed Pashleys that I’ve accrued in the garage too, so a bit biased…)
https://preview.redd.it/6npribded6rf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d856acd4d060b6eb5acdd11676b99fa8a8b83436
Spend the money, love the bike. [https://www.specialized.com/us/en/haul-st/p/277759?color=442435-277759&searchText=91023-8000U](https://www.specialized.com/us/en/haul-st/p/277759?color=442435-277759&searchText=91023-8000U)
I have the urban arrow family cargo bike. I cart around my elementary and preschool age kids. I had a long tail cargo bike before this and it was fine, but the urban arrow is the o w I should have bought from the very beginning. It is pricey though.