Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 67 total)
  • doing the nursery run by bike…
  • Baldysquirt
    Full Member

    I was thinking I’m best with a rear mounted seat (Hamax or similar), but this gets rid of my rack as luggage space. What then – front panniers (may not fit a rack with discs as well) / rucksack or courier bag (in the little one’s face) / trailer / cargo bike / xtracycle?

    Unless I want to buy another car (which I refuse to do on cost and principal) it has to be by bike. What do the STW massive do?

    mrhoppy
    Full Member

    We put hoppy jr in the trailer, keeps him dry and warm and leaves space for bags if needed.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    How old/big is the sprog? I’ve done it with a kiddy trailer and my work gear in my Carradice.

    Worked well, but I don’t do it often as the nursery is up a stupidly steep hill!

    YoKaiser
    Free Member

    What about a Weeride?

    leffeboy
    Full Member

    Trailer ftw. You can keep going in the rain and snow and just park it at the nursery

    Edit: and less chance of dropping the bike on icy roads with someone on the back 🙁

    Stoner
    Free Member

    Trailer + xtracycle for us.

    Jr Sr on the deck, school books/PE kit in the side pouches, Jr Jr bringing up the rear.

    GrahamS
    Full Member

    You clearly have a much bigger garage than me Stoner 😀

    piffpaffpoff
    Free Member

    Trailer here, much easier for carrying child + bags. I did it a couple of times with a rear seat and a rucksack clipped through the gaps in the set and hung over the back but that was a bit crap tbh.

    TheNorthernMonkey
    Free Member

    Chariot /Buggy – gives to an extra workout. Lots of places to put lights and helmetcams too.
    Particularly good unloading Boy at nursery when all the other little darlings are vetoing out of the Beemers, Mercs, etc

    iain1775
    Free Member

    Weeride front seat and panniers or rucksack/messenger bag here

    mattjg
    Free Member

    Push her in the buggy, which is a 3 1/2 mile round trip * 3 each week, so keeps daddy’s beer tummy in control.

    I wouldn’t use a trailer on the roads round here (it only takes one inattentive idiot for it to go wrong, and there are plenty of those). There is no viable trailerable cheeky route. I may use a frame mounted seat at some point, so I can then still take the cut through via the park etc.

    But for now, it’s a hike.

    mattjg
    Free Member

    Particularly good unloading Boy at nursery when all the other little darlings are vetoing out of the Beemers, Mercs, etc

    Yeah, in a year I have yet to see another arrive on foot. One dad does use a trailer behind a spesh FS so we are brothers of the nursery run.

    tomaso
    Free Member

    I used one of these and they loved it.
    fleabay leco bike seat
    Cheesey ad pic below

    Its super simple and basic but does the job for under £20

    Mark84
    Free Member

    I have been using a trailer to take mine to nursery since February. No real issues, would suggest getting a decent trailer, the first one wore out pretty quick. We are all loving the Croozer 😀

    Baldysquirt
    Full Member

    Those with trailers, where do you leave them during the day. I doubt I’ll be able to bring it indoors at either the nursery or work, so it’ll have to sit outside all day 3 days a week whatever the weather. Won’t the fabric deteriorate pretty quickly? What are they like waterproofing wise – especially if left out all day; does the seat end up soaking for the return journey?

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    I’m thinking about this now that Toddler North is attending playschool a few mornings a week. We have a trailer, but the lanes round here are so narrow and twisty, that the direct route just isn’t that safe (even by my militant share the road standards).

    I’d be happier with her in a seat on the bike, so am going to buy a Topeak Babysitter.

    GavinB
    Full Member

    We just leave our trailer at the nursery. A few parents leave prams etc, so its no big deal.

    Trailers are ideal, as we’ve got twins, so no real alternatives when taking them down by ourselves.

    mattjg
    Free Member

    @tomaso what age did you start from? I reckon that’s got to be nicer for her than sitting behind me, view filled by my bum, and unable to see where she’s going.

    binners
    Full Member

    A trailer is the way forward. I used a Burley Solo. I’d leave it at the nursery and carry on on my commute into work, then pick it, and little binners, up on the way home. As already noted, it keeps the little blighters toasty warm and dry

    tonyd
    Full Member

    LOCT. Very hard to find as they stopped making them (cost prohibitive) but a fantastic piece of kit.

    Mark84
    Free Member

    My nursery have a shed for buggies, they fold down and don’t take up a huge amount of space. Well no one has complained yet anyway.

    I do the same as binners and then ride off to work. I use an extra waterpoof cover which they sell to go with the croozer which is useful. Have had the kids in there for several hours in the rain and they have been fine. Probably one of the best purchases i have made for years, we did the Devon coast to coast in it this ‘summer’. Not to mention days out and heading off to school and nursery.

    granny_ring
    Full Member

    A mate used to use a seat thing like the one tomaso mentioned for the older sprog up to 3 years old I think. He did mention that if he cycled more than a few miles his knees hurt because of having to cycle a bit like Charlie Chaplin!

    Sprog #2 sat on a rear mounted seat, not sure how he carried luggage tho?

    sl2000
    Full Member

    I use a Hamax with my 2 year old. I put my pannier in a large day sack which I then hang off the back of the child seat – with the shoulder straps over the seat and the chest strap stopping it falling off. I lock the Hamax and bag in the buggy park while I cycle to work with the pannier on the rack.

    motorman
    Free Member

    I have just built this for my 2 wee ones

    Yuba Mundo cargo bike + some modifications 😉

    granny_ring
    Full Member

    That’s got to be the ultimate kiddy carrying bike lol

    djglover
    Free Member

    Yep, used the trailer last week, bike is panniered up, so makes no difference adding a trailer.

    As long as you can leave the trailer at nursery

    Mark84
    Free Member

    Motorman that looks fantastic 😆

    Kip
    Full Member

    Hard tail and trailer for well over a year in all weathers. I used to leave the trailer at nursery under the fire escape stairs outside with a cover over it in the rain. Worked great for us and have only stopped because my work has moved to 25 miles away!

    My advice is go for the best trailer you can afford as ours is trashed now!

    mattjg
    Free Member

    Did you lot not all feel horribly exposed to driver idiocy (I should say normality) with your trailers on roads? Well I guess not. How did you rationalise it? Any of you down south on our busy roads?

    2tyred
    Full Member

    Wow motorman!

    Tyred Jr Jr is 4 now and has made the trip to nursery under his own steam for a couple of years now; before that he rode either on an ibert front seat or a co-pilot rack mounted rear, with my bag to, errr, rest his face against.

    But after seeing Motorman’s bike I’m away to impregnate Mrs Tyred again so I can build up one of those! That is teh awesum.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    Tomaso are those leco things quick fit jobs you can throw on in a minute or so?

    Reckon they’d work in tandem with a rear seat for double trouble nursery runs? Not really got the space for trailers or cargo bike shenanigans

    I did see a bloke at wkend with rear bike seat and another little un just balanced on top tube/handle bars, seemed to be riding along ok if a little risky.

    Mattjg driver idiocy can mow you down on the pavement or ram into your own car, you can either never leave the house or just do what you can to make things safe, hi viz, lights, riding style, occasional use of pavements and crossings (highway code vs my kids safety…..? Hmmm) most drivers tend to give you room when you have kids on board too, but I accept it won’t be for everyone

    lardman
    Free Member

    @ gavinB
    Twins are very portable with the right bike underneath them.

    motorman
    Free Member

    🙂 Excellent ! Good aren’t they..

    lardman
    Free Member

    The boys love it. Cackling all the way down any hill.
    I didn’t want the twins to miss out on the fun our eldest had being ported round on the back of a bike.

    spacemonkey
    Full Member

    Initially tried a Hamax thingy but couldn’t escape the fact it made me feel like I’d drunk 10 pints before setting off.

    Ended up buying a Croozer in the summer and I have to say it’s awesome. Plenty of cabin space for jnr monkey as well as storage in the ‘back’. He loves it – except when we hit any bumps a tad too hard! If I could justify the spend then I’d get the German one that has ‘proper’ suspension. RRPs around the £1100 mark IIRC 😯

    GavinB
    Full Member

    @lardman that looks brilliant, but means we’d need to buy two bikes, as we both take them to nursery. So x+2…

    Actually, maybe this needs thought through more 🙂

    Tracker1972
    Free Member

    Whenever I have taken trailer (Burley Bee that we won) out traffic has been much better. Neither know nor care about the reason but I always get given more space and time. May be helped by the heightened awareness from carrying precious cargo as well I guess…

    Baldysquirt
    Full Member

    We checked again with the nursery this morning – definitely nowhere indoors or on the site for a trailer. Would have to lock it up on the street, which I’m less than happy about.

    So… xtracyle the kaffenback, or a Yuba Mundo or Kona Ute?

    mogrim
    Full Member

    A seat on the back is a lot easier to use if your bike has long chainstays – otherwise all the weight is behind the back wheel, which is a real pain when you’re loading small on.

    It’s not so bad once you’re moving, but until you get the hang of it it’s quite easy to find the front wheel up in the air and your precious heading towards the ground…

    ransos
    Free Member

    Croozer trailer. I leave it at the nursery, chained to the fence, and I use a waterproof BBQ cover to keep it dry. It’s worth getting an extra long mudguard to reduce dirty water spray.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 67 total)

The topic ‘doing the nursery run by bike…’ is closed to new replies.