How To Enjoy Cycling With A Toddler – Here’s how to find a used bike (for yourself) and a child bike seat (for your toddler) so you can enjoy cycling together and make new memories outdoors!
My review of the Thule Yepp Maxi child bike seat + How to choose affordable used bike
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hello! My name is Candida Jagger with The Fun Times Guide. We are REAL people with REAL experiences and REAL helpful ideas.
I just recently decided to get into cycling with my 2-year-old, as a way to get out of the house and enjoy the Greenways in our area. In our little cities of Maryville and Alcoa, our Greenway has over 15 miles of paved trails just waiting for us to cycle them. But there are many other outlying communities and cities as well.
I thought I’d just share our current setup and how simple it is to get out on the Greenways. I purchased this used bike off of Facebook Marketplace. It’s a simple 2012 Scott Metrix. It has an aluminum alloy frame with easy pedal, an 8-speed 24-gear Shimano drivetrain, 700c wheels to help me conquer the inclines without actually having to jump off and push. I really like the color. And the secondhand price of $100 was just right.
I added the Thule Yepp Maxi rear child seat for my son. It’s a first choice for a rear-mount seat among families who cycle a lot. Plus, it made the Top 10 list for rear-mounted kids seats. I like that it offers a comfortable and safe ride for my son.
The Yepp Maxi is a molded (rigid, yet flexible) rubber — that absorbs some of the road vibration. It also has a secure 5-point harness to keep my son safe and secure in his seat. There are protective edges in the footrests, in the event of a crash. Plus, adjustable footrests provide confidence in both myself and my son knowing that my most precious cargo is secure.
The seat mounts quite easily and securely to my bike seat post. And not that I’ll be doing much night riding, but it does have reflectors on the back. The seat is over just 8 lbs. It’s relatively lightweight and built to hold my son until he reaches 49 lbs.
I’m going to show you how easy it is to mount. [Yeah, hold on honey.] How easy it is to mount a 2-year-old. My son is 2-and-a-half. Okay, first things first is we make sure that we are ready to go with our helmets and… [Good job, honey.] Alright. And I’m always going to make sure that I have a hand on the bike. [Oh you okay?] I make sure my straps are ready. [Alright, come on.] Alright. So I make sure that the bike is always like leaning towards me and on the kickstand. But I’m never going to let go of the bike. And I make sure that the straps are already in adjustment — so that it’s an easy “clip” to get them in there. And I just make sure they get strapped in. And it’s a childproof clip system as well — which is really nice. So I don’t have to worry about him playing with it. Just make sure that these are snug. Snug them down. And it does have foot straps — which I think is great. Just in case we do crash, I don’t have to worry about his limbs flying out of the area. And like I said, I always keep a hand on the bike to make sure that there’s no tip-over. The other thing I want to do is make sure that the pedal is up and out of the way of the kickstand. So when I’m ready to get on it, it’s pretty easy. And then I get my pedal ready to launch, and I basically throw a leg over, and get my pedal ready to launch, and get some momentum, and then we basically just take off from there.
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Please be sure to click on the article link below this video to read about some other helpful tips and info to help you better prepare.
I love to share my East Tennessee backyard with you and I’ll see you on my next adventure!
