Hunt for a new-dad bike

[mimason]

#4. I have a hard tail 29er and this seems to do it all for me. I take it in the bush, or gravel and can use racks etc as needed.

I would personally get a 27.5 hard tail if I was in the market now though.

[morrisond]

As a Dad I would highly recommend going the Trailer route. The kids love them and fall asleep very fast. Plus it can carry all the junk you will need to take with you when travelling with such child.

Get the right one and it will allow you to do Errands with Said child. They are really useful. When my kids were young we used to vacation a lot on Sanibel Island in Florida, which has an awesome Bike path network. The trailer was great for taking the kids and running to the Grocer's to pick up things for dinner with a swing by the Dairy Queen to get them an Ice Cream.

By taking them with me I got easy permission to go and I quite liked it as the Bike still handled basically the same just with more resistance. I tried a bike with an attached seat and really didn't like it as I was fearful of the Bike tipping over and Baby or child wacking there head on the pavement. Babies don't like helmets - they are quite happy in a trailer though.

I would suggest a rigid or Hardtail MTB for this purpose - or something like the UP. It will allow you to progress with the Child. Start with a Trailer then a Trail a bike and then they get there own MTB and you would have the bike for that. They will be quite slow for a while so an UP might be overkill and too fast for them until they are in there teens and not much fun for you.

I think a Hardtail MTB is the way to go. When they are old enough to ride on there own bike - you will want to stay offtrail or on Bike Paths and you need something that is fun to travel with at there speed.

Plus if you get a MTB you can use it for quick 30-60 minute blasts and get a little work out in. You will find it hard to get time for 4-8 hour epics for a while.

I had MTB's and now a Fatbike for riding with my kids as they were growing up. Now that my Son is 10 and soon to be 11 I am about to get a Curve Grovel V2 (Similar to UP in Concept). It will have 700C and 650b 2.1 MTB wheelsets for riding with my son and for use as a Winter bike. I'm about to get him a cross bike so I will be able to do that as well. It would have been overkill when he was young though.

My best Kid ever (for Dad) was a KONA Unit Rigid Single Speed 29er MTB. So simple and made me feel like a kid again and the kids were so slow I didn't need gears anyways.

Maybe start with something like that and then Upgrade as your kids get older - it will give you an excuse to get new bikes and justify them with your partner.

Have fun!

[greentimgreen]

Thanks both - especially morrisond - really appreciate the detail and the insight. Sounds like i'm trying to achieve too much of an all-in-one and should probably just go down the MTB + trailer route. You make it sound like quite a lot of fun, which i'm relieved to hear.

I'm glad i raised the question, this was really helpful.

Thanks all!

[morrisond]

Your welcome and Good plan.

Stick with a Hardtail - as Trailers and Trail - A - bikes don't mix so well with rear suspension.

I've got to say that now that my son is past 10 and able to go on longer rides I'm really looking forward to it. It's something we can do together for a long time.

Have fun and enjoy the new addition to the family!

[cyclenutnz]

My ideal would be a modern geo 27.5+ like a Norco Torrent. We had a lot of use out of a steerer mounted baby seat but I needed a couple more cm of toptube to not bang my knees on it so the long/low/slack trend in MTB is good for that. Babies not keen on helmets at first, but we persisted. Being able to see what is happening and communicate with the parent makes a front seat quite a thrill (for our kid and those of friends). Going round easy mtb trails in the front seat made her very happy.

You'll find yourself needing to soak up time and have a way of getting out of the house. Taking the trailer to the shops then to a playground is a good way of achieving those things. A couple of years down the track we stuff her runner bike in the back to go to the bike park.

If you have ambitions of maintaining fitness a quiet trainer (if you don't have one) will help. Elite Turbo Muin doesn't wake small people.

I'd suggest investing in stuff that gives you options for things to do, rather than making it a project for building a cool bike (you seem pretty sorted on that front already).

[Cheers!]

Being a dad of a 19 month old. I went from annual mileage before kid of 8000+km to just 400km the first 12 months. For the next 7 months I've gone 120km according to my garmin/strava. Both my wife and I have a busy career with no relatives close by. We rely on daycare for our little guy. Any and all vacation is saved up and sitting in the vacation bank for the inevitable call from day care that your son/daughter is sick and is being sent home and is not allowed back until they are better or have not had a fever for 24 hours. So thoughts of burning a vacation day or two to go for a day's ride is never a good idea.

You will also find it extremely difficult for epic rides. Even if you do get the permission to go you will be horribly out of shape, or with the complete lack of sleep not wanting to get out of bed or have any energy to ride.

[greentimgreen]

Noted @Cheers! - these are some of my worst fears (from a fitness perspective), but i like the pragmatic approach to getting some miles in as suggested by @cyclenutz. I love my trainer and will continue to use that over the winter months (and at nap times), but this post was more targeted at enjoying the precious little time that i will, or hope to, get out on the trails. I'll check out the Norco.

[Jamiemcp]

I've got a 7 month old daughter, she was born in December, so riding wise it was quite good, right in the middle of winter.

Training wise, just write off the first 3-4 months. I kept mine ticking over by running at lunch time, cycling to work and the very occasional weekend ride. (My OH and I have a deal where she gets 3-4 hours off on Saturday and I get the same Sunday morning). My rides tend to be shorter and faster now, often on my own as I can control the time better and don't waste it hanging about in cafes. also now it's lighter I get out for 60-90 minutes before work and the sprog wakes up on a weekday morning.

I'm just starting to build up my dad bike, it is based on an old Orange gringo alu MTB frame I've had since uni. It will mostly be used for dropping the sproglet of at nursery and then cycling the 3 miles in to work, or I might even just drop that bike off back at home and pick up my fixed gear that I normally use. anyway the plan is to go single speed with disks and a rigid fork. More hack bike than anything else. I'm not sure about how to carry her, I'll be riding a bit on roads and am not sure about a trailer. Initial thoughts are for a seat at the back.

Also if anyone has any suggestions for running buggies I'm interested, I was thinking of getting the Bugaboo one as it goes with our pram.

[greentimgreen]

Great advice, thanks @Jamiemcp.

On jogging buggies, i've also looked at the Bugaboo base, but the earlier suggestion of a Burley looks to be something that you can both run with and cycle with (with the right adapters). Looks promising.

[Valbrona]

You could put your new kid up for adoption or like leave it on someone's doorstep if you value your cycling.

[thprice]

Timely ...
http://cyclingtips.com/2014/04/parenthood-and-cycling/

[AJS914]

The last few years sine we had a child, I've done almost all my miles at lunch time. You can keep pretty fit by riding 10-20 miles at a time during lunch as long as you do it regularly. I thrown in some intervals and contest some Strava segments which helps immensely.

[Jamiemcp]

Good point in that article about weight. My diet definitely suffered in the first few months as we ate a lot more ready meals and take a ways. Eating became a challenge to throw food down your throat before she work up again! I also ate a lot more chocolate and other sugary food as I was constantly knackered.

Space has become a bit of an issue my bike/turbo room is now a nursery!

Training wise- I do a lot more quality now than I used to. the long steady miles have gone replaced with lots of tempo stuff and more intense interval type rides.

[Lugan]

First, your inquiry just days away from having your first child tells me that you really don't know what you are in for, at least not viscerally. Your first child changes your life, and you don't yet fully know how.

Having said that, I have 3 boys ages 9-11 (who ride Islabike Beinns...because they are weight weenies!) and here is what I ride with them:

-- Ritchey P-650b with Ritchey carbon fork. Frame is heavy, but the point here is to get a simple bike and fully unsuspended is as simple as it gets. Think about a carbon hardtail from Santa Cruz, Niner, etc.?
-- SRAM XX1 drivetrain to eliminate silly front derailleur and shifter
-- Shimano XT hydro brakes. I'd have preferred TRP mechanical discs because this bike doesn't need hydro power and mech discs are simpler and less fussy on the trail, but cable routing on the frame prevented this.
-- platform pedals: This is key. Eventually your kid(s) will want to ride with you...RIGHT NOW! Platform pedals let you hop on and go without fussing with shoe changes.
-- Super expensive and wide (2.3 is the max that will fit in my rear triangle) tubeless tires on nice light wheels (mine are Pacenti rims on White Industries hubs). I picked the updated 2016 Schwalbe Nobby Nic with all the bells and whistles and they are sublime. They help take the edge off the lack of suspension and are super reliable and grippy. Reliability is key because you don't want to have to pump or fix tires before a ride with your kids too often (see the pattern here?)
-- MTB saddle that is amply padded. Here too, this is so you can hop on with regular pants/shorts without a lengthy clothing change. I have a Fizik Nisene on my bike.
-- Big diameter and grippy Oury grips so that I can ride without gloves more comfortably.

So in the end, what I have is a fancy utility bike for riding around with my kids that also handles light trail duty. It's reliable and fuss-free above all else.

Finally, some advice about finding time to ride: First, riding your bike should not be a top priority, especially when your child is an infant and your wife needs your help. But over the longer term (measured in years), you will likely be able to start riding a little on your own. My former racer friends and I all have kids and we all find the best riding time early mornings. Our group rides start at 7:00. I live in Seattle and have a dedicated rain bike that has a big light on it for pre-dawn rides. I ride in the dark all winter, and while not ideal, for me it's better than an indoor trainer/rollers or not riding at all. So I just grit my teeth and roll out the door some mornings at 6:00 into near-freezing temperatures with water falling from the sky. I think of it as my obedience to the The Rules "harden the *f##k* up".

I think that covers it. All the best to you and your family!

[greentimgreen]

Thanks @Lugan - a useful and honest dose of reality. The truth is i'm not prepared, but i'm not sure anyone ever really is. With the help of this post i'm starting to feel that there will be a WW / cycling life-after-baby (recognising a paradigm shift in priorities!), which is reassuring.

Really helpful tips about bike spec / setup. Appreciated.