@Former community member  Fatbiking and sledding mostly for this year. We usually do downhill skiing (on-piste) and snowshoeing too, but they've been harder to get at with a young toddler that either needs to come along somehow, or try and get family babysitting with COVID going on. We've tried classic XC skiing a couple times in years past to try and take advantage of the miles of trails around the Cities that become groomed and off limits for normal hiking, but so far it hasn't felt like it's for us. ... View more

I'm team hitch-mount: much more of a secure attachment to the vehicle (both in terms of not rattling around and for theft with a locking hitch pin, you can't lock a trunk rack and thieves can easily just cut the straps rather than cutting through metal), and not as much a pain to lift bikes up onto a roof-mount. Specifically, platform/tray style racks rather than hanging racks, because trying to thread multiple bikes frame triangles over the prongs of a hanging style is a huge PITA especially for mountain bikes with very sloped top tubes. The bikes are also less prone to swaying and usually there's no frame contact on a platform. Unfortunately, platform hitch racks are probably the most expensive kind... As for brand, don't forget there's more than the big two! The Saris Bones might be the most popular trunk rack out there, and their hitch offerings aren't bad either. I have their Superclamp Ex4, which I can heartily recommend for it's 4-bike capacity, relative light weight that to me is even easier to take on/off the vehicle than fussing with trunk straps, and very compact design that means it doesn't block the rear window when folded up. They have a 2-bike version as well if you don't need to carry as many. Some other riders here in MN where I live swear by 1Up racks because their solid aluminum construction resists our road salt well. There's also Kuat as another big player I see a lot. ... View more

In terms of something fitting in the sense of physically attaching to the bike, I don't think you have much to worry about. In fact, for the stem and bars, you may not even want an exact match to what you've got already, as playing around with those can be a great way to customize the feeling, handling, and comfort of the bike. Where the stem attaches to the steerer tube should be a very standard 1 1/8" and is often not even specified on product pages. On the other side of the stem, you just need the diameters of the stem and bars to match, so a 31.8mm stem with 31.8mm bars for example. If you replace both together, you can choose whatever size you want as long as they're the same. They'll both also have various angles to them (on the bars they may be referred to as upsweep and backsweep), the bars will have a width and rise, and the stem will have a length. While all these numbers will change the ride feel of the bike in various small ways, they don't factor into compatibility. Normally these numbers should all be printed somewhere on the components themselves, but otherwise you can always just take a ruler/caliper and/or protractor and measure them directly. For the tires, the product page says they're 700x40c, which like the other components should be stamped on the sidewall somewhere. You might also see something like 40-622 which is the ISO/ETRTO equivalent of the sizing. This means the tires are nominally 40mm wide, the bead of the tire meets the rim at a diameter of 622mm, and the overall diameter of the whole wheel including the tires is approximately (but almost guaranteed to not actually be) 700mm. Buying by the ETRTO size is the best way to ensure a match. You have some wiggle room in the width, you'd probably be just as fine if the width were 35 or 45, but the 622 number is an absolute requirement. If all you can find is marked only by 700, make sure it is 700C and not 700A or 700B, the other letters won't work, only C. ... View more

Circling back for anyone interested, further research has turned up only these, though I have not bought or tested them. Doesn't seem to be any information about what shoe sizes XXS and XS correspond to though. I'll probably be waiting until next season before I think about buying anything since this season is going to be done soon enough here in MN. https://www.camp-usa.com/outdoor/product/brands/snowline/chainsen-kids/ ... View more

@REI-JohnJ nothing so official as to be called a trail, but absolutely the lakes freeze over and are great fun to ride with studs in. I've seen some use the bike to haul their ice fishing sleds out. This year was particularly special because we had a stretch of calm, windless and snowless cold to start the season which made for some black crystal clear initial ice that you could see right down into! Creeks and streams can be a maybe because of the moving water, it's not often cold enough for them to freeze solid so conditions are ever changing and it's a bit more of a risk, but people do it. Northern MN maybe a bit more common than down south here in the cities. And yes, she has definitely come on rides with me, though only a few so far. It's a challenge to keep her warm when she's passively sitting and not doing any of the work, especially the hands (and her face since she's not totally comfortable with goggles and face coverings, and we JUST got her to accept the ski helmet with its extra bulk and ear coverage compared to her bike helmet). But these lovely Alaskan-made beauties http://www.omaandjo.com/product/kids-bike-pogies arrived in the mail yesterday so I'm excited to give those a whirl on a little more of a balmy day! Weather might be too warm even, could be seeing 40s with some melting slushiness... gotta love midcontinental climate temperature swings of 50-60° in just a few days! ... View more

Well, we were gonna go skiing tomorrow but all the local hills are closing down because its going to be a high of -6°F and windchill is going to be -30°F or worse! (The skiing could probably be fine if layered up, but they stop running the lifts for the worst case scenario of it breaking down and guests are stranded high up waiting to get rescued. Plus limited indoor capacity restrictions for COVID for warming up between runs.) I did at least get a couple fat bikes in earlier in the week when it was 5°F (-5 to -10 chill or so). Not much new snow for a while, but the drifting has packed it in kind of nasty in open areas, bit of a hike-a-bike at times. ... View more

Depending on the type of riding you're doing and your comfort level, you could also check out some of the "mid-mounted" or "non-traditional front-mount" seats that have come out recently specifically designed for mountain bikes to actually go off road. The kid sits between you and the handlebars. Their main advantages are that the child's weight is more centered over the bike and so the handling doesn't feel so off when riding with a kid, and they do not require a rear rack so brakes and tire size don't really matter, there's wide compatibility. The most obvious negative is that they are literally just seats/saddles with some foot pegs attached: the child is not strapped in in any way, and they must have the necessary balance to stay seated on their own. That can be a scary prospect, and there are safety arguments for and against it since it's a bit different to a car seat where you're inside an external frame. It's something you'd have to decide for yourself if it's for you. For my part, I have actually crashed a few times with my daughter on ours and we've been okay due to a combination of slower speeds and they are cradled between your own arms so you can sort of shield them with your body. She cries briefly but more that she's no longer on the bike than ever having been injured. We have used it since she was about 20 months old, now 25m, and they're typically rated for kids up to 5 years old/size 5 clothing. Although I don't believe REI carries either one, the two major brands are: Kids Ride Shotgun - This is the seat we have. It rests on the top tube and then clamps down with pressure on the sides of the top tube and down tube to stay in place. Although there is frame contact, it is well padded with rubber. Mac Ride - This one mounts with a special headset spacer and clamps onto the seat post so there's no frame contact. A bit more initial setup, but it's then very easy to take on or off in a snap, or to switch it between multiple bikes. ... View more

Others have said some good stuff about snacks/activities and keeping it short enough for their endurance, but I want to address the other side of backpacking: namely, the sleeping. With the nap and sleep needs of young toddlers/infants, that could be a very tricky part of the proposition as well. It depends on the kid, but for ours anyway she could fall asleep in the carrier/car/bike trailer but it was never a long or very good nap. And never according to your usual home schedule, the new environment is such a routine buster for littles. And overnights add the challenge of do you haul a heavy portable crib too, or could the kid handle co-sleeping? That said, it's no reason not to take them out into nature, but you can definitely ease into it with car camping at a state park or forest. I think ours was about 9 months for our first outing, with a spacious REI Base Camp 6 tent to set up the pack n play crib. We draped a sheet over it, hung with a carabiner from the ceiling, as a light-blocking curtain. We used our phones to play white noise as a sound machine, so a battery pack came in handy for recharging. More challenging than any of the camping/hiking was pushing through the 2.5hr drive to get there. Our latest big outing was this summer with a 4 day/3 night adventure on Lake Superior's North Shore, at about 1.5 years old (by chance when that comet came by, such an incredible sight in dark skies!). She did quite well, but as mentioned, we totally blew her naps, none of us got great sleep overnight, and were ready to be done by the end of it even though it was definitely a good trip. It's also shocking just how much additional gear comes along for a toddler, that we're now looking into a roof cargo box because the car was absolutely stuffed for that trip. She's just turned 2 now, and I'd say she's good for ~2-3 miles of hiking/balance biking on her own before she's hit her limit. Could definitely go more in the carrier, but now mommy and daddy hit their limits because 32lb of small, wriggling human is not exactly light... but I think we've managed upwards of 10 miles in a day as the most we've done. One thing she absolutely loves is trekking poles, trying to copy what we're doing. A regular adult pole in its collapsed state is actually a pretty good length for her. A bit double edged though because our pace absolutely plummets as she repeatedly drops it and has to pick it back up. But really it all comes down to patience. Patience with the activity itself, and patience that they'll work their way up to longer adventures as they grow. Keep it enjoyable for them to build a lifelong love for it, rather than pushing them away from pushing them too hard. ... View more

Does it need to be clipless shoes? Because for flat pedals I've honestly just been using my general winter boots and felt alright so far (for MTB/fat biking, I'm not a road rider). I've heard some people swear by putting a plastic grocery bag over their sock before going into the shoes, but I've not found a need myself to try it. Plus it sounds like it would just accumulate the foot sweat and make tons of crinkling noise the whole time. I've also heard it suggested that if you normally use aluminum pedals to switch to composites for the season as the metal can just be a heat sink for your foot (same thing for handlebars and hands, carbon bars won't suck as much heat as alu). If you do really want clipless I'm not sure you'll get around the expensive part easily. Not sure what you had before but the 45NRTH boots are supposed to be highly rated. ... View more

They typically don't officially comment on future coupons, but based on the past, the 20% coupons usually come in March, May, and November. Several big ticket items are often excluded (bikes, cargo boxes, kayaks, etc.) and you'll just have to read the fine print on the coupon when it finally comes out to be sure. That said, I did successfully use a 20% off this last March to buy a Saris SuperClamp EX hitch rack, so you may have luck on that. ... View more