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transporting kids by bike.

 

13-02-2012 16:16:06 by Really Useful Bikes

 Are you bike riding parent? With one child? ..the decision to extend your family could have huge implications for your bicycle as your favoured mode of transport.  That second child, might take a bicycle for local transport out of the picture because it’s very difficult to fit two kids on a bicycle. Small front stem mounted child seats like the GMG yepp or tipp minis, can give some breathing space but once the 2nd child is 22kgs or too chunky for the front seat…your cycling might have to take a back seat..no pun intended.

That can be a real shame, especially if the ride nursery/shops/work/childminder is just far enough away and suits the way you life with your first child. the bike can be ideal for transporting kids, the shopping and for local transport in general. The money saved on not having to have a 2nd (or 1st) car makes a big difference (£3000 to £6000? pa ) *(now ammended to from £700 pa ,see comments)  and it’s not all about the money…

So …the sudden realisation that having more than one child will restrict your bicycle riding might be a shocker to you…help is at hand, you can carry two or more kids safely on a bicycle if you have the right bicycle.!

Options are limited but there ARE options…three things might still stand in your way…

Obstacles to ownership.

Have a think about these

Storage space for the larger bicycle,

Available Funds, you will need at least £1000+ to buy

Your surroundings, (hills/your fitness, availability of cycle paths and barriers/obstructions).

With those issues lodged in the back of your mind, read on…

You do need to bear in mind that a bike built to carry two kids is going to be a larger than normal. If it’s a Dutch bike it will also have mudguards, lights, hub gears (essential for everyday use) and a rack so it will be heavier than you might be used to….but two kids will be heavy on their own, so be ready to adjust your expectations regards weight. This might get you to think/worry about balance and the potential wobble induced crash or stopping and spilling your family onto the road.  …this is where folk tend to think about trikes…trikes are good but are limited by their weight and width. Well designed 2wheelers are more manoeuvrable and easy to balance IMO. Good design keeps the balanced point low.

Bicycles made for three or four!

The most ‘conventional’  bike would be the Velonom, a conventional style bike but with a longer rear rack means that two seats can fit directly to the rack, its good too that when kids are older they can still ride directly on the rear rack, they might want a cushion….Velonoms are not too heavy either..(But it’s all relative.).

The Workcycles FR8 is a bike that you can squeeze two or three kids on, not newborns but a very versatile and secure bicycle from an American in Amsterdam.  Two classic style dutch seat fit the rear and a small saddle can fit securely on the frame behind the handlebars. A very nice feature.

2wheels good, 3 wheels bad?

Well not really, but trikes are wide, generally heavy, great for flat areas and are obviously very stable when stopped. They have a box infront to place the kids. 2 wheeled bikes also have a box, wooden, wicker or plastic that can take 2, 3 sometimes 4 kids and normally in front of the rider. This ‘kids in front’ sensation is odd for the first 60 second solo ride, (just don’t look at the front wheel..try it) then the 2nd ride with a kid is more confident and the odd looking design starts to make sense. The kids in front is great, you can communicate, you can see them, they can move, they are involved….it’s a different experience and a great one…the UK designed 8freight has a box behind and is arguably more normal, definitely more sporty to ride.

So, 2 wheeled ‘box bikes.. What’s available now for a growing family

The bakfiets.NL, literally a wooden box on a bike…simple and solid the first mass marketed box bike, it’s the bicycle one moved the box from three wheels to two. Accessories rain tents, cushions all available..

The Gazelle cabby, designed as a modern child carrying bike for Gazelle by Van der veer designers, the same people who designed the Quinny buggys. It has brackets to fit maxi cosi’s seats for newborns, a collapsible rain tent and low wide step over height, The box folds flat to help with storage, good child straps and a cushioned seat. Its a very competent design.

 

The Danish Christiana company famous for its trikes now has a 2 wheeler, it’s a nice design, and has a factory electric option too, for when those hills are just too big pedal you and your family up. Bear this in mind when you buy. If there are big hills on your routes from home, think ahead.

If you have a lot of hills, the only proper electric box bike is the Urban arrow, with a motor at the cranks its super stylish and super nice…not cheap but offers something really fresh. Available this year…

The new UK designed 8freight is a innovative box behind bike that is light weight and might appeal to the sports rider…its designed by Mike burrows the man Chris Boardman’s record breaking lotus bike,  not many child carrying bikes can boast that pedigree, that’s due out this year too.. the child compartment is wicker and fits where the red area is in the pic.

There are other 2 wheeled bikes that can carry loads up front that can be adapted to carry kids…bikes like the German long Harry, The Danish Bullitt, so what this little article is here to do is give you hope, show you that there are options now to help you to continue using a bike even though your demands of pedal powered transport have increased. It’s the most exciting area of bicycles, not often that parents get to be part of the cutting edge of bicycle design, the next big thing.

Choosing the bike for you

With all bicycles, but with family or cargo bikes in particular you must test ride the bike, this is important  and preferably ridden with the kids on board. Discuss your needs with the dealer and other users and be realistic about your environment, hills etc and your own initial fitness. If you don’t feel comfortable, there may be adjustments you can do, or it might be that the bike is not right for you. If you’re not comfortable on any bike then you will probably not ride it, simple as that…so don’t ever be ‘sold’ a bike like this, make sure you have the time and space to make up your own mind. Look at some of the cheaper ‘ebay’ options if you like, but just be aware that you will rely on this bike for your daily transport for a good few years… you really do get what you pay for..For all bikes read the reviews and blogs (check date of writing) but keep an open mind for when you ride the bike for yourself. Although many high street shops can service these bikes its best to find a shop that is sympathetic, hub gears and brakes are not loved by all shops, and because they are very low maintenance not many shops have experience of them. If you are not near the shop you buy the bike from, the specialist dealer may have someone in your area that they can recommend for servicing and support..i does not hurt to ask.

Buying

To conclude then, there are good bicycles out there that might suit your situation available now and there are also things to help make ownership possible. If you lack space there are storage devices are available that might help, if funds are low then finance via the cyclescheme or ACT workriders can help if you ride the bike to work and you fit the criteria. If the hills are a little steep, all hub geared  bikes can have the gears tweeked for about 30 pounds. In time your fitness will increase to help hills get flatter, so give it the time.  retro fit electric assist is available on some bikes (christiania ) if all else fails…..but think ahead small babies weight less than big toddlers. If you have hills, don’t ignore them.

All good shops will help you test ride the bikes, all shops will have their favourite so pick their brains, go ride their bikes and make your own mind up. There are two or three good dealers in the country including me of course, talk to them about these bikes, have a test ride, be prepared to have your expectations changed…

Comments

Read comments below or add a new comment below.

Andy

Weight isn't the issue. It might creates some of its own chaellnges but this is separate topic. I'll write about that a bit laterPractice. Training wheels aren't bad and the fact is that you wouldn't need them very long. Just a couple of rides and they would be off. I know they exist for adults. Besides two wheel bikes, there are bikes call recumbents and many models have 3 wheels. I know a guy who is 70+ and every week he takes his trike as he calls it and rides some of the steepest hills aaround. My main point is there is a solution.One thing I suggest, if you haven't done it, is go to a bike shop and have the bike fitted to you. It will make a difference. Making sure you have the right height of the seat will help you. I am also willing to bet that if you find a good shop that they might help you learn to ride pretty quickly. Remember they want customers and if you are riding, you are buying.Now about the weight thing, I used cycling to help lose a 122 lbs. I started out not being able to fit into bike shorts and probably weighing over 320. I started with short distances. Riding the bike wasn't the problem, it was my general lack of fitness. There is more to the story but I started out with small rides. That was 3 years ago. Today I have completed over 17 double centuries and have done rides of longer distances. I have gone from walking up small hills to riding almost any hill out there without stopping (suffering yes, pain no). Is your weight an issue, only if you let it become the issue. Let me reframe it another way. Do you want it to become the excuse? It all depends on how you view the challenge and what you are willing to do about it. I can tell from personal experience that hundreds of heavier folks ride their bikes. Every visit Weight Watchers web site and take a look at their boards? They have very active cycling threads. You can enjoy cycling and have a great time, if you chose to do it.

Larry Clarkberg

I think Joolz is too quick to label Rob's car cost figures "stupid"; his figures seem quite accurate to me especially in the U.S. I think Joolz doesn't recognize that she has an exceptionally good transportation situation.

I just wrote a similar piece about my family's bike use for my blog at:
http://bikes-as-transportation.com/car-lite-families-rock-the-roadways/
and found a car cost calculator at:
http://www.bikesatwork.com/carfree/cost-of-car-ownership.html

The calculator reports the average monthly costs of owning and operating a car at $598.58 (377 pounds). Given that the average number of cars per household in the U.S. is 2.28, families in the U.S. easily spend $1,200 (754 pounds) a month on their transportation. Joolz mentions she spends 10 pounds every three weeks on petrol which works out to 173 pounds ($275). In comparison the average U.S. household purchases a little over 1,100 gallons of gasoline per year, which at $3.80/gallon comes to $4,180. This amount is shamefully and alarmingly **15 times** the amount of petrol that Joolz uses, yet this is a very common lifestyle here. I think it is Joolz who is out of touch with reality, not Rob.

Rob

These are figures that are frequently cited, the AA reckon £2358 cost per annum but thats for a new car bought under 12K, Elephant.co.uk reckon that it would cost about £1556 for a small car with small mileage. My own car costs about £550 pa without driving it. so i didn't think that the well quoted figures were far out.
I take your point that the lowest quoted figure of £3000 was on the sensational side of things but i don't think its far off the mark in reality. If we take the lowest quoted questimate as running costs its still the price of a new bike that can take two kids to school.
The point i was making in the blog piece was that there are several factors that will come into play when deciding whether to buy a bike for the school run. Car running costs will be one of these...it costs a lot to run a car, from £1500 to over 10k a year depending on who you read/talk too. You do well to spend so little.
These days cars can be indespensible, the world has been designed that way. Not everyone is the same though, local access to paths, safe roads and proximity to schools and shops means that for the fortunate few they can replace a car.

If someone wants a low maintenance, comfortable bicycle that can be used everyday, someone that wants a bicycle that can carry shopping and kids then i am here to show them that its possible. Bicycles changed the world in the 1880's, gave people freedom, i hope that the new designs of bicycle can do the same again.

Joolz i will ammend my lowest figure..thanks for your comment.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/petrol2011.pdf
http://www.elephant.co.uk/pressReleases/5/How%20much%20does%20it%20cost%20to%20run%20a%20car%20for%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20a%20year

Joolz

I found your site via a comment on a blog and was very interested in your bikes ... until I read the ridiculous comment you made about running a car costing "£3,000 to 6,000" per year. I know you included a question mark in that comment, but just using those figures is stupid. I have never in my life owned a car that cost anything close to £3000 per year to run, let alone £6,000 - that'd be getting close to my mortgage payment!

You are correct that "it's not about the money", but making exaggerated money claims makes you look suspicious. My DH and I currently own one car (he cycles to work) and it has so far cost us approx £50 per year to buy (£300 around six years ago), £125 p.a. tax, £200 p.a. insurance, £200 p.a getting it through the MOT, and around £10 every three weeks or so for petrol. This means our car costs us less than £700 per year to run. Even if our petrol costs were £20 per week, we still wouldn't come close to the lowest of your ? figures for running a car.

I don't know who you are aiming your bikes at, market wise, but I guess it isn't me.

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