Cycling with 2 young children Part 3: Trailers

I'll start off and proclaim my bias here. I don't like trailers. I think they are useful for cargo and out of rush hour leisure rides, but i really don't like them when your in town or crossing busy junctions.

My son agrees and still resolutely refuses to go in the trailer. He wants to be on the bike with daddy. In fact he wants to ride the bike and have daddy sit on the back. He's pretty convinced he knows how to do it :-)

That said they have a lot of benefits:
-Weather proof
-Can carry a lot of 'stuff'
-Gives the kids some freedom to do things
-Safe in a crash that doesn't involve cars
-Can carry infants from 3months with suspension and inserts
-Easy to load

The disadvantages are:
-Heavy
-They 'feel' vulnerable in traffic
-Increased width on the road (suddenly i feel like I'm holding everyone up)
-Awkward to park
-Restricted view compared to bike seat.

I often read\hear people assure me that drivers behave very nicely round trailers and in my experience they do, but i feel that I'm holding up the traffic (its harder to pass on our narrow roads). In rush hour i cant imagine drivers would tolerate being held up like this.

I do recommend having a trailer. Its a nice add-on to a child seat combo and increases luggage capacity for days out (I can fit my birdy in mine!). I'm really hope that in the summer on long leisure rides in country roads i can persuade Mike to use it , just to get him out of the sun for a bit.

Cycling with 2 young children Part 3 Longbikes

Longbikes are bikes with extended wheelbases that allow the carrying of more luggage or more people. I've posted before on longbikes , and listed a few. I'll update the post to show the manufacturers what i'm aware of. These bikes have been around a long long time in Holland et al, but more recently they are having an exciting world wide resurgence in bike boom USA and its there i'm going to leap straight into.

Xtracycles are the most exciting thing on the block at the minute and its the owners who are saying it. Xtracycle owners seem to be the happiest cyclists i've come across. Read the blogs etc. Its worth noting that this company is in its infancy and many of the owners customise their bikes to suit their purposes. A very common customisation is two child seats. I'll post some links to some of the best ones, but the exciting news is that xtracycle are developing their own system:


My favourite child rig in the whole world is from a very clever chap who has a lovely blog called longwalktothegreen. The nice man is considering selling these seats . There are a lot of other folks on the web who have done similar adaptations, but this man has the nicest.

Another family worth reading about is carfree with kids. Their rig isnt as impressive as longwalk to the green's, but they more than make up for it with cheerful attitude. an OTT paint job and a cool numberplate.

These xtracycle bikes although still in their infancy have the following going for em....

• They can handle luggage + kids
  
• They are bike width and so are sill great in traffic.


• They ride like a bike and have good stability


• Its a system thats clearly going to develop as time goes on


• It can adapt to the kids growing older


• Without kids its a great shopper

The disadvantages are as follows

• Its long (duh!), which will make parking mildly awkward and stops it getting on a train, car etc


• They are heavy and are likely to need a good set of brakes and re-inforced rear wheel.


• Outside of the US they dont have much prescence, although there are a couple of UK stockists


• They end up expensive, but they do have the capacity to last a lifetime so not such a big issue

and a december update, courtesy of Julian from Totcycle, have a nose at the xtracycle gallery (click on the kids keyword in the 'cloud').

Cycling with 2 young children Part2: 2 Seats

Today i wanted to talk about cycling with 2 child seats A front and a back one. When i say child seat i mean a detachable seat that will fit most bikes. I'm guessing that in numbers this is the most popular way worldwide of carrying 2 kids mostly because its so common on the continent (and not infrequent in Cambridge UK). Its also cheap, easy(ish) and adaptable. I'm also guessing (all right I'm assuming) quite a few readers who are interested in using a 2nd child seat already have experience with one. Its also worth me saying that I've never used a front seat, we plumped for a rear one in the end.

General Principles

Seats are relatively well understood and common, so I'm not going to dwell on the specifics of each seat. I'll more aim to give my idea of an optimal set up. Its also not my idea, because you can buy them ready made! Like the Seine Motherbike or the gazelle bloom
A few key points on this bike:

1. Its a step thru frame, this will really help mounting and dismounting.


2. Its heavy and has a long wheel base, this helps the stability no end.


3. The rear child seat allows space for panniers\side baskets


4. The front child seat allows space for a front mounted basket


5. Its got a powerful centre stand


6. Its got the optional buggyme attachment


7. Its a practical low maintenance bike

These contribute to the following key requirements for a 2 (or 1) kiddy bike:

1. Stable when riding


2. Stable when mounting\dismounting


3. Stable when parked


4. Space for luggage and stuff


5. Low maintenance (when will you get time to do bike maintenance!)

A machine like this will do the nursery run and a quick shopping trip, while keeping the kids nice and quiet. I reckon though the transport is the easy bit. More challenging is the thought of going shopping with 2 small kids!

Rear Seats

The market is awash with new child seats now. I still think the best rear ones are the hamax plus and co pilot limo (Both big rack mounted jobs). The co pilot offers the most protection and can stand upright off the bike but cant take panniers. The hamax plus is dead comfy, solid and can take panniers. I think the hamax sleepy is the best prong mounted one. The chap who wrote the 'CTC guide to family cycling' raised his kids on a Copilot limo. Its a worthwhile read particularly as it contains an account of a fall! (nobody hurt by the way!)

Front Seats

The front mounted market is a bit more mysterious, bobike and wee ride seem to be the most popular ones. The wee ride is the new kid on the block and I've seen a lot of people on forums swear by em', but I've never seen one in the flesh. Round Cambridge the bobike is pretty common. If you can buy a front mounted one from a local bike shop then do, even if it costs a few more quid as the sizing and fitting can be more awkward. The nice man at Totcycle has done a lovely article on them.

Another thing, the bobike front seat used to only classically fit quill stems, but be aware they do make an mtb adaptor.

Baby Seats

Bike seats are often quoted as suitable for 12 months plus. For most seats I think the rule of thumb is can they sit up and support their head which for us was ~9 months. Of course in Holland new mums lock themselves away for the first 9 months of their babies life until baby is able to ride a bike....Nah! Its not uncommon to see baby in a front mounted moses basket (Aaaaah!) , or a car seat stuck in a basket or alternatively you can get the Steco maxi cosi bike mount. Gotta love those Dutch! I have a lovely picture somewhere of a baby in a front basket. Its the type that makes you go 'Aaaaaah isn't that cute' I'll try to dig it out.

Parking

Stopping, mounting\dismounting can be awkward. The key here is to have multiple safety systems. Start with a very strong stand and only use it as a last resort (I've broken one already). Its best to find a solid object, walls , fence, railing etc. Preferably find one away from traffic. Get the bike lent up so its nearly self supporting. Secure it with a lock. apply front brake to stop it rolling (i keep a hair tie on my handlebars to hold the front brake down).
Once the bike is secure, get yourself and your bags sorted. Then start on the kids. Get anything off them that is going to be packed away, eg helmets, windproof layers, finally remove child 1, then child 2. Job done! When you go do it all in reverse.
A perk of this bit is that passers by will stop and admire your cute children in the lovely bike seat!

Summing Up

So pros and cons of bike seats:

• They may fit to your current bike but not always
  
• Cheap, unless a new bike is required


• Widely available


• The bike stays 'bike shaped', which helps in traffic and storage


• Stability can be an issue for some types of bikes, but not the right types


• Cold\wet weather can be limiting for very young children

Cycling with 2 young children Part 1

This is the most common question i see around family cycling and its a good un! Theres a few solutions around and I'd like to do a summary of some of them. The main ones I'm going to look at are:-

1) 2 child seats (front and back)
2) Workbikes (often wide bikes\trikes with storage\seating)
3) Long bikes (bikes with extended rears , normal bike width)
4) Trailers

I'm not going to cover, tag a longs ; towing arms ; sidecars ; tandems ie bikes that are suitable for children who are at an age when they can ride a bike.

Next I'll declare my bias.
- I'm looking for some real solutions for UK based cyclists.
- I like a bike that behaves like a bike
- That rides well
- That can cut through traffic (or quickly get out of its way!)
- That can handle rain, cold, hills, a roundabout and a 30 mph sidewind


Although I hope to illustrate some real solutions for UK cyclists. Its a fact of life though that 99% of the kit I'll look at won't be British. However, what is British and is worth a read is 'The CTCs guide to family cycling'. Its a great starting place for someone trying to decide whats good for them. I've been meaning to do a book review of it for some time, but instead i'm just going to stick an Amazon link up.

Man Does Weekly Shopping Run

I promised amazing adventures of doing the shopping and i mean to deliver!

Mike and I usually do a mid week shopping run to local Market town Saffron Walden. Previously i could only pick up bits and pieces that could fit in a pannier and a basket. This always meant shopping had to be carefully packed into the panniers which was always a bit of a stacking puzzle. It also had to be done one handed while holding onto Michael.

I went on my first shop with the trailer this Tuesday. It was interesting. A quick note here. Mikes still on the seat. There's no way he's going in the trailer, he wants to sit on the bike with dad. Here's how it went:


Getting ready: Took about the same time. No mounting of panniers and basket, but had to get the trailer out of the shed On the plus side the weather looked iffy, so i just chucked jackets into the trailer. A lot less hassle than deciding on the optimum amount to carry.
Verdict: Nothing in it so far.


Getting there: Hmmm. Well the ride was fine. I was taking it easy, just to get used to the handling, (which is very good). The trouble began when i got to town. First i got to the usual traffic light queue. Instead of shooting down the right hand side until i got to the lights (no RLJing mind you!) i felt very stuck. After 5 minutes of queuing i got through the lights. Right time to park the bike..... I suddenly realised that the bit of railing outside Waitrose that i normally chain up to would be inaccessible with the trailer due to the chicane of pedestrian barriers that i'd need to negotiate. I decided to park in the Waitrose car park bike racks. Of course this is Essex, so the bike racks are out of the way, in a dark corner... Its an extra few minutes cycle round as well.. grumble grumble...
Verdict: Hmmm, mildly annoying


Locking Up: When i get there, I'm met with a kerb that might as well have been a cliff face. So i get off, push the bike through the car park, past the waitrose entrance, and back round to where i wanted to get to in the first place.....Phew! Got there now its time to lock up. Actually that went quite well. I stopped, whipped Mike off the seat , dumped him in the trailer (to restrain him), locked up bike, stuck trailer next to bike , locked up trailer, pulled out Mike and bag and off we went.....Locking up took about the same amount of time but was easier because i could leave Mike in the trailer. Verdict: Finding a bike rack: Angry letter to council! Locking up , lovely job!


Normally the journey takes 20 minutes it took 30 minutes this time. I could find a better place to lock up, but I'll still get stuck in traffic. Now it was time to sprint to the GPs (where i was now 5 minutes late for an appointment.....

Going: After a couple of hours and coffee and cake at CouCou, its time to complete the shopping and head home. This worked great, dump bits and pieces into trolley, do shopping, take trolley to bike dump into trailer. Its like a boot! Mount up off we go.
Verdict: I have a boot on wheels!

Mike dozes off on the bike and i unpack the shopping and put my feet up!

Conclusion: Mixed! I'll use it a lot , for big shops. For trips to the library and a loaf of bread i'll stick to the panniers. Real pros and cons. Parking and in-traffic handlling being the biggest. Not for rush hour! Still a good buy for £80.

Buggy Business

So i have my new buggy. I wanted to blast out some first impressions while they are fresh:

• Its easy to hitch up
• Michael doesnt want to sit in it but thinks Doggy should. Doggy is his soft toy.
• After a while you forget its there
• Its impossible to maneauvre bike and buggy once dismounted
• It has a biiiiig turning circle
• Cars cant overtake very easily (which is bad?)
• Its great just throwing stuff into it , no careful packing of the panniers
• Its a hassle to park
• It rattles which is unnerving, but not dangerous (its the buckle on the safety strap
• Its great for a sunday trip out i wouldnt fancy it in town in the rush hour

Its first trip out was a Sunny sunday out to Audley End on Apple day. I felt very 'Sunday driver', cruising around with a trailer full of picnic stuff. Mike spent all day carrying Doggy, which was sweet. We filled the trailer up with apple juice and headed home. Mike obvioulsy spent the whole day on his Bike seat. He thinks the trailer is great (it does look like a childs toy), but its clearly not for people.

Its all routine....what next?

Regular readers may have spotted a dearth of posts recently. There are two reasons for this.

1) The rotten weather. We've not done many summer family trips.
2) Its pretty routine now

Any journey that's just me or me and Mike I always use the bike (with the odd exception). Its a pretty polished routine now. I have all my local journeys worked out down to where I'll park the bike, how long it will take and how to pack the luggage. The only things that restrict my journeys are not having enough luggage space, Mike having nowhere to sleep and very bad weather. This huge success in car replacement is a bit of an anti-climax. Now i need a new challenge.

Sooooo... I've just bought myself a new shiny trailer buggy from Halfords. That's broken my new credit crunch economising routine. Hopefully I'll be posting stories about our buggy based adventures. Look forwards to such tales as:

• How i took my garden waste to the dump.
• How i got the whole weekly shop home , not just the top up one.
• How i sat and had coffee while Michael slept.
• How i saved Michael from sudden freezing rain.
  
  

Another Trip to Cambridge

Mike and i had another trip to Cambridge last weekend. My wife was away for shopping and clubbing , so we had a free Saturday.

We went to Cambridge for a few reasons: I needed some bits and pieces; a bit of casual tourism; just for the ride ; but mostly to go and see a carpark. "A Carpark?" i hear you cry! Yup, but not just any carpark, we went to Park Street Cycle Park

We rode in, parked the bike, picked up our pushchair, walked into town and had a lovely day.

Lets just say the middle bit of that sentence again, as the simplicity and perfection of it need repeating.......

'picked up our pushchair'

I can't possibly overstate how great this was. The one thing that makes it hard to shop and travel by bike with a little one is not being able to take a pram. Yet in Cambridge they have the perfect solution. Loan pushchairs. They were nothing special, yet did the job and Mike could have his little sleep while i could enjoy a restful lunch with a good book and a nice glass of wine.
It had the added benefit of making me appreciate all the money we spent on his luxury top branded pushchair.

Town planners please take note of this small piece of genius. The people who spend Bristol's recent windfall should really consider this.

And the new bike does babycare as well!

I've not posted for a while as my wife and i have had stinking colds all week, caught from mini Mike. Last Tuesday , i was at home with Mike all day along with my stinking cold. This was my first time looking after him while feeling poorly. Mums of the world you have my admiration!

Anyway by the time he woke up from his post lunch sleep i was exhausted and couldn't face 4 hours of entertaining him. Bring on the bike! I took him straight out in the garden and pointed at the shed. Mike started his mini fit of excitement that he gets when he realises he's going out on the bike.

We went for a 4o minute ride to a nearby play park. Then he ran round the park screaming for half an hour. Then we picked up some food and headed back home. He fell asleep again after 20 minutes and then once i got home he stayed asleep in the bike for another 40 minutes, while i kicked back and dozed in the sun. With 3 hours killed my wife came home early and the afternoon had passed!

So the parenting moral of this tale is: When the kids are driving you to your wits end get on the bike!

The biking moral of this tale is: A good pedelec will carry you on a nice gentle ride when your too poorly to ride normally. Fantastic!

Edinburgh

I've just enjoyed a long weekend in Edinburgh, which is a lovely city. Its also a cycling city, which has incredible cycling motorways that lead directly into town radiating from the city centre.

I fancied a ride around Edinburgh and i knew Michael would enjoy it more than using a pram. So i phoned several Edinburgh cycle hire establishments before i went to see if it was possible to hire a child seat.

Not only could i not hire one, but the shop owners sounded positively horrified at the very idea. I think i was more disappointed at the attitude than the fact i couldn't hire one. Edinburgh may be a cycling city, but its clearly not a family cycling city.

Trip to cambridge

Mike and I had a day out in Cambridge today. Cambridge is a great city for eyeing up good practical bike solutions.

I saw this bobike mini today, complete with wicker basket. They had a hamax mounting block on the back as well. Great 2 kids and some shopping rig. Of course the bike was a classic Cambridge city-bike hack, so its a very modest little ensemble.

A couple of nice features on this. The basket fits on the windshield mounting which is neat. I also saw another bike that had a minoura space grip woven into the front of the wicker basket. This solves the problem of where to put a light on a bike with a basket.

I also saw a lovely bike trailer for luggage. Its the 'carry freedom' one. Very clever design features making it a great accessory to these types of bikes. I'll hopefully revisit this in a later post (maybe near my birthday? hint! hint!).

PS Mikes little arm was worn out from pointing at every single bike that went past today. I think his first word may be 'bike!'

Seat Searching

So i started to look around for front seats. Heres what I found:

• The bobike mini (Looks nice, has the front windscreen, Uk shops indicate that it can only be mounted on quill stems, widely available)
• The wee ride (Looks fussy to mount)
• The bike tutor (watch the promo video on this site! Heartwarming stuff)
  

I came to the realisation that you need to sit in an upright position for this style of seat. Our bikes didnt really lend themselves to this and that made me think about getting a new bike.....

The Inspiration

I saw this picture in a letter to A2B magazine (Sept 2007 for the full article) and thought Oooh! That's it! Its clever isn't it? Takes the baby, the pram and the shopping!

• The seat on the front is the Dutch bobike mini.
  
• The pram carrier is the BuggyMe
  
• The stand is the ESGE twin stand
• The bike is a lafree electric pedelec
• The pannier is a big one :-)

This letter set me thinking about what i wanted to do with the bike. Fundamentally i wanted an alternative to the car for local trips. Mike hates his car seat, and i hate driving. There are three trips i do regularly and all of them are 5-7 miles in uppy-downy terrain. For all of them i want to be able to tale Mike, Mikes stuff, and my stuff or shopping. The rig above was clearly capable of this, so i started looking for all the bits. As you can see from the links, i could source them easily enough with the wonder of the internet. However, i'll discuss more on these in later posts.

PS I have to recommend A2B magazine. Its inspirational...