Comments on: How do I carry my kids by bike? http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/ trekking towards sustainability in portland, oregon, u.s.a. Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:53:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Greg Schramm http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1300 Greg Schramm Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:53:51 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1300 Hola Jeremy - wanted to share with your readers that I'm a Kona UTE owner and rider. I've had the bike for about two years now and ride it nearly every day. I started out with two kids on the back and the UTE handled the job with great ease. 700cc wheels and low gearing get the job done right. I'm now just down to one passenger and the riding is even easier. I love my UTE. It was very cost effective. I've only had to do standard maintenance and replace the chain and freehub. Hola Jeremy – wanted to share with your readers that I’m a Kona UTE owner and rider. I’ve had the bike for about two years now and ride it nearly every day. I started out with two kids on the back and the UTE handled the job with great ease. 700cc wheels and low gearing get the job done right. I’m now just down to one passenger and the riding is even easier. I love my UTE. It was very cost effective. I’ve only had to do standard maintenance and replace the chain and freehub.

]]> By: Jeremy Towsey-French http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1296 Jeremy Towsey-French Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:41:35 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1296 The Trek T900 tandem does great up hills. It's all-aluminum, so the overall weight is quite low --far less than a typical bicycle + trail-a-bike setup and less than a more cargo-centric box bike. Additionally, the gearing combinations are extremely wide, to the point of overkill. The crank is a Truvativ triple with 48/38/28 front chainrings combined with a SRAM 11-32 cassette. The 28-front/32-rear combo can just about enable you to climb a wall. I've got a 22-front/32-rear bottom-end on our box bike that will have you spinning faster than a helicopter, enabling you to tackle just about any hill, as long as you have patience and good lungs. While the Trek's 28-tooth front minimum chainring is slightly larger than the box bike's 22-tooth front, the Trek's weight advantage makes it an unstoppable force up hills. In fact, I have yet to actually use the small ring in everyday use, preferring instead to simple run through eight speeds on the 38-tooth middle ring. All this being said, if you still needed lower gearing, the Truvativ cranks enable you to swap-out chainrings for a very low price, so you could feasibly swap out the stock 28-tooth front chainring for a 22-tooth ring. Again, the Trek really gives you overkill on gearing options. You could easily rid yourself of the three-ring front crank and have all the gearing you could use with a 32-tooth front and 11-32 rear. This being said, it's nice to have options. The Trek T900 tandem does great up hills. It’s all-aluminum, so the overall weight is quite low –far less than a typical bicycle + trail-a-bike setup and less than a more cargo-centric box bike. Additionally, the gearing combinations are extremely wide, to the point of overkill. The crank is a Truvativ triple with 48/38/28 front chainrings combined with a SRAM 11-32 cassette. The 28-front/32-rear combo can just about enable you to climb a wall.

I’ve got a 22-front/32-rear bottom-end on our box bike that will have you spinning faster than a helicopter, enabling you to tackle just about any hill, as long as you have patience and good lungs. While the Trek’s 28-tooth front minimum chainring is slightly larger than the box bike’s 22-tooth front, the Trek’s weight advantage makes it an unstoppable force up hills. In fact, I have yet to actually use the small ring in everyday use, preferring instead to simple run through eight speeds on the 38-tooth middle ring.

All this being said, if you still needed lower gearing, the Truvativ cranks enable you to swap-out chainrings for a very low price, so you could feasibly swap out the stock 28-tooth front chainring for a 22-tooth ring. Again, the Trek really gives you overkill on gearing options. You could easily rid yourself of the three-ring front crank and have all the gearing you could use with a 32-tooth front and 11-32 rear. This being said, it’s nice to have options.

]]> By: cvc http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1295 cvc Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:08:20 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1295 Great write-up. How does it handle going up and down fairly steep hills? We live in a hilly neighborhood! Thanks!! Great write-up. How does it handle going up and down fairly steep hills? We live in a hilly neighborhood! Thanks!!

]]> By: Jeremy Towsey-French http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1291 Jeremy Towsey-French Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:11:29 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1291 Thanks much for your comment --and thanks much for reading! I explicitly left tandems off of this coverage due to the unique nature of the tandem category altogether. In my opinion, tandems deserve their own piece as they represent a unique opportunity for transitional biking --when your children are old enough to pedal themselves, but not quite reliable and skilled enough to pedal alone on city streets. Because of the many tandem options available (Bike Friday tandems especially) tandems can be the ideal child-carrying device --especially when they're old enough to pack their own weight, often around ages five or six. We just transitioned our nearly-six year old daughter to the back of a Trek T900 tandem and she loves it, though the tandem will never be able to compete with the cargo versatility of a utility bike like the box bike from Joe Bike. This being said, tandems make the ultimate school drop-off and basic quick-run grocery getter. I intend to write a Tandem-specific piece soon, to help ferret out the issues you need to be aware of when shopping for tandem (e.g., cost, rear frame height, crank-arm length, stoker bar extension length, etc.). Keep the rubber to the road! Thanks much for your comment –and thanks much for reading! I explicitly left tandems off of this coverage due to the unique nature of the tandem category altogether. In my opinion, tandems deserve their own piece as they represent a unique opportunity for transitional biking –when your children are old enough to pedal themselves, but not quite reliable and skilled enough to pedal alone on city streets. Because of the many tandem options available (Bike Friday tandems especially) tandems can be the ideal child-carrying device –especially when they’re old enough to pack their own weight, often around ages five or six. We just transitioned our nearly-six year old daughter to the back of a Trek T900 tandem and she loves it, though the tandem will never be able to compete with the cargo versatility of a utility bike like the box bike from Joe Bike. This being said, tandems make the ultimate school drop-off and basic quick-run grocery getter. I intend to write a Tandem-specific piece soon, to help ferret out the issues you need to be aware of when shopping for tandem (e.g., cost, rear frame height, crank-arm length, stoker bar extension length, etc.). Keep the rubber to the road!

]]> By: JayS. http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1290 JayS. Mon, 07 Jun 2010 06:00:10 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1290 Great blog post except you forgot tandems, especially those like the Bike Friday Family Tandem and the Co-Motion Cycles Periscope line. My family uses the Bike Friday and loves it. We have a plastic seat on the back for our youngest and as he has gotten bigger he typically takes the stoker seat if his sister is not along. We plan to switch out the plastic seat for a burly piccolo, though now that we are ready to switch the seat for the piccolo his big sister often rides on her own. Front Panniers for storage and tying things to our child seat have sufficed for a number of years. When we go to the market we throw on the trailer. This bike has also served well for hauling things like fence posts and May poles. Great blog post except you forgot tandems, especially those like the Bike Friday Family Tandem and the Co-Motion Cycles Periscope line. My family uses the Bike Friday and loves it. We have a plastic seat on the back for our youngest and as he has gotten bigger he typically takes the stoker seat if his sister is not along. We plan to switch out the plastic seat for a burly piccolo, though now that we are ready to switch the seat for the piccolo his big sister often rides on her own. Front Panniers for storage and tying things to our child seat have sufficed for a number of years. When we go to the market we throw on the trailer. This bike has also served well for hauling things like fence posts and May poles.

]]> By: emily http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1174 emily Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:44:17 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1174 Thanks for all the information! It's given me a lot to think about, and I've also found a stockist of cargo bikes in the UK, which looks fantastic: (http://www.practicalcycles.com - for anyone reading in the UK) Thanks again for all your help! Thanks for all the information! It’s given me a lot to think about, and I’ve also found a stockist of cargo bikes in the UK, which looks fantastic: (http://www.practicalcycles.com – for anyone reading in the UK)
Thanks again for all your help!

]]> By: Jeremy Towsey-French http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1169 Jeremy Towsey-French Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:58:17 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1169 Hello Emily. Looks like I hadn't enabled my comment reply feature yet, so you may not have received my comment. My apologies! You can read it here: http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1162 Hello Emily. Looks like I hadn’t enabled my comment reply feature yet, so you may not have received my comment. My apologies! You can read it here:

http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1162

]]> By: Jeremy Towsey-French http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1163 Jeremy Towsey-French Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:23:53 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1163 Thanks much for writing, Emily. Sounds like you are floating about in the same boat with me and my wife! We have a 5 year-old and a (almost) 3 year-old. You question has spurred me into writing an article about this exact issue (http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/09/18/the-sit-to-ride-transition/). Additionally, let me say the following about hilly areas and box bikes: Our 5 year-old is quite tall and apx. 50 pounds, so with her, her sister and their gear, it's an easy 100 pounds (45 kg) of cargo. Traveling up a steep grade with a 70 pound (32 kg) bike, 100 pound (45 kg) load --plus your own weight-- certainly creates a workout. We have several flat spots in our area, but a lot of varied terrain as well, easily within three blocks of our house. Essentially, we can't get around in a 5-mile (8 km) radius without encountering some steep --albeit short-- grades. For areas with varied terrain, I do not recommend the box bike with the internally geared hub as the hub is not as well-suited to areas that require high-demand on the hub, both in shifting and pressure. Bakfiets with the Shimano Nexus hub perform better, but they aren't geared terribly low, so you'll need very strong legs for steep grades. My recommendation for varied terrain is the box bike with the optional 'mountain drive' (which we use). It certainly improves the situation as it provides gearing that is far lower than the internally geared hubs. The lowest gear combination with the mountain drive is a 32-tooth rear cog powered by a 22-tooth front chainring, with the option to go even lower with a 20-tooth ring. Essentially, this translates into a high spin rate that is quite manageable up most any grade. If you give yourself enough time, you'll get most anywhere while getting a great cardio workout. :) The long-box bakfiets certainly offer more room for book bags, lunch boxes, etc., but they come with the extra weight (more than 20 pounds / 9 kg) and cost penalty ($1,600 USD vs. $3,200 USD / $970 BPS vs. $1940 BPS). Additionally, the bakfiet gearing is not as flexible, so perhaps not as well-suited to your terrain. Thanks much for writing, Emily. Sounds like you are floating about in the same boat with me and my wife! We have a 5 year-old and a (almost) 3 year-old. You question has spurred me into writing an article about this exact issue (http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/09/18/the-sit-to-ride-transition/).

Additionally, let me say the following about hilly areas and box bikes:

Our 5 year-old is quite tall and apx. 50 pounds, so with her, her sister and their gear, it’s an easy 100 pounds (45 kg) of cargo. Traveling up a steep grade with a 70 pound (32 kg) bike, 100 pound (45 kg) load –plus your own weight– certainly creates a workout.

We have several flat spots in our area, but a lot of varied terrain as well, easily within three blocks of our house. Essentially, we can’t get around in a 5-mile (8 km) radius without encountering some steep –albeit short– grades.

For areas with varied terrain, I do not recommend the box bike with the internally geared hub as the hub is not as well-suited to areas that require high-demand on the hub, both in shifting and pressure. Bakfiets with the Shimano Nexus hub perform better, but they aren’t geared terribly low, so you’ll need very strong legs for steep grades.

My recommendation for varied terrain is the box bike with the optional ‘mountain drive’ (which we use). It certainly improves the situation as it provides gearing that is far lower than the internally geared hubs. The lowest gear combination with the mountain drive is a 32-tooth rear cog powered by a 22-tooth front chainring, with the option to go even lower with a 20-tooth ring. Essentially, this translates into a high spin rate that is quite manageable up most any grade. If you give yourself enough time, you’ll get most anywhere while getting a great cardio workout. :)

The long-box bakfiets certainly offer more room for book bags, lunch boxes, etc., but they come with the extra weight (more than 20 pounds / 9 kg) and cost penalty ($1,600 USD vs. $3,200 USD / $970 BPS vs. $1940 BPS). Additionally, the bakfiet gearing is not as flexible, so perhaps not as well-suited to your terrain.

]]> By: emily http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1162 emily Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:13:22 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1162 Hello, your site is so interesting. I've just got back into cycling after stopping when I was pregnant with my first little girl (now 5) I've got her a tag-along bike, but keep thinking if a box bike would be feasable. We don't have a car, and live in Glasgow, Scotland, which is not a very cycle friendly city, although I'm less stressed about traffic now that I'm actually cycling again. It's also hilly-ish, certainly not flat. I wonder whether I could carry a 5 year old and a 2 year old in the box bike, and whether I would manage up hills... There's nowhere here that I can try one out, they haven't taken off in this country at all as far as I can see. I'm even considering a holiday to the Netherlands to try a bakfiets! Any advice you could give me would be fantastic! Thanks for a great post... Hello, your site is so interesting. I’ve just got back into cycling after stopping when I was pregnant with my first little girl (now 5) I’ve got her a tag-along bike, but keep thinking if a box bike would be feasable. We don’t have a car, and live in Glasgow, Scotland, which is not a very cycle friendly city, although I’m less stressed about traffic now that I’m actually cycling again. It’s also hilly-ish, certainly not flat. I wonder whether I could carry a 5 year old and a 2 year old in the box bike, and whether I would manage up hills… There’s nowhere here that I can try one out, they haven’t taken off in this country at all as far as I can see. I’m even considering a holiday to the Netherlands to try a bakfiets! Any advice you could give me would be fantastic!
Thanks for a great post…

]]> By: inkandpen http://www.towseyfrench.com/2009/07/09/how-do-i-carry-my-kids-by-bike/comment-page-1/#comment-1130 inkandpen Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:22:18 +0000 http://www.towseyfrench.com/?p=928#comment-1130 Hi Jeremy, My husband and I are in the process of building up a second-generation Mundo from the frameset, intending it in part as a kid transporter (once the kid comes along, due at the end of Nov). It still needs some work and we haven't ridden it yet, but I thought you'd like to know that ours still says it was manufactured in the E. U., definitely came with some finish issues. Then again our first attempt at shipping the frame compounded those issues with some major FedEx mishandling... but that's a story for another time. Anyway, thanks for the great post! Hi Jeremy,
My husband and I are in the process of building up a second-generation Mundo from the frameset, intending it in part as a kid transporter (once the kid comes along, due at the end of Nov). It still needs some work and we haven’t ridden it yet, but I thought you’d like to know that ours still says it was manufactured in the E. U., definitely came with some finish issues. Then again our first attempt at shipping the frame compounded those issues with some major FedEx mishandling… but that’s a story for another time.

Anyway, thanks for the great post!

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