I actually have 4 kids, but 2 of them ride their own bikes.
So here is my current setup for biking around town and getting the kids to their activities, library, post office, swimming pool, etc:
I have 2 child seats installed on my bike: one is a stem-mounted Bobike Mini for the 1-year-old and the other is a rear-mounted Bell for the 4-year-old. The bike is a cheap Walmart single-speed cruiser I've had for several years. I like this setup (for various reasons, I'm not interested in trailers; an Xtracycle would be great, but that's down the road a bit due to $$$) but need to upgrade the bike to something better (gears, please!!!) from Craigslist. Any advice?
My priorities are safety, reliability, and easy maintenance. My list of must-have features includes the following:
- step-through frame
- long-ish wheel-base
- upright-ish geometry
- chain guard
There is a '68 Raleigh Sports on CL right now. Also some vintage Schwinn 3-speeds. Any other ideas? I appreciate your input!!!!