Recreational & Family - 3 kids, 1 bike, no problem

Just a short ride around the neighborhood to prove that kids can be moved on a bike.

You really need a trail a bike for the big one.......

She rides a trail a bike with her dad. We are currently moving the middle kid to a seat on the back of my bike and the youngest to the front seat, this was just a silly experiment, that actually worked surprisingly well.

That looks awesome Joyfulmama

I've been looking for a way to tow my three kids, but I never thought about a baby sling. :thumb: How do you like that front seat? I've been eyeing one of those.

I love the front seat. It is a Yepp seat, I got it from Clever Cycles in Portland and to my knowledge is the only US distributor of the seat. It is absolutely wonderful and much, much nicer than the other front mounted seats I have tried/seen. We were on vacation about 3 hours from Portland and drove there just to go to Clever Cycles because they sell and have on display all the available front mounted seat. After trying all of them (bobike, ibert, kettler bingo, wee ride) there is just no comparison. Plus the Yepp is cheaper than the bobike, which is the closest competitor.

As far as using a sling, I am not a huge fan of it. I started taking my infant on short bike rides in a sling on my chest when she was about 6 weeks old and weighed roughly 6 pounds. It worked, but I was constantly worried that something would go wrong, that I would fall or that she would get squished and not be able to breath or something. The other option I used was a carseat in a trailer. That felt safer to me, although she cried the whole time as she hated the car seat.

My daughter is now 16 pounds and is far too heavy to carry in a sling for more than the shortest rides. Honestly a couple of miles and I am uncomfortable. I carry her on my bike a lot, so it isn't that, it is just the friction and the balance required is a lot to manage.

Depending on the ages of your kids, I would do a front mounted seat, a rear mounted seat and a Follow me tandem. I have the front mounted seat and standard sized trail a bike and a compact trail a bike. We just hook the two trail a bikes together and are good to go, although my kids are so short that they can't peddle well on the trail a bike, when we make a train. (You have to life the seat of the front trail a bike up a little.)

They other option is a bike seat and a trailer to hold two kids. Hope something works for you

I'll second that slings don't work well. They are ok for short distance but are not very comfortable at all.

If your bike has a more leaning forward position it is harder still. The childs head will bump into the back of yours. If you wear a helmet, your ability to lift your head will be very very limited. Front mounting them on a sling will have them in your and vice versa.

I rode a 4 year old in a backpack carrier for 10 miles. I will only do that in an emergency in the future.

That's wonderful, Joyful!

My daughter (now age 10) has her own bike but sometimes rides on the rear rack (120 lb capacity so no problem with her weight). I never thought about panniers to keep her feet clear of the spokes -- that looks like it could work okay.

Thanks for the info on the Yepp. I've always thought those were nicer options for the kids than the rear seats that offer a nice view of the back. I've just been unsure of the handling.

I have twins, nearly 5 who don't fit in our trailer any more as a pair, and a 19 month old. I was looking at Adams tandem tag-alongs for the twins since I suspect they will fight if I only got one tag-along and had the other ride in the trailer with our youngest. I just want to avoid that fight, but the tandem tag-alongs are a bit out of my price range. I hope to be able to take them on longer rides soon. I've convinced the twins to ride in the trailer for a charity ride we're doing in early August, the Tour de Lacs (http://www.tdl4charity.com/), but it's a short term solution.

Thanks again.

The tandem trail a bike is out of my price range too and I don't like that both kids have to pedal in tandem. You can make a chain of trail a bikes, which is what we do. I like that it gives each child their own bike and they can pedal or not as they choose. Trail a bikes can be picked up pretty often on craigslist. Plus the resale value is really pretty good.

Another option is to have a bike, then the trail a bike, then the trailer. You could put the 19 month old in the trailer, with one five year old and have the twins take turns on the trail a bike. I think that having a 19 month old and 1 five year old in the trailer would be much more comfortable than both five year olds in the trailer. I know that my 5 year old and 3 year old are sandwiched in the trailer pretty tight and they are small kids for their age. Also my kids get along pretty well normally, but in a bike trailer they fight like cats and dogs. So you might want to give it a trial run and see if your two can get along any better than mine.

My 16 month old rides in my front bike seat most of the time (the three year old is in it for the pic) but the front mounted seat has a weight rating of 35 pounds or less. Honestly, I think that is about as high as you want up there. It doesn't really mess steering up, but if a larger child leans one direction or another in a front mounted seat and they are close to that weight limit, it really "shifts" the bike and that can feel scary. My 16 month old is only 16 pounds and I can't tell any handling difference in the bike, but with my 3 year old, I have to remind him to not "lean" when he points at things. He is also big enough to change the gears on my bike and that is annoying. The other thing is that the 3 year old is tall enough that I can't see over his helmet as well as I would like, so I kinda look around it. Which is okay in the short term but not what I want for our longer rides.

That's wonderful, Joyful!

My daughter (now age 10) has her own bike but sometimes rides on the rear rack (120 lb capacity so no problem with her weight). I never thought about panniers to keep her feet clear of the spokes -- that looks like it could work okay.

That is exactly why those pannier bags are on there! Keeps those feet out of the way! My daughter actually really loves riding on the rack and begs me to let her do it.

Haha you guys look great! Baby looks happy in the mei tai.

Wow!

I need something that I feel safe in traffic and on long distances, so this summer, I sold off a bunch of stuff on craigslist and traded in a folding bike at the shop for this...

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/20010_07_18Madsen004.jpg

...it has seatbelts for four kiddoes.

That is certainly a cool bike and I would love to have one. The problem we have run into with cargo bikes/xtra cyles, etc is that they are too long to fit on a standard bike rack. Since we load are bikes up and take them places for the purpose of riding, it has been difficult to find a set up that works for us. Fortunately, we have a solution!

Wow!

I need something that I feel safe in traffic and on long distances, so this summer, I sold off a bunch of stuff on craigslist and traded in a folding bike at the shop for this...

...it has seatbelts for four kiddoes.

That thing is cool! I looked all over their site, couldn't find any pictures of what the inside of the bucket looks like with the seats in it. How do you like it so far?

Psh in 7th grade, we had 4 kids on a bike with no "baby handicap":D. One on the bars, one on the seat, one standing and pedaling, and one on the top tube. Of course we had to go boy-girl-boy-girl otherwise it started getting uncomfortable. You have successfully created a replacement for the soccer mom van, nice job.:thumb:

I've been looking for a way to tow my three kids, but I never thought about a baby sling.
This is OT but yesterday I saw a big dude on a Harley wearing a baby sling. He had a little dog in it. The dog was facing backwards on its rear paws looking at the drivers behind, perfectly relaxed. :)

you see this all the time in Japan!

maybe a bit OT, but this is how they ride in Kenya. I've seen similar on a bicycle, but have only a photo of the stunt on a motorbike.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs344.ash2/62420_1574322514435_1126719025_31620487_6722972_n.jpg

My concern with the kids in the way you are carrying them on your bike is what would/could happen if you took a spill. Could be pretty bad.

That Kenyan looks focused! Impressive.

My concern with the kids in the way you are carrying them on your bike is what would/could happen if you took a spill. Could be pretty bad.

that's what i'm thinking. as a proof of concept, great. you've proven it can be done. however, it doesn't seem to be a viable form of regular transportation. the youngest appears the most vulnerable to serious injury in the event of just about any type of fall. i wouldn't dream of riding my kids around my city like that. from a strictly scientific perspective, the center of gravity is too high and the bike looks unstable. one fall, and all four of you come crashing down. for three kids with an age range similar to that shown, the most cost-effective solution i can think of would be a rear seat carrier for the youngest, and a trailer for the older two (total investment under $200). this way, in the event of a fall, the child in the seat is protected by the harnessed seat (and hopefully helmet), and the two children in the trailer remain upright.

Thanks for the concern. I can assure you that it is stable and that there was never an ounce of danger to my children. This is not our normal method of riding, which is outlined above. This was simply an experiment. Riding like this is common all over the world and I wondered what it actually felt like, how a a bike preformed, etc. I think that the so called safety concerns that are pushed in this country are partly responsible for people not seeing biking as a valid means of transporting children.

Bringing home the dinner or another animal for the farm - another use of the bicycle.

Bringing home the dinner or another animal for the farm - another use of the bicycle.

Love it!

I think that the so called safety concerns that are pushed in this country are partly responsible for people not seeing biking as a valid means of transporting children.

i would agree with this, somewhat, but it's also a chicken-and-egg type of thing, namely: until motorists themselves accept biking as a valid form of cycling, and become more aware of the cyclists around them, the dangers are real. i'd love to haul my kids around, amsterdam-style, but unfortunately the drivers (and laws) of most US communities don't support that style of riding.

i'm not saying any of this as a naysayer; i'm a 365 day/year bike commuter, and also cycle my kids to school daily. however, my 4-year old daughter and i were victims of exactly the type of motorist to which i allude above (we were hit by a completely unaware motorist). therefore, i also seek out the safest yet practical child cycling solutions available, given the limitations in bicycle infrastructure and support around us.

My concern with the kids in the way you are carrying them on your bike is what would/could happen if you took a spill. Could be pretty bad.

Even with all the safety equipment in the world, taking a spill will be bad.

I had my 2 year old in an I-Bert when I accidentally slipped walking the bike backwards and down he went. The handlebars slipped from my hands as I was falling. He and the bike went down into the grass. He wasn't hurt, but he was traumatized by the fall for that moment. But, we got right back up and he forgot all about it as I started riding..

tk

maybe a bit OT, but this is how they ride in Kenya. I've seen similar on a bicycle, but have only a photo of the stunt on a motorbike.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs344.ash2/62420_1574322514435_1126719025_31620487_6722972_n.jpg

at first glance i didn't even see the kid immediately behind the pilot of that thing. simply amazing

more helmets are needed

Loving the improvisation here joyful mama!