Utility Cycling - Kids riding on rear storage rack

I needed recommendations on a bike/storage rack to haul my 5 year old daughter (about 40 lbs) to and from school.

Came across this site about biking in Netherlands which had a picture of a girl riding in the rear with a nice seating arrangement. Any chance of finding something similar in the US? Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/ZEKdV.jpg

some here:
http://clevercycles.com/products/accessories/child-seats/rear-mounted-child-seats/#_
and here:
http://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/_catalog_85391/Dutch_Kids

There are more out there.

madsen.

here's mine.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb84/westhavenmusician/Bike/20010_07_18Madsen005.jpg

Feels very safe. Quite heavy. A real bear on hills, but handles well and feels solid in all other situations.

I just had a titanium rear rack custom built by Black Sheep Bicycles in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I paid $350 for the custom titanium rack for my titanium GT Xizang bike. But the more I study the details on the thing, the more I realize I got an amazing bargain! Not a single blemish in the dimensions, machine work or welding. Perfect. And they tell me I can put a 200 lb person on it. Well, just yesterday, I put a 308-lb. friend on it and it was solid as a rock! The front wheel of the bike raised up, but the rear rack was solid. Moral of the story: Get a custom frame shop like Black Sheep Bicycles make you a professional, heavy-duty rear rack - just to be safe.

And do what you can to keep that front wheel on the ground!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. This is exactly what I was looking for. The price tag caught me by surprise though :)

You could convert your bike into a long tail with an Xtracycle, and I've seen kids ride on those easily

http://www.xtracycle.com/

have you considered a trail-a-bike?

i am thinking about moving my daughter to one pretty soon. she is 3 1/2 but she is pretty tall for her age and doesn't fit too well in the kid seat we have (xtracycle peapod).

seem to be a lot of good deals on trail-a-bikes on craigslist.

You could convert your bike into a long tail with an Xtracycle, and I've seen kids ride on those easily

http://www.xtracycle.com/

Is there a list of compatible bicycles that you are aware of that are easy to work with the xtracycle kits?

I don't think they maintain a list because they don't have the time to test them themselves and they probably don't want to put themselves on the hook for endorsing any particular configuration.

In general terms, I have put together three of them and I think you would probably have no problem with any decent quality 26" mountain bike that is less than say 12-15 years old. The free radical should have everything you need, and the instructions that come with it are pretty good. So far the only thing I have ever needed that was not included was just a couple washers.

That said, the Radish is a pretty good deal. The free radical kit with the bags and stuff is about $500, the complete Radish is around $950. My wife has one, and its a decent bike. Not fancy but solid, and though it is quite a bit of money, when you subtract the cost of the free radical, bags, etc and the time involved on putting that stuff on another bike, the difference isn't too bad.

I needed recommendations on a bike/storage rack to haul my 5 year old daughter (about 40 lbs) to and from school.

Came across this site about biking in Netherlands which had a picture of a girl riding in the rear with a nice seating arrangement. Any chance of finding something similar in the US? Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/ZEKdV.jpg

This looks like the GMG 911 from here (http://www.fietskinderzitje.com/default.asp?content_id=1&lng=2). As far as I know it's not sold in the US, alas. The Bobike Junior is the closest thing I've found, and it sells for 2-3x what it does in Europe. Does anyone know if the GMG T30 folds down?

lots of people do that, see them all the time and that sort of arrangement has been available a long time. however, in my opinion i think you would be much better off with a cargo bike of some kind, particularly if your kids are bigger (than babies). i can take two 5 year olds sitting on the back of my xtracycle without any problem. based on the things i've hauled home from work on my commuter bike (which is a mtb with a normal rear rack), i'd say that a 20 lbs load on there is harder to handle than a toddler on the back of the xtracycle.

fwiw, some of the xtracycle accessories have been updated this year (freeloader bags for instance) and they have a sale going for the older styles. might be able to put together a less expensive free radical setup.

also, a couple of shops here in seattle were recently selling off new old stock kona utes. i think they were around $600, which seems like a pretty good deal.

I don't think they maintain a list because they don't have the time to test them themselves and they probably don't want to put themselves on the hook for endorsing any particular configuration.

In general terms, I have put together three of them and I think you would probably have no problem with any decent quality 26" mountain bike that is less than say 12-15 years old. The free radical should have everything you need, and the instructions that come with it are pretty good. So far the only thing I have ever needed that was not included was just a couple washers.

That said, the Radish is a pretty good deal. The free radical kit with the bags and stuff is about $500, the complete Radish is around $950. My wife has one, and its a decent bike. Not fancy but solid, and though it is quite a bit of money, when you subtract the cost of the free radical, bags, etc and the time involved on putting that stuff on another bike, the difference isn't too bad.

The Radish would be a good fit. Unfortunately they are sold out till Feb 2011.

That rear tire is looking a little squished.


I needed recommendations on a bike/storage rack to haul my 5 year old daughter (about 40 lbs) to and from school.

Came across this site about biking in Netherlands which had a picture of a girl riding in the rear with a nice seating arrangement. Any chance of finding something similar in the US? Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/ZEKdV.jpg

Second on the xtracycle.... you can pad the bench, install a set of Footsies (from the extra cycle site) and add a stoker handlebar to your seat post.

I am thinking of getting the FreeRadical kit and having a bike shop install it on a bike. Since I will be buying a bike as well, any recommendations on what bike (26") to get? Thanks.

I am thinking of getting the FreeRadical kit and having a bike shop install it on a bike. Since I will be buying a bike as well, any recommendations on what bike (26") to get? Thanks.

A 26" wheel non suspension bike with disc or V brakes is the ideal IMO. The 2009 Novara Buzz or Buzz V are examples as are the 2009 Trek Pure Sport bikes. A used older non suspension MTB if you can find one cheap in decent condition is another prime candidate. If you live where there are any hills you will also want to make sure the conversion bike has a triple crankset or install one.