Family Biking Help
Getting back into biking after many years away and want to make it a family activity. Our hope is to bike as often as we can and several day trips to state trails etc. We are a family of 5 (9, 4, and 2 year old daughters). We are looking at getting Specialized Crosstrail/Ariel for myself and my wife and looking at a step through Specialized Vita (xs frame) for my 9 year old. She (tall for her age) has tested this frame already and was quite comfortable on it, a 24" frame was just too small for her. Before we pull the trigger on these bikes over the winter we want to also try the Trek DS/Neko line. I do like the looks of the Neko step through a bit better, right now she isn't picky about the bike but if she does become so I would prefer a bike for her that she loves the look of as well as being a good ride.
We are looking at getting a Weehoo iGo Pro for my 2yo (will be 3 in the spring) daughter and a Burley Piccolo or Kazoo for my 4yo (will be 5 in Nov). Would consider getting the Adam's seat back for the ride behind if I feel she needs it for longer rides as she does get distracted easily. Our hopes with these purchases is that as the 5 year old out grows the Piccolo or Kazoo and that will be ready for the little one to move up into and we could sell the Weehoo. We thought about doing the double weehoo and I pull both kids but worried about the usefulness of it long term as the 5 year old I think would be bored with it fairly quick.
So with all that, just looking for some pointers on family biking, tips for keeping all the kids interested for longer rides as well as getting my 9 year old to ride for longer distances. Any concerns with any of the bikes or gear we are looking at or suggestions? With the above purchases it is a fair amount of money so hoping to not buy anything I will regret. The bike for my daughter is a bit pricier then we were hoping but want her to have gears to be able to bike with us for more then just around the neighborhood and hopefully it will be able to be passed on through her younger two sisters, which our experience with cheaper dept store bikes is that they aren't that great for passing on.
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.