For the past few years, I've been having a blast riding with my two grandsons on the back of my cargo bike. I'm not sure who has more fun, them or me.
Unfortunately, I fear the time is near when I can no longer haul the two of them together. It's not that the bike or I can't handle the weight, that is not really an issue. The problem is that the older one simply cannot behave himself, and nearly puts me out of control with his antics. When he was smaller, and didn't have so much weight to throw around, it wasn't quite as big a deal, but now it's getting dangerous.
Last week, I took them out for a ride, and shot a video using different camera angles, including putting the camera on the older boy's helmet for part of the ride, and on my helmet facing back for another part.
When he was wearing the camera, he was pretty well behaved, but on the way back, he was up to his old antics again, and giving me a really hard time.
After the ride, I sat with them and watched the entire portion of the ride where the camera was trained on them, and warned him that if he did not change the behavior, this may have to be our last ride, because it simply is not safe to act like that.
Anyway, I managed to get enough footage where he wasn't acting too outrageously to put this video together.

Nice video - too bad about the grandson misbehaving!

I'm thinking you have fairly strong heart, lungs, and legs to haul two kids on a big bike. I do well just to haul my own skinny butt down the road. Even if this particular aspect of your collective lives is drawing to a close, you have done well by them, and they will remember the rides with grandpa. You could put the 9 year old on his own bike and drain a little of his energy

Great vid! Cool kids.

One of my big joys in life is my three days a week I watch the grandkids.

The younger one and I pick the older one up from school on the cargo bike, and we go all over by cargo bike. The beach, the park, the book store the wharf......How lucky you and I are!



The youngest is not always as entertained as the older one and I, even when the view is the Monterey Bay....Oh well


I hope you find a way to work it out so you can keep riding with the boys.

The kids are big enough for a rear-steer tandem or triple. That would certainly add to the memories for them.

You're the kind of grandfather I hope to be some day. Nicely done.

If you are capable of riding with the two of them on a cargo bike, then you are capable or riding with the two of them using an Adams tandem trailer. Balance is a problem with these for those who are not used to the weight, but clearly you can handle that. And having the kids work instead of just sitting there should make it easier to keep them under control (I'm also not opposed to blackmail: "If you don't sit still, I'm going to show all of your friends this picture of you when you were 2.")

For whatever reason I just can not comprehend, the trailer comes with a knobby tire. Swapping it out with a slick one will make it easier to balance.

Thank you.

Thanks, My heart lungs and legs work pretty good, but we don't go very fast.

Cargo bikes are cool, aren't they? What is that, a Yuba?

Well, the older one is big enough to ride my tandem with me now.


It's a rewarding time for sure.

The next step will be going out to trails with individual bikes, or at most, a 2 rider tandem. When this bike has outlived it's usefulness, I won't be looking for other 3 rider options.

Love it! Yup, it is a Yuba Mundo that I have set up to carry both kids and the older ones bicycle. I ride a number of steep hills and my knees are telling me I should consider the electric assist option Yuba has. In theory when used with a loaded cargo bike it is like pedaling a single.........Might have to try that.

Just wait until they are big enough to ride their own bikes with you...

My youngest still has fond memories of getting chauffeured on my Extrabike... she has been riding solo for 5 years now and can keep up with pretty much anyone.

I toted my kids around for several years on my old Burley trailer. We had a great time. The kids loved it.
Stopped when they were too big to fit inside...sighs...
Thanks for sharing...and rekindling my memories.

That's a neat bike. No assist on my Big Dummy, but I get a 17" low gear with the Rohloff hub, so it's that whole, with a long enough lever you can move the earth thing.

Maybe you need something that will keep your grandson busy ... like this:


My son was pretty quiet back there in the trailer most of the time. But he did manage to poke a stick in my spokes on a 25 MPH descent. The last thing I heard was the sound of the stick end-over-ending down the street. I got out and noted that the trailer had apparently gone sideways and skidded down the street, grinding off a lot of the plastic knobs used to assemble it together. It uprighted itself just before I came to a stop. Our colloquy:

"What happened? Did you put a stick in my spokes?"

"Yea, we cwashed."

"I don't suppose I have to tell you to never do that again?"

In that case, get a single trail-a-bike for the tandem. I just bought a WeeRide Co-Pilot and am pleasantly surprised at how well it works* and is much cheaper than the tandem trail-a-bike option.

* I have been using a Trek version I got used for many years, but they're more expensive and harder to find. The WeeRide isn't light, but is very stable and not a problem to pull.

Good on you Gramps! I'm looking to get my 2 year old grandson (our first) either a balance bike or kids bike (and take the pedals off) this weekend. I also think I may be able to make the case for an n+1 for a utility bike or some such to carry him around on.