Booyah!!!

Thanks, guys.

I was able to pay attention during the climb, and the narrowness of my hand position is the primary source of that panicky feeling.

On steep, out-of-the-saddle climbs like this, I'm definitely going to need a wider handlebar. I like the Dimension Trekking Handlebar like this one, but they don't seem available in silver anymore, so I want to see what Air's got on his bike.

My lack of confidence in the folding pedals, caused by the slight amount of flex/play where they fold, didn't help either. Although love is a pathetically inadequate term for the depth of my feelings for the FUNN Soljam Viper pedals I put on my previous folder, they're black too... so I think I'm going to get some Grip Kings.

EDIT: Found a silver Dimension Trekking Bar!

Where?

Thanks, man.

Congrats on the hill.

Just found out they no longer carry the Dimension Trekking Bar in silver, but my spam filter ate the refund notification. No one else lists it as available.

So hmm.

I was just going to ask you if the change was going to happen, how you liked it, and how it looked.

Black accents are never a bad thing...

Yeah, but there's such thing as too much black, too.

On the other hand, on bright days, silver handlebars have a tendency to burn out my eyeballs.

Aesthetics or the requisite organs to appreciate them. It's a dilemma...

In other news, we got caught in a downpour on the way down the playground today. I don't care much about getting wet (and we found shelter eventually), but on the way back home up The Big *#&$ Hill, the tires slipped so badly on the steepest section of damp pavement that I had to immediately jump off. Then (while three-year-olds performed the "Daddy, the bike fall! Daddy, the bike fall!" Chorus and Daddy repeated the "No, the bike didn't fall. It's OK," counterpoint) I had to push it the rest of the way to the top. I think I must be not all that far from traction loss even on dry days.

Found a better way to push it uphill so the rear wheel doesn't come up, though. One hand/shoulder behind the saddle works better than pushing the stem or handlebars.

So what are your plans for commuting as the kids get older? The trailer option will be good for about another year....maybe 2.

I can't think of an option that is as compact as what you are doing now but able to accomodate 2 or 3 riders. Although with one or both of them helping on the hills it should actually get easier. Don't expect meaningful input until they are about 5 though.

I actually don't even have that much time left. We're almost up against the weight limit on every basic double trailer I can find. Between the two of them, they're over 90 pounds, and the published capacity is 100.

I have two possible leads. One is a non-folding trailer called a Leggiero that I saw at a bike shop in Manhattan, but I need to go down there and spend a day with the one they rent to tourists. If it fits in our elevator, through our front door, etc, that could buy me another couple of years.

The other is that I noticed some trailer companies make models for special-needs adults, with higher capacities. I wrote to wicycle today, asking if the special-needs trailer can be modified to carry two children. We'll see.

A year or two down the line, I don't even have a guess yet. Maybe a rickshaw.

The 100# is what they are rated to, but I have reliably carried more than that in them (I'd guess 150). However, I don't think the trailer is your limiting factor, I think it is seats and compactness. Meaning, in about a year, the kids will be about ready to pedal and won't be as content sitting in the trailer. Plus you may get a little stronger, but they eventually will be too big for you to pedal up that hill.

My intent is not to be the party pooper, because I think what you are doing is great. I just don't see a good economic solution to a bike commuting configuration until they can pedal their own bikes. Getting a bigger, stronger trailer is a brief stop gap. I don't think the extra space will be worth it for the use you will get out of it. I imagine the specialty trailer will cost somewhere around a low of $300 (if you are lucky) to a high of ~$1k+. If you do go with the special needs trailer, consider a Cycletote. They are the only manufacturer I know of that has an integrated brake on the trailer. As you probably know, that is an extremely useful feature to have with higher weights and hills. Again, it will be a costly trailer with a very short useful lifespan for you. I also do not know what the resale market would be for such a trailer.

One option could be dual trail-a-bikes. I think there is one manufacturer that makes a folding TAB. The Burley Piccolo's are the best performing TABs in the market place by a good bit, but they do not fold and that might be an issue for you.

Good luck with being able to commute with them in the tween years. Keep on truckin'!

I suppose at that point, I could detach the trailer, ride the bike up, and come back for the trailer with the stroller handle attached. It's an isolated path at that location, not a city street, so they'd be safe. (And if I parked in the right place at the bottom, we could still see each other for all but a few seconds while I took the bike up.)

But I hear you on the other points, and don't have that answer yet. They're already out of shoulder room.

I'll spend what I need to. What I've left out of this thread is that I have MS and fully expect to end up in a wheelchair at some point, or otherwise disabled. I might get lucky in that regard and die at age 105 with fully-functioning legs, but for now, bicycle stuff gets an automatic expense approval whether we can really afford it or not.

The Cycletote brake looks terrific, but that trailer doesn't fold. Just looking at the picture, I don't think I could get it out of our apartment. Not sure about that, though, so if the wicycle people don't have any ideas, I'll get in touch with Cycletote. Thanks.

Thanks! One of the most valuable things about this thread (to me) is that in a year or two, I should be able to come back to it and get these suggestions. ("Somebody said something about a folding TAB...and I know how to find the comment.") Right now I can barely imagine being able to ride any distance that way without these little mugs falling off, but I know the day will be upon me before I expect it.

The suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks again.

I suggest a pedicab. You can defray the costs when not toting around twins.

Don't think I haven't thought about it...

Your kids will probably be pretty proud of your efforts when they get older, remember that during their tougher years :).

You are correct, the Cycletotes are not the easiest folding especially on the family/touring version. I think the non-touring version compacts easier, but not nearly as quickly and easily as Wike, Burley, Chariot, Trek, etc.

The Cycletote brake is very nice indeed. I almost wish we had purchased the option when we got ours but we decided to save the couple hundred in case we were not satisfied with the trailer. You could add it on later but would have to pay to ship the trailer to them and then back to do that. A reasonable option but not one we have decided to do. At this point we only have about 3 more years of kid use in it (7 so far) and it has held up much better than I expected especially with the partially exposed storage it has and 1-2k miles per year of use.

About 4 is when you can expect them to be pretty good at holding on. They probably won't be able to (bike size, ability) pedal until they are past 4 maybe 5. Of course each kid is different, but hopefully these numbers will give you an idea of what you will likely see.

I was worried when our #3 was 3 and wanted to ride the TAB. I let him ride at ~3.5 but only on slow, short rides around the neighborhood. He is almost 4.5 now and has started helping out pedaling just in the last 2 months, not much, but he is trying.

I'm not counting on anything...

I can see that working for a little jaunt down to the lighthouse when all indicators are green, but I'd be leery about expecting them to hang on 13 miles each way every day, even when they haven't napped. I'm going to keep the trailer paradigm going as long as possible--it's really just our equivalent of a car, so it sort of doesn't matter whether they're happy about it. This is how we go to preschool, so yes, you ARE getting in, no pushing, stop kicking your brother, do I have to stop the bike?

At that distance they probably won't be ready for until they are 5 or so. Maybe a TAB and trailer to give one a chance to ride while the other rests?

Have you explored Xtracycle options with and without e.assist? With the big hill,a Currie chaindrive might be appropriate.

Nope. I'd love an Xtracycle, but non-folding bicycles aren't allowed in the building where I work. A folder and a trailer are about my only option at the moment.

I've overcome my handlebar paralysis by ordering three of them: the Dimension Trekking Bar, the Titec H-Bar, and the Delta Ergo. This may seem an unconventional but rational way of auditioning various handlebar setups, but it really has more to do with a very dry martini.

I'll post my impressions. (As though there was any doubt.)

The only rational solution. I anxiously await your commentary.

Delta Ergo Bars don't work with the Sram Dual Drive grip shifter. The bars are too curved to get the shifter where it needs to be.

Still waiting on the Dimension Trekking Bar and the Titec H-Bar.

You're a credit to the observational method!

One down...

I thought I was using the bigger hammer method, but your phraseology sounds better.

And, a validation of American pragmatism.

Onward!