adam12

I have wanted to be completely car free for years. I currently limit my vehicle usage as much as possible. My reasons are not all that grand, they are mostly selfish. I love riding my bike and I hate wasting money on gas/vehicle maintenance. However I have a 5 year old daughter, it has become increasingly hard to transport her as she grows. I don't mind riding in the winter/late summer, but worry about her. So I don't commute with her. Problem is I am a single father. She is always with me. When I go to work I take her to school/daycare. I would love to be completely car free, but am unsure where to start. Any help with managing children, and hot/cold weather on a bike would be appreciated. Or managing children on a bike for cheap. Trailers, xtracycles, and trailgators are kind of expensive. Any advice would be appreciated.

wahoonc

I would think that a trailgator would be the next step. Look on ebay, and post a notice at your LBS, haunt the thrift stores and garage sales. There have got to be a bunch of those things laying around in people's garages and basements. Kids don't stay small for ever Also depending on the length and location of the commute consider getting her a bike of her own. My daughter was riding about a mile to school every day in the first grade. Dad (me) would ride to school with her in the morning and grandpa would ride home with her in the afternoon. The ride was on residential streets with one major road to cross. I realize this may not work for you, but maybe put a spin on the perspective.

Aaron

bragi

I would think a trailer would be the way to go; among other things, it's easy to protect kids from the elements. You could probably find a used one on Craigslist for relatively little money. Once kids get older, families have no more use for a trailer and just want to get rid of it. A friend of mine offered me his bike trailer for free, just to get it out his garage, and I don't even have kids (he suggested it might be useful for hauling beer).

Or, you may just want to hold on for another couple of years, until your child is old enough to ride a bike of her own. A friend of mine rides bikes with his 7-year old son to school (on the way to work) every day, and then picks him up from day care after work, and they ride home together. Of course, he lives in a very bike-friendly town, with the school less than two miles away, and your situation might be different.

Having young children is a tough obstacle for leading a car-free lifestyle; you have my sympathy and support. There are people who do it -there was recently an article in the Seattle Times about a family that hasn't owned a car since 1987- but I can well understand why most families don't imagine for a second that such a choice even exists.

Michel Gagnon

She is almost too big for a trailer, but she would fit perfectly on a trailercycle.

I don't like the TrailGator (the bar that attaches the child's bike onto yours) because with most children's bike, there is too much flop. The addams Trail-a-Bike is decent: great for short or medium-length rides, but the Burley Piccolo is positively more stable if you plan to ride 50-100 km in a day.

Install a mirror on her helmet and she'll be able to see approaching traffic. It's a great way to eliminate the fear of traffic. The only problem you'll have to cope with is Winter: kids freeze easily, especially when they don't pedal too hard... Still 10-15 km can be ridden fairly easily without complaints, even at -10°C.

wahoonc

Oops my bad I meant to suggest the Trail a bike. I have not seen a trailgator but have not heard good about them. Again haunt the thrift shops and garage sales. Also tell anyone and everyone you are looking for one. You would be suprised where I get some stuff from just by asking around.

Aaron

HardyWeinberg

I missed out on a free 2-seat trailer just by not asking hard enough. Someone relatively close to me had it 'archived', but because his kids were way older than anyone else's (HS senior or in college), nobody else knew he had it. I wound up buying, it will fit out soon to be 5 yr old 'till he's big enough to bike to school himself. Right now my backup, should something arise during the daycare day and I don't feel up to trailering him/them up a pretty substantial hill to medical care, I would just take a bus (or cab or ambulance if it's really urgent). I guess they're too small for other activities so that hasn't come up yet.

Nightshade

The long term simple answer it to study how the Dutch manage kids on bikes.

The Dutch use trikes special built for kids (Worksman is the only American "Dutch
type" trike maker) that replace cars nicely. Bike trailers will work for a while but
at the end of the day long term the "Dutch trike" is the best answer. ( I think in
time these trikes will become more common in America. )

If you decide to go the trike route I can share with you that Worksman trikes
are robust long haul work machines. I own a PAV 3 trike and find it to be an
excellent quality bargain when compared to other trikes.

Sad to say that you've already found out that in America the car culture limits the
choices of bikes / trikes to sport or fun machines with utility bikes / trikes getting
the short shrift.

Best of luck, mate.

gwd

These Dutch bikes get imported to the US. Just email Mr. Cutler and he'll put you
in contact with a US importer. There is one in St. Augustine Florida.

https://www.workcycles.com/workbike/index.html

If you go to google images and search on the names of these types like "bakfiets" you'll pull up
loads of pictures of the bikes in use. The Danes use bikes a lot too.

donnamb 

Probably best for urban rug rat transport, but I do love these:

https://www.christianiabikes.com/english/uk_main.htm

becnal

Sheldon has been there and done that:

https://sheldonbrown.com/family/index.html

Roody

I never hauled kids on a bike, so I'll leave those suggestions to others. But keep in mind that kids over four or five are big enough to start doing some riding on their own bikes. I take pretty long rides (2 or 3 miles) with a friend's daughter's, aged 4 and 8. Obviously no serious commuting at this age, and sidewalks only. But you can do neighborhood trips, like to school or the store, with very young children riding their own little bikes.

Since trail-a bikes and kid trailers are expensive items that most people use for only a few years, you might be able to find used ones for cheap or even free. Besides checking with friends, try craig's list and want ads. Another great resource is freecycle, which is a network of Email lists (usually on Yahoo groups) for recycling useful items. In other words, you give and get stuff for free! Just do a computer search of freecycle and the name of your city to find a group in your area.

atman

I see a few parents out in a Trail-a-Bike with their children the age of your daughter or a little older: they seem happy enough. I don't Xtracycle with a kid, yet, but that adds a lot to a car-free lifestyle besides 'just' a back seat for your daughter. If you get an Xtracycle it is not unreasonable to go on a ride with your daughter, and if she gets tired, you can put her bike and her onboard the Xtracycle and take them both home.

One thing you should get past is the idea that these items are 'expensive'. Car insurance is expensive. Gas is expensive. Cars are very, very expensive. Trail-a-bikes, Xtracycles, and trailers are cheap, because you only buy them once and they keep you from having to spend further money on fuel or public transportation.

HardyWeinberg

Even though I found out retroactively that I could have gotten a trailer for free, the $300 burley was still a lot cheaper than buying and fueling (and *insuring*) a junker car for kid duty.

PaulH

We got an InStep Turbo Trailer for something under $100. It gave three years and at least a thousand miles of service before my daughter outgrew it and it was rtelegated to grocery hauling. Key benefits: child can sleep in it, there is room for cargo, and it offers good weather protection. Big drawback -- going up steep hills with a child is a real workout. In fact, it is a good bit of work to haul the thing even when empty.

Last summer, we switched to an Adams Trail A Bike. Our daughter loves this thing. There is great disappointment when I pick her up in one for the cars. This thing is much easier to tow, even when there is nobody riding it. It is a vast improvement when going uphill. Drawbacks -- It is a bit twitchy -- you are always correcting for the little swerves that are caused by the child leaning one way or another. Not a big problem.

The savings with either of these, mostly in parking charges, were enough so that each paid for itself withing a summer.

Paul

hubs

Consider a tandem. You can get a kit to raise the pedals for the stoker. I'm pretty sure there are threads about this in the tandem forum. My daughter, who is tall, was good to go at 6. She also rides her own bike, but this gives me a way to hit the streets and go longer distances. I think she also learns better how to ride in the road without the dangers. We ride a Raleigh Companion and really like it. Even if you have road tendencies, I'd recommend a more Mt. Bike posture ... kids tends to move around even when they think they are keeping steady and you'll use more upper body than you usually do on your own.

Good Luck!

Dr.Deltron

My ultimate solution was a Greenspeed tandem recumbent tricycle with a double Burley trailer.
I Captain the rig, my 12 yr old is the Stoker, while the 5 yr old rides on a seat on the luggage rack. The 3 yr old twins ride way out back in the Burley.

Did seem expensive; my '91 Honda Accord is worth about $2,500. The tandem/trailer was over $7,000.
But the Greenspeed does what I need it to do. And the smiles all around are well worth it!

cerewa

That is a lot of money, but you're not exactly comparing apples to apples.

For a car, $2500 is cheap, and a lot of cars that cheap require repairs often, at $500 or so a shot.

HardyWeinberg

Woah! That makes me want more kids just to justify a rig like that.

adam12

Man you guys rock. Thanks for all the help. I found these guys. I modified their design a bit. So I could carry her bike and her. So when she wants to ride she can, and when she doesn't she can rest. I used a good booster seat from walmart for $20, and materials that I didn't already have cost me about $20 so soon I will have a trailer to cart her and anything else I want around. As soon as it's done I will post some pictures. Thanks again

wahoonc

adam12,
Good find! I had lost that link in one of the last computer crashes. I have the plans printed out, but thanks for finding that website again. That is the trailer I am building, except I am using 20" wheels. I have a nice set of BMX mags.

Aaron

I-Like-To-Bike

Pictures?

carless

I just took my nephew (5 yo last month) on a Trek Mt. Train
https://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Kids..._201/index.php

No problem, he loved it and we did 4 miles on a MUP the first time. I ride alot and used a touring bike. His dad (not a frequent biker) also had no trouble. One thing I did notice: load order adult then child - dismount - child then adult. Otherwise, the poor kid tips when you get on.

stangsta

Be careful about the 80,000 Trail A Bikes sold from Jan96 to Oct 04 that were recalled.
You wouldn't want to be separated from your child.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/recal...railabike.html