What to do with my twins?

[tjf9]

Hi there! Not sure if there is a better place for this question, but I don't see a category for family riding. Anyway, so my boys (4 1/2, ~35 lbs each) are outgrowing the trailer. It is like pulling teeth to get them to ride in it these days, and I really want to work toward more riding, not less! So, I'm trying to figure out the next step.

As far as I can tell, I have 3 options:

1. Bakfiet
2. Xtracycle
3. Double Trail-A-Bike

Criteria:
- Must comfortably and safely carry 2 growing boys, preferrably for at least a couple of years
- Solution needs to work for both DH and I (he's only about 5'9" and I'm 5'3", so it's not that much of a difference. I'm a much stronger rider tho)
- We live in a relatively flat area, but there is an occasional hill to surmount

I really have no idea which way to go. The bakfiet is appealing because the kids are in front and I can get a rain cover for winter, but it's *very* expensive and I'm not sure how useful it will be in 3 or 4 years. The Xtracycle is much more reasonable, but with the kids in back, unrestrained and pretty high up, it seems kinda unstable. The trail-a-bike seems long and unwieldy, but they'll be helping (some) and they might find it more fun, like they're riding their own bikes.

Anyone with experience in this arena? Informed opinion from you wise ladies is welcome as well! I'm befuddled

[Tuckervill]

How cooperative are the kids? I can see the trail-a-bike being a source of frustration for one twin or the other. I guess they can stop pedaling, even though you are still pedaling, but what about when one of them stops? Would it cause an issue for you? For the other twin?

Are they old enough and interested enough to pay attention to being on the bike for the whole ride? That's another concern I'd have about the trail-a-bike. You might not be able to ride as far with them responsible for their own uprightness and holding on. In the trailer they could even fall asleep!

Safari wouldn't load the Xtracycle page, so I didn't see the picture of the family version--but I keep picturing it with twins hanging off the side like panniers!!! lol.

I think whatever you do there's going to be a transition period where your riding changes, until they can be a little more independent. I think the box bike is a big investment, and if you bought one you'd be through with it before you got your money's worth (kids grow!), unless you were planning on more kids. You're kind of stuck in a spot--too big for the trailer, and the available options aren't going to last until they're independent riders. That's going to change how much and how far you ride, for a little while.

I haven't seen the Xtracycle with the family option, but I think that might be the way to go, with the trail-a-bike next.

Have fun shopping!

Karen

[sfa]

You're entering the difficult years of cycling with kids--too big for infant/toddler carriers but too little to ride on their own (although not far off--my nephew turned 6 in February and accompanies my sister on all of her rides since she went car-free this summer; the longest they go is maybe three miles, but it's in the mountains of Virginia and he's able to keep up). I guess the question is whether it's worth the money to get something that may only be useful for one or two years. The other question is what sort of cycling you're doing--if you're riding for fun/fitness then I'd probably opt for the double trail-a-bike. They can use it on your outings until they can cycle on their own, and you probably wouldn't have any difficulty reselling it when you're finished with it. But if you're cycling more for utility/transportation, then I'd give some serious thought to the xtracycle or the bakfiet since they would be useful for a lot more than just carrying around the kids. Instead of using the bike for two years or so, you could use it for many years for regular transportation--and they can carry a LOT of groceries! Of the two I'd opt for the xtracycle just because it isn't so expensive or cumbersome, and I wouldn't worry too much about them being unrestrained and high up--they'll get used to it pretty quickly, as will you with the weight positioned differently.

Sarah

[mtbdarby]

I would vote for the trail-a-bike if your goal is to get them riding to start focusing on the bike and learning to pedal. The other two seem to be strollers on wheels. On the TAB they will start to work as a team with you and each other. Of course, they'll probably fight about who gets to sit where, but kids will be kids.

I don't have twins and my son just turned six. We are using a TAB and it makes him feel good about riding a bike. He's still afraid to try and ride a bike by himself so this is helping to slowly build his confidence and concentration. HTH, best of luck with whatever you decide.

Dar

[fastdogs]

my son hated the trailer by the time he was 4. He has a little bike with training wheels, but rides so slow and stops so often that it's better to walk with him rather than try to ride. We have a 2 mile paved loop in a park we can ride on, and he does fine on that.
I have a trail-a- bike too, but the tires are 20" and he can't reach the pedals yet, so we haven't been able to try it. I think he'll like being able to pedal when he wants to. The double trail a bike looks like what you'll end up needing, but I don't know how these things handle at all since I've never got to use mine yet. I wonder if they unbalance you a lot as the kid(s) shift their weight.
vickie

[Grog]

I can see lots of uses for the Bakfiet, but maybe not in your neck of the woods, and having seen one this week I'm not really sure your boys will be comfy in there even for a year. And they ARE expensive.

A friend of mine does this:

(see his website: http://mgagnon.net/velo/index.en.html)

but his oldest was 7 when they started. Yours being twins makes it more complicated.

I have very little experience riding with children, but I think that if it's just for leisure riding (you don't HAVE to take them somewhere on a bike and need to get there at a certain time) you could start training them with the trail-a-bikes and soon on their own bikes, even if it means going for much, much shorter rides. Then perhaps sometime soon they would be able to ride a tandem, but that's another expensive beast *shudder*.