What to do with my twins?

[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*.

[maillotpois]

We got a tandem for our daughter when she was about 6 or 7. It worked quite well. The trail a bike, even for one kid, got VERY unwieldy and was no fun at all as she got bigger. The tandem handled great.

Search for "triple tandem bicycle". I can't believe the price on this one ($370!): http://www.bikemania.biz/ProductDeta...ode=PI_Tandem3

I am sure it's not the best components, etc., but it would handle way better than a trailer.

These guys knows EVERYTHING about tandems, triples, etc.: http://www.precisiontandems.com/ You would no doubt need kid backs (redundant cranksets that go on the seat tube to shorten the reach) for both for some time.

[Triskeliongirl]

Bike friday sells some triple tandems. Perhaps with different stems which are easy to swap you could make the front of the bike work for both you and your husband. Or what about a trail a bike on each of your single bikes, so all 4 of your could ride together, but you would each only need to tote one kid. Eventually you could move to tandems or single bikes.

[cyclingmama]

I have a colleauge who had a triple tandem made for him and his girls, 6 and 8, and they will ride 12-15 miles without issue.

You don't say if you want to be able to take them places by bike, or if you want to ride yourself and need to take them out of necessity, or if you are just trying to plan family time on bikes. My kids are 3 and 5, but weigh 39 and 49 pounds respectively, so with almost 80 pounds of kid plus the weight of a trailer or similar its out of the questions, particulary since I live in a hilly region. When we want family time on the bikes, I take the hybrid and their bikes to the rail trail near our house and we ride together, each on our own bikes. We go pretty slow, but on a flat smooth trail like that, even the 3 year old will do 2.5 miles.

When I want to ride, I find times that work and barter with my husband for riding time. Weekday mornings I ride from about 5:20-6:45, then shower quickly before getting them up at 7 (I work and they go to daycare and camp). Saturday mornings the negotiating comes in. I'll ride from 6-10 or so, and then I'll take them from 10-2 so DH can do whatever he wants to do, then we have the late afternoons/evenings to do things together as a family.

Good luck!!!