You might want to take a peek at the following links:

http://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/

http://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/Triplets.html

http://www.jacolope.org/familycycling/index.jsp

http://home.att.net/~thetandemlink/hobbes.html
Terrific links! Thanks so much.

I am going to check out the Piccolo, although I think our seat post mount is pretty darn sturdy (it's by Adams, the company that invented Trailer-cycles). I can't imagine the mounting causing safety problems but I would have to check on the *seat post* to see if that's reliable for the extra weight.

Re. safety: I had to upgrade my rear bike wheel to a tandem wheel because I kept breaking spokes. This was when I was towing both of my big kids in a trailer on a daily basis--in the city, with all of it's potholes, curbs, etc. Since the upgrade, I've had no problems at all with my wheels.

Mike and I haven't considered getting a tandem previously because we don't ride that much as a family--mostly just the weekends and an occasional evening ride. I'm the one who's out there on a daily basis. I'm hoping that will change as the kids get older. I remember seeing some media coverage on a family of five that rode a quint bike across the U.S. a few years back and thinking how cool that was. We'd like to start taking family bike trips in the next few years. So far, we just take our bikes with us when we go on vacation.

When you ride as a family unit, do you ever do overnight treks? If so, how do you pull that off? Also, is it possible to travel by car/plane/train with a larger tandem bike?

Thanks--
Jane