Right now, I am using the Burley double to haul around my 15 month and 3 1/2 year old. Next spring, I doubt they will both fit, as it's already tight.
I am trying to figure out the best option for next spring.
I can't imagine pulling a trailer AND a tandem kid bike behind me! And I don't know if my bigger girl will be able to bike on her own (with training wheels) as far as we need to go- which is only about 2 miles at the max.
Do the tandem kid bikes convert to a regular bike? Or are they just tandem?
What do other biking moms do? We haven't purchased anything yet...still trying to figure out what to do. Would love to get used equipment, too!
I know a mom who does the tandem, and trailer off of that. It works great for her. They get a lot of attention too so less chance of being hit by a car???? It seems like it workes fine for her
K.,
We just got a Tandem bike for our son this summer. We got ours at a garage sale and only paid $20 for it and it looked brand new...
My son will be 5 this month and is tall for his age. He just is able to ride it, but has a little problem with keeping stable, as the bike is bigger than his bike.
A tandem bike has only the back wheel as the front is attached to the parents bike.
I do not think your daughter will be able to keep up with you on her own bike, unless you are planning to bike very slow.
Good Luck!!!
All of the other responses sound great, but my thought was Girls "typically" at your girls ages only get TAllER not WIDER. I ride with my girls (5 and 18 mths) in their double burley all the time. It might be a tad snug, but we get along and I think that it will do for a little while longer. When my 18 mth potty trains I will lose the diaper width as well!!!
Just a thought. I guess I would just wait until spring to see how your 3.5 year old will do on her own or a tag-a-long.
K.,
I don't have person experience in this, but did see a tandem bike with a trailer attached at an event over the weekend, and it looked like it was working for them. I think it would depend on where you were riding (on trails, sidewalks, streets, etc.).
J.
K.-
What kind of surface are you riding on? Trails, roads etc? I bike with my wife in a few different configurations. When it is just the kids and I (we have a 3 and 5.5 year old) I will use this configuration: My bike, trail-a-bike, trailer. I have pulled this configuration many, many times up to 60 miles at a crack.
When my wife and I ride we use a tandem and pull the kids like this too. Now keep in mind that you are pulling a big rig when you have a tandem, trail-a-bike and a trailer but you just use your head and it all goes fine. This thing is something like 20 feet long.
We can still put both kids in the trailer and they seem to get along as long as the ride doesn't go over a couple hours.
I don't know how much you are really interested in biking but there are quite a few ideas on my website. Please feel free to look at this area and maybe you can get some ideas.
http://www.tandem-bicycle-central.com/trail-a-bike.html
I can help you locate a tandem if you are interested. My wife and I ride one that the front and rear (captain and stoker) are able to coast and pedal independently, eliminating much frustration tandem riders experience. Just peruse my site and see if the information there gets more questions for you to ask me. I love helping people get into biking and ride more. It is so much fun!!
Regards
Jeffrey Spahn
www.tandem-bicycle-central.com
My son bikes (he's almost 5 now) and my daughter rides. My son's been biking since he was 3, you'd be surprised how far they can go if they want to (and if there's a snack at the other end). I've seen people with the tandem and the trailer. I've considered it for longer trips too.
I think the older one would have a pretty hard time keeping up if she's by herself. A tandem and a trailer will make for a pretty long convoy! :-) Have you thought about putting your younger one in a bike seat that mounts to the back of your bike? It might be easier. (Here's an example of what I mean - http://www.target.com/Bell-Classic-Child-Carrier-109459/d...)
Happy cycling!
My son, who used to be very physically able (now his peers are catching up; he's not so advanced anymore), who is still a pretty physical kid, would have been able to bike with us at 4. We would have had to go a little slower, but two miles would have been possible at four. He is on training wheels, but the difference between what he could do at 3 1/2 (not even ride a two wheeler w/ training wheels, despite being a physically agile 3 1/2) and what I assume he'll be able to do at 4 1/2, as a more average physical kid (ride a two wheeler without training wheels), is huge. If biking's a big part of your lives, your daughter might be very intrigued by the idea of riding along with you on her own bike. Anyway, just food for thought!
I did see a side car type of trailer at our local bike store. I believe it was trek. This would eliviate the problem with the length.
~M.
Hi K.,
We have 3 children so we've done this shuffle a bit. With the most recent baby we purchased a bike seat that clips onto an adult bike. It is the Bell Cocoon - and we felt it had a little more coverage for a decent price. Our son at that time, was 3 or 3 1/2 and he was already biking pretty well independently. At other points in time we used the Burley with the two oldest. We also came across the tag-along bike at a garage sale for a decent price so we also have one of those! Make sure you try one out before you buy one to make sure your child will actually use it. Our oldest daughter is scared to death of it because it does rock from side to side just a little bit. Our middle son is a little dare devil so it doesn't scare him in the least.
Hopefully at 3 1/2 your daughter can ride independently on the sidewalk or a trail and you can still get an enjoyable bike ride in - although, don't plan to count it as strenuous exercise! I think the Bell Cocoon holds up to 40 pounds of thereabouts.
Good luck!
M.
K., we had the exact same problem. Pulling both units is really difficult, I often think it looks unsafe because it is so long. We had one summer where I either had both kids in the trailer, at 2 & 4 (for really short rides!) or I only had one child at a time. Pulling both in the trailer is really heavy. Do you have to take both children via bike? For one summer you may want to do your biking while your older child is at a playdate or at preschool, or while the younger one is with a sitter. You didn't mention if there is a "significant other". If there is, do your biking when it's the two of you and each take a child. Your 4 year old (if she is big enough) will LOVE the tag-a-long bike. Good luck!
