I'd like to put a word in for having the kid(s) on the back of a tandem, either a regular sized one with a "kid back" or a bike friday (or MTB type tandem with a lower top tube in back, or if you have the $$ or get lucky on the internet, one of the amazing "periscope" tandems that are made for this very purpose.
Like one of the other posters, I live in a hilly rural area; and I have been pulling my kid on a first a kidback, and tandem since he was 3 1/2; and he's been putting out reasonable pedal power since (from 10 months - 3, he was in a trailer). The added power from the child is very helpful sometimes, esp as he got heavier (now at 80 lbs and 10 years old, a sprinter esp on hills), but most importantly - early lesson in "there is no free ride" - even those few times where I said stop pedalling and I'll pull you up the hill, or we'll walk, or whatever, he saw the relationship between effort and benefit. We've all seen kids who expect everythng to be handed to them...how are they going to understand that they have responsibility if after being hauled around until they're 7 or 8, THEN they have to start riding up those hills? Whichever tandem we've used (and here's a link to some of them), they've all been great for carrying lots of stuff besides the kid; with cheap panniers, or even better, the wald folding grocery racks / big rack + basket up front, I've hauled 60 lbs of stuff, plus kid, no problem, although we do sometimes walk up hills (there are a lot of steep grades round here (western mass / & Columbia County NY). We try to ride everywhere within 10 miles. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjE7mW43 Lights, good rain gear, lots of snacks, fun destinations in addition to the hardware, feed, and grocery stores. Oh, and hey, riv content - a. bikes are "riv'd out" as the expression goes b. if you look closely, there's a shot of my wife's glorius in grand central in front of the Bike friday loaded up. ron in western ma On Saturday, March 2, 2013 11:07:39 AM UTC-5, Andy Smitty Schmidt wrote: > > My friend Madi had two kid seats on a "regular" > bike<http://familyride.us/2011/08/02/new-big-bag-new-small-basket/>. > She made it work and could cram an impressive amount of stuff on there but > she eventually got a Big Dummy (frame + rack + fenders all powder coated > pink). > > 650b would work fine on a free radical... just use disk brakes and the > 700c spacers... or improvise your own spacers. Or go 650b front and 26" > rear then get different size tires to make the outside diameter match. > > If yer wife wants to haul kids on a regular basis, she'd be better off > getting an actual longtail. It could be sold in several years and she could > get a sparkly new BF when the kids are on their own. Or buy the BF with the > gas money saved from her riding the longtail everywhere 'cause she loves it > so much. > > my 2 cents. > > I realize I started this thread, but the Riv-ness of continuing this > discussion is questionable, feel free to email me direct if you want to > discuss family biking. > 54canoe at the mail with a G and dot com > > --Smitty > > > > > > > On Saturday, March 2, 2013 6:45:15 AM UTC-8, Deacon Patrick wrote: >> >> Ahhh. Excellent point, Pudge. The other possibility we're toying with is >> if the Betty Foy could do fine with a handlebar carrier and a >> three-year-old with stoker bars on the back rack. Anyone done this? >> >> With abandon, >> Patrick >> >> On Saturday, March 2, 2013 6:39:04 AM UTC-7, Pudge wrote: >>> >>> My recollection is that Colin (in Texas?) on the list did it with a >>> Bleriot. But wouldn't one of the purpose-built longbikes (Big Dummy, >>> Radish) be netter for this? I think the cost would be comparable or maybe >>> even lower, with one of the Xtracycle models. Also, the Betty is 650b and >>> the Free Radical conversion kits work only for 26" and 700c, as I recall -- >>> something to do with rear brake installation, I think. >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Mar 2, 2013, at 8:24 AM, "Deacon Patrick" <lamon...@mac.com> wrote: >>> >>> After talking it over, we're thinking of getting my wife a Betty Foy >>> and fitting it with an xtracycle Free Radical and family friendly bits. >>> http://www.xtracycle.com/cargo-bicycles/xtracycle-cargo-bicycles/xtracycle-freeradical.html/. >>> That way she has a quality ride (vs. the too small Trek MTB, which we may >>> use in the meantime), and when the munchkins are on their own bikes in 7 or >>> so years, she'll have a Betty Foy for all her riding. Anyone done this with >>> a Riv of any type? All thoughts and advice welcomed (as always). >>> >>> With abandon, >>> Patrick >>> >>> On Friday, March 1, 2013 9:19:27 AM UTC-7, Andy Smitty Schmidt wrote: >>>> >>>> This is somewhat OT but the pics are full of stuff from Riv... Aussie >>>> Wool, Bosco Bars, Betty Foy, Cork Grips, and more. I wrote a guest post on >>>> a friends blog about family biking and going car-free. Thought it might be >>>> of interest to some folks on here. >>>> >>>> Becoming A Biking >>>> Family<http://paranoidstayathomemom.blogspot.com/2013/02/guest-post-becoming-biking-family.html> >>>> >>>> --Smitty >>>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-own...@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> >>> **************************************************** >>> >>> To ensure compliance with Treasury Department regulations, we advise you >>> that, unless otherwise expressly indicated, any federal tax advice >>> contained in this message was not intended or written to be used, and >>> cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding tax-related penalties under >>> the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law provisions >>> or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any >>> tax-related matters addressed herein. >>> **************************************************** >>> **************************************************** >>> >>> This email (and any attachments thereto) is intended only for use by the >>> addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or >>> confidential information. 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