Darth Lefty 

Trying this again in General because the family forum gets about four posts a week...

The kiddo is now past 2 and my wife has twins on the way. When the twins are 1yo, the kiddo will be a preschooler, nearly 4. My wife has good intentions but seldom rides, really, and she despises towing the trailer, so I'm looking for ways for me to take all the kids. Is it foolish to even think about riding with this brood until the oldest one can ride himself? I've been trying to think of some configuration of kid seat, trailer, tandem, whatever that would allow me to take all these kids.

I'm hoping to get the kiddo on a kidback setup as soon as I reasonably can, but I can't count on him taking to it, and not sure I want to deal with both that and a trailer at the same time.

Same deal with a pedal bike. He'll be getting a 16er around then, and he has a Strider now so I'm not too worried he'll be able to ride it, but I don't really expect him to ride much distance or duration, and how would I keep him in formation?

I could tow the trailer with a single and him in a kid seat. But I feel like he'll be getting too big for the kid seat by then. I could put one baby in the kid seat and the kiddo with the other baby in the trailer, that actually sounds easier to ride, but then I need to worry about kiddo's behavior with the other baby.

Budget and garage space is already an issue. I've got to do this with bikes I already have and/or stuff I can find easily on Craigslist. I'm definitely upgrading from my InStep to a Chariot, if cycling seems reasonable; or a Bob if it's not. But other than that I'm not sure what to do yet.

Homebrew01

Sounds messy. What's the goal ? Who will benefit ?

longbeachgary

No disrespect but why not hire a baby sitter?

Daniel4

I've seen someone last weekend with a European style cargo bike with kids sitting in the front.

LaughingLots

Or do like my friends and I did. Get up at 4:30 while the kids and wife are asleep, get your ride in, and be back home to hang with the family once everyone wakes up.

chaadster

Here's how I did it:



Unfortunately, the likelihood of finding a Tanjor Aero inline trailer is quite low, but I did find mine on Craigslist. The Chariot Sidecarrier, like the Tanjor, is out of production, but at least more recently than Tanjor, so perhaps one of those can be found; I just sold this one a couple of months ago on Craigslist.

Obviously, the single-seat sidecar is the key piece here, as any two-up trailer will work, and are quite common.

It was a great setup, and rode really well. The narrow Sidecarrier, when coupled with Chariot's Baby Supporter bolster kit, was really ideal for the smallest kid. I used this setup through two kids, and really only needed the full setup when adding a friend into the mix, which was often, actually.

blakcloud

My initial thought was a bakfiets, it will solve keeping all the children together and would be the safest. The issue is your garage space and budget. Keep looking at CL and hopefully you will find something.

I pulled a Chariot trailer for years with both my kids (single dad) to daycare and to school everyday but I only had two kids. I don't know what I would have done if I had a third. When my oldest was six he was riding his own two wheel bike. I would ride on the road with the trailer and he would ride on the sidewalk beside me. If he got tired, he go inside the trailer and I strapped his bike to the back of the trailer. Bikes and a trailer were our car. There were a few occassions where I would stuff a third kid in the trailer if I was babysitting or my children would have a friend over. It was tight but at least it worked.

I like Chaadsters set up, very creative.

Good luck on what ever you decide.

longbeachgary

^^^
That's it right there.

prathmann

When our daughter was about two I would sometimes go for a bike ride with a friend who had two girls - 3 and 5. He had a pretty big trailer that had two compartments. I think it was originally designed mainly for carrying two kids in the front one and any extra stuff in the rear one, but we readjusted things so my daughter was comfortable and secure (it did have a seat belt) in the rear one. With the three kids in the trailer we hooked it up to the back of my tandem and went for our rides. Even got a write-up once in the local paper when a reporter happened to see us out on a country road. I wouldn't have wanted to tow the loaded trailer behind my single bike in an area with substantial hills, but it would have been fine on flatter terrain.

I've also seen people hitch a regular two-kid trailer behind a 'Trail-a-Bike' which would work for the OP's situation.

I-Like-To-Bike

It can be done; hopefully your area is flat and conducive to reasonably safe riding with street traffic.
I managed with 9 month old twins and I suppose I could have pulled a trailer with their sister who was 3 at the time but I had no reason, as my wife biked with her in a child seat on the rear carrier.

Darth Lefty 

Thanks everyone.

For those of you suggesting that I ride some other time, or asking why I want to do it at all: I want to do something with all my kids, physical, outdoors, seeing the sunlit world, breathing the newly-photosynthesized oxygen and feeling the outdoor temperature. (That's why I posted first in the family forum, it was just too dead, I didn't want to wait!) It doesn't have to be a bike at all, if it turns out to be unworkable. It's just that cycling is the community and the hobby that I'm in right now, and I already have a lot of cycling stuff (several solo bikes, a tandem bike, a cheap trailer and willingness to get a better one, a bike seat). I don't foresee a lot of free time away from the kids even if I wanted it... I get that now from bike commuting a few times a week, and will persist in that.

The carrier and baby seat I have now wouldn't let me sit like you are in that photo @I-Like-To-Bike . The carrier is too big and the seat is too close. I can't even wear a 3-liter Camelback without it sticking in his face right now. The kid seat and trailer seems like the most likely arrangement. And once kiddo is nearly four... he'll be getting pretty big for anything. Which is why I'm even considering the kidback on the tandem.
@chaadster that's a unique rig

Liz33

I met a guy on the bike trail of Folsom CA that was riding with his three kids. He was going slower than what he can normally ride so I was able to ride next to him for a while and have a nice chat (I'm a slow rider) He enjoys it a lot and according to him they do 10 miles every time. I thought it was very nice that he would take his children out for a ride and the children seemed to loved it.

My dad used to take my mom, my older brother and me on a bicycle ride. I would be sitting in the handler, my brother in the frame and my mom in the back, or we would switch positions. Four of us (two adults and two kids) in just one bike that had no other extra nice things to carry more people! It was out of necessity because we were living in a third world country and we had no cars, but it was fun nevertheless. The last time we had to do this I was 11 years old, my brother 14. imagine that! four grown ups in a bike lol

I loved going out with my dad and some of my best memories as a child are riding in a bicycle with my dad because he would happily take me everywhere with him any time I wanted. He never forced me to go though. I don't even remember him asking me if I wanted to go. I remember being the one begging my mom to let me go with him and him being happy about it. He would ride with me when I wasn't even five years old yet more than 5km to get to a river and fish and it was hard for him to carry me back in the bicycle with two buckets full of water and live fish. But I always remember him happy. Those memories are the ones I can remember best from when I was four and five years old.

When I was close to 7 years old he taught me how to ride his bike and when I was 10 he bought another bike and I never missed the chance of going out with him anytime he had to ride 10km into the countryside to do his business. On the way back he would ride next to me with his hand on my back pushing me forward because 10 Km was a lot for me. I never got on a bike again after my 12th birthday because our life changed and whatever...the point is that for a child, IF the child likes riding, going out with his/her parents is fun and you can create great memories like that.

So now with all the technology and stuff I'm sure you can research ways to take your kids out with you on the bike. If my father was able to take us out in those conditions and we had fun, you can do it too and in a lot better conditions and being safe. Safety is important. But also, remember while educating your son to enjoy these activities, that he might truly not like it and he might prefer other sports. Be open about it. It's a good idea to support him in the sport and outdoors activities that he truly likes. Then he will have unforgettable good memories with his dad.

dabac

I've seen several people using bikes with extended wheelbases and racks (Xtracycle, Big Dummy etc) with two kids' seats in tandem. Seems to work OK. Then maybe a tow bike hooked onto that.
Probably the easiest combination to find.
Bakfiets, Bullitt and other front loading cargo bikes is another option, but probably rarer. As would be a Stoker-forward tandem.

Stadjer

Three kids on a bike is possible. I believe the trick is to keep the weight of the children behind the handlebar and keep an upright position so you have some leverage to counterbalance with your own bodyweight, and a bit of an angle on the head tube (caster) will help too.

bmthom.gis

There's a Kickstarter right now for a kit to turn a bike you currently have into a bakfiets. It looks pretty awesome. A more expensive option is something similar to like-to-bike posted. Work cycles Fr8 with a seat in front for the older and room for two child seats in the back. You might have to ditch the camelback, but with 3 kids would you be going the distances a 3 L camelbak would require?
Really, it's a moot point since you mentioned budget constraints, but if it were me I would go that direction.

bmthom.gis

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ift-cargo-bike
Not gonna lie, I want one myself.

fietsbob

Dutch have the infrastructure separating cars and bikes .. Their politics made that happen

SloButWide 

As the father of four, can I point out the my boys really, really appreciated one on one time? We got really creative, and you should too. If you can't ride with all three, take two while mom gives one her full attention. When the younger two are napping, take the oldest. Set up a turn system one day a week, taking one for a quick after work ride (or for errands on the weekend) while mom gets "help" from the other two.

Once you're outnumbered by toddlers, life gets interesting. Twins intensify the effect, because they never seem to need the same thing at the same time. (Two of mine are just over a year apart, so-called Irish twins.) Everyone tells you your life will change when you have a kid. You nod, thinking you understand, but nothing prepares you for the reality. It's the same way with the second and following kids. You've got the one kid thing down, but nothing prepares you for the increased demands on your time. Integrate the kids into what you need to get done or they or the chores will suffer. Well, something is going to give anyway - make sure it's the least important thing to you!

SloButWide 

Crazy idea - garage sale tandem, remove the stoker's seat for three kids seats?

Milton Keynes

My son learned to ride without training wheels last year when he was 5. Now he and I go on bike rides all over town, and this spring while camping at a small lake we rode the 5 mile trip around the lake. My daughter is 4 and has a bike with training wheels, but when she rides her bike I might as well walk because she's still pretty slow. So my bike rides with my kids are basically just riding with my son while my daughter stays home with mom, or else I take the kids a block down the street to a fairly large empty parking lot and we ride around there. Hopefully when my daughter is able to ride without training wheels I'll get my wife on a bike and we can do bike rides as a family activity. My wife wants to ride but needs a decent bike, one which fits her well and is comfortable.

It's good that you want to get your kids involved but I'm not sure how to do it with 3 kids. For me, though, it seems that we're just going to do it by getting each family member on their own bike.

jefnvk

I see it quite regularly on one of the MUPs by me, parents with two kids in a trailer and older ones on a 12" bike. At 4, wouldn't the oldest be ready for his own bike? It is certainly not going to be a fast ride, but then again neither is any solution that has you powering three, and as you already mentioned the goal is to do something with them, not to ride bikes.

1Mule

Maybe keep your eyes peeled for a Surly Big Dummy or a Yuba Mundo, trailer the 2 little ones until they're big enough to pile them on the back,

MRT2

I only have 1 kid, and when he was a baby, I was on a hiatus from cycling. We never did the Burley (trailer) thing or the trail a bike, but I know those exist. When my son was about 2 to maybe 3, we did rent a Burley when we went on vacation a couple of times. Then we got him a tricycle and we would walk while he rode his trike. At around age 4 or so, we got him his first two wheeler, and my wife or I would ride slowly around the neighborhood with him. By age 6 or 7, he was strong enough to actually ride 6 or 8 miles with frequent stops, usually including a hot dog or ice cream somewhere along the way. But realistically, until my son got to maybe age 9 or so, these rides were strictly recreational, meaning that they were strictly family time, and really didn't count as bike rides that I would do for my own fitness.

With 3 kids, I would think it helps if your wife is part of the scene. Escpecially when you are talking about two or even three babies or toddlers that are not toilet trained. (if you are going to be changing diapers by the side of the road, it helps for another person to keep an eye on the other two kids) I know in Holland, people take their kids on cargo bikes, but this isn't Holland.

chaadster

It's a crappy two-hour drive to Redwood City, but there's a Chariot Sidecarrier for sale there on CL:

Specialized Womens Bike + Bike Trailer

Problem solved.

Retro Grouch 

Who ever would have thought? What makes the internet so great is that it cases such a broad net. Now all you have to is to find the hardware (and pay for it).

That early morning ride by yourself is a completely different thing than actually riding with kids.