NyoGoat

I have 4 kids, my youngest are twin boys that are 3 years old. We pull the boys in a trailer, my middle girl sometimes rides a tag-a-long and my older girl rides her own bike. The boys are getting old enough that they don't want to be in the trailer. We are debating getting a weehoo igo2 or an Adams double tag-a-long. Also debating just getting an xtracycle. The main goal is transport, we do family bike rides and everybody normally rides their own bike when that happens. Biking to school in the morning, the younger ones striders can't keep up with the round trip of 3 miles.

So i'm trying to talk us into the cargo bike because i've been wanting one for a while. I've got a good used one with a great price available in my area. That would make transport easier. The trailer attachments would probably be funner for the kids though. And cheaper.

Any thoughts?

10 Wheels

6 kids no car..

mel2012

Absolutely a cargo bike. My kids are 6 and 8 and we have both a cargo bike (Bike Friday Haul-a-Day) and a T900 tandem plus Burley Kazoo. The tandem is fun if the kids are the mood to ride, but if we're just trying to get to school in the morning or the grocery store, etc., it's so much easier to just plop them on the cargo bike and go. It's faster and more maneuverable. We had a single WeeHoo in the past and that was awkward enough, I can't imagine trying to haul two kids with one. Same thing for a seatpost mounted double Adams Trail-a-bike. Another option you might want to consider would be a rear seat on your bike plus a FollowMe tandem with a kids bike attached (we've done this set up also and it would be more stable than a a double tag-a-long) and probably also faster, since it keeps the weight more centered/less drag. As far as cost, my experience is that cargo bikes have good resale value. I had an electric WorkCycles Fr8, used it and abused it for three years and sold if for only $500 less than I invested in it (including acquisition cost and all maintenance -- new tires, adding a caliper brake, internal gear hub maintenance, etc), which is a very low total cost of ownership for something that was a functional car replacement.

Viich

I might go for the xtracycle or similar - I have a Burley kazoo, and my 4yo has zero motivation to start riding himself, he likes 'his bike'(kazoo) too much. He won't even ride with training wheels. Also, I found the seatpost mount trailer bike to be a bit unwieldy, I can only imagine the double is a bit more so.

For reference, my 5yo has been riding 2 wheels since 3, full time since he was the age of my younger son.

cabledawg

Cargobike. Wife and I have Xtracyle FreeRadicals and love them. With the Hooptie, it's much easier for little ones to ride and not fall off (easily). tag-alongs are fun too but we've found the cargo bikes to be more versatile.

Tim199

I have a friend that has the 2 seat Weehoo and likes it. It's a lot of weight to pull, but not really that much more than a single tag along. The biggest problem is it only has pedals on one of the seats so only one kids can pedal at a time. If you have the kids that wouldn't fight about that, congratulations.

In your situation I think I'd go for the cargo bike, but I don't have any experience with them. It's not like it's any less safe than the double tag along, and probably better since it's one piece and more controllable.

Mine had fun riding in the trailer up to age 5 and now ride pretty well on their own. I don't have a bike route to school and work that I feel safe enough taking them with me unfortunately, but glad you do.

SpookyReverb

We have a two-seater Weehoo and the kids LOVE it.
They liked their Burley trailer before, but get WAY excited with the weehoo.

A double tag-a-long looks super fun, too.
I would love to have a cargo bike but can't quite justify it (yet!)

Viich

I don't know how your kids are sized, but with twin 3yo boys, I think staying under the weehoo 80lb total kid+cargo limit is a matter of months, if the OP's kids are even that small. Cargo bike will still be useful for that school run and other local runabouts as the twins move onto their own bikes (taking bookbags, etc. to let them keep up with the older ones, just carrying stuff in general).

Maybe it's local supply and demand, but the adams used, even the tandem, seem to be much less (compared to MSRP) than extracycle / yuba / other cargo bike.

fietsbob

Essential Portlandia ,,

The cargo bike will be useful for decades after the kids have out grown a Twin Tagalong

Stadjer

I believe that what kids like most about a bike is steering and the view. The parent's back isn't that interesting, and pedalling is not a problem but without steering it doesn't give that feeling of independence that kids tend to like. Also kids get more independent every day.

I'd go for the cargo bike, and maybe you could have two bike clamps attached so you can put the extra two kids in the cargo bike and carry the kid's bikes, if the journey is a bit too long for them or it's just not their day to ride.

cabledawg

Here's my setup for towing bikes behind the xtracycle No riders as it's not load bearing but works great when the kiddos are on my bike but still want to ride occasionally.

Viich

I assume it's the attachment to the xtracycle that isn't load bearing - what you built & the Thule both look strong enough for a kiddo.

cabledawg

The rear bar of the Freeradical isnt designed to have that much weight on it and the fork attachment is to secure the bike in a truck bed so while it all looks beefy, it wasnt designed to be load bearing beyond a full size bike. Could it hold a kid on a bike? Probably. Would I use it as such? No.

Really the advantage of this setup would be for a parent with a little one that is just learning to ride or where the ride may be too long or hazardous. Mom/dad can put kiddo in a child seat on the cargo bike and attach the kid bike to the bracket. Ride to the local park or bike trail and kiddo rides his/her bike there. Could also be used if mom/dad ride with kids to school but dont want to leave the kid's bike there. Kid rides to school, parent pulls the tire and trailers the bike back home. Much easier than stuffing the bike in the side pouch. Sure it requires pulling the front tire off, but a single 15mm wrench can take care of that.