OK, at the moment I take the 3yo on the back of the bike and we all like this but she’s starting to get heavy, and I may need to take the 2nd child when she gets a bit bigger

but – the traffic is severely congested; it’s 2 miles (which is nowt on the bike but too far for a small person to walk) and there are no easier routes or nursery options, driving takes 45mins (really!) and I don’t take the car to work, Mrs Ed needs it (I like riding to work, do it every day year round). And we’re skint which doesn’t help

so my options appear to be

1) bike trailer – only this means I’ll be more like a car and take longer to do the journey I think, storage issues at nursery

2) cargo bike – as much as I would enjoy buying n+1 but we are skint and cargo bikes aren’t cheap, (3 wheeler box job is nigh-on £2k) Kona Ute plus bike seats seems best for this option

3) 2nd hand double buggy, push both (is 3yo already too big for buggy?) to nursery then get bus – price of bus journey gets expensive and I’m not riding

are bike trailers so unwieldy and impractical through north manchester in rush hour or am I missing something? or are 2 kids on a 2wheel cargo bike not such a great idea

so what would you do? have I missed an option ??

There was someone selling one of them danish box bikes cheap the other day. Collection from London though,….

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/christiania-bike-and-a-tandem

Box bikes are lethal contraptions. Stay on the pavement.

That’s a toughy. If Mrs Ed needs the car, get her to do it!
Can you drop them at a less busy time?
Can you stagger each other’s jobs? One drops kids later and starts late, other starts really early, finishes early and collects kids type of arrangement.

Loads of us (STWers) bought Kona Minutes half price last Autumn on CRC. Bet you’d pick one up for a couple of hundred if you stuck in a wanted ad. There are seats specifically designed for the built in rack – not cheap, but cheaper than the other options mentioned.

There are photos floating about of a couple of older kids sitting quite comfortably on the back, with a set of bodged bars stuck to the seatpost. Makes it easier to wheelie too 😀

EDIT – I was one of those who bought a Minute. I **** love it and so does baby-removed.

Is there a parent who passes your street to take their kid to school?
Maybe you could offer them a few quid to take yours.

Forever?! Would sort the problem I suppose…

http://sheldonbrown.com/tandkids.html

Would something like this work? (This was the best picture that google could find)

I take my 3 year old in a trailer. Luckily I can avoid the road for the most part of the 2 mile journey. The trailers are obvious but you do feel at risk using them in heavy traffic -even with a designated cycle path in the road. You also get tuts of disapproval from passing drivers and their passengers which is really annoying.
Mrs Mcavennie hates using it on main roads and tends to stick with pavements. She did recently have a guy run up, grab her bars and shout at her to get on the road, so now she geeks she’s damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.

not easy – do you pick up as well? how about single buggy and a stand on board for older one at nearly 4 will walk a lot – to and fro from nursery – pretty please leave bike at nursery so is available next day to carry on after drop off – assumes got a commute bike you can leave

Ours is a 1.2miles. Mrshora WALKS it in all weathers. No taxi ever. There are some big mums. If its raining she uses a buggy cover.

I haven’t tried it with two kids, but I have had some happy commuting with a heavy and wriggly 4yo on the back of a Kona Ute. I did make a custom deck on the rack to take the old bike seat, but I don’t need to much encouragement to tinker with bikes. Full work kit, said 4yo and a week’s worth of groceries is my record for haulage so far.

I used a trailer for years, till they got too big. In all weathers too. I did use the road for some of the journey, but we’re talking Lichfield here, it’s hardly central London. To be fair, providing it’s well lit up & you’re visible, car drivers on my route, were never a problem, & gave us plenty of room. We’ve lots of cycle routes too, so road sections were mostly short & quiet roads.

Eventually we moved to my eldest on his own bike & youngest on a tagalong. Concern about the eldest, plus having to cart all their school bags meant I got a Kona Ute. Have to say, of any bike I’ve ever bought this one is the best. When you can leave things like waterproofs, tools etc, stored on the bike all the time, plus you have room to carry bags etc easily, it’s just so much easier. My two are more than able on their bikes now, & too heavy.

Our Ute is shortly going to a mate with a young baby, so he too can enjoy it.

I paid £600 from charliethebikemonger, it was reduced in his sale.

Good luck. 🙂

And a Ute is more than up to carrying two, when another one comes along.

IMAG0774 by pten2106, on Flickr

Does the nursery not have a buggy store you could leave the trailer in?

Double buggy and unicycle for propulsion. Job done.

at 3 she’s probably ok for a tag-a-long?

No wider than a normal bike so you can still get through traffic.

or as above a ute type thing or conversion kit but they’ll be more than a tag-a-long – I ended up giving our one away.

At 3 as wwaswas says she might be big enough for a tagalong.

Orange warning flag, hi-vized to f***, lit up like a christmas tree.
Own the road.

You also get tuts of disapproval from passing drivers and their passengers which is really annoying.

You’re probably holding them up on the way to McD’s.

Mrs Mcavennie hates using it on main roads and tends to stick with pavements. She did recently have a guy run up, grab her bars and shout at her to get on the road, so now she geeks she’s damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.

Hope she told him to do one. If someone tried that with me and my kids, well….

nursery drop off congestion

3) 2nd hand double buggy, push both (is 3yo already too big for buggy?) to nursery then get bus – price of bus journey gets expensive and I’m not riding

A five-year-old will happily go in a buggy when offered the opportunity. This might be your best option if you’re not on a tight schedule (walking four miles will take a while obvs).

Regarding storage – we leave our trailer locked to a fence, under a waterproof barbecue cover.

The trailer isn’t quite as good as a bike on its own in traffic, but a whole bunch better than a car.

A Weeride so you have one on the front and one on the back?

Alternatively a tag along for the bigger kid?

Or if a full utility bike is too expensive then look at an Xtracycle conversion kit for your commuter bike…

our nursery run isn’t as long as yours but we both go on the bikes.

0.7 miles and my 3 year old does the trip on her balance bike in <10 minutes most days, then i ride home carrying her bike.

She’s pretty nippy on the thing, not sure she’ll get that much faster once shes riding her cnoc 14!

I used to drop my daughter at nursary in a trailer, unhook it and leave it in the buggy store, then ride into work.

I used a Burley Solo. Which as the name suggests is for one, and is a lot narrower than any of the other trailers I’ve seen. So takes up no more room than a normal buggy, and is also better for your peace of mind if you’re on the road, as its not actually any wider than you and the bike, so isn’t potentially sticking out into traffic.

When the eldest started at school, and the little un was at nursery, I got a bigger trailer and dropped them both off, then left the trailer at school and carried on into work

There are few things you will pick up on if you do this

1. Everybody smiles when they see 2 giddy little girls waving at them from a bike trailer in the morning. Its like a public service, spreading happiness

2. At school, all their mates want to have a go in the trailer

😀

Agree with MrBlobby, weeride on front, and a rear kids seat on back.
I wouldnt feel to confident about having a kid on the tag along in heavy traffic.

OP-
have you considered a buggy for the smallest with a hop-on for the eldest

hop-on example linky

edit- Antigee already suggested this. enjoy pic anyway 🙂

No buggy store at nursery? Anywhere on the grounds you could lock a trailer to? Maybe have a chat with nursery say you would prefer not to further over burden their parking facilities but you’ll need to do something to bring their clients to their premises.
I was considering a weeride and rear seat but mrs does most of the nursery runs so didn’t bother in the end.

Ours is a 1.2miles. Mrshora WALKS it in all weathers.

hora wait til little one is older and wants to walk, well walk half of it then wants carrying and may or may not get into a pram. More importantly wait til you get minihora2, our nursery is 0.5 miles, mrs normally picks kids up on way to/from work in car but I sometimes go, that walk can be a pita with 2, especially if you are in a rush.

Can be a lot of fun too mind.

EDIT if you want a hop on mail me, pretty sure we’ve still got ours in the attic, mrs is terrible at getting stuff on ebay

If its not raining he walks all of it. Hes going to grow up fit and active!

My double trailer (halfords own brand)quickly folds up flat so can just be locked to a post. My journey is a mixture of off-road, minor roads and pavement.

One of the mums uses a utility bike with one child in front and another behind, this does look unwieldy however and I have seen her come off in the middle of the road with both children on board(no other vehicle was involved and nobody was hurt – just a bit shaken)so I wouldn’t recommend that approach.

A trailer bike coupled with a child seat could be good – if you can get them both to fit (my trailer bike won’t attach if the hamax seat is already on).

Burley Solo trailer user here checking in – Commuting to Nursery since 9 months and now drag around a bulky 3 and a half year old – ooof!

Whatever you decide, I hope you stick with the commute. Buy secondhand, request shiny reflective stuff as gifts, guilt friends and family into helping fund a cycling commute. Just don’t give it up.

We had a parents evening a few weeks back and I learnt that almost all other parents were in awe of how we commute by bike. Being that inspiration that might result in another parent dusting off that bike at the back of the shed (complete with child seat/whatever) is a wonderful thing.

We rode in this morning into a breathtaking milky orange sunrise. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world 🙂

TM

Mrs Mcavennie hates using it on main roads and tends to stick with pavements. She did recently have a guy run up, grab her bars and shout at her to get on the road, so now she geeks she’s damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.

Hope she told him to do one. If someone tried that with me and my kids, well…. [/quote]

She actually went completely mental. She had moved onto the pavement as she was on the road and wanted to turn right. She had her arm out but no car would let her move across and one started beeping at her. She felt under pressure, so moved onto the pavement and started riding down to the pedestrian crossing.

This was when this guy got involved. I think he has learnt that acting in this way to a protective, under pressure mother in a hurry will only result in her going nose to nose with him and screaming where he should go, and how he should get there. Quite out of character, but understandable in my opinion.

She said she does recognise him from the local area, so if we see him when I am around I will be having a quiet word with him.

The trouble is, that there are certain people around who go out of their way to make life difficult for people if they feel that person is bending a rule that has no impact whatsoever on their or anyone else’s life. Example – when taking my son home from nursery I have a choice:

1) Ride down the narrow cycle lane of a very busy single carriageway road for a mile and a half. My bike and trailer will fit, but its dark, the cars seldom stick to 30 and it does not feel the safest. The cycle lane is also not in existence for the middle section of the road, where it is narrower.

2) Ride on the pavement along side the road. There is no designated cycle path and the width of the pavement means that if I encounter a pedestrian, I have to pull over to the side while they awkwardly move around me (if they o not have a buggy with them, in which case I would have to drop down a large kerb into the road (see above).

3) By the side of the pavement, separated by a hedge is the queens promenade – follows the river thames into the town centre, the width of a single road carriageway, tarmacked and completely devoid of people in the cold dark evenings at this time of the year. Painted on the floor in big white letters every 100 metres is “Walk Your Cycle”.

You can guess which route I choose. In the unlikely event that I do encounter a pedestrian, there is ample room for us to pass each other. Except for one guy who took to running in front of me saying “Bikes not allowed here, MATE”. I attempted to reason with him at first, explaining that it was the safest route for my little’un and also the fastest as he was cold at this time of year. No difference, so the next time he did it, I just quietly told him to f*** off.

Last night he decided to switch on a pretty powerful light and shine it in my eyes as I rode towards him. I’m going to knock him out.

I used a croozer double buggy to take both of mine to nursery and school. kept to the quiet roads and made sure I took the whole road….didn’t even give people a sniff at getting past and it’s safe enough. where the road was busy I used the pavement. still got it if you are interested, great bit of jit

I’m going to knock him out.

sounds like a right dick. knock him out.

Kiddyback tandem with baby seat. Will see you good for about 10 years. Invest now.

Permission to take away consciousness of Thames Walk nobber is duly granted.

thanks for the good ideas, I have been wondering about whether to ride on pavements (which I would only do as an absolute last option) and I’m going to investigate trailer bike and kidseat, this may be a goer – mrchrispy thanks for the offer I will let you know

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&ie=UTF-8&q=Higher+Lane+Primary+School&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=higher+lane&cid=16992096212539388318&ei=FQzsUuSsMMaK7AaI7IGoBw&ved=0CJ8BEPwSMAs

this looks pretty innocuous on this photo but in the rush hour it’s horrendous, the cars spill out of both lanes then filter as agressively as you can imagine even though the two into one is right by a primary school…

Whatever you decide, I hope you stick with the commute.

cheers Twiglet_Monster, this is what I am trying as hard as I can to do, I get positive comments from the other parents and I want to encourage my ladies to use bikes