We have a "half bike" that attaches behind Wander's bike that the girls love to ride. However, that still leaves at least one kid in the buggy behind my bike, as Sparkle can't ride fast enough to keep up with an adult. Neither kid likes the buggy and they fight over who gets to ride the half bike. Plus, I'm so short that the half-bike doesn't fit behind my bike, so we can only use it when Wander is available.
A bit of online research showed that there are lots of tandem bikes and lots of configurations for adding kids with half-bikes and buggies. I also learned that a typical tandem bike wouldn't work for our family. While it's fairly easy to size a single bike to a single rider, it's hard to fit a tandem because it must fit both riders. Most tandems would be impossible to fit Wander (6'5") and me (4'11") much less the kids (ages 6 and 3) without getting something custom made. Then I stumbled across Bike Friday, which makes a Family Tandem which adjusts for riders from 6'5" to 36".
Luckily for me, the Urban Bicycle Gallery in Houston recently started carrying Bike Friday bikes and had a tandem in stock available for a test ride. We brought along both the half bike and the buggy to try them out with the tandem. Tom at Urban Bicycle Gallery was extremely helpful during our test ride. He adjusted the bike several times so that we could try out different rider positions. He found a different seat post to accommodate the difference in our heights. He ground down the attachment for the buggy. Then he stood back and let the bike itself speak for itself.
We tried the tandem by itself first, then added the buggy and the half bike. At first it looked like there wasn't enough room below Sparkle's seat to attach the half bike, but Tom managed to make it fit.
Riding the tandem, especially with the half bike or buggy, was rather like driving a car with a trailer attached. You stick out farther than normal, it takes longer to get up to speed, and turns aren't as tight. At first the wobble from the kids freaked me out, but after sternly telling the kids to keep still, I got used to it.
The plan is for me to use the tandem and half bike to carry Sparkle to and from school. This setup has lots of advantages. The tandem is safer for Sparkle, as it keeps her attached to me. The tandem is faster, as we don't have to go at Sparkle's solo speed. The half bike is more fun for Glitter than the buggy. We don't have to deal with leaving Sparkle's bike at school, especially on days when she has to be a car rider, or when the weather turns yucky. Biking is also good physical exercise and saves wear and tear on the car.
When I was a kid biking was a regular part of my life. I biked to the library, school, the mall, dance class, and wherever I wanted to go. I delivered my paper route from the back of a bike. I rode in snow and rain, uphill and down. I'm hoping that the girls will grow up to enjoy biking as well.
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