Rideabye Baby ...

Naps. They are a blessing and a curse. If you ride with kids under age 5 on bikes, you know this. Two-wheeled kid transport is soporific, better than a benadryl blowdart, so biking parents need to be able to make naps happen while out and about. 

Some family bike setups excel at unexpected naps, some do not. Having done toddler-on-a-bike twice now, on a variety of kid conveyances, here is what we have found.

We've included images and inspirado from others in "our tribe." Hover for links and credits, big thanks to Mark, Sarah, Henry, Paul, Allan, Katie, and other bikey family flickr friends (BFFFs).

Trailers

Infant seat in trailer worked every time for my reluctant baby napper. Who needs the Baby Whisperer? I'll show you the Happiest Baby on the BlockTM 

But for older kids in the unhacked trailer seat, the weight of the helmet and the lack of adequate clearance for the back of the helmet leads to head nodding, bobble-head, and other uncomfortable, painful-looking nap scenarios. Unless you've got company:

Front Seats

I love front-monted seats for the littles, but they're not great for napping. The WeeRide has a big napping pad, which is nice, but the straps were a joke, and you still end up needing to use an arm to support the head to some degree. Dutch front seats like the Bobike Mini and Yepp Mini have "sleeproll" accessories, but they're narrow enough that you'll still need to dedicate an arm to maintain the nap, which makes steering awkward, leads to cramps, and makes stop and go riding more frustrating. Doable, but not exactly comfortable.

Some biking mamas have learned to just slow down or stop when that nap happens.

On our last outing, I hacked a wacky noodle to be my substitute arm. It worked OK.

I like this solution, from mamafiets, where you stuff your extra kid clothes into a sling or bag.

Rear Seats

Dutch-style rear seats don't have much head support, and even the US "drastic plastic" wraparound jobbies don't keep a child's big 'ol head from nodding forward, lolling from side to side. Doesn't look comfortable to me, and rear seats are right over the axle, so it's a bumpier ride. This situation tends to limit the length, route, or speed of travel, and doesn't feel as restful as some of the other options. But maybe I'm picky.

Bakfietsen and Other Long-John Cargo-Forward Bikes

These are so versatile when it comes to naps. Infant seat strapped rear-facing, child seated on Sleep Dog, kid laid out in the box with cushions and blankies, cozy under a rain canopy ... naptastic. Plus you can keep an eye on them, in case you get a bad case of the "ohmigod are they still breathing" parent jitters. Easy, secure parking too. 

MADSEN "Bucket Bike"

The MADSEN cargo bike also makes it to the napping podium, as it's so versatile in terms of napping positions, and accomodating 2 kids at different napping ages & stages, with some separation from the central divider.

For kids on the bench seats, variations on "Sleep Dog" work well.

As does leaning forward on the groceries.

Our infant seat was nap Xanadu ...

For older kids it's so easy to pull up a bench seat, put down a cushion or some jackets, use the belts if you wish (they're bolted below the benches), and cover with cozy blankets. Protection from the elements is key. That's an Uppababy shade, but a waterproof canopy for the MADSEN is in the works.

Or you can put the two benches together for an actual elevated bed solution.

In the year where our older one refused to nap at home, I had many a craftily-timed "Mystery Ride" where I'd arrive at our destination with both kids asleep, leaving 45 minutes of me-time, followed by excited wakeups at the beach or Aquarium or wherever my Urban Family Flâneur fancy took us.

Xtracycles and Other Longtails

You can fit front or rear seats to xtracycles, but a longtail does open up some additional, er, creative solutions.

On our first long ride, as we rode home on the Elliott Bay Trail, I felt our  almost 4yo's nodding head bonk my behind a few times as Drew started to fall asleep, holding onto the stoker bars. What to do? My wife suggested we play "Marco Polo" which worked well for awhile. Car Free Days keeps some candy handy, and I indeed had a lollipop hit to offer Drew. 

Other parents swear that their napping stokers don't fall off, and in fact need to be pried from the handlebars when they get home.

I'm told that a parent's backside makes a lovely forward-leaning cushion. But I'm still nervous; ours is a kid that falls out of bed every other night. Maybe on a bike trail, but not in traffic. So we've moved some Bobike Maxi mounts over to the xtracycle, for all-day action.

And if you thought that was iffy ...

And on our first xtracycle ride, too! In my defense, Luc fell asleep in the front seat just before we got to the cyclocross race at the zoo, and I'd been longtail-obsessed long enough to have seen the Adkins clan pull this off. So I walked the bike around the race for a bit, and then rode a few blocks on sidewalk to a cafe. Where I parked it outside (in view, natch) until he woke up. Great setup if you like double-takes and don't mind CPS involvement. Wideloader extensions would make a tipover slightly less sketchy, but overall I don't think I'll be doing this on any regular basis.

The safest napping options seem to involve an enclosure of some sort, in case of a crash. We've only ever had flukey low-speed slo-motion harmless tipovers in our family, but I don't think we're giving into our "culture of fear" to plan for the possibility of going down on the bike.

Here's how Katie and Dave tricked out their Yuba Mundo as a baby-napping Green Machine. Solid. Baby on Board indeed.

Asleep on the Wheel

What works for your younguns? How do they loll while you roll?

We want to know how you've pulled this off. Please add your images and comments below ... to include an image, put the image url surrounded by exclamation points, as in !imageurl!

Bakfiets For the Win Addendum

Todd Fahrner nominates this video in the comments, in which a Dutch dad pedals 3 sleeping kids down a cyclepath while shooting a one-handed "Panda" video. No helmets, 'cause they're Dutch, and protected by the magical powers of separate bicycle infrastructure, decades of motorist-taming, and riding bikes since the womb (not to mention elves in blackface). Top this, people:

2011 MADSEN Cargo Bike Review

MADSEN and our family go way back. This blog got started with a review of the then brand-spanking new MADSEN "precious cargo bike" back in 2008. Since then, we met the MADSEN guys, built it into a baby-hauling bike, brought home a Christmas tree on the Madsenbaum, took 4 kids on wild rides through Ballard, filled it with ice and frosty beverages for sunsets at the beach, transformed it into a Gelato Bike for our friends' wedding, and spent many a day just out on the bike exploring the city. 

We ♥ our bucket bike. 

We've been bugging Jared Madsen from time to time about the promised kid canopy/raincover (ETA now early 2011), and with ideas for improvements, and were delighted to hear this summer that the new model was almost ready for release. Jared offered to send us a review bicycle (we paid full price for our original), and we happily accepted. We were going to send the original back, but they liked the Gelato hack and told us to keep it around for events. Any Seattle folks that would like to borrow it are most welcome.

We've had a few months now with the MADSEN 2.0, and we LOVE it. It's got all the improvements we hoped for and more, with only a few downsides or quibbles. And we've spent the past two years collecting, demoing, and otherwise obsessing about family bicycles, so I can say that we've pretty much tried them all. For young families on a budget, with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, especially more than one, a MADSEN is the bike.

Yes, we love a bakfiets and have lust in our hearts for a Bullitt. They both have the very real advantage of kids/cargo in front, which makes riding a more social experience, and allows for easy supervision of kid cargo. But a bakfiets is honestly better suited to flatter towns than ours, and the lighter/sportier Bullitt does hills well but lacks in kid + cargo capacity, and costs well over $3,000 when you factor in kid-carrying accessories. Don't get me wrong - you really should demo a bakfiets-style bike if you can, and if you are not regularly climbing steeper hills or going long distances, and can front the cost, it might be your perfect family ride.

And the sharp-eyed reader may have noticed that we also have a new xtracycle in the stable. I'm gaga over our new longtail, and a review will follow. But the MADSEN comes ready to roll with seats and belts for 4 kids, whereas it can be expensive to add young-child carrying options to an xtracycle. And the MADSEN does naps well, which is crucial with the littles. On the xtracycle, I've resorted to sticking Luc in the freeloader bag hammock-style (don't tell my wife), adding a wacky noodle to the front seat for head support, and other hacks, but on the MADSEN it's trivial to convert to "nap mode" and ride. Trust me, they will fall asleep when you ride, at the most inopportune times.

So what's new with the 2011 MADSEN? Pretty much everything. Here's the rundown: 

• Frame is now made in Taiwan rather than China. The welds are much improved. No "boogers."
• Bucket now from Idaho, and seems lighter. It also rides lower, as they revised the rear-end frame to be sturdier and allow the bucket to attach more securely. Lower center-of-gravity is a good thing. And we still love how easy it is to just throw kids & stuff in the bucket and go. The bucket is still easy to "hack," once you come to terms with drilling it. Viz our new rear light.
• Front end geometry much revised, with help from Aaron of Aaron's Bike Repair. HUGE improvement. I didn't mind the "flop" (floppy handling) of the previous MADSEN so much, but many did, as it made handling at slower speeds dicey. In fact, we did have 2 slow-motion tipovers on the original MADSEN. No one was hurt (the bucket is good that way), but it got a bit embarrassing when Drew started coaching us from the backseat and requesting that we not tip the bike. The 2011 bike handles like a dream at low speeds now, very stable, even more like "a normal bike." And I haven't ridden hands-free yet, but apparently it tracks well enough for that now.
• Dutch-style front wheel lock. Yes!!! You will use this all the time for running into stores. So convenient.
• New custom color-matched stem that bolts on tight. This is both better-looking and reduces flexiness in the handling. Between the new geometry, lower/sturdier rear end, and this stem, the bike is noticably less flexy with a big load. Stand and deliver.
• Spiffy handlebar, and brake levers that incorporate a simple button lock. This lets you lock the brakes to prevent the bike from rolling off the stand. Great idea, one that other bikes with centerstands would benefit from. 
• Speaking of the stand, there are now two bolts that solve the loosening/twisting issues from our last bike. Solid. My favorite centerstand (the bakfiets' is rock-steady but futsy to stow, the xtracycle kickback flips up when moving the end of the bike around, etc ...).
• The chainguard is beefed-up (the old one tended to bend/break if kids climbed on it), and the chain management is improved with rolling idlers mid-chain. Ours is still a bit noisy, but I haven't bothered to tweak the rollers yet.
• The 38t front chainring is now easily user-swappable, and an extra 44t chainring is supplied, so you can choose lower gearing for hills and big cargo, or higher for speed. It is now easier to add a front derailleur for extra gearing, if you don't mind losing the chainguard. These options really expand the versatility of this bike, as the stock gearing on the previous model didn't meet everyone's needs, and upgrading was hard & expensive.
• The bucket now comes stock with 2 benches and 4 seatbelts. 4 kids, people! My car can't do that.
• You little hipster, youThe long-awaited front rack is now available, as well. This bolts securely to the frame (via braze-on's with classier hex bolts), which lets you carry a lot up front without affecting the handling. Believe it or not, families that use the MADSEN for transportation, kids, and groceries will want this rack. Multiple kids plus groceries fills up that bucket pretty quick. The rack has mounts for lights, and a coffee-cup holder! We recommend an OXO travel mug.
• Crane-style brass bell up front - loud, and with an impressive sustain.
• Cushy double-sprung seat has a lot of demo appeal, and will remain popular with more casual riders. The previous saddle was a disposable hiney-hater.
• New tires and goo-filled tubes. So far I haven't bothered to move our Schwalbe Big Apples over, which is saying something. But I will eventually for Kevlar-belted flat protection, extra cush, and reflection strips.
• Nicer stock pedals. The previous ones were junk. These are keepers - good-looking, with rubber for grip.
• Overall, MADSEN have gone from generic and cheap spec on most parts (to keep prices down, but with durability concerns), to still genericky but improved in function and/or quality, with some custom-designed for the MADSEN. The moves in manufacturing and the improved spec have resulted in an entirely justified price increase, to $1485. 

What's not to love? Well, I do have a few quibbles or things I'm not yet sure about:

• The ride position is now more decidedly and less-adjustably upright, but in more of a US "hybrid"-style position than true Dutch/English Roadster (with their relaxed seat-tube angles; I measured 74 degrees for the new MADSEN). This may be a benefit for casual riding, but for aggressive hill-climbing or speedsters, the previous riding position and adjustable stem was better. Despite being a bit of a snob about such things, I don't mind the riding position that much yet, but those that do will need to do some stem/bar swapping. And I may eventually want to either take this bike more sporty, or with more "Dutchness" via a layback seatpost and rear-swept bars. Either of those options would yield a better torso angle and more efficient pedaling.
• The seat is cushy indeed, and good-looking to boot. But on longer rides cushy just means that the seat pushes up into your nooks and crannies, and starts to cause heat/sweat/friction issues. A stiffer sprung seat that supports your ischial tuberosities (sit bones) but lets the rest of "your situation" breathe is better. We moved our Brooks B67 over. But this is a quibble. Many will like this seat, and it's way better than the previous stock seat.
• The color-matched full-coverage fenders are still a big plus, but I miss the rear-fender reflector, and the rear fender extends too far in the rear, which makes it bang on curbs. 
• Chain management is better, but still somewhat noisy. I've gotten used to it, and adjusting the idlers may help.
• MADSEN ships the bikes fully assembled and ready to roll out of the box, by drop-freight to your house. This worked well overall, but our stand was bent in transit. They sent out a new one promptly.
• Our front fork has a bit of an issue, which we only discovered when trying to upgrade to a front electric hub. The fork we got seems to have dropouts that are narrower than they should be, and the left dropout is a few mm behind the right. MADSEN is also replacing this under warranty. 
• The seat belts are the same as the previously upgraded ones. They're still too "slippery." We have to loop them back through the buckle or tie them off to keep our wriggly toddler belted in. 
• A rear disc brake would be still be nice to have. After 2 years, we did wear through our previous rear rim from braking. Granted, we do ride a lot, and could perhaps have done a better job keeping the brake pads free of grit. But it seems that 20" rims on load-carrying bikes would wear down faster in general.
• Our black bike looks great, with lots of color-matched parts, and more stainless bits, but the paint job is not as durable as our Dutch bike's galvanized and powdercoated frame was. 
• Still no raincover. Others have made them, but we hope to see one soon from the MADSEN gang, as it is not optional in the winter months for serious transportational riding.
• It's still hard to find a MADSEN in bike shops, where post-sale support would be easier. This is not for lack of trying, I suspect, but more of a sad fact that most local bike shops are lacking in family and transportational bike vision.

And there you have it, folks. You'll be seeing a lot more of the black MADSEN 2.0 in future posts ... it is an incredibly capable bike for the price. Compared to your family car, it can handle almost as much (multiple kids and a week's worth of groceries), and it's so easy to just load and go, with free parking out front, every time.

Yes, this is a furnished-for-review bike, but one that I would certainly have schemed a way to buy. Especially with today's Black Friday deal! MADSEN has had some epic deals on scratch-and-dents in the past, and today does not disappoint. New 2010 MADSEN's are only $999 (plus $150 shipping), which is almost $500 off. That is one smoking deal. Put one under your Festivus pole this year.

Can your car do this?

2WD SUB snOMG!

#snOMG! Snowpocalypse 2.0! 747's sliding off runways! Metro Buses stuck on hills! Aurora's closed and drivers are abandoning vehicles on I-5! Severe weather advisory: drivers advised to stay home!

And so it goes when it snows in Seattle.

In our defense, it's not so much the 2-3 inches of snow, but rather the sheets of black ice on steep hills that freaks us all out.

But me, I love my snowy bike commute. Most of it is not shared with cars, thanks be. And this years chosen ride for snow and ice is a 2-wheel-drive sport-utility-bicycle. The new xtracycle has the front electric hub until some MADSEN fork/disc brake/e-hub compatibility issues are worked out.

I'm running Fat Franks (balloon tires) at lowish pressures, which lets them float over snow and have a larger contact patch on ice. Studded tires would be nice but not really justifiable where I live. Saddle is really low for Fred Flintstone stops with both feet as outriggers on the ice.

And the front e-hub assist (from Clean Republic) is SO nice to have. Having both wheels powered, and a nice steady torque up front helps in sketchy situations, powering through crud, and lets me keep my speed up on hills and with vicious headwinds that would otherwise break my spirit. I have a balaclava but my glasses weren't enough coverage for my eyes, so borrowed some procedure glasses from the clinic for the ride home yesterday.

Wiped out once on the ride home, on icy brick taking a corner too fast on Ballard Ave. No harm to me or bike. Just a mildly hurty wrist today.

Went out for SNOW BEERS! with friends last night, were amused that we could pass cars going up 24th, en route to SNOW AQUAVIT! And made it to work with proper ski gloves and goggles today, in about the time it would have taken to drive. Did have to space heater the rear wheel, to thaw the packed snow under the fender and drivetrain. Still ended up with about half a cassette due to icing, but the e-hub made that a non-issue.

Given the choice between my '89 Honda Civic, bald tires and all, and a 2010 2WD SUB, it's going to be the xtracycle every time.

Cranksgiving!

Have you heard? This Saturday is Cranksgiving! It's a family-friendly ride/race organized by Tom of Seattle Bike Blog, which you should follow if you don't already. It's like BikePortland, with more attitude.

Details here: http://seattlebikeblog.com/2010/11/14/seattles-first-cranksgiving-details/

There is no entry fee, but the "race" involves picking up items for the Rainier Valley Food Bank en route. I talked with Tom about modifications for families, and he'll have a shorter route, and option to hop on Link Light Rail (fun for the whole family) to get to the finish, Rosie Ruiz style. He's excited to have families come along, and will have lotso prizes, including best costume, most carried, and for family riders!

I have some other commitments that day, so may not make it, but do highly recommend it to you all. Might I suggest a Kidical Mass peloton?

Get Lit

So yeah, the clocks changed, but someone forgot to tell my kids.

In addition to waking up at 6:30 every morning to my spawn wheedling for TV and Halloween candy, I now get to ride home in the total dark each and every day.

This has led to some advances in totcycle lighting technology. To wit:

Guess how much this rear light cost? Come on, it's got 18 freaking LEDs! It's bigger and brighter than most truck taillights. It can be seen for 1 1/4 mile!

If you buy it here, with convenient bike mounts, it's $39.95.

But for you, and just you, this most excellent emporium of science surplus goodies will send you one for ... $8.95. Fell of the back of a truck. Tell them totcycle sent you. You could buy 25 of these for the price of one Dinotte Taillight (the blinded-by-the-light gold standard of rear lights).

But you need to hack your own mount. I used 2 4mm Hex head screws through holes drilled in the back of the light, washers, and locking nuts, with wee holes drilled through the back of our MADSEN bucket. I got the idea from this guy, who used a DIY aluminum bracket. Go to it. It's a fine light for "wide load" sorts of bikes.

We're also still LOVING our MonkeyLectric spoke-mounted LED display. Stunning side visibility. And Down Low Glow is a another great side visibility light, with bonus ground effects. Our battery pack fell out somewhere in the streets of Seattle, sadly. And the Brommies will be getting some spoke lights like these. And there's that Bike Glow rope light, but I have yet to see an elegant-looking install of that product. Says the guy with a truck light on his bucket bike.

Side visibility. Do it. Remember that an analysis from Fort Collins, CO (a nice bikey burg) found that over half of car/bike collisions and serious/fatal injuries resulted from broadsides.

As for front lights, dyno hubs or Reelights are nice always-on, never-out-of-batteries options. Planet Bike blinkies and other battery-powered LED lights work well too, but often seem to run out of ions when you really want them. Mount two, they're cheap! And the new helmet-mounted front/rear/side Vis 360 from Light and Motion looks like a serious contender for Northern latititude commuters. Go ahead. You're worth it.

We found some cute reflective stickers for our helmets in flames, hearts, and stars. And then there's the Bright Bike guys, that now sell kits of reflective tape for (quicker to install) pinstripe or caterpillar looks. You of course, can hack your own from 3M reflective tape, but their videos are fun for inspiration:

What's your plan for the long dark season?

Maritime Spooktacular Kidical Mass

Update: Ride Rained Out

What a bummer, after the Great Pumpkin brought us such nice weather yesterday …

I’ve been refreshing Hourly Weather all day, and it looks like real rain at 4 and 6, which is exactly when we’d be riding and “picnicing.”  

So with the rained out Hale’s Ale bail-out in mind, I think it is probably wise to call it now. So sad. Have eyeballs in jello ready to go. 

Happy to hear feedback below if you think this was the right or wrong call, for next time.

Mummies and daddies, it's time for Kidical Mass Halloween! On Saturday, Oct 30th 2010, let's ride down to the new South Lake Union Park for an early BYO dinner (bring some scary/gross comestibles to share), play with the model sailboats, and finish with a tour of the haunted Steamship Virginia V at 6pm!

Tickets available from 5pm on, or by phone (see below), kids 5 and under free. Let's meet up at 4pm, at Gas Works, in the haunted pipe-room play barn. Let me know if you want to ride from Ballard with us at 3:30.

Details from the Virginia V site:

Why: Benefitting Morningside Academy and The Steamship Virginia V Foundation
When: Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, Oct. 30 (6 p.m. – 9 p.m. both days)
Where: The Steamship Virginia V at Lake Union Park 860 Terry Ave. North
Ages: Appropriate for kids up to mid-teens and kids at heart.

Tickets: Adults $10 / Students $5 / Kids 5 and under are Free
Available at Lake Union Park up to 1 hour before event begins, or by contacting us at 206.624.9119.

Transportation: Public parking near Lake Union Park [what for we need parking?], or take the Seattle Streetcar to Lake Union Park stop.

More info: Haunted ship with ghosts of steamships past, the one-eyed quarterback, ghostly clams keeping clam, killer salmon and more. Activities include kids’ pumpkin painting, trick-or-treat bags for Halloween night, warm cider and more!

Turmoil in Tyvek!

Oh, brother. Our Cascade Bicycle Club, the largest cycling club in the country, is in a bit of a tizzy this month.

The board has ousted the long-time executive director, Chuck Ayers, over apparent concerns about the advocacy tone CBC has been taking, with undisclosed "personnel issues" that very likely have to do with Chuck's unwillingness to curb or fire David Hiller, the club's brash, outspoken, often-angry-sounding but effective-with-a-zinger advocacy director.

Conspicuously unhelpful have been the board's comments on the matter, which were lacking in tact and transparency. Worse was the Board Chair's decision to disparage Hiller to the Puget Sound Business Journal, hardly a friendly media outlet in which to air our laundry.

Reading these comments on the CBC blog, it’s not hard to see the clash being acted out at an organizational level between <stereotypes>older, suburban/exurban, club ride, conservative membership and younger, urban, transportational, progressive members</stereotypes>. The former don’t seem to care for aggressive transportational cycling advocacy, and the latter (myself at least) could care less about club rides.

Serotta vs Surly, car-toppers vs car-less. But for me, it was working well enough. I joined CBC last year for the advocacy and support for educational programs and Ride to School Month. Did it feel odd that I was the only one to ride my bike to the Ride Leader Training? Yes indeedy, but I felt like there was plenty of common ground with the others there. You don’t have to come on a Kidical Mass ride, and I can skip the STP. But we all want to be safe and accepted on the roads.

What’s funny is that the non-cycling public can’t seem to tell the difference between CBC and Critical Mass, or don’t care that there’s a difference. But for younger folks who ride bikes, CBC has felt like a distinctly staid, conservative, sign-the-waiver, weekend warrior club, with the exception of more recent aggressive advocacy efforts and some of the kids/education stuff. I’d have them take a long look at the recent membership increases and ask if perhaps that new blood was attracted more by the advocacy/education and less by the recreational aspects.

If Chuck Ayers and (soon) David Hiller are gone, I don’t exactly see CBC moving in a more progressive direction, advocacy or personality-wise. Sure, Hiller has gone over-the-top, on occasion. But sometimes that’s necessary, sometimes that’s effective. Our opposition isn’t pulling any punches. We compromised with Ballard businesses with the interim route of the Missing Link, who sued to block the compromise route anyway. Pick any Seattle Times article, or the Puget Sound Business Journal. That’s what we’re dealing with here.

Any backlash we're facing isn’t against Chuck or David. The backlash is against the success we’re having. Could we do a better job framing road diets as being about safety for all users and traffic speeds? Sure. So could SDOT. For members that were upset about CBC’s voice about road diets, vigorous support for the Missing Link completion, Vulnerable Users bills, etc., were they really opposed to those goals, or the voice in which they were pursued? I think there’s room for debate over tone, but I hope the car-topper crowd can see how important those advocacy efforts are to us all.

The only way to keep me happy and involved would be to bring in people like the BTA’s new Rob Sadowski (from Chicago) or other strong, effective advocacy presence. We’ll see. I was myself a bit conflicted about David Hiller's tone. The pugnacious side of me loved seeing his comments in print, and he was great with a feisty sound-bite. But in my personal life, angry doesn't seem to work out so well in terms of motivating change. I'd like to see CBC find an advocacy stance that is muscular, uncompromising when it counts, and effective at reframing so many of the tired cars vs bikes arguments.

• Road diets aren't about taking room for cars for bikes ... they're for taming out-of-control arterials and making them safer for all.
• We don't hate cars ... we just think they're the wrong tool for the job, for many but not all people, for many but not all trips.
• People on bikes don't pay their share? Actually, it's the motor vehicles that are being subsidized heavily by the rest of us.
• Bikes slow you down? Would you rather we drove? How would that help your commute?

And maybe instead of angry, we could find some room for more humor, or advocacy based on the non-smug-virtuous-green aspects of why we ride. For me, riding my bike feels like flying, like I'm playing my way to work, gives me front-row parking every time, keeps me happier during the day, and has taken 10 pounds off while letting me eat worse. Reasons like that are less threatening than "I'm saving the planet" type stuff, with the implied "why do you hate our children's future" flipside. And (heresy!) I do think we could tone down the safety safety safety sign-the-waiver-after-I-check-your-helmet stuff, with the unsubtle implications that riding a bike on the street is an extreme sport.

There have been some recent cycling advocacy campaigns that used humor and effective motivational techniques, like the "No more ridiculous car trips" campaign in Malmö, or Bellingham's simple phone calls asking folks if they wanted info about riding, and pairing them with mentors (which led to a 35% increase in bike trips!). Let's see more of that from Cascade. But I hope they do keep David Hiller on ... sometimes you need the "bad cop" as well.

Either way, here's a big thank you to Chuck and future departed company for all their years of hard work on our behalf. And here's to hoping that CBC continues to move beyond its Cascade Bicycles On Cars Club image, by continuing to attract, educate, and advocate for the next generation of cyclists.

Deals on Wheels

What is the deal with ...

all of those tweets about family cycling gear for sale? Well, I've added a new Family Biking Deals section of the website. Go check it out - we've got some fabu pink and lime green Dutch child seats, and a real-deal mamafiets right now. Oh, and my wife's rejected recumbent (hot tip: getting your wife a used recumbent may not be the wisest way to get her back into cycling. hardly cycle chic. but comfy).

Consider it a virtual swap meet for family-friendly bikes, seats, and sundries. Those kids do grow, and I've received a number of emails from readers looking for help selling or finding the type of Euro-eso-teric or domestic-but-obscure family cycling gear we like up here on the Totcycle.

We will also add hot deals from stores, the interwebs, eBay, or Craigslist as we come across them. And come across them we do - I have a number of alerts and RSS feeds set up for tasty keywords like xtracycle, Dutch, bobike, and so on. We receive no compensation from these posts, unless there is an affiliate deal, and we'll make that clear if so. If you have a store or business, and a special deal to offer the Totcycle tribe, we're all ears.

These listings are a free service to the family cycling community, with no guarantees as to the condition, safety, or usability of items listed. Be careful buyers and responsible sellers, please.

To list an item, just send an email, with title, price, location, description, shipping/pickup options, contact info, and photos/video. Entries may take a day or two to show up here. Post a comment or let us know if it sells.

Stay tuned with our Deals RSS feed, or follow on Twitter or Facebook.

But what about the local bike shops? Isn't this evil?

Not so much, in my opinion. While we in Seattle are lucky to have several family-everyday-biking-savvy shops that deserve your business, what are you going to do when your family outgrows that bakfiets or bobike seat? Part of what makes a $1,500-3,000 bike or $200 child seat make sense for a family that can front the cost is knowing that after several years of good use, it will retain much of its resale value, lowering the cost to only $100-200 per year.

Besides, most local bike shops just stock a trailer or two and a plastic bathtub of a rear child seat amongst all the car-topper bikes, and can be distinctly unhelpful when it comes to ordering in or installing things like front seats (you mean suicide seats?). If they are open to learning about ways to ride a la familia, great, give them your business. You'll get some warranty and installation support and hopefully excellent bike service down the road. If not, best of luck selling recreational bikes and lycra at ever-decreasing margins.

Why are you spamming Twitter with these Deals?

I'm not sure I'll keep doing this on the main Totcycle feed. Depending on volume of deals or complaints, I may set up a separate Twitter account. Please give me feedback on whether you do or don't want Deals tweets.

Mt Baker-Rainier Kidical Mass Sept 2010

Stoked about this MADSEN, photo by Aaron

Updated: NEW START TIME at 2pm

Did you know that South Seattle was home to no fewer than four Black MADSEN cargo bikes, all with electric assist?

I did not, although I had heard of a mythical StokeMonkey assist MADSEN down that way. But a few weekends ago at a BikeWorks event, I had the good fortune to meet up with these Black Riders of the Family Biking Apocalypse, including Morgan Scherer of familybike.org (which puts on most excellent family bike demos year-round), and Brynnen Ford, whose MADSEN minivan was featured in this excellent series from Alan Durning. And I got to try their bikes, one with an eZee upgrade from Cycle9, and the Stoked MADSEN, motor from Clever Cycles, installed by Aaron's Bike Repair.

It felt pretty amazing to pedal comfortably up steep hills with bionic legs, and accelerating to cruising speed from a stop was also very nice. It didn't feel at all like "cheating," and in fact would probably get us to bike even more, especially if we lived in such a hilly part of town, or had bigger kids.

Morgan's bike had some sweet modifications done by Haulin' Colin, including a front frame-mounted rack with giant Wald basket, bolted on using the braze-ons on the top/down tubes (and presto, MADSEN have just released their 2011 lineup, including a similar front rack!). That big plastic bucket fills up quickly when you have 2 kids and groceries to move, and I'd love to have one of these for ours. She also had Colin weld a trail-a-bike style hitch to the back, just behind the fender, so her older son can hitch up to the MADSEN for longer or more traffic-y rides. Very cool idea.

They were excited to have a Kidical Mass down their way, as was I, so they ran with it. Without further ado, I present September's ride, this Sunday Sept 19th! Meet at 2pm at Mt. Baker Park, and we'll depart at 2:30pm, for a ride to Full Tilt Ice Cream on Rainier, and then loop back to the start. I may be tempted by the sweet Georgia Gold sandwich (pulled-pork with mustard BBQ sauce and slaw) at Roy's.

Here's the map and route: http://tinyurl.com/28mtbrb.

Detailed notes from Alex and Morgan:

What the map fails to convey are the following: 1) south of S Genesee St we will go on a short trail through Genesee Park, 2) on the one block of S Alaska St between 38th Ave S and Rainier Ave S, people could move to the sidewalk (this is a brief, but somewhat steep hill with sometimes heavy traffic), 3) after crossing Rainier, we would actually go through Columbia Park behind the library, 4) after going on Hudson for a block, we would turn right on Rainier and proceed to Full Tilt Ice Cream via the sidewalk.

The Trek Triathalon will be happening that day, but we think that if we start at Mt. Baker Beach at 2:30 the route should be clear of triathletes.

As for you North Seattle Ridazzz, some of us will be either riding down there, or perhaps riding to the Westlake Light Rail Station and taking it to the Mt Baker stop, depending on weather and laziness and thirst for multimodal adventure. Let us know if you're up for that in the comments.

Larry vs Harry Bullitt: Family Style

Larry vs Harry make stylish, relatively lightweight, modern reinterpretations of the Long John style of Danish cargo bike, where the load sits on a low platform in front of the rider. Think Old World Northern European cargo bikes mashed up with North American car/pimp culture, with a generous helping of messenger attitude and alu-high-zoot build. The lovechild of Steve McQueen, Cleopatra Jones, and an 1800s greengrocer. They have enormous curb appeal, are certainly the "sexiest" cargo bikes out there (if you like splashy, racy bikes). But how might they work as an everyday family cargobike? And am I cool enough to ride this bike? Based on the photo above, it appears that my kids have the look down.

We took a Bullitt for an extended demo this weekend in Portland, courtesy of Splendid Cycles (value: $25, which is their typical 24-hr rental fee). Travelogue and shop info here (they do ship, and to date have sold more outside of Portland than in). In terms of review comparisons, our regular family ride is a MADSEN cargo bike with "bucket seating" in the rear, and our first family cargo bike love was the bakfiets.nl Dutch family cargo bike, which we've rented on many occasions. Here's what we thought ...

Design and Build Features

In a word, splendid.

• The paint schemes are incomparably delicious. More drool here.
• The components are higher-end than I've previously ridden. Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal hub seemed even smoother than my Nexus 8, and still tolerates shifting under mild-moderate pedal pressure. Or choose an external 27-gear drivetrain.
• The Alfine hydraulic disc brakes were easily the finest brakes I've ever experienced on a cargo bike. And unlike many, I actually appreciate the hub brakes on bakfiets/Dutch bikes. But these were powerful, very easy to modulate, and absolutely confidence-inspiring.
• A unique and fantastic feature that I would love to see on other bikes is a quick-release stem height adjuster that quickly moves the handlebars up and down, for aggressive vs more upright riding styles, different height riders, and bigger kids (the bakfiets bars tend to clock older (4-5yo) kids in the helmet).
• The tires were a Schwalbe hybrid I hadn't seen before with smoother tread centrally and more aggressive grip laterally. They worked fine, and I wonder if they might be helpful cornering in the rain.
• The centerstand deploys easily and releases very cleanly by rocking the bike forward. While it lacks Val's handlebar release lever, at least there's no fiddling with feet or fingers to work the latch, as on some bakfietsen. That said, the bakfiets.nl stand is a 4-point stand that is unbeatable when it comes to letting big kids romp in and out of your parked bike. With the Bullitt, I'd keep a eye on wilder kids, or think about a rear brake lever cinch. But overall, stable enough, I think.
• The wheelsets seem moderately burly, not in indestructible Workcycles territory though.
• As for the cargo options, the stock bike ($3100) will need an additional aluminum honeycomb with nonskid platform from LvH ($230), or a box of some kind (see options here). Me, I'd probably build my own. The Bullitt child option, while sleek as all getout (and priced accordingly at $550 for side panels, folding seat with belt, and raincover, on top of the $230 deck plate), isn't really wide enough for my 2 kids. 
• But the frame has a number of features that lend itself to cargo hacking (4 postholes, plentiful bolting options). Given how much fun the MADSEN has been to "upgrade" (DIY infant seat, Gelato Bike, etc), I would enjoy designing a reasonably lightweight but wider box with locking bench seat and rain cover. Splendid has a "Mr. Mom box" that's more in the direction I'd go. But I'd be tempted to try using the honeycomb deck with textured aluminum sidepanels that flare out. And then there's the Boat Bike option - how rad is this?
• I would vote for rear rack braze-on's though. The dropouts are drilled for a rack, but unless LvH come out with a rear rack of their own we'd need to kludge one on. The bakfiets rack, by contrast, comes standard and is rated for major weight, which opens up a lot of rear cargo ability.

The Ride ...

Has a learning curve of a few blocks, and then is delovely. Having spent some time on bakfietsen, child-up-front tandems, and other bikes that use similar steering mechanisms, I thought I could just jump on a Bullitt and go at this winter's family bike demo. Err, not so much. But I take it all back! It does feel twitchier than similar bikes at first, especially unloaded. But after a few blocks, and certainly after a few hours of riding around with kids, it was juuuuuust right.

The bike is lighter than other versions of this style, which translates to zippier acceleration and noticably better hill-climbing. The frame is stiff enough to stand and mash up a hill, and the riding position (while adjustable) is generally more sporty than Dutch sit-up-and-ride bikes (the latest bakfiets.nl incarnation, if anything, seems to have an even slacker foot-down position). While I got my family cycling start on such upright bikes, lately I've been enjoying a slightly more sporty riding position, especially where non-flat rides are concerned. As for speed, this bike tends to slay the field in Danish cargo bike races, where it does enjoy a home-town advantage. With a lightweight platform or box this would be plenty speedy as an everyday commuter with special cargo powers.

The frame, however, is not a step-through. The top tube lends stiffness to the frame, and is low enough to easily get over, but it does limit the rider size to 5'3ish and up. Which is a bummer, as Kim is 5'1". Then again, she prefers the way the MADSEN feels to cargo forward bikes like the bakfiets anyway.

Family-Style

As much as I love our MADSEN, I do really like having the kids up front, as it's the social aspect of cycling a la familia that has me hooked. Conversations and parenting are easier. However ... this is not a big box. In the MADSEN, I can seat kids kitty-corner if they're starting to play the helmet head-butt game. In a bakfiets.nl long, the box is long enough to put one up front, and there's more shoulder room on the bench seat. In the Bullitt as we rode it (kids on a cushion, no belts), there were some turf wars. And then Luc wanted to move around and Drew tried to "tie him down", for safety.

    

Kids plus cargo is cramped in the standard box, but it naps well.

So with my kids, it felt overall tolerable and safe enough for quiet streets at low speeds. But for carrying any cargo plus my two kids at higher speeds around town, I'd want a bigger box, restraints of some kind, and the option to put one behind me in child seat purgatory. I tried to make Drew ride behind the handlebars in the "penalty box" (there are handy footrests there), but she had crochal interference with the top tube. These are all doable adaptations for a motivated and handy parent. But the MADSEN and bakfiets.nl come that way stock, and have more room for cargo. I'd want a rear rack with sizeable panniers on the Bullitt if I was everyday cycling with 2 kids.

In the event of rainy climate, there is the LvH raincover/spray skirt, which is sleek and seemingly sidecar-inspired; I'd need some moto-goggles for the kids with that one. But I might prefer a bakfiets style canopy, with more of a cozy, warm, flashlight under the blankets feel. Splendid Cycles says Mike Cobb (of Yuba Mundo bag-designing fame) is on the case - exxxcellent.

For more than 2 kids, there's no question that a bakfiets or MADSEN would be preferable. They have more room for kids and their inevitable cargo, and again, come standard with multiple-kid design features. I especially like the lip on the bakfiets box that lets kids leap in on their own. Because they will try, and it's better that they don't bend your chainguard or ding their perineum in the process. Speaking of which, my box will have a rounded or foam-protected edge, and that front headset would have a tennis ball or similar cushion.

So which family cargo bike reigns supreme (remembering that I haven't even included xtracycles, Mundo's, or others in today's comparisons)? I love all three of these bikes; they all have tradeoffs. Price, inexpensive vs performance vs durable component choices, hill-climbing ability, extra kids and cargo versatility, riding positions, curb appeal ... and first impressions can be deceiving. If you have the opportunity to travel to a bike-friendly burg like Portland with extended demo opportunities, do it. Or make friends with that guy in your town with one of these. Or post questions below. But carefully consider your own family's needs and environs, current and future. It seems for us that the "ideal" family bike changes every year, so think versatility, or resale value at least.

Box Bikes vs Box Store Bikes

On the way back to our abandoned car, after returning the Bullitt, we got caught in a rain shower. Drew hopped off the Brompton's main tube and dove into our trailer, staying warm and dry. So there I was, easily transporting 2 kids and bags in safety and comfort using nothing more than a $300 trailer. Yet all the while, visions of my dream Bullitt Box danced in my head. Is there something clinically wrong with me? What do I have against trailers? Why even consider a $3,000 family cargo bike when a beater bike with trailer or xtracycle upgrade will get the same job done? Aren't bikes just humdrum "appliances" in evolved cycle cultures? So says the owner of this bike:

So This Century, By Mikael Colville-AndersenThat's a pretty sexy vacuum cleaner you're fetishizing there, Mikael (see Lovely Bicycle for a rebuttal). But I love the message in this poster. And while $3-4,000 cargo bikes are not going to save the world or take the US market by storm (big box bikes? try big box stores ...), they are captivating, cool, thrilling, and fun in ways that bike trailers are not, for driver or passenger. And arguably cooler than most cars. A Bullitt in a movie would run right over the Hollywood "bikes are for losers" trope. And in your neighborhood, bikes like these can mutate people's notions of transport in important ways. It was a bakfiets sighting that sent me on my giddy family biking journey, after all, and the way more affordable MADSEN is also a head-turner and assumption-tweaker.

So yes, I want a Bullitt. And no, it doesn't make practical or financial sense for us (we have multiply redundant ways to transport stuff by bike). Is it too soon to have a midlife crisis?