Drew,
I faced the same dilemma a few years back. An Atlantis +
Rich-Lesnick-built 36-spoke rear wheel (and child carrier) were easily
rated for my 40-lb 5 y.o., (also w/ sensory issues) but I found the weight
that high up (on top o' 700c wheel) made the stability unsafe. Really
unsafe.
If the "footprint" is a constraint you'd consider relaxing, the
discontinued Yuba Sweet Curry is the one to get. Checks all your other
boxes. Analog, capacity for rider plus 300 lbs (250-lbs in back and 50-lbs
in front basket). Twenty-inch rear wheel keeps the kids low and they can
wiggle all they want (4 year old + 8 year old = 110 lbs + backpacks).
Frame-mounted front-basket with 50-lb capacity has little effect on
handling (try putting 50-lbs in my Wald 139 basket on the front of the
Atlantis! Not.) Handles like my old BMW motorcycle.
Alas, the Sweet Curry is discontinued, and the Yuba Kombi (with 24" wheels)
is the analog option now. Slightly shorter wheelbase and lower weight
capacity of the Sweet Curry, but with the monkey bars in back, your son
will not outgrow it for years. Yuba website shows a nice way to hang 'em
vertically in small apartments. :-)
Tip: The Analog Yubas are sped'ed with gearing that's too tall. I swapped
the front crank with the RBW/Silver 24x38. The ratios are perfect with the
11x32 rear cassette. And the 178mm (!) crank arms definitely help when
starting up at traffic lights with 110-lbs of kids.
Seems space is a hard constraint for you. It is me too (NYC apartment), so
the Yuba lives on the street year-round. I simply know of no other bike
that will be as good for a 5-y.o. (and then 6 and then 7 and then...) I
take mine to my LBS twice a year for maintenance. Since 2017, I've worn
out 1 rear hub, 2 bottom brackets, 5 chains, 2 complete sets of disc brake
pads, 1 rear derailer, and 1 broken derailer hanger. And folks have stolen
the saddle and post and cushions. Oh well. Bright lights, big city and
all.
Wow, that Globe Haul is a neat option too.
Cheers,
Will
NYC
On Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 7:17:41 PM UTC-5 wboe...@gmail.com wrote:
> Why not electric? My kids are nearing college age and I'm looking forward
> to replacing a car with an e-cargo bike. I have no specific
> recommendations for you, but to me, you get more general utility with a
> motor.
>
> Will
>
> On Thursday, July 27, 2023 at 6:10:41 PM UTC-4 Chester wrote:
>
>> Drew,
>>
>> The Yuba Kombi probably will make more sense in the long term because
>> it's, like, a mid-tail cargo bike and when your kid is riding on their own
>> it's still useful as a cargo hauler. Also can best serve as both kid and
>> cargo interchangeably, during transition period when you want your kid to
>> be able to hop onto padded bench seat sometimes, but not so much that
>> you're going to keep a full child seat installed.
>>
>> Smaller wheels do make carrying a kid feel better. I went from riding
>> with a kid in a Thule rear rackmount seat on an old 26" Rockhopper and then
>> got an Orbea Katu with 20" wheels and the latter rode much nicer with the
>> top-heavy load. Even for me but especially for my wife, who isn't so
>> confident on a bike, even without a load.
>>
>> Orbea unfortunately doesn't sell the Katu in the USA any more. It's a
>> great family bike for sub-"cargo" use but is closer to a mid-tail cargo
>> bike (with 20" wheels) than most minivelos, with pretty long
>> chainstays/wheelbase. Also with geo designed for more upright riding and
>> flexible range of rider height. Plenty of heel clearance to ride with a set
>> of panniers mounted to an add-on rear rack, and also has an "integrated"
>> rack that bolts on to the headtube.
>>
>> Based on my experience, 20" wheels instead of even 24" wheels I think
>> will be appreciably nicer with a load above the rack line, but 24" is at
>> least better than 27.5" or 26" in that regard, and if you'll keep it as a
>> cargo bike will probably be preferable to 20" at that point.
>>
>> Chester
>> SF Bay Area
>> On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 1:56:26 PM UTC-7 Drw wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks for all the thoughts and feedback. It's unfortunate that there
>>> are so few non electric options these days, but helpful to know which older
>>> models to keep an eye out for. I did discover that Yuba has a version of
>>> the Kombi that isn't electric and about the same price as the Tern. Bike
>>> Friday would end up being at least 1000$ more, so I'm leaning toward the
>>> Yuba or Kombi.
>>>
>>> On Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 1:56:29 PM UTC-7 brok...@gmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>>> It amuses me that the difference in wheelbase length between my medium
>>>> Big Dummy and my medium Gus is only 9”.
>>>>
>>>> On Jul 22, 2023, at 12:53 PM, Eric Daume <eric...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> You could look for an old Kona MinUte. Kind of a short cargo bike.
>>>> There was another model like this, but I can't remember what it was.
>>>> Eric
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Jul 21, 2023 at 1:49 PM Drw <drewbe...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> For the last 4 years I've been carrying my kid and all of our family's
>>>>> gear on a rosco bubbe mountain step-thru with crust clydesdale fork.
>>>>
>>>> <IMG_2875.jpg>
>>>>> Overall, it's been great, but as he gets bigger, having that amount of
>>>>> weight, that high up, plus a decent load up front is starting to feel
>>>>> really wiggly. I had early on thought that my son would be riding a bike
>>>>> well enough to transition to one of those tag a long attachments like the
>>>>> burley piccolo, but he has some sensory issues with balance and gross
>>>>> motor
>>>>> that will probably make that not a real possibility before he is big
>>>>> enough
>>>>> to just be riding fully on his own.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, I'm looking for a compact cargo bike with the following
>>>>> requirements.
>>>>> -Non electric
>>>>> -Footprint no bigger than a standard bike
>>>>> -Platform/bench rear seat for kids
>>>>> -Some front cargo capability
>>>>> -uses deraillers (though i could be swayed to an IGH)
>>>>>
>>>>> Right now I am mostly looking at the bike friday haul-a-day elite
>>>>> <https://bikefriday.com/product/bike-friday-haul-a-day-elite-cargo-bike/>and
>>>>>
>>>>> the tern short haul D8
>>>>> <https://www.ternbicycles.com/us/bikes/471/short-haul-d8>. Both have
>>>>> pros and cons. I am open to any other cool options. And any thoughts
>>>>> about
>>>>> the above models would be appreciated as well.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Drew
>>>>>
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>>>>>
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>>>>> .
>>>>>
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>>>>
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