Bike that can carry an extra rider

scottsdalecommuter

Well-Known Member
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USA
Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?
 
Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?
Minivan
 
I don't have any children or grandchildren. I have carried up to 80 lb on the back of my yuba bodaboda. Most of the weight has to be ahead of the rear axle, so a 80 lb rider would have to cram forwards. Yuba sold a padded shelf and a set of handgrips that bolted to the seat post. It came standard with footrests and spoke covers to prevent pinching of fingers. It has been discontinued.
Blix packa claimed 100 lb rear cargo in 2020 but it doesn't have foot rests. You can look at other stretch frame cargo bikes, xtracycle, pedego, kona, m2s, magnum, giant momentum, eunorau, yuba, to see if you can equip them with footrests, a padded shelf, grab handles, spoke guards. I'd be suspicious of that much weight on 20" tires like tern. My bodaboda bangs the rim sometimes with 80 lb cargo and 55 psi in 2.1" x 26" tires. Some stretch frame cargo bikes come with 2.4" medium pressure (55) tires.
Over 80 lb you really need an electric tandem. I don't know of anybody that makes one.
750 w is rather wimpy to get 330 lb or more up a steep hill. I did fine with 1300 w and 1000 w geared hub motors, but the new legislation has dried up the sources of those motors in the US. The mid drive crowd will give you a lot of lies, but only mid drives with a rear sprocket bigger than the front (46 usually) will climb a steep hill better than a geared hub. Mid-drives will climb longer, geared hubs overheat with an hour of slow dragging with max weight up a steep hill.
Really with the wimp power limits mandated by the 3 class legislation, you are better off now buying a gas scooter with a <5 hp motor. Except for your and the rider's ears. Wear earmuffs if you like music. I can hear the **** scooters blatting around from a half mile away.
 
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Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?
any cargo bike should hold an 8 year old on the back; maybe even an 8 and a 10 year old but that's pushing it in terms of weight depending on how big the kids are, IMO. the most popular ones around here are the smaller yubas, still hold 440lb.


tern GSD also popular, but more $$$, for the usual reasons. if you want something smaller, for one kid, but still heavy duty, the benno boost is a fast and robust little bike.

for us, as soon as my older daughter could ride on her own she was on her own bike. she's 11 now, and her little sister is on the back of my commuter in a frame mount child seat. i don't have a cargo bike, so the hard part will be in a year or so when the little one is too big for that, but not big enough to ride by herself. that phase should only last about two years though. probably not long enough to merit a bike change.
 
This Radio Flyer cargo bike is UL certified, claims to be able to handle up to 150lb on the rack, available dual battery option, and has a 30 day trial period so you can return it if it doesn’t work out for you. The mechanical disk brakes are a component you may wish to have a shop swap out for hydraulic brakes.
 
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I got a Lectric XP 3.0 for running around the 'hood with my wife on the back. We are pretty close the max weight limit combined (I'm 220lbs) but I've been keeping an eye on the spoke tension and overall bike. So far, so good. She loves the passenger package (5'2") and we've been going further and further, to test her comfort level. The Lectric is a very affordable entry into a passenger hauler. And because its a known brand it should be easy to resell when and if that time comes. Another plus is it has a small foot print. I wanted a Rad Wagon but that thing takes up a lot of floor space!
 
I got a Lectric XP 3.0 for running around the 'hood with my wife on the back. We are pretty close the max weight limit combined (I'm 220lbs) but I've been keeping an eye on the spoke tension and overall bike. So far, so good. She loves the passenger package (5'2") and we've been going further and further, to test her comfort level. The Lectric is a very affordable entry into a passenger hauler. And because it’s a known brand it should be easy to resell when and if that time comes. Another plus is it has a small foot print. I wanted a Rad Wagon but that thing takes up a lot of floor space!
The new Xpedition cargo bike model with the optional Essentials package would also work for this purpose.

PDP-essentials-package_500x.jpg
 
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The new Xpedition cargo bike model with the optional Essentials package would also work for this purpose.

PDP-essentials-package_500x.jpg
nice find! thanks for sharing that one. we were actually talking last night and kicked around just getting our 10 year old son the lectric lite for $800 but still like the idea of having 2 on one bike. TBD on what we decide but i like the look of that one alot. ive always asked folks on their lectrics what they think, and they always have really good responses, seems to usually be casual riders out for a beer or fresh air (aren't we all :) )
 
Cargo bikes as a group do this all the time. A LOT of cargo bikers that carry kids primarily rather than groceries profess a major preference towards frontloaders. The kids are in front where the parent can see them (and more easily converse with them) and the nature of a frontloader / bakfiets - with the load centered and low - is inherently stable with no stability penalty for being loaded. Longtails have the load (child) relatively high in back and smaller riders (i.e. moms) can have trouble with that. Also it is a very common issue for parents to have to undertake a lot of effort when it comes to keeping kids from climbing up into their seat, or out of it, when stopped as the little climber is stressing the bejesus out of most kickstands except the ones with the very widest footprint. that Lectric stand would be trouble. An Ursus Jumbo with an 18" spread would solve the problem.

Scroll down on this page to see a slew of options for the Bullitt. Its far from the only bike that is meant to do this.

 
Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?
The Rad Runner and Lectric Xpedition are two good possibilities.
 
The new Xpedition cargo bike model with the optional Essentials package would also work for this purpose.

PDP-essentials-package_500x.jpg

it is nice they included a photo of an older kid (most ads seem to be like 2-3 years olds), my son is quite a bit bigger and would definitely not let me haul him like that, my daughter would likely be more willing
Cargo bikes as a group do this all the time. A LOT of cargo bikers that carry kids primarily rather than groceries profess a major preference towards frontloaders. The kids are in front where the parent can see them (and more easily converse with them) and the nature of a frontloader / bakfiets - with the load centered and low - is inherently stable with no stability penalty for being loaded. Longtails have the load (child) relatively high in back and smaller riders (i.e. moms) can have trouble with that. Also it is a very common issue for parents to have to undertake a lot of effort when it comes to keeping kids from climbing up into their seat, or out of it, when stopped as the little climber is stressing the bejesus out of most kickstands except the ones with the very widest footprint. that Lectric stand would be trouble. An Ursus Jumbo with an 18" spread would solve the problem.

Scroll down on this page to see a slew of options for the Bullitt. Its far from the only bike that is meant to do this.

Great point and as I look into the rear seats more and more I don’t think the kids will fit very well. My wife and I do wish we would have bought one of those front cargo bikes when they were real little but didn’t know about those bikes then.
 
Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?
I bought the Lectric Xpedition Dual Battery version and love it. You can put two sub-40 pounders on the back. If you want more of a Mercedes, look at the Tern S000
 
I bought the Lectric Xpedition Dual Battery version and love it. You can put two sub-40 pounders on the back. If you want more of a Mercedes, look at the Tern S000
I also bought the Plus One seat, pads, and running boards. Comfy ride for a rear passenger.
 
@scottsdalecommuter
Don't be a cheap ship sinking parent. Buy a car or minivan to transport your children. Ebike is not the solution.
If they are that age Buy them bicycle and tutor them to ride safely without hurting them self .
Lol love it! They both have manual bikes and ride daily. The issue is the farther off practices depending on the sport season. Right now all sports are close and I’m biking a lot to work which makes one car work great. Plus we have other family around in a pinch. We looked at a moped recently and passed. For now we’ll stick with two ebikes and one car. Very few times we really get jammed up and plenty of folks around us are willing to help out thankfully. Cost benefit just isn’t there for another car or another two seater ebike.
 
I bought the Lectric Xpedition Dual Battery version and love it. You can put two sub-40 pounders on the back. If you want more of a Mercedes, look at the Tern S000
Thanks for the insight and glad you love it! This would be the route I want to go for sure if I do. I’ve been really impressed with lectric and their bikes.
 
Kids are now 10 and 8 and growing fast and with one car we are finding having the ability to take one of the kids on the bike would be nice for events and things. My wife and I also ride our e-bikes together on date night but think it would be nice sometimes to just take one bike if we had a seat. Curious about bike ideas for solving this problem. I've looked at mopeds but don't love the ongoing cost of insurance/plates and would likely need a motorcycle license and feels more dangerous being with cars. I haven't really considered tandem e-bikes but suppose that could work too. Has anyone had experience with a two-seater ebike carrying a second adult or older kids? And if so, what bike did you have?

Did you end up finding a bike? If not happy to offer insight! We're a Yuba and Tern dealer and both have great options that feature the Bosch Cargo motor which is a complete game changer!

Personally I ride a Tern GSD S10 LX, shown below! Great option that can haul a person or kiddos and with the new trailer attachment I can tow my windsports gear to the river or bike to the trail head!

The Yuba Spicy Curry City is another great option too, same Bosch Cargo motor but there's a Speed version if you wanted that class 3 28mph pedal assist! Accessory story isn't quite as clever as Tern, but still very expansive!
 

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Nope ongoing still, thanks for asking and the ideas! we have tested out my older one on the ebike and he actually fits pretty well so that’s been a nice temporary solution. I’m tempted in a year or two to get a new ebike for myself and pass down one to my older kid.
 
I’d like to weigh in.

My wife isn’t interested in ‘piloting’ an Ebike but the idea of a passenger during cooler weather here in SW Florida is very appealing.

I’m 180 but my wife is very petite, 4’11” and 100 pounds.

Do these bikes built to carry passengers come with some wheel adapter so they have a place to put their feet?
 
I also bought the Plus One seat, pads, and running boards. Comfy ride for a rear passenger.
Do these bikes built to carry passengers come with some wheel adapter so they have a place to put their feet?
Read the thread. My yubabike bodaboda has aluminum footrests, which can be filled in with wood or plastic if desired for platforms. Now discontinued, replace by the Combi.
 
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