Submitted by ceruleanna t3_ypr1py in washingtondc
I’m throwing around the idea of ditching my car for my commute and looking into a cargo e-bike for daycare and school drop offs and pickups. It needs to be able to hold a 1 and 4 year old. Anyone here who has made the switch and has recommendations please let me know!
We live in Brookland and I commute to Tenleytown! I also have garage parking. My workplace will give me a benefit for switching from driving to biking so I’m also not overly concerned with the price either considering the cost of fuel. I really appreciate your input!
Where do you cross RCP? Tilden/Blagden? 94 do you go south?
I’m leaning toward Tern in lieu of second car. Which local dealer did you go through?
I got a GSD from Daily Rider on H and an HSD from REI*, was happy with both places. Daily Rider is more "bespoke" and personal, REI's "members ($30/yr) get flats fixed for ~$9" is an amazing deal.
*I didn't really need the second bike but figured one good tern deserves another...
Electricity bikes in tenleytown. The took over the old VW dealership there. They have bikes if you want to test ride them now.
Ty
I've got a Tern GSD that I use for kids that age and it works amazingly. Electricity Bikes should be able to let you do a test ride of that and some other brands and models.
If you're on Facebook, there's a group for "DC Family Biking" that talks about stuff like this all the time.
Good info ^
I second that the GSDs are great bikes. Yubas aren’t bad either, just a different approach, but I think Tern is doing it better.
I ride a RadWagon daily, and would probably recommend a Tern GSD. We've been reasonably lucky with the Rad, but they currently have a recall on most of their tires with no "Get Well" date on the horizon. Whatever you get, I strongly recommend getting some kind of rain cover for the kids. We have the Conestoga on the back of ours, and the kids stay snug and dry.
Tern gsd
If you're going for a bike that fits both kids simultaneously/safely then your options are limited to the bigger cargo ebike models like the Tern GSD (really nice but $$$), Urban Arrow ($$$), the RadPower RadWagon 4 (cheap), or the Yuba Spicy Curry. There's a few mid-size models that can work but may be a little cramped like the Tern HSD or the Blix Packa (cheap). Your choices may be dictated by "how" you want to ferry the kids on the bike (front bucket? rear cage/corral/bars? seats? "fort" enclosure?) and where you can safely store it.
We are lucky enough to have a garage for safe storage, and I’m really not sure if I want the kids in the front or the back. Leaning toward the tern
The majority of two-child cargo ebike setups that I've seen in DC are the Tern GSD followed by the RadWagon (forgot to mention Xtracycle in the prior post, there are a few here and there). Aside from the UrbanArrow/front-bucket bikes and people in the Netherlands I haven't seen too many people put a child in the front on a two kid bike here, there's issue splitting attention as well as balance unless you're an experienced rider.
I have a GSD and I love it. No kids but I use it to carry a dog in each side pannier. Happy to answer any questions about the bike, hopefully someone with more experience specific to your situation can chime in about seating configurations (essentially bar enclosure vs seats I think? realized the tent fort is just for weather and needs the bars to function)
Yuba and tern are the ones that hit the right mix of usefulness and affordability.
We have the Blix Packa with two Thule Yepp maxi seats, and bars that go around them. My kids are 4.5 and 2 years old. Use it a few times a week for school pickup, sports classes, playground trips, etc. We’re in Alexandria but happy to answer any questions!
I don’t ride one, but I see a lot of school commuters who swear by Yuba bikes.
9throwawayDERP t1_ivkyep7 wrote
We just switched. We just have one kid, but recommend the Tern GSD for the city and maneuverability. We thought about the Yuba and the Xtracycle RFA, but like the low center of gravity.
We looked at the Urban Arrow/ R&M Load, but decided it was just too unwieldy for most of the city. It is fine for tooling around Brookland or Tenelytown, but hard to navigate otherwise. Though if we buy a second bike, it'll be the front bucket style.
Note, we have garage/shed parking. Makes a massive difference in day to day comfort and ease of use. Also considering we bought the bike instead of a second car, we really weren't phased by the cost. Between fuel, insurance, and car payments; the bike paid off in what 4 months of a decent RAV4 would have cost.