I thought I was done blogging about bikes for now. It turns out I was wrong. I am a bit of a bike head lately.

Here are some options for carrying three children on bikes:

Trailer
Cost: free – we already own it
Requires: any of our existing bikes carrying the extra seat or, more likely, the other parent pulling the third child
Total cost: none
Pros:
– the price is right (free!!!)
– rain and UV cover for two out of three children
– indispensable for recreational cycling with children younger than 4
– nice cargo space
– folds and hangs nicely in the garage or basement, fits in the car trunk
Cons:
– inconvenient to use in non-recreational setting (like backing up or parking)
– fussy to attach (takes about 10 min to get it ready)
– children 4 and up are heavy in it and may not want to ride for too long
Predicted use:
– once a month for 30km rec ride between May and September – 5x30km
– occasional (say, twice a month) shopping trip – 10x15km
– occasional walks, skating on the Canal + 5x10km
Total: 350km per year over next 3 to 4 years, very limited use afterwards

Trail-a-bike
Options:
Single trail-a-bike can only handle one child, the remaining children would either have to ride with the other parent though we might get away with the front child seat (possibly not stable enough???). Trevor can bike on his own, but probably not far enough to bother with recreational ride for another couple of years.
Tandem trail-a-bike is an option, but due to minimum weight requirements for the adult, only Chris would be able to pull it. Additionally only about 3 out of next 7 years our boys would be the age that two of them can be riding at the same time.
Cost: $250 for single, $600 for tandem
Requires: any of our existing hybrid bikes, another parent to carry the remaining children
Total cost: same as basic cost (not anticipating accessories)
Pros:
– great for rec rides with children between 4 and 6 years old
– looks easy to store and transport
Cons:
– I am anticipating the same backing up, parking and attachment annoyances as with the trailer
– Two parents required to pull the whole family
– no rain or UV cover
– each kid would use it for a relatively short time: Trev in 2012 and 2013, Owen from 2014 to 2016 and the new guy from 2016 to 2018
– The trailer cannot be attached to Africa and my other bike has a cross bar making it very unlikely for me to be comfortable enough to ever pull it myself unless I get another bike
– Most likely it cannot be attached to a bike with a rear child seat
Predicted use:
– once a month for 30km rec ride between May and September – 5x30km
– occasional (say, once a month) fun/errands trip – 5x15km
Total: 195km per year over next 6 years (not counting next year), no use afterwards

Africa for the younger two, Trev bikes on his own
Cost: free – we already own it
Requires: Trev to be willing and able to bike on his own under my supervision
Total cost: none
Pros:
– the price is right (free!!!)
– fits nicely in the garage (if we don’t get a minivan) or basement, fits on the car carrier
Cons:
– no rain or UV cover
– limited to paths and residential roads, limited speed
– not much cargo space
Predicted use:
– daily school/daycare run in nice weather between April and October- 110x3km
– weekly fun/errands trip – 20x15km
Total: 630km per year over next 8 years (less next year), used as cargo bike afterwards (for groceries)

Extended back rack
Options:
Integrated bikes like Kona Ute or Surly Big Dummy or most normal bikes with Xtracycle attachment. Unfortunately, I cannot put Xtracycle attachment on Africa.
Cost: $1100 for Kona Ute, much more for Surley, $600 for Xtracycle attachment
Requires: if going with the attachment, a new bike I am willing to do “surgery” on – currently I do not own a bike I could attach Xtracycle to
Total cost: Anywhere between $1000 and $1500 depending on options and accessories
Pros:
– all boys fit on a single bike
– appropriate for carrying children up to pre-teen age (or more but by then they will be too heavy and too cool)
– nice cargo space
– large bike but it should still fit into the garage (with some rearrangement)
– we would re-use the child seats we already own, no additional seat required for Trev
Cons:
– because I would remove the child seats from Africa, I lose my “investment” in it as it is not a great bike outside of the cargo context
– possibly heavy with all three boys on it, should be fine on flats, but hills might be iffy
– no rain or UV cover
– transporting it in the car might be a headache
– expected travel range should be about 20km for round trip, much like Africa
– adult must hold the bike if a child is on it
Predicted use:
– daily school/daycare run in nice weather between April and October – 110x3km
– weekly groceries shopping trip – 20x15km
– bi-weekly fun/errands trip – 10x15km
Total: 780km per year over next 7 years (not including next year), limited use afterwards

Long-John with a bucket
Options:
There are a number of brands available in North America, but to my knowledge only Tall Trees carry these in Ottawa.
Cost: from what I can tell between $1200 and $5000
Requires: Rain cover, possibly an extra seat, maybe a cushion
Total cost: $3000+ (guess)
Pros:
– all boys fit on a single bike
– appropriate for carrying children up to pre-teen age (or more but by then they will be too heavy and too cool)
– nice cargo space
– no need to remove seats from Africa, the two bikes complement each other nicely
– rain cover, not sure about UV protection
– heavy enough to only need wheel immobilizer to lock up securely for shot shopping trips
– my best hope of losing the baby fat
– because of the rain cover, definition of bad weather depends on me and not the most sensitive kid
– I do not need to hold the bike while children are in their seats, leaves me free to chase the kid not yet in the bucket
Cons:
– unless we do some magic, it will not fit into the garage with two cars
– winter storage is an issue, we might not be able to bring it into the basement
– possibly heavy with all three boys on it, should be fine on flats, but hills might be iffy
– transporting it in the car is not an option
– expected travel range should be about 20km for round trip, much like Africa
– I am not sure I can lift it
– if the bucket is made out of wood, how durable is it?
Predicted use (combined with Africa as they are complementary):
– daily school/daycare run in bearable weather between April and November, possibly longer depending on how well it can handle salt and how well I can handle cold – 130x3km
– weekly groceries shopping trip – 30x15km
– bi-weekly fun/errands trip – 15x15km
Total: 1065km per year over next 6 or 7 years (not including next year), limited use afterwards

So…

Bike	Cost per year	Cost per 100km
Trailer only	free	free
Trail-a-bike	$33 per year	$5 per 100km
Africa only	free	free
Extended back rack	$240	$27.5 per 100km
Long-john with bucket	$461	$43.4

Conclusion so far:
Single trail-a-bike might be worth while if we intend on recreational cycling. If we can get one used, so much the better.
For utilitarian cycling Long-john has the best pros but also the worst cons and is significantly more expensive. Fortunately, we are not in the market for it for another year and a half at least which gives me plenty of time to research, test ride and re-think my choices.