wanted to buy Trikidoo, pashley trike or similar or advice on which makes are best

[sarahandruby]

Hello fellow mumsnetters,
I'm looking for a easier and environmentally friendly way to do the school and thought a trike or similar might be the best way. If anyone has any advice on which makes are best or even better still has one for sale they no longer use or know of some one that does please do get in touch via this thread or PM me. Many thanks

[Honeydragon]

ooooooh use the thread as I am researching this and at loggerheads with dh over what to get.

[Honeydragon]

shameless bump for the op

[CMOTdibbler]

Can I tell you that my experience riding a Pashley trike the other week was totally awful. The brakes were appalling, and it was hard to steer

If I were you, I'd look at one of the dutch bikes built for child carrying

[Honeydragon]

A decent cargo bike is 2k though

[sarahandruby]

Oh that's no good about the pashley trike, I have a pashley bike and my brakes were pretty awful until I had it serviced and now it goes like a dream. Certainly can't afford £2k for a new cargo bike and you don't see them secondhand very often.

[Honeydragon]

even second hand they are about £600+, and lots of people on here warn against the cheap China "knock offs"

[ragged]

Friend got a Trikadoo about 6 months ago & loves it (her DC are 2+nearly 4). Rides it everywhere. She paid about 400 iirc, 2nd hand, and had to drive 4-5 hrs roundtrip to collect it.

[Takver]

Why a trike specifically? Could you use a normal bike + trailer, or bike + tagalong?

Might be cheaper and possibly also easier - I think trikes are fine on the flat but tend to be less good on hills etc . . .

[ragged]

Trailer might be easier to weather proof, too.

[ragged]

But trailer hard uphills, too.

[Honeydragon]

I have a bike and a trailer and am a competent cycler on the road. However it's hard up hill a pain to put on and off and put away for the night and sadly, many motorists cut up the trailer horribly. They will give room (slightly) to the cyclist but not the trailer with a child in it.

I can manage the change in steering with a bike seat fine, but would prefer a trike as life is a great deal easier when you don't have to balance a bike, restrain a toddler and load shopping


for sarahandruby, depending on her school run and living / storage space a trailer is a great option. I am a PITA though , and I don't know enough about trikes to know what rides well and what doesn't.

[ragged]

Which trailer do you have, Honeydragon? I have a Chariot (pricey). But not too difficult to store away or put on/off.

[silverfrog]

I have a kangaroo bike, which is fab, and I love it.

Heavy, yes. but brilliant, weather proof, the girls love it, and it does what I need it to do (ie 2 children - they were 4 &2 when I got it, now 6 (with severe ASD) and 4 - plus a bit of shopping etc)

expensive, but worth it, imo.

[Honeydragon]

I have a random german fold up thingy that I have had for years, I have to say it is excellent and it's most redeeming feature over the years was that it was light and small enough to fold into the car with luggage for a holiday. But very very sturdy and well protected. But where I cycle round here I am not prepared to put it and dd on the road, and I am fucked off with the glut of parents and dcs with trailers clogging up the pavements because they can't manage the road

Sorry... Rant over

[Honeydragon]

Sivlerfrog, I couldn't remember which you got in the end! I was going to pm you!

[Takver]

Ah, I'm very lucky in that where I am people tend to give a very wide berth to bikes with or without trailers (deep countryside) so hadn't thought of that as a problem. I can see a trike would be much better from that point of view.

[silverfrog]

if there is anythign you want ot ask - please do! I do not use it as regularyl anymore, as we have moved areas, and dd1 is now at a different school (cycling not a possibility - it's 15 miles away!) but want to get back into it for dd2, who is just around the corner, comparatively (1.5 miles ish).

both girls still comfortable in it, though - says it take schildren up to 150cm. dd1 is a tallish 6 year old, and is about 118cm, so a while to go yet!

[OnlyWantsOne]

Silverfrog what do you mean kangaroo bike?

I'm trying to find a bike too - help needed!! Have baby and 4 yr old

[silverfrog]

one of these

really snug and cosy, and the girls love it.

[Honeydragon]

Silverfrog, I only have one hill where I'd need to get off and push , how does it handle kurbs and tracks?

Also, with one dc in how many bags of shopping do you reckon?


Oooooh and is it 5 point harness?

[OnlyWantsOne]

Oooo dare I ask... How much?

[silverfrog]

with only one dc in, you can take one seat out, put the other seat on centre track, so all more stable, iyswim?

erm , number of bags wise do you mean weight-wise or space-wise?

obv weight wise depends on size of dc etc.

space wise, well I used to have: both seats in , one seat pushed quite far back as dd1 is tall, other seat adjusted to about middle I suppose. could get 2x poncey wicker/woven baskets in the back, or about 4/5 supermarket bags easily. you could pile more up height wise, quite easily if you were so inclined.

seatbelts in mine are 3-point - around the waist and crotch strap. I notice now on the site they have a 4-seater bike, which has 5-point seatbelts, don't know if available on the 2-seater - it doesn't look like it.

but I have never had a problem with the 3 point belts - dd2 was only 2 when we were riding lots, and she sat snugly. dd1 was also fine, she was about 4 I guess, but with quite delayed understanding due to SN.

kerbs: not great. you need a proper entry point. I have tipped mine once (coming downhill, quite fast, misjudged angle onto footpath/cycle path, camber of road was nasty and bike juddered up over the kerb, and tipped. I was going too fast though, ans could have avoided it otherwise)

tracks - my old usual route was 1/3 cycle path, 1/3 road, 1/3 route across common/through woods. it's ok on an ok path/track. won't do deep ruts well, very heavy in mud etc. but for eg a decent forest path it was fine - a bit juddery, but no more so that a cycle trailer I shouldn't htink (haven't ever used one, so can't really compare more than that)

cost wise: about £2k a few years back. very expensive, but I hardly used my car all week when we got it, as it was everythign I needed. so when you price it up against a small car (if possible) then it is a good price.

[silverfrog]

x-post bran. how big a steep hill, and how fit are you?

I had a killer bit of hill, and would occasionally get off and push. I am spectacularly unfit. (nice on the way home - although see my earlier point about tipping!)

not great really on hills - base bike weighs nearly 60kg, so a lot to get going. has gears, you can manage etc, but if the hill was a mile long, I owuld say you would struggle...