Comments on: One mom, two kids, four bags of groceries, no car

By: O boom das longtails at Blog da Cenas a Pedal

O boom das longtails at Blog da Cenas a Pedal — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:08:23 +0000

[...] Pessoalmente, apaixonei-me por este conceito quando vi isto: [...]

By: Christine

Christine — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 01:48:49 +0000

That is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I live not far from a major trail, which could take me directly to a grocery store (supposedly in the works) about a mile from my house. Perfect. Why do all the innovative no-car people live in Portland?

By: Ian Hopper

Ian Hopper — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:51:58 +0000

I’ve been riding my 2 year old around now in the Peapod for nearly 6 months. If it was on a non “X” bike, it would be a lot less stable, but with the longer wheelbase, it’s the most stable rear carrier bicycle set-up I’ve ever pedaled. My kudos to the Peapod folks; the Peapod is the sturdiest, stiffest rear child seat I’ve ever come across. No wobble or flex from the seat. Granted, my son is only 30 pounds, but the higher leverage on the COG hasn’t been a problem unless the speed is under 2 mph. I’ve read others complaints of scary cornering dynamics with the Peapod, but I’ve had no issues, even when my son is moving around. The thought of dealing with a child trailer makes me downright nervous at this point, given the manuverability of the PeaPod/X combo. I do like the idea of the child seats that are between the seat and handlebars, but I feel that these are more limited in terms of the size of the children that they’ll accomodate. They’re greatest advantage is that they engage children in the action of RIDING the bike, which helps them to learn proper bicycle ettiquette (assuming you follow it) and helps them transition to riding their own bike sooner.

To Karl: what’s supporting the little girl who’s sitting on the snapdeck? The V Racks and the snapdeck itself. I’ve loaded full size (200lb) adults on it without it collapsing, so I’m sure it’ll handle a sub 50 pound female child with no problem. As for places to hold on, as long as she’s got a good grip on the peapod, she’s unlikely to tumble off the back unless mom hits a very big pothole (which she should go AROUND anyways to save the wheels from taco-ing) or she falls asleep and let’s go. Even with SM, it’s unlikely the acceleration forces would overwhelm her grip. There is always the option of mounting a seatback to the snapdeck, though I haven’t seen anyone do this yet (please post pictures if you have!)

By: Karl

Karl — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 20:00:37 +0000

I always considered the over-the-rear-wheel child seats for bicycles to be unsafe to
begin with. When I worked as a bicycle mechanic, I would cringe and bite my lip every
time I was asked to install one. Whenever I worked on the sales floor, I would politely
steer folks to bike trailers as a safer alternative to frame-mounted baby seats. For example,
take a look at the second photo above: what is supporting the older child where she sits? I’d be
scared to death that she’d slide right off the back of the carrier. At least Mom had the good sense
and foresight to put helmets on the kids.

The best setup I remember seeing was on the Scioto River Valley tour in Ohio a few years ago. Mom and
Dad on a tandem towing one kid on a Trail-A-Bike with yet another kid in a Burley trailer. The whole setup
had to be close to twelve feet long, but it worked for them. Still, I’d hate to see something like that
tip oer with the kids on board.

By: Ian Hopper

Ian Hopper — Mon, 29 May 2006 21:17:18 +0000

Sweet cheese & rice, darn trackpad made that last post of mine totally obtuse! First sentence should have read: “Todd, I might be strongly interested”. Imitation being the most sincere form of flattery might have me building my own electronics/snapdeck box in the near future, as I’m working on setting up a shop w/ a buddy in SF. The only drawback for me on the shorter height would be not being able to use the more “standard” batteries that you supply… a dilemma.

By: Ian Hopper

Ian Hopper — Mon, 29 May 2006 21:05:00 +0000

Todd, I miany pictures ght be interested. Of course, I don’t really have need for the box/battery if I have no SMÃ¢â?¬Â¦ might you have an update for me inre: shipping / supply? Do you have any photos of the short box / special format battery combo?

By: Todd

Todd — Sun, 28 May 2006 17:11:50 +0000

Ian, I have a half-height prototype in quarter-sawn oak laminate/ply. The prime motivation for these boxes was to accommodate common brick-like battery formats, which tend to be around 4″ on the minor side, so the short boxes don’t really fit the bill. If you’re strongly interested, I have a NiMH battery (large pack) in a special format to fit this short box. As a one-off/discontinued experiment, I’d sell it cheap, but there are some rough ends and limited support implications.

By: Ian Hopper

Ian Hopper — Sun, 28 May 2006 09:33:50 +0000

I may have said this elsewhere, but it would be nice to have a half box so that you could still use a PeaPod; I would buy one of those to go with my hopefully soon to be purchased StokemonkeyÃ¢â?¬Â¦

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 26 May 2006 16:45:45 +0000

Ian, that would be one of the too-nice battery box prototypes made last year, about which more another time: /?p=47

By: Ian Hopper

Ian Hopper — Fri, 26 May 2006 11:26:38 +0000

Todd, what the devil is that black plastic THING underneath the “snapdeck” (obviously not the original snapdeck either!) on the back of Xtravois? I’ve not seen that in any other photos of xtravoisÃ¢â?¬Â¦