Tips for Getting Started Riding a Longtail Bike With Kids
Teaching kids the importance of being active every day is a precious gift that will impact their health for life. Leading a sedentary lifestyle is the new smoking, dangerous and deadly. Families are making positive changes to live more active lifestyles by trading in second-family vehicles for a superior option, longtail bikes.
Biking together to school, running errands, or going on adventures gives parents a chance for deeper conversations and connections with their children.
Top Tips for Traveling on Longtail Bikes with Children
Deciding to purchase a longtail bike for a household is an exciting opportunity to improve overall health while giving our planet a break. Here are some tips for parents considering adding a long-tail e-bike to their home.
Pick The Perfect Longtail Bikes
Choosing the right long-tail e-bike is a personal choice that depends on many factors, such as body strength, budget, body size, and the type of terrain the longtail bike will ride on. Research bicycle models and find suitable options like seat types, electric battery capacity, wheel size, weight limit, foot pedal length, and frame size.
Gather Biking Safety Gear
Safety should always be a top concern for everyone riding longtail bikes, especially for parents transporting children. Some cargo bike models include safety seats with restraints, while others will require an add-on seat. Safety gear like a helmet, blinking lights, and bright clothing are necessary for everyone riding along.
Learn Your A-B-C’s
The A-B-Cs of bike maintenance are air, brakes, and chain. Before every trip:
- Check the electric longtail cargo bike tires for optimum air.
- Test out the brakes.
- Inspect the chain for lubrication.
Find a Good Balance
Longtail bikes have different proportions and capabilities than traditional bicycles, so they also handle differently. Handleability for a long-tail e-bike will vary depending on the amount of weight and weight distribution. Finding the perfect balance point for a cargo bike is essential to a safe journey.
Practice Riding Alone
People must practice riding a new long-tail bike without any accessories or passengers when first getting started, so they can get a feel for all the functions and features before adding on any extra weight.
Prepare for Kids and Cargo
After getting familiar with riding longtail bikes alone, it’s time to start preparing for adding extra weight from passengers and cargo. Add increment weight amounts from inanimate objects like sacks of potatoes until reaching the desired weight.
Practice starting, stopping, turning, and traveling for short rides. Then graduate to longer rides to gauge stamina levels for planning fun bike routes.
Plan Biking Routes
After a rider has familiarized themselves with balancing their long-tail e-bike and it’s time to plan out the first route. Planning routes will guarantee that riders take safe, scenic routes that are also bicycle friendly.
Have Fun
One of the best things about purchasing a long-tail e-bike is all the fun. Enjoy sharing every excursion with children instead of focusing on the destination. Longtail bikes make it easy to explore new areas, slow down and enjoy the view, and make frequent stops at fun locations to make the most of each trip.
Pros & Cons of Long-tail Bikes
Pros:
- Choosing longtail bikes gives families more time to learn, bond, and create lasting memories with kid passengers.
- Every car taken off the road is good for our planet. A long-tail e-bike is an easy way to reduce environmental impacts for a greener tomorrow.
- An electric longtail cargo bike allows families to ditch their second vehicles while saving money on car payments, gas, and gym memberships; it’s a win-win.
- Riding a bicycle instead of driving pumps the heart and pushes fresh air into the lungs—people who choose cycling over cars lead longer, happier, and healthier lives.
- A long-tail e-bike is customizable with many accessory types to choose from to meet most people’s and their family’s needs.
- Longtail bikes are a safe transportation option that provides fun adventure for both parent and kid. With familiarity and safety gear riding long-tail cargo bikes are just as safe, or a safer option, than most other forms of transportation.
Cons:
- A long-tail e-bike may be challenging to ride in heavy rains, snow, or ice. Heavy wind gusts affect cargo bikes more than traditional bikes when carrying heavier loads or multiple passengers.
- Some longtail bikes have limited weight capacity for children or cargo. In contrast, others offer plenty of room for multiple passengers, so buy high-quality electric bikes with a large load capacity.
- Battery life restrictions on some cargo bike models can prevent parents from getting where they need to go. It’s important to purchase an electric longtail cargo bike that goes the extra mile.
Cherishing Precious Childhood Moments Together
From a parent’s perspective, childhood flies by in the blink of an eye. Before parents know it, their tiny babies are off to their first day of kindergarten. Then another short time goes by, and their school kids are ready to go off on their own to college.
Every moment parents spend with their children is a precious gift, and traveling on long-tail bikes creates chances to make daily core memories together.
