What's new

Help Mamachari for tall people...

bloaker

Sincerely A Dick
Nov 14, 2011
3,643
5,770
Quick facts:
I am 188cm and my wife has an Angelino (she is not 188cm).
We have a 2.5 year old who is growing fast and needs to move to a rear seat soon.
My wife is NOT confident on the bike with our daughter, so as she gets bigger, she will probably be riding with me. In the summertime, we will ride to the beach together and my wife will want the electric assist to get home. (we like at the top of a hill with a 8% grade). So that leaves me either adding a child seat to one of my bikes, or buying a new bike.

For those that have seen my posts... I am not against a new bike. :)

So yesterday we were at homes and I decided to check out options.
The largest assist bike with a step thru frame appears to the the Bridgestone StepCruz.
I asked the guy working if we could make some adjustments and he obliged.
Max seat height was fine, but the bar shape put the grips right in knee striking range.
I honestly think a different quill stem to allow for 31.8 clamp and a straight MTB bar or Jones bar fixes the issue.
I also like the Bridgestone Hydee. It also has 26" wheels, but I didn't want to kill the guy by adjusting several bikes, so I am not sure about seat height. BUT the amps were way higher and already has a child seat. So more range and I don't have to buy a seat and wider kickstand.

The Stepcruz does come with a front rack, and that will come in handy carrying around toys and beach stuff for my daughter.

------------------
The other option is to put a babyseat on one of my current bikes.
The complications with that... Cross bar means I have to swing my leg over. Don't wanna kick my kid in the face. Also - MTBs... no kickstand, so when I put her in the seat, I have to hold the bike while doing it. Obviously it is not ideal. Same issue for getting off the bike. I have to swing my leg over, hold the bike and then get her out of the seat while holding the bike... Just one ooops will make me regret that decision. The upside, once ere rolling, the bike will handle better than the others.
-------------------

The last option is to tell my wife to suck it up.
That will result in less trips to the beach, and most of them in the car paying for parking.
And lastly.... telling her to suck it up rarely ends well for me.

Anyone else tall run into an issue of trying to get a Kid bike?
 
Last edited:
We've got the Panasonic . It's 5 years old can carry two kids, never had any troubles with it still carries a good charge. Personally when I ride it, which is often on the weekends, I don't care about bad seat height etc. usually my legs are in some state of pain due to my real riding, so I just put it on max power and let the denki do all the work!

Just another perspective!
 
This is what I do with the current Mamachari - and no real issue. Just relax and accept it will be slow going and not so comfy.
I have done it plenty of times with no worries, but this is where she is just wired different. My wife just fears the downhill into Zushi or Hayama - to the point she will make excuses to not ride somewhere if she is taking our daughter.

She does not want to give up the reigns of the Mamachari to me because she likes the assist when climbing back up the hill - and honestly, I can't blame her and it is her bike.
So the current mamachari is not an option for me - I need a way to scoot our daughter around with me when we go out as a family. If my wife doesn't come along, I can just take her bike. This is where I am stuck... do I modify a MTB or try and find one big enough for me to be comfy. I think I can spend minimal on the StepCruz to make it fit (I have spare bars, just need the right quill stem), but then I am buying a babyseat & wider kickstand in addition to the bike.

Then I have one last issue... where to park it.
A new bike may come at the expense of a current bike & I already know which one will go...

Steel XT/XTR with Hope Wheel, etc...:(
BUT - if my wife rides more this summer out and about, it is worth the trade. (not like I don't have other bikes to ride off road)

17021338_10154981633017808_3292129158884161917_n.jpg
 
When my daughter was little, I attached a seat to my bike. Putting her in and taking her out of the seat wasn't really a problem, even with a regular stand. But once she was in the seat, I never left the bike on the stand. Given that trips with the bike seat were weekend only, local, and almost always with wife and son on bikes as well, it was never a problem. Wasn't long before my daughter was old enough to have her own little bike, so the bike seat option vs. new bike worked well for us. (But... our trip was on the flat, no hills involved. 8% grade complicates a bit.)
 
The bike pictured above is sacrificed either way... It is a kick ass MTB/adv tourer that either gets a babyseat or gets sold....
One part of me is leaning toward a Yepp Maxi Easyfit. It mounts to a rack that I can then put on the MTB, it it doesn't work out, I can then buy a Stepcruz and transfer it over. In my head this makes the most logic sense... but then I just think about a 3 year old on the back of my bike riding up that hill... one one hand, great training, on the other... just gonna suck!
 
Why not something like this? would make it easier and maybe more comfortable, and either bikes should be able to carry it around
78dc88b1709204ebb26f3756b62d.jpg
 
Trailers have been considered and in Hawaii we use one with great success. Here is what I have come up with in regards to negatives...

1) The hill to our house is a big one and I have to ride on the road with a trailer (which I already do, but bike vs bike & trailer is different in my head). Braking going down hill will have the trailer pushing the bike and obviously it is just the extra weight I would be pulling up hill.

2) I cannot find anywhere that explicitly says they are legal or illegal. I have seen interpretations of stopping at a light and the trailer impeding pedestrians as a ticket-able offense.

3) When we get where we are going, it is that much more space I need to park it or put it away. In Hawaii, we aren't going anywhere in particular, we are just out and about playing outside. Here we take the bikes for ice cream runs, going to the beach, exploring, etc... So the bike is often parked somewhere along the way.

4) My daughter likes to talk to me while we ride - the trailer is a long way away for her little voice.

Honestly #2 is my biggest concern. Until I know for a fact it is legal, It is just not a consideration.
 
I think the seat I used was a blackburn. It was easy to attach to and detach from the rack on my bike. So, if you don't mind having a rack permanently affixed to the bike, that is an option. Still, with that hill, maybe the best thing is just get the power assist bike.

Selling a bike... that's tough. Maybe get a double decker bike stand for the garage and solve the storage problem. Selling a bike, especially one that you like, that's tough.
 
How far to the beach? How many times a year do you think you'll go to the beach? Now halve it cause Typhoons, windy days, tired parents and other activities will ensue. So forget buying a new bike, it's just not worth it for the three years till your daughter wants her own bike unless you already have other kids or on the way. Your 188cm tall, you can lift your leg over the bar of your MTB can't you? Put a seat on it for two seasons. What I used to do was straddle the bike, swing the boy up into the seat, secure him and then just ride off.Kids should never be left in the bike seat on a stand no matter what the bike. Your wife only wants the power assist bike for the one or two times a week you all go out together? tell her to suck it up. Good luck.
 
@Karl I don't mind the rack at all. This is actually my 2nd geared hardtail and is used sparingly.
The Yepp Mexi Easyfit is the seat I am leaning toward. It is also a quick release from the rack.
I can also get an adapter that will also make it fit my wife's mamachari.

@George5 The beach is not far. On my road bike I am at the beach in literally 6 minutes.
To the beach is great in that is is 95% downhill with 5% flat. It's that coming back part that sucks!
As for how often, my daughter and I went alone last year a dozen or so times.
If Megan were to go with us, it would be more.

Hopping on and off my MTB requires me to swing my leg over it - my frames are correct, so they are quite big.
With my daughter on the back, that will make the leg swing awkward.
 
Back
Top Bottom