Thanks! FWIW the kickstand on the (Tern) Short Haul (that we own) also drives me nuts. I ponied up for the double-sided one, and it’s still pretty wobbly front-to-back — enough so that I have almost dumped my toddler on the ground several times. Cat has knocked it over, too. The beefier stand on the GSD really does seem better.
1 Like
We have a Tern GSD. The best part is chatting with my sons while we ride. Things I would add to it are a usb port to charge my phone from my batteries and a blinking light option for the lights that comes standard.
For some reason, if I unweight the front wheel I get speed wobbles going over 10 mph. That said, we hit 40 on most rides down our hill. We’re rounding 1000 miles on it, mostly 2.5 mile trips to and from school, and love it.
I think the small wheels are fine as it keeps our center of gravity low and lets us really carve at high speeds. I tried a yuba and reisse and muller before landing on the gsd. The tubas front end was too flexy and imprecise feeling while the r&m put my kids in the door zone, and cost $4k more. If I did it again I might go r&m so I can chat with the boys easier, but am stoked on the tern.
The three best aftermarket purchases I’ve made for it are a second battery, a bunch of 3d printed air tag holders, and a super reflective jacket from Proviz.
1 Like
That’s a really slow speed for speed wobble! Only when back weighted (kids) + front unweighted — or any situation with front unweighted?
I’m at almost 6000 km with it. Trough all kinds of weather, temperatures and salted winter roads. My service interval is that I just bought som sram butter to do a first maintenance on it. Since I feel it is REALLY overdue. I have no issues with it trough all this. No play, no creaking and still feels smooth. It might be that the performance is slightly decreased from this long without a service, but it sure doesn’t feel like it! Truly impressed!
And the stand is awesomeness! I would recommend getting the extender. Since it locks out I have so much confidence in it. My usual way of starting my ride is to get on while it’s on its stand, and flick it forward with my bodyweight as I start pedaling. Feels kind of cool, and since the back wheel is off the ground while I sit on it I can change ringte correct gear before I set off.
If I take my hands off solo or with kids, it will start to wobble. That said, a teeny bit of input is all it takes to eliminate it.
Overall i love the bike…its the most fun I’ve ever had biking and it’s where me and my son have our best conversations and adventures around the City.
Also, drivers smile at us ALL the time. It’s a totally different experience.
2 Likes
OK, if we’re doing long tails with dogs I’m doing a second post. This is several years ago and both are chasing deer or squirrels in heaven. They are on Walkie Dog system. Which is an amazing system if they are still made.
2 Likes
Has anyone Bought a Thing from Upway? Limited local used inventory where I live because people hang onto these things forever (a positive, to be sure).
Hey, I’ve got a Momentum Pakyak E+ which is amazing. No kids (yet) but my fiance sits on the back when we go out and about in central London. I’ve got just about two adults on it and it can manage that ok but becomes a handful on handling - but I’m sure it could happily take two kids.
I know the cargo rack on the rear can take 2x child seats and they fit simply with Thule seats as I looked for future planning. It has a great front rack if you use the back for passengers but you can convert the rear into more carrying space and space for fork mounted buckets too. Tons of extras options like a second battery to make the range enormous (I charge once a week).
So far super reliable, only issue is it got stolen (and I replaced like for like immediately for the same thing I love it so much. I’ve even managed to attach a fork mount to the cargo cage to transport my road bike when I need a trip to the mechanic.
Momentum is just Giant’s e-bike brand so they are well priced vs Tern/Specialized but above the decathlon/radpower alternatives - but should have good availability globally and good for spares/Upkeep.
1 Like
I’ve been watching this thread but not replying until now. My family has had a v2 Yuba Spicy Curry for about ~6 years and generally I have good things to say about it. We have just about all the accessories and generally I’d say they all work well, although the sideboard/step thingys do kindof rattle unless you get them just right. Everything else has been largely flawless (including our kickstand by the way - I hadn’t realized that others had issues).
There are times that I’ve wished we had an urban-arrow style bike as the kids get bigger - just for the lower center of gravity, but the storage space seems prohibitive…..even for a family with a double garage that is largely devoted to our fleet of bikes. I admit the whole rig is pretty big/heavy when loaded up with a 5 y/o and a 7y/o, but I’m still comfortable with it. My wife is too but I think its getting a bit more intimidating for her as the kids get heavier.
I recently wore through the sidewall of the original tires, which I believe were a 1.9 in the back and a 2.0 in the front….replaced both with 2.4s for a little extra cush (with tannis armor in the rear for added security). Looking forward to seeing how it rides….but that will likely be in the spring as we’ve got 10cm of snow where I live now.
We have 2 Benno Boosts (previously we had a Hagen bucket bike, kidsoutgrew it).
Since they haven’t been mentioned - the Benno Boosts are nice: on their 5th generation, 24” wheels, solid frame, good Bosch drive train, decent set of accessories. We bought the second one from upway at a great price, the experience with them was good.
Oh, and we have a class 1 and a class 3 (45kph / 28mph). I really like the faster version especially without the kids. Makes flowing in traffic easy.