Cycling in Sydney Australia

B-double or "Hexacycle"

Anything is Possible!

This is my family plus a couple of borrowed kids to makeup the numbers on our "Hexacycle" (6 wheels). My kids started off in the baby seats on the tandem bike. Then we got the Pashley Cycles U-Plus2 so they moved to that as they got older. The old dog did learn a new trick and happily goes into the trailer when he's tired or on busy roads. (I should have got a young husky instead!) I often kick him out up hills but with the low MTB gearing and the kids pedalling we can get up most hills OK. (I don't how we'd go up Arden St Coogee though!)

Without the dog trailer we have ridden the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride (from Beenleigh only 50km) Decorated for the occassion! The hardest part was getting past a play ground without having to stop!

We often ride about 10km to the beach complete with surfboards & dog. (No the legs are not shaved, just fair haired!)

The girls follow my lead and pedal when I pedal. I do most of the work on the flat and call up extra power from the girls on the hills.

Family car? Why do you need a car? (OK the wife does have a Prius, she's not as mad as me unfortunately.)

Tags: Tagalong, trailer

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Comment by Dan on September 8, 2010 at 11:31pm: How good is that! Great pics.

Comment by Mark on September 8, 2010 at 11:39pm: I love it!!
Have you ever transported it?

Comment by Mark Lambert on September 8, 2010 at 11:55pm: Fantastic, the girls (and dog) look very happy. Well done!

Comment by Will Wassell on September 9, 2010 at 5:50am: Legend! That is absolutely awesome.

Comment by Kylie on September 9, 2010 at 8:45am: So good :-) Nice one!

Comment by Tony Arnold on September 9, 2010 at 1:26pm: That is amazing. Its great to see what can be achieved with a little ingenuity and know-how.

Comment by PeterT on September 9, 2010 at 1:58pm: That is inspirational
- and I know all about "The hardest part was getting past a play ground without having to stop!" :)

May I know what is your 10kms route and to which beach ?
- is this all on the great roads of the Gold Coast ?

"but with the low MTB gearing and the kids pedalling "
Does the girls change the gears on the Pashley Cycles U-Plus2 or is that perm fixed to the lowest?

Comment by Ride2Wk on September 10, 2010 at 1:28am: Thanks for the positive comments. To answer the Q's -

PeterT - we mostly ride through the suburban Southport streets, to the Gold Coast Bridge (Sundale Bridge) and then along The Spit to the Seaway where the dog is allowed on the beach. We also ride it along the Oceanway to Cavil Ave Surfers Paradise to watch the tourists. Occasionally we ride it to Broadbeach along Rio Vista or the Darren Smith Memorial Route when something is on. Most of the roads we use are slow or have bike lanes. Luckily most GC roads are wider than the Eastern Suburbs where I used to live.

The girls have got a 6 speed cluster. Originally I just left it in a high gear so they didn't pedal too fast for each other. Then I started to teach the eldest the gears so she can change to low on the hills.

John H, there are others out there. One of my friends had a triple plus a single tag-along that he also did the Brisbane to Gold Coast on. I always meant to borrow his triple and put 3 baby seats on plus my tag-along and trailer on it to get a photo of with a stack of kids. Unfortunately I was too slack and he sold it. I've seen other bikes with a tag-along plus baby trailer around here and on the web so they are out there and not difficult. Wikipedia has some photos of other configurations - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailer_bike

g-man - I bought the U-Plus2 second hand for $500 from a guy who had worked in England. One of his friends in England had a tandem + U-Plus2 and had given him the idea. It's branded "Brilliant Bicycles" which is owned by Pashley Cycles. Apparently they recently stopped making them which is a shame. (Probably worried about being sued or something stupid like that. Bl--dy lawyers don't know the problems they cause!) At 550 English pounds they were not cheap but the steel frame should last forever. It is very stable but have to be careful around corners as it can tip over. I also had to tie some ropes on top of the dog trailer otherwise he'd jump out suddenly and tip the dog trailer. It didn't affect the tag-along but it's not easy to pull a trailer scraping along the road. The tag-along adds stability to the tandem at slow speeds. I can ride it really slow but not quite track stand with the wife on. Without the dog we can hit about 60kmh down hill and it tracks true. With the dog we probably haven't gone over 40 due to the terrain and roads but haven't had any stability problems. The dog trailer does rock forward and aft slightly due to the modified tow hitch but it's not a problem.

Mark - The U-Plus2 tow bar and rear frame are held together by bolts so it all comes apart and flat packs for shipping. I only tend to use it around here though. I bought the tandem off a Sydney friend who brought it up on the plane before airlines started getting anal about bikes on planes. To stick the tandem in a bike box now might be painful.

If anyone wants to get a frame builder to make one, I'm happy to provide dimensions and photos of how it fits together. Although any frame builder shouldn't have any problems working it out as the rear drive system is basically the same as many adult trikes I've seen. Only the LH wheel is driven via a shaft from the central cluster. The RH wheel is free and cantilevered like a wheel chair axle.

Comment by SensualCyclist on September 20, 2010 at 10:30pm: God I can't wait till the day I see you lot ride past me! It would MAKE MY DAY!!!

B-double or "Hexacycle"

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