8 March, 2011 
We’ve finally sold the Kangaroo Bike. It was a major part of our lives for three years, being used day in, day out for transporting the boys to playgroup, nursery and then school. Last year, though, both the boys had grown too big for it, and become competent cyclists in their own right, so we decided it had to go. It would have been nice to have kept it or converted it to more of a cargo bike but we couldn’t justify it.
The bike is now on its way to Yorkshire where it’s to be used for transporting dogs. And very pampered dogs they will be, too! Before it went, though, I took last photograph of the boys with the bike to sit alongside the photo I took just after assembling the bike back in December 2006. The boys were as sad to see the Kangaroo Bike go as they were excited when it arrived and throughout the entire time we used it. The bike was a magnificent machine and proved to be a genuine alternative to the car it replaced. It was also huge fun.
The bike was great when we had it. Pa could cycle it really fast. He got caught breaking the 20mph speed limit outside our school. Which was awesome!!
It looks like a really fun bike! Lucky dogs to be transported in such style.
I’ve never seen a bike like this. Here in the states if we want to transport kids on an adult’s bike, we have to pull a kid trailer. The most common brand is Burley, so everyone just calls the trailers burleys.
It was brilliant in all weathers. The boys loved it and I developed iron calves from riding it up steep hills in as high a gear as possible. Total weight was 38kg for the bike, 85kg for me, 50kg for the boys (less to start, more by the end), and 10-15kg of groceries: 183kg. That’s just over 400lbs for US readers.
I have to say, I’m most impressed that you managed to break a 20mph speed limit. This would make a much more interesting Olympic sport than racing around a velodrome on lightweight, custom built bikes while wearing lycra!
I used to challenge myself to get up the 1-in-10 gradient coming out of the village in as high a gear as possible. I got to the point where I could just crest the top in the SRAM S7′s 5th gear (127%) with both boys on board.
The trick to it, bearing in mind that it’s not possible to stand on a Kangaroo bike’s pedals, was to approach the slope at speed with a fast cadence and the “right” gear selected. As the bike hit the slope, I’d keeping the pedals spinning fast, grip the handlebars hard and heave upwards to push even more power down through my legs.
After that, it was just mind over matter to sustain the effort through the entire 300m run.
Oh, and this is an account of a rather more hairy moment…
http://stonehead.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/a-very-near-thing/
20 mph – impressive. I can’t get to that speed on my bike and I’m the only one on. Got to try harder…
Bear in mind that I do hard, physical work day in, day out, walk miles while doing all that, and was cycling 10 miles a day over a hilly road. I’ll have to be careful now that I’m between bikes, I might get fat and lazy!
Oh, and you can’t get done for breaking the speed limit on a bicycle in Scotland. Instead, the police will be looking at Sections 28 and 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as amended by the RTA 1991. Those sections cover “dangerous cycling” and “careless, and inconsiderate cycling”.
One advantage of riding fast is you to get to find out things like that!
Hi,
Just wondering how tall were your kids when you decide to sell the Kangaroo?
Thks!
I’m not sure how tall they were. They were about six years of age when each of them outgrew the cabin.
Hi! Thanks a lot for the reply! The thing is that my oldest is almost six and is about 115 cm height… So my main concern is basically if the investment will last long… Although the kangaroo site states “…two seats for two children of up to 150 cm” (which is the height of an average 12 year old kid…)
It wasn’t a specific height issue—it was just that around the age of six or seven the cabin was no longer “big” enough. That was down to a combination of height, shoulder width, attitude and degree of independence (e.g. wanting to ride their own bike). Different children will hit the limit at different ages and sizes. For a more dependent child, e.g. one with a disability, then Winther’s height and weight guidelines may be more specifically applicable. Similarly with children who have less of a tendency to be outside the cabin, doing their own cycling. Also, when carrying a single child, there’s more space than with two so the limits may be reached later rather than sooner.