Electric bicycle for moms

Anybody that puts their kid on the front of a bicycle doesn't deserve to have kids. The are just a human roo-bar!

That is wonderful. Umbrellas, and beer are illegal if you are riding a bike, but text messaging is ok and I do all three.... at the same time

What is shocking is that the kids never wear helmets..

All of these Japanese mama-chari, including the new ones with smaller wheels, seem slightly unsafe to me. Why put kids so high up, makeing high center of gravity? That always looks like an accident waiting to happen.

In bicycle-friendly European towns (the ones that are), people tend to put kids in little trailers which they tow with the bicycle. That seems a lot safer to me.

The law is that the bike or actually the rear rack must be certified to support 25+ kg. The one child per bicycle policy could never have been enforced and was daft. These electric bikes are nice but I'm not gonna get one anytime soon cause the price is just too high and they are really heavy when loaded up!!

That is going to be a chore for the mother with one or two kids up front & the danger to them if she looses balance will have m/c, or anyone with safety in mind, to riders talking about PROTECTIVE riding gear for the child or two children.

Great, more crazy mama chari on the loose, weaving through crowds and thinking they own the streets. With this electric version, it's gonna get even worse.

BUT ... have any of you ever been on one of those bikes after they lose their power?

At full charge it does awesome, but if the battery runs out, it is so, soooo heavy. Much moreso than your average mamacharie fully loaded wiith kids and shopping etc.

I think mama charies are great though. I wish the government would outlaw the stick on baby seats though. The ones with the small front wheel are the best for sure. I would also like to see fines for parents who dont bother putting there kids on helmets on one or (my personal pet peeve) the parents who stick there kid in the front basket or just hold them, while cycling. SO dangerous.

miamum

I see. I realize the realistic need to transport children and that the bicyle is an accessible and cheap mode of transportion, but if it was up to me I would not permit the loading of children on two wheeled bicycles, manual or electric. The center of gravity becomes too high and the top-load too much for most poeple when you load something as heavy as a baby or toddler that high up on a bicycle. I honestly don't know why they don't design and sell more three-wheeled bicycles that can transport both children and cargo to fill this need. Electic-powered bicylces like this one and other "approved" additions like child seats and kickstands are only attempts to make something that's inherently unsafe safer. Some may think it draconian, but I would support a law (that's enforced) that requires a free license/permit to transport kids like this on bicycles which are granted only after receiving safety education/training. Obviously I place a greater priority on the children's safety than the parents' convenience...

I didn`t say it was, I just said I heard that to carry two kids the bike should be electric. I heard something about it having to be a certain type of kickstand too.

It makes sense because the electric ones actually help you balance far more easily than the manual ones. When you set off from a standstill on a manual one you wobble all over the place until you get some speed up, but the electric ones help you control the bike and set off smoothly.

miamum

I don't think the power source (electric vs. rider) was/is the issue at the heart of the restrictions on carrying children on bicycles. The danger lies in how topheavy and unbalanced a bicylce becomes when loaded with children and how susceptible it is when parked or at a standstill.

It was illegal for a while (not that it was enforced of course) but the government in the end bowed to pressure from the PTA. The one and only thing the PTA have ever done for me!

I believe to carry two kids you have to have an electric one, but I may be wrong. I have seen two kids plus a baby in a sling and that really is just plain crazy!

Ahh, thanks Zenny.

MrDog.

Gov changed the ruling and carrying 2 kids is ok BUT only on bicycles certified/build for it.

So in fact most of the current mama-charies would need to be replaced with newer ones, but alas ....

I thought having more than 1 kid on a bike with you was illegal or something?

Your awe is noted and appreciated DenTok2009!!!

Seriously, these are fantastic bikes, and if there was no other reason to stay in Japan and raise kids compared to back home, this bike would sing it for me! I love my Mama-chari and I will still be riding with pride long after the last one has refused to be seen on it any longer!

I am in awe of women who have the strength to balance three kids (one in the front, other in the back, the third hanging out in front of mama's chest!)plus (!!!) the groceries!

I won't try that even with one toddler.

Maybe on a tricycle!

I don't know. All the electric bikes are stored far away in the stores in Sendai because they're useless after a tsunami or a big earthquake. In Iwaki City, Fukushima they just got electricity back last week.