Two Big Kids on a Boda Boda...with Burley Piccolo and GMG Seat Attachment

Having ridden the Boda Boda for the past four years, I have to say that I don't think it's ideal for two kids in the long run. It's great for one, and if you can figure out a way to get the second on a trail-a-bike, it's great for two. But the bike is not sold with that in mind.

When I first got the Boda Boda, my boys were six years old and two years old, and I was able to comfortably fit them on the bike. After a couple of years, they refused (especially the elder) to sit on the bike together. It was too squishy, they fought and nudged each other, and I was worried I'd invested all this money into a bike I could only use with one kid.

If the Edgerunner had only come out a few months earlier! I bought the Boda Boda when Edgerunner was only a prototype, and there were no dealers in the Boston area — I totally would have gone with the Edgerunner. Luckily, there were only a small number of times per year that I needed to transport both kids by bike. I continued to rely on my car to do that, but the whole situation made me unhappy.

Back in 2013 I had a Twitter conversation with @Yubabicycles that went a little something like this:

1. Elle Steele ‏@TinyHelmets  25 Apr 2013

   Here is a @YubaBicycles mundo with a burley piccolo hack. Find them, Twitter!

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2. Nicole Nafziger ‏@NikkiNafziger  25 Apr 2013

   @TinyHelmets @yubabicycles I need close ups on that!!!

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3. Bikes as Transport ‏@BikesAsTrans  26 Apr 2013

   @NikkiNafziger @TinyHelmets @YubaBicycles Scroll down for the close-ups of the Yuba + Piccolo you are looking for: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/markstos/tags/yubatrain/ …

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4. Nicole Nafziger ‏@NikkiNafziger  26 Apr 2013

   @BikesAsTrans @tinyhelmets TY! You need to sell that idea to @yubabicycles and @BurleyTrailers! It's the missing link for families.

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5. Bikes as Transport ‏@BikesAsTrans  26 Apr 2013

   @NikkiNafziger @yubabicycles @BurleyTrailers Having built-in attachment points for the Piccolo and BaW trailer would be nice frame features.

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6. Yuba Cargo Bicycles ‏@YubaBicycles  29 Apr 2013

   @BikesAsTrans @NikkiNafziger @BurleyTrailers Good news! We're working on this. Watch this space for new accessory.

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7. Josette A Gonzales ‏@Vivakresh  22 Jul 2013

   @YubaBicycles @BikesAsTrans @NikkiNafziger @BurleyTrailers When is the Burley-Yuba attachment coming out?

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8. Nicole Nafziger ‏@NikkiNafziger  22 Jul 2013

   @Vivakresh @YubaBicycles @BikesAsTrans @BurleyTrailers I was just wondering the same thing!

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9. Yuba Cargo Bicycles ‏@YubaBicycles  23 Jul 2013

   @NikkiNafziger @Vivakresh It's something that is in the planning stages in our laboratory. @BikesAsTrans @BurleyTrailers

It is now 2016. 

So I had to take matters into my own hands. I figured I could DIY a Moose-Rack attachment for the Piccolo if I had a friend who could weld. I used my Boston area family biking network and my neighbors as connectors and eventually found someone who was willing to try. I received an email from this person to make arrangements that weekend to meet and take a look at my bike.

Then — amazingly — the next day — I was scrolling through posts in the Facebook group (R)Evolutions per Minute: Cargo Bikes in the US) and I saw this:

I commented on the post, then privately arranged with the seller to pay for the seat/attachment and the Burley Piccolo and for her to ship it to me via her local bike shop.

My kids are now 10 and 6.

The Seat/Burley Piccolo Arrives

The holes in the Boda Boda frame that attach to the seat matched up with the Mundo holes, so that wasn't a problem, but it took some work to get the seat to fit on the frame. Specifically, I asked my neighbor (who has a vice in his basement) to bend the steel areas of the seat attachment around the frame. Took five minutes.

 

Now, the 10-year-old mostly rides his own bike, but having the option to use the trail-a-bike/seat attachment for long rides means I can take both kids on longer trips or on busier roads than I would be comfortable doing with the 10-year-old on his own bike.