I want to share my old Roll: (dead company based in USA) re-build that is very specific to my personal parental situation. I'd love some feedback or advice on how to polish it. Maybe this post will be useful to another parent here wanting to do something similar.
This is my bike for taking both kids and commuting. I have two young kids (3, 6) that I need to drop off/pick up and a cross metro commute. I often use some combo of bike/light rail/commuter rail to get to work, with the rail having options for hanging racks for bicycles (Portland, Ore. in USA).
I bought the bicycle pre-kid back in 2018 as a commuter bicycle. The idea for this specific build came to me back in August 2024, and I have been slowly chipping away at it ever since. Now, the only things original are the cranks, stem/spacers/top cap, and fenders.
The inspiration for this bike came while watching Totoro with the family. The scene where the father bombs down the hill with his 4 yo on a blanket tied on the top tube and his 11 yo on the rear rack with her legs straight off the sides to avoid getting feet sucked into the wheel. It looked so fun, although he was probably bombing down the hill because his brakes were useless.
At that time we were heavily using Urban Arrow (UA) bakfiets with all the accessories. I had spent nearly $10k USD on everything for that bike (no regrets, still love it), here was a Japanese Dad in the 1950s just having a great time on a common bike with his kids. It made me think a lot about what was stopping the bikes in my roster from doing the same. I have quite a few bikes but on each one there is a focus on weight over strength that gave me pause. Then the rear dropouts on this unassuming roll: frame caught my eye, as they seemed oddly overbuilt compared to my other bikes.
It’s my daily driver rn. The kids love riding on this bike, the 3 yo especially. I haven’t found his upper limit yet, but he has gone almost an hour riding on the front.
This is my bike for:
- Dropoff/pickup and commute
- Going downtown on the bus with the wife and kids from our suburb for parking limited events
- Family car camping trips
- Getting my 6 yo to ride her first 12 miles on her own bike, as I could always lock her bike up and then have her ride on the back if she gave up (she didn’t, I am so proud).
- Taking the 3 yo out for a ride on his balance bike, as I can just chuck it on the front rack for when he gets tired.
Rear Seat Modifications
- Replaced rear QR axle with Wheels Manufacturing solid axle to add homie-hauling strength
- Bought pegs for 3/8th axle and then re-tapped for 10mm with 1mm thread pitch so they work with the solid axle
- Axiom rack rated for up to 110 lbs, should be good for years of growth
- Replaced seat post (30.6 mm) with 27.2 mm seatpost and a 27.2-30.6mm seatpost shim
- Put cheapest threadless stem for 1 1/8 “ I could find with a 27.2 mm - 28.6mm seatpost shim
- Baby Bosco Nitto bars bought from Rivendale
- Handle bar shim so the 25.4 mm handlebar could go onto the 31.8 mm stem.
- Hardware cloth finagled onto rear triangle so that kid’s foot won’t go into spokes in catastrophic way
- Little seat pad on the rear rack so kid isn’t sitting on bare metal
Front Seat Modifications
- Replaced aluminum fork with no eyelets with Surly midnight special fork. I chose the midnight special fork because it yielded me an acceptable trail and was readily accessible. Trailed ended up being about 60, which has worked out well with two kids and a basket full of groceries. With all of this weight, a steel fork gives me peace of mind that if it fails, it will bend instead of suddenly sheer like I have heard an alum fork could. Here is the spreadsheet I made to calculate this.
- Installed Surly 8-pack rack and a Wald 139 basket. I like the 139 because it fits my backpack really well.
- Do Little bike seat for 3 yo, might be good for years. The only thing I own that is from a New Zealand company.
- Replaced handlebars with more upright/swept back Velo Orange Granola Handlebars with a natural place for kiddo to grip.
- 650b x 40mm Teravail Cannoball tires because:
- I needed a smidge more space for 3 yo’s feet and the front wheel
- I needed to reach the ground with my feet while seated, so smaller wheels/tires just lowered the whole bike down a bit making that less of a stretch. Bottom bracket height is still 4mm higher than Surly Disc Trucker.
- Every mm the center of mass goes down the better
General Modifications
- 1x Deore 11-46 10 speed with 39 tooth front chainring (cheapest I could find). Gear ratio is in the low 20s, and I avoid steep hills when loaded with both kids.
- Hydraulic disc brakes front and rear. Pain to set up, but the stopping power with two kids and my dad-bod is very appreciated.
- Brooks B67 sprung saddle because upright riding makes my butt hurt. I have done a 200 km rando ride with this B67 on another bike and I had zero issues, it’s broken in and exceptionally comfortable. I kind of wish it was black, which would have worked better (along with all black tires), but oh well.
- Tubeless setup to improve reliability when out on day adventure
- Extensive repair kit to keep good times going if any issues do pop up. Kids love it when I fix stuff.
Lessons Learned
Loading Unloading:
- Stuff into front basket first. Find a wall to lean bike against or just use kickstand if stuff is light. Heavier weight can make the handlebars suddenly swing and could hit your kids / make bike fall on kids. Steering limiter might be useful but I haven’t needed it when mindful.
- Load 1st kid onto front seat
- Mount bike, however you feel comfortable doing so. I usually do a horse style mount followed by an immediate stop (left foot on, skate start, swing right leg over, brake). Be mindful that your kid isn’t standing near the rear seat when swinging right leg over.
- 2nd kid gets on bike by themselves
Fenders
Run them year round. Reduce severity of consequences of kid on tire contact dramatically and keeps kids drier in the wet.
Keep trips to <30 minutes
This depends on the kids, but this holds true for my 6 yo. The 3 yo seems like he could ride all day, but I don’t want to push it. I find this not only applies to this bicycle, but any mode of transportation. Breaking up travel into 30 minute bites is my hot take dad tip.
Stickers
Kids love putting them on the bike
Shoutout to Universal Cycles in Beaverton, Oregon, USA for helping me select/source parts and listen to my crazy ideas.
