An enclosed cabin on a bike
The great lengths we go to to make sure our kids are comfortable on our small electric vehicles
I've been very pleased with the purchase of our Tern HSD cargo e-bike a few months ago. It's relatively small and nimble, not really any larger than a typical bike. But it is able to carry at least 130 pounds on its rear rack. It is essentially the perfect small electric vehicle for taking one child around town with ease.
Since purchasing it, we've had our daughter on the rear rack riding in her trusty Thule Yepp Maxi child seat. This seat has been an amazing choice for comfortably and safely taking her to daycare and pre-school the past few years. I could probably write a whole glowing review of the seat alone, but it's only part of the story today.
As my daughter maxes out the size and weight limits of the Yepp seat, I've been looking for alternative setups. And perhaps the most impressive setup for any mid or long tail cargo bike, is a fully-enclosed rear passenger cabin.
The Clubhouse Fort
Oh yes, something like the Tern Clubhouse Fort Mini will transform your ordinary bike into a veritable child Popemobile! I won't lie, the potential of the enclosed cabin was a big reason for choosing the Tern bike in the first place. There may be a few other inferior canopies for kids on bikes, but the Tern setup seems to be the most elegant and durable.
Like many of the Tern-branded accessories, it doesn't come cheap. The full setup requires three separate parts. The Clubhouse Mini which is the bar that encircles your little passenger. Then you have the Stormbox Mini which attaches to the Clubhouse bars to create a rear bucket to protect your child's legs and catch all the fun things they may drop on a bike ride. Finally, the showstopper is the Stormshield Mini. It is the canopy that goes above the seat and offers full-weather coverage as well as some interior storage and windows for your pampered passenger.
The full setup costs over $600 which is obviously more than plenty of bikes on their own, but can you really put a price on your child's comfort? Well, yeah you probably can but it's still a well-designed accessory. Could you rig up some sort of pop-up camping tent with a tarp on the bottom that serves the same purpose? Sure. Would I recommend it? No.
Is it worth it?
That cost may seem steep, but it really opens up a lot of possibilities for your bike. When you're cruising around without your kid, that Stormbox becomes a nearly bottomless pit of storage. It can act like the trunk of your car as you effortlessly toss grocery bags, packages, and the various bric-à-brac of life into its accommodating maw. You won't need to worry about rolling up pannier bags or bungee cording down loose items to racks. Aside from having a proper front-loading cargo bike or bakfiets (which would be far heavier, more unwieldy, and expensive) this is the easiest setup for carrying gear on a bike.
And you also get to maximize the weather conditions in which you play chauffeur for your tiny boss in the back. What was once a fair-weather pass time can now be a daily routine. The ability to keep your kid warm, dry and comfortable turns the bike into a true year-round car replacement. Of course you as the rider will not have this same comfort until we finally figure out some viable fully-covered bike solutions. But that's ok, you're warming yourself up by pedaling, your young passenger doesn't have that heating option.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that I live in Northern California. We see modest amounts of rainfall at best. And these rainy days are really concentrated over basically three months per year. So I'm not even getting the maximum usage out of this thing. For us it will be a winter accessory. But I could also see just using the canopy with the windows rolled up for some shade in the summer months too.
We'd be considered cold weather wimps for most of the rest of the world, but the morning school drop offs can be a chilly proposition this time of year. Even on mild mornings, there is still the wind when cruising along with the power of an electric motor. Plus, this thing is literally called The Clubhouse Fort. Have you ever met a kid who didn't like hanging out in a Clubhouse or a fort? Regardless of the weather conditions, I think this accessory will be a hit in my household and likely yours as well.
So I'm still waiting for the components of my fort to be delivered. They should arrive in the next week or so. At that point, I may have a more detailed account of the pros, cons, and surprises of my new set up. But I think it'll be a real game-changer for my mobility playbook. And hopefully it'll win me some extra points as a dad.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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