Advice on Kiddie Trailers

robalert

I got a 6 week old baby.. and starting to research Child trailers. I know he need to learn to sit first, but an approx 4 month lead up to purchase is reasonable. If there is a good deal, then I'll snap it up first. I would like to cycle with my wife again so I think the solution is to bring bub along.

Anyway, does anyone have a trailer here and do you have a friend who has one? How much did it set you back? How is the quality?

I've checked out a few on the internet. I am only planning to use it for weekend rides with my wife rather than serious commuting. I am considering the $500-$700 price ranges... so the top end burley or chariot stuff is out... (>$1000) unless you think they have serious merit for my purposes.

For the money, I've seen these around...

Pacific Alloy (distributed by Bikecorp)

Phillips Kiddicarrier

Croozer

Burley Bee

Giant PeaPod

* After some preliminary research, the Burley seems to be the goer....

Any comments on these or any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

Daz1980

Here is another discussion on trailers that might give you some information.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t31054...s-for-kids.html

Daz

mikeg

Rob,


FYI some trailers noticed on ebay

Phillips-Kiddicarrier-101-Bike-Bicycle-Trailer

and

Pacific-Kids-Bike-Trailer-Jogger-BRAND-NEW

Mike G (BN member)

robalert

thanks for the link and the info... that is a great help!

those prices on ebay is pretty good... croozer still seems the best in terms of multiuse capacity and quality tho the pacific one is priced really well....

... rob also BN member

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

Scudme1

A friend of mine got one of the Giant ones, only used it a couple of times. He wasn't impressed with it at all, maybe it was just the extra effort needed to pull it along his kids are 2 & 4. shouldn't be as bad with only one child under 1.

__________________
Glen

artemidorus

Rob, have you chosen yet?
I had a chance to put my daughter in a Kool-Stop "Original" trailer on the weekend and she had a ball with her little best friend sitting next to her (both between three and a half and four years). It seems to me that the helmet recess in the seat back is important, as the fact that her head was pushed forwards by her helmet bothered her, only a little admittedly, but she didn't try to sleep.
I had a look at the Chariot Cougar in the local baby stuff shop and it's very impressive, but also very pricey, particularly as they won't sell it without the Stroller Kit and the Jogger Kit and would have to order in the Cycling Kit as an extra ($1500 for Cougar 2 + hitch + unnecessary compulsory kits!!!!!) There doesn't seem to any reliable, reasonably high-volume, cyclist friendly Chariot dealer in Sydney.
I can't find a Burley dealer in Sydney (closer than Tahmoor, anyway) who actually has stock on the floor. Do you know of any?
It just seems that Sydney is not the right city to buy a child trailer in, mainly, I suppose, because you'd be crazy to take one on most roads most of the time.

lumpy

I found a lot of dirt and debris was coming up off my rear tire and into the trailer. A significant fender might help a bit.

I hated towing it. Heavy and slow. I much prefer a
http://www.trail-a-bike.com/interface/adams.php
but you have to wait until your kid is old enough

WrxAnt

Hey Rob,

I've been thinking about getting one of these myself.

I asked the maternal health nurse early on about bike trailers and I was told NOT to take my daughter riding till she was atleast 6 months old.

At such a young age the jolts and bumps in the road can be akin to shaking your child.... well thats atleast what I was told by the health nurse.

Might be worth just asking next time you (or your partner) visits the marternal health nurse.

Other than that, best of luck and happy riding

Cheers
Ant

nerdag

The recommendation sounds about right, and although the reasoning makes sense, it is slightly off the mark.

Basically, you should avoid carrying your baby around on a bike until such time as they are able to sit unsupported, which usually occurs anywhere between 6-9 months. Babies gain good head and neck muscle tone by about 3 months, and good head control by 4-6 months.

Shaken Baby Sydnrome, on the other hand, is characterised by rapid extension and flexion of baby's head (ie. back and forth around the neck) caused by shaking, which can damage the blood vessels in the baby's skull, causing bleeding into the brain. This damage requires a much more intense set of forces to generate the injuries than sitting over the back wheel can provide - particularly since your tyres should take most of the bumps anyway, unless you are hopping obstacles without lifting the back wheel. (aside: Crushed ribs, retinal heamorhages etc. are also part of SBS.)

To generate forces akin to those in SBS, you'd need to stick a baby in a back seat, and then ride as though you're making a dash for the green jersey at the TdF, in addition to the child having poor muscle tone.

I doubt any parent would do that to their child unless it was an absolute emergency.

HTH,

nerdag.

robalert

thanks for your feedback

my son is now almost 6mths old now and he doing well

he is heaps more robust, can pretty sit up

i checked out the croozer 737 and was impressed with the build quality... it also comes with a stroller and jogger kit

only downside, was that the wife still found it too big to use as a pram... it only just fits in my VW golf....

keep you updated... but I will be buying it sometime in may so i can get out and ride as a family again

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

aa9t8

we bought a trailer from costco for 132$ holds up to 100 lbs 2 kids. grandkids love it.

robalert

i don't think i've seen that brand.. you got a link to the product?

__________________
Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

artemidorus

We rang half the bike shops in Sydney on Saturday and found that very, very few have trailers in stock. Can't find Burley anywhere in NSW (although you did, Rob?), despite the general recommendation that they are one of the best brands. Damned if I'm going to order anything without seeing it. The Phillips Kiddie Carrier is available at a few places, and seems alright (the alloy 202 model, at least), but it can't be used as a stroller/jogger, something that my other half requires. The Pacific is made in the same factory as the Phillips and, apparently, is almost identical, but can be used as a stroller/jogger. Costs more for the priviledge. Same steel/alloy model differences. Lukewarm reviews generally for the Pacific on the 'net.
One of the best deals that we found was the Giant Peapod LX for $470 at Cranks in North Sydney (one-off demo stock), but we discovered that it, too, can't be used as a stroller. It looks well made.
So we bit the bullet and bought a demo Chariot Cougar 2 from Babies Galore at Taren Point. $250 off full price. Took it for a ride yesterday with our 3 year old and our 5 monther, the latter in the infant sling that comes standard with the package. (NB, you're not supposed to use the infant sling while cycling, as the child is not protected from a roll while in it, but we only lapped Centennial Park.) It is a beautiful piece of kit. The infant sling works amazingly well; he slept for most of the 20km.

aa9t8

costco is a huge quasi wholesaler here (i do not want to be a comercial for them) my wife works at our lbs and they do not even carry trailers anymore cause they can not compete.