Advice on Kiddie Trailers

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

 

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

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t310549-bike-trailers-for-kids.html

Daz

 

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)

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

Good to hear you got a cougar.. i heard they are good...

i did check out the Croozer 737 and was very impressed. It is in stock at deewhybeach cycles... service was good, no hard sell

 

Hi there all, I know this is an old post, but I came across it when I was looking into buying a trailer and just thougth I'd say I found it helpful, so thanks heaps.

We have 2 kids (3yo & 1yo) and already have a kool stop. But I found it was so cramped in there that they were in tears before the first km was out. So I was really looking for kiddie comfort most of all.

We ended up buying a Croozer (a couple of months ago now). It has been a champion machine. It's really well designed, everything works just how you would like it to and the kids are as happy as can be. We ride for over an hour at least twice a week. The downside is I think it is heavier than their advertising says. It weighs in at 17.8kg on my spring balance, and that's without the arm that attaches to the bike. It is also a couple of cm wider than the specs say. For me is that's a good thing (more comfort) but it would be annoying if space is tight.

To my mind there are really three choices in Aussieland:

1. The light trailers with a sling seat like Koolstop, Burley & Pacific. They all looked pretty much the same to me so you might as well buy the cheapest (Pacific);
2. The Croozer; and
3. The Chariot.

If I had the cash I probably would have bought a Chariot just for the weight factor. But having ridden round for a couple of months I've decided that there's so much weight anyway with two kids and all the shopping etc, that it really doesn't make any meaningful difference. You're not going to break any land speed records!

Cheers
Potsy

 

We've also just bought a trailer - a one seat Chariot. You wouldn't even know you are pulling it, except down hills when it pushes you along a bit. My wife prefer to pull the 1 yr old in the trailer much more than the 5 year old on the tag a long.

Epic Cycles in Brisbane are great - the trailers were on special a few weeks ago (I'm talking up to a few hundred dollars off).

Also our advice was that a child couldn't go in the trailer until they could wear a helmet and they couldn't do that until they had sufficient head control, probably not until about one year old.

Cheers

 

Good review

I have the single seat croozer

I am very happy with it and use it as a jogger too

It is well made, easy to fold/erect, and my son is very happy in it

I think by the time my son is old enough and we have a second one, i will get a topeak kiddy seat plus croozer

I mustn't be that strong a rider, i do find that it is pretty hefty to haul... with the trailer, nappy bag and kid... i wouldn't hate to think how much that would weigh in at.

I highly recommend the croozer. I've seen the chariot, it is definitely more upmarket but considerably more exxy.

 

Geez Rob, I must be Superman pulling this when full of shopping.

I had 28 kgs worth of shopping (plus 9kgs of trailer) plus 21 kgs of 6 y.o. (plus 11kg of tag-a-long) plus 100+kg of me (plus 12 of bike) last week. I should be paying a heavy vehicle tax.



Scotty

 

err... can't match u

maybe your engine is like a diesel, not much speed, but serious torque