Child trailers....whaddya think??

[marcusl]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience they can share
riding with a twin child trailer (not a trailer bike)? I've found a few
that are available on the internet (Burley, KoolStride/Stop, Pacific,
Phillips and Trek have some but they're just rebadged Burleys -
according to the guys at Clarence St) Any other brands to look out for?
Considerations (price, weight (light = $$$), material, harnesses,
hitching method, ability to conert to a stroller (not essential
however)) Any others? I'm leaning towards the pacific which is available
on deanwoods.com.au for $399 at the moment - for price, conversion kit
being included, bit weighty though (not a problem considering how slow i
ride anyway) Does anyone in Sydney carry a range of these?(asking a lot
i know - but i really like to compare side by side) Obviously i'll take
some for a test spin to guage my own reaction to dragging around what
could potentially be an extra 65kg (45kg capacity + up to 20kg for the
trailer itself - man that's a scary thought!!) AND to make sure my
little girl likes it....shouldn't be a problem - she absolutely loved
the seat we had. We both really miss our rides together - ever since my
(t)rusty old steed packed it in and I upgraded to a bike with disk
brakes (which prevent the rack from mounting) Are they really useful for
anything more than bike paths? With the addition of a another mouth to
feed I'll eventually be riding with two and would like to get the missis
into some touring holidays.....(hmmm around Australia, harvest hopping,
WWOOFing) Is tipping a real problem if you ride carefully? what about in
traffic?? I've read the recent post on bike trailers that some people
touched upon these things....can anyone elaborate? What I suppose I'm
really looking for is of peoples stories using these things....

thanks in advance marcus



--

 

[marcusl]

marcusl wrote:
> Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience they can share
> riding with a twin child trailer (not a trailer bike)? I've found a few
> that are available on the internet (Burley, KoolStride/Stop, Pacific,
> Phillips and Trek have some but they're just rebadged Burleys -
> according to the guys at Clarence St) Any other brands to look out for?
> Considerations (price, weight (light = $$$), material, harnesses,
> hitching method, ability to conert to a stroller (not essential
> however)) Any others? I'm leaning towards the pacific which is available
> on deanwoods.com.au for $399 at the moment - for price, conversion kit
> being included, bit weighty though (not a problem considering how slow i
> ride anyway) Does anyone in Sydney carry a range of these?(asking a lot
> i know - but i really like to compare side by side) Obviously i'll take
> some for a test spin to guage my own reaction to dragging around what
> could potentially be an extra 65kg (45kg capacity + up to 20kg for the
> trailer itself - man that's a scary thought!!) AND to make sure my
> little girl likes it....shouldn't be a problem - she absolutely loved
> the seat we had. We both really miss our rides together - ever since my
> (t)rusty old steed packed it in and I upgraded to a bike with disk
> brakes (which prevent the rack from mounting) Are they really useful for
> anything more than bike paths? With the addition of a another mouth to
> feed I'll eventually be riding with two and would like to get the missis
> into some touring holidays.....(hmmm around Australia, harvest hopping,
> WWOOFing) Is tipping a real problem if you ride carefully? what about in
> traffic?? I've read the recent post on bike trailers that some people
> touched upon these things....can anyone elaborate? What I suppose I'm
> really looking for is of peoples stories using these things....
> thanks in advance marcus



ooops sorry for the double post....stupid slow computer (and operator)



--

 

[Gags]

"marcusl" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> marcusl wrote:
> > Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience they can share
> > riding with a twin child trailer (not a trailer bike)? I've found a
few
> > that are available on the internet (Burley, KoolStride/Stop, Pacific,
> > Phillips and Trek have some but they're just rebadged Burleys -
> > according to the guys at Clarence St) Any other brands to look out
for?
> > Considerations (price, weight (light = $$$), material, harnesses,
> > hitching method, ability to conert to a stroller (not essential
> > however)) Any others? I'm leaning towards the pacific which is
available
> > on deanwoods.com.au for $399 at the moment - for price, conversion kit
> > being included, bit weighty though (not a problem considering how slow
i
> > ride anyway) Does anyone in Sydney carry a range of these?(asking a
lot
> > i know - but i really like to compare side by side) Obviously i'll
take
> > some for a test spin to guage my own reaction to dragging around what
> > could potentially be an extra 65kg (45kg capacity + up to 20kg for the
> > trailer itself - man that's a scary thought!!) AND to make sure my
> > little girl likes it....shouldn't be a problem - she absolutely loved
> > the seat we had. We both really miss our rides together - ever since
my
> > (t)rusty old steed packed it in and I upgraded to a bike with disk
> > brakes (which prevent the rack from mounting) Are they really useful
for
> > anything more than bike paths? With the addition of a another mouth to
> > feed I'll eventually be riding with two and would like to get the
missis
> > into some touring holidays.....(hmmm around Australia, harvest
hopping,
> > WWOOFing) Is tipping a real problem if you ride carefully? what about
in
> > traffic?? I've read the recent post on bike trailers that some people
> > touched upon these things....can anyone elaborate? What I suppose I'm
> > really looking for is of peoples stories using these things....
> > thanks in advance marcus
>
>
>
> ooops sorry for the double post....stupid slow computer (and operator)
>
Marcus,

I had one of these when I was in Canberra and we got heaps of use out of it.
Canberra was an ideal location for it due to the number of bikepaths and I
used to stick to bikepaths and backstreets. I can't remember the brand of
the one that I had but I had no problems with it in the three or so years
that I had it (bought it when my eldest was 1 and could sit upright on his
own for decent periods of time)

My kids loved it and would quite happily sit in it together for rides of up
to 90 minutes or so. They would actually fall asleep in there quite
regularly after the first 15 minutes or so of riding (due to rythmic motion
I guess). I could go out with the kids and I would get a good workout, the
kids would have a sleep, and the missus would get some time to herself.

I used to attach it to my mountain bike that was fitted with slicks and I
was able to cruise around for a 90 or so minute ride and achieve average
speeds in the vicinity of 22 to 24 km/h. I started to really notice the
weight of it as the kids got bigger (one was 4 and the other 3 when they
finally grew out of it), especially up steep hills when I used to have to
grab the granny cog and spin my way up at a pretty slow pace. It also
dragged quite a bit when going into any sort of headwind. I found that if I
tried to get out of the seat to climb, it made the trailer rock pretty
violently and so I would concentrate on keeping a smooth pedalling action.

Once mine was fitted it didn't really affect the handling of the bike apart
from taking longer to stop and feeling harder to pedal. You soon get a feel
for the width of the trailer although I did have a couple of close calls
with bike path bollards in my early days with it. The trailer could handle
some minor off road and dirt roads as long as I took it easy to avoid
bouncing the kids around too much. I also found that it was possible to go
up and down gutters without too much problem as long as I went slowly
(almost stopping as the wheel dropped) and "rolled" up or down the vertical
part of the gutter.

As an investment it was great....we paid about $400 for it new and sold it
after three years of constant use for $250. It created a great family
activity as we would quite often put the kids and a picnic in the trailer,
the wife would get on her mountain bike, and we would ride at an easy pace
about 8km to a local park that had a huge playground (At Gungahlin for those
who know Canberra) for a play/picnic. The kids would have a great time and
would generally sleep the whole way back.

Recommendations:

1. Invest in a couple of correctly fitting helmets for the kids and
always ensure that they wear them.

2. Buy a spare tube for the trailer if you are going on rides of decent
length.

3. The elastic stretch thingos with toys on them that fit across a pram
can be strung across the inside of the trailer to keep kids amused.

4. Get one that has both a flyscreen and a clear plastic flap at the
front so that on hot days the kids get some airflow and on cold days they
can keep warm(this may be a standard feature but I am not sure)

5. If the kids are still in nappies, put in a plastic bag with a couple
of spares, wet ones, powder, etc so that the kids won't have to sit in their
own filth for too long (On one of my early trips I had to ring the wife
and get her to come in the car as my boy had strained one that reached his
shoulder blades out of the top of his nappy - glad both the kids are past
that stage now!!!)

 

[marcusl]

wrote:
> ......(bought it when my eldest was 1 and could sit upright on his own
> for decent periods of time)
> My kids loved it and would quite happily sit in it together for rides of
> up to 90 minutes or so. They would actually fall asleep in there quite
> regularly after the first 15 minutes or so of riding (due to rythmic
> motion I guess). I could go out with the kids and I would get a good
> workout, the kids would have a sleep, and the missus would get some time
> to herself.
> I think thats why my missus is actually keen to purchase one.....usually
> takes a bit more cajolling, hinting and blantant begging to get her to
> consider new bike type purchases (actually she's not that bad - but
> that's what it feels like sometimes....) Mine are 3 yo and 3 months
> old...so one might not get too much use out of it? - going by what you
> say....will have to see when we test drive how much space she has.....
> As an investment it was great....we paid about $400 for it new and sold
> it after three years of constant use for $250. It created a great family
> activity as we would quite often put the kids and a picnic in the
> trailer, the wife would get on her mountain bike, and we would ride at
> an easy pace about 8km to a local park that had a huge playground (At
> Gungahlin for those who know Canberra) for a play/picnic. The kids would
> have a great time and would generally sleep the whole way back..
> yeh I've noticed that second hand ones seem to be up there is
> price....not bad when you consider it cost you $50 per year....
> 5. If the kids are still in nappies, put in a plastic bag with a
> couple of spares, wet ones, powder, etc so that the kids won't
> have to sit in their own filth for too long (On one of my early
> trips I had to ring the wife and get her to come in the car as my
> boy had strained one that reached his shoulder blades out of the
> top of his nappy - glad both the kids are past that stage now!!!)

Thanks heaps for the reply - just the kind of info i was looking for



So you made your wife come out and change the nappy??!! Man I know I
wouldn't get away with that !!!

Thanks for the tips!! It was a great help - I'm almost definite that
it's what i want...but it's always good to hear others experiences



--

 

[kingsley]

On Wed, 19 May 2004 02:00:25 +0000, marcusl wrote:

> marcusl wrote:
> > Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience they can share
> > riding with a twin child trailer (not a trailer bike)?

Yeah, me.

> > I've found a
> > few that are available on the internet (Burley, KoolStride/Stop,
> > Pacific, Phillips and Trek have some but they're just rebadged Burleys
> > - according to the guys at Clarence St)

I read somewhere that Trek licenced it from the Canadian 'Chariot' brand.
While the staff at Clarence St are very good, IMHO they don't know a whole
lot about their trailers.

> > bit weighty though (not a problem
> > considering how slow i ride anyway)

No it's not too much of a problem - on the flat
You hit that hill... you'll feel it damn quick.
They also have a huge frontal area, tail-winds are
a new experience. A heavy 'straight from The Netherlands'
head-wind will just about kill you.

> > Does anyone in Sydney carry a
> > range of these?(asking a lot i know - but i really like to compare
> > side by side) Obviously i'll take some for a test spin to guage my own
> > reaction to dragging around what could potentially be an extra 65kg

Rod Martin in (west) Gosford had a few brands on the floor last
time I looked. Burley and a Pacific IIRC

Lately I've been riding with the trailer connected to the trailer-bike
connected to my single. Now that's damn heavy, but corners quite well,
perhaps even better than the tandem.

If you wanna come for a test ride, give be a call 0419 621 568
But we live up at the bottom of Lake Macquarie, about 2-hours north.

> > [disc brakes] (which prevent the rack from mounting)

And perhaps the trailer tow-hitch - check before you buy,

> > Are they really useful for anything more than bike
> > paths?

We've towed two kids in it for > 2000k touring, will be
taking it again next year for 1500k (ish) tour. It's ok
on anything up to quite bumpy roads - and only 'cause
the kids get shaken up a bit too much.

If you're going off-road, best get a _good_ rear mud guard
perhaps with a flap. Otherwise anything you ride through
will end up on your trailer and/or kids.

> > WWOOFing

WOOFing ?

> > Is tipping a real problem if you ride carefully?

If you're riding carefully, I'd say it'd never happen.

I've tipped it (a) riding very non-carefully, and (b) when the
trailer was empty. I clipped the ramp-part of a gutter at
high speed with one wheel.

-kt

 

[kingsley]

On Thu, 20 May 2004 21:10:47 +1000, Gags wrote:

> (On one of my early trips I had to ring
> the wife and get her to come in the car as my boy had strained one that
> reached his shoulder blades out of the top of his nappy - glad both the
> kids are past that stage now!!!)

Heh... It's not a complete family outing without a poo-crisis!


The Trek trailer has a 'boot', we chuck the whole nappy bag in there.

-kt