experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?

[Andrea]

Hi all,

I am planning on buying a trailer for my husband and myself to take my kids to school, and also for
lovely summer rides. I also want to get fit!

Could you please share your experience of them?

Many thanks in advance,

--
Andrea.

 

[Andrea]

Also can you fit a trailer to an adult trike or does it have to be a mountain bike?

--
Andrea.

 

[Scott]

Andrea wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am planning on buying a trailer for my husband and myself to take my kids to school, and also
> for lovely summer rides. I also want to get fit!
>
> Could you please share your experience of them?
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>

We used a Burley (this was before the D'Lite came out) and it did the job. It wasn't an easy thing
biking up hills, and I broke a couple chains, but I had 2 kids and 2 backpacks in it, so probably an
extra 100 pounds all told. They seem safe enough -- the one time it flipped, the son slept through
the whole thing (I think he was 1.5ish, securely buckled in, but upside down after flipping). They
do add considerable drag, however, so biking into a strong wind is not for the faint of heart. I
understand there are other models now that are significantly more streamlined. Back in the age when
my kids were young, however, the choices were pretty limited.

As a bonus, they seem to hold onto their value fairly well if you take care of them. We sold ours
for $250 at a garage sale after using it for 3+ years, including winters! Maybe the buyer was an
idiot, but it only takes one idiot to make your day

We did get the wheel attachment, which I recommend, so you can use it as a jogging stroller. Not
that I ever jog, but it was convenient for walking the kids to the library, grocery store, etc.

Scott, really at netscape dot net

 

[DiabloScott]

Originally posted by Andrea
Hi all,

I am planning on buying a trailer for my husband and myself to take my kids to school, and also for
lovely summer rides. I also want to get fit!

Could you please share your experience of them?

Many thanks in advance,

--
Andrea.

I've had two used ones - a Nashbar version and an old Burley.
They're fun to use, and I like the looks I get from people as I grind up steep hills pulling my daughter.

Here are a couple issues:
1. - The mounting to the bike. One of my trailers clamped the chain stay and I didn't like that it might squish the tube and scratch the paint but I only used it on my old MTB so I wasn't that concerned, but if you're going to attach it to a good bike you might be concerned. The Burley attached with a wedge between the seat stay and chain stay and that seems to be a little better idea. Also check to see if your heel hits the attachment hardware when you pedal.
2. - The child harness. Both of my trailers had crappy harnesses, hard to use and not as secure as I'd like. Practice getting your kid (with helmet on) in and out of the trailer and compare the different harnesses for safety and ease of use before you make a decision.

In general the newer and more expensive ones will have better attachment hardware, better harnesses, better wheels, and will collapse for transport in your car. Bring your trike to the bike store to have the sales staff look at how it might attach. Don't buy a trailer from anyplace that doesn't have a conscientious person explain how to use it and help you mount it to your bike the first time.

 

[Fritz M]

"Andrea" <andrea22_uk@(nospam)hotmail.com> wrote:

> I am planning on buying a trailer for my husband and myself to take my kids to school, and also
> for lovely summer rides. I also want to get fit!
>
> Could you please share your experience of them?

I have Trek's 2 seat trailer and bought an extra hitch so both my wife and I have a hitch on each of
our bicycles. The kids love it. I've towed my daughter and son all the way across town and back. My
son is too big for both of them to ride in it together now.

As Scott notes, you can really feel the drag in the wind, and uphills are tougher.

I tipped the trailer once, when I was being goofy and going in circles in front of my house. My
daughter (4 yrs old) was a little angry at me for that, but uninjured. She brings dolls and coloring
books. For longer rides she'll have a drink and maybe a snack with her.

It's a kid trailer, not a cargo trailer, but I also use the trailer for grocery trips.

This website sells trailers, but they have good consumer information and reviews also:

http://www.bicycletrailers.com/

RFM