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DaveB
Guest
kingsley wrote:
> Bought a trailer bike on the weekend...
> here's my brane-dump before I forget it all:
>
> There are a few brands available locally:
>
> Burley - the 'Piccolo' ~ $900
> Giant - 'Half-Wheeler' ~ $399
> Adams - Trailer-Bike ~ $350 (also a tandem model)
> Alley-Cat - Never saw one ~ (guess) $300
> Pacific - $300 / $350
> Some other brand $275
>
>
> We borrowed a SS alley-cat, to make sure Katia (5) wasn't
> going to say "I hate riding the trailer-bike". Tried it
> out on a bikepath & she loved it.
>
> Poking around on news & the web led me to believe the
> usual failing point is the hitch with the bike. All trailers
> except the Burley connect to the seatpost with various
> different clamping mechanisms. The biggest problem reported
> is the develpment of 'play' in the hitch. Supposedly the
> Burley was immune to this, but I stopped considering it
> as soon as I got the quote (from Greenspeed, the official Aus.
> retailer).
>
> Most of the lower-end trailer bikes are CrMo steel, and much
> the same. Basically you need to spend around $300 to get anything.
>
> When we borrowed the AlleyCat, it was given to us with
> the seat+seatpost attached - this was a fairly good indication
> as to how easily it detached.
>
> Gears didn't interest me - when the kids are big enough to
> get to grips with the gears, they'll probably want their
> own full-size bike. This doesn't significantly affect your
> choice, most trailer bikes can come with or without gears.
>
> Our target application, apart from weekend riding, is to do
> some siginificaqnt touring early next year. So we were definately
> looking for something of quality. Also needed to attach a
> rear rack & mud-guard.
>
> We ended up buying the Giant one, but had to go home from the
> bike shop (45mins each way) to see if, when connected, the
> tow arm will clear the rack (50cm, 700C touring bike). It did!
>
> The giant model is an Aluminium alloy rather than steel, and
> feels significantly lighter than the others. The hitch is a
> quick-release clamp, looks fairly robust (we'll see in 6 months).
> The tow-arm is hinged in the middle, and folds back on itself...
> thus it can fit inside the car (holden stationwagon), 'cause
> these things are a bugger to put on a bikerack.
>
> So, um, that's about it.
>
> cheers,
> -kt
>
Does anyone know of an LBS in melbourne that has a decent range of
trailer bikes. Ivanhoe is probably closest to me and they've usually
only got 2 or 3 and I don't want to spend a day going from shop to shop
trying to compare them all if I can help it (rather be out riding with
the family). Or is there just not the demand for anyone to have a large
stock of them?
Dave B.
> Bought a trailer bike on the weekend...
> here's my brane-dump before I forget it all:
>
> There are a few brands available locally:
>
> Burley - the 'Piccolo' ~ $900
> Giant - 'Half-Wheeler' ~ $399
> Adams - Trailer-Bike ~ $350 (also a tandem model)
> Alley-Cat - Never saw one ~ (guess) $300
> Pacific - $300 / $350
> Some other brand $275
>
>
> We borrowed a SS alley-cat, to make sure Katia (5) wasn't
> going to say "I hate riding the trailer-bike". Tried it
> out on a bikepath & she loved it.
>
> Poking around on news & the web led me to believe the
> usual failing point is the hitch with the bike. All trailers
> except the Burley connect to the seatpost with various
> different clamping mechanisms. The biggest problem reported
> is the develpment of 'play' in the hitch. Supposedly the
> Burley was immune to this, but I stopped considering it
> as soon as I got the quote (from Greenspeed, the official Aus.
> retailer).
>
> Most of the lower-end trailer bikes are CrMo steel, and much
> the same. Basically you need to spend around $300 to get anything.
>
> When we borrowed the AlleyCat, it was given to us with
> the seat+seatpost attached - this was a fairly good indication
> as to how easily it detached.
>
> Gears didn't interest me - when the kids are big enough to
> get to grips with the gears, they'll probably want their
> own full-size bike. This doesn't significantly affect your
> choice, most trailer bikes can come with or without gears.
>
> Our target application, apart from weekend riding, is to do
> some siginificaqnt touring early next year. So we were definately
> looking for something of quality. Also needed to attach a
> rear rack & mud-guard.
>
> We ended up buying the Giant one, but had to go home from the
> bike shop (45mins each way) to see if, when connected, the
> tow arm will clear the rack (50cm, 700C touring bike). It did!
>
> The giant model is an Aluminium alloy rather than steel, and
> feels significantly lighter than the others. The hitch is a
> quick-release clamp, looks fairly robust (we'll see in 6 months).
> The tow-arm is hinged in the middle, and folds back on itself...
> thus it can fit inside the car (holden stationwagon), 'cause
> these things are a bugger to put on a bikerack.
>
> So, um, that's about it.
>
> cheers,
> -kt
>
Does anyone know of an LBS in melbourne that has a decent range of
trailer bikes. Ivanhoe is probably closest to me and they've usually
only got 2 or 3 and I don't want to spend a day going from shop to shop
trying to compare them all if I can help it (rather be out riding with
the family). Or is there just not the demand for anyone to have a large
stock of them?
Dave B.
