experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?
 

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.

experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?
 

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

--
Andrea.

experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?
 

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

experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?
 

"Andrea" 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

experiences with bicycle trailers for kids?
 

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,
--
Andrea.


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

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

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


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