Bike trailers for kids

Dee Dub said:

Am looking at purchasing a bike trailer for transporting twin boys behind the bike. My thinking so far has covered:

• Preferable to a single bike seat which is only good for one chid at a time
  
• Good for transport to lots of places, including shops as it will also hold additional items (ie shopping)
  
• Have seen the Pacific brand one which appeals (sale price $470)
  
• safety is an obvious concern, so will be even more cautious about route selection and visibility than if it was just me
  
• Will be able to use for carrying other things after the boys outgrow it.
  
• Will also probably need to buy helmets and possibly new narrower rims/tyres for commuting/hybrid style bike. Additional cost may be $200
  

I invite thoughts/further considerations/advice/experience/cost from other users to assist. All gratefully received. 🙂

Thanks in advance.

Dee Dub

I have just been given a bike trailer from friends whose kids had outgrown it. I have a 2 year old who gets dragged around in it, and so far he seems most unhappy with it. He usally rides on a bike seat and every time we put him in the trailer, he says he wants to go on the seat. When he is in the trailer, he looks pretty uncomfortable and sad. I'll be keeping it because I really wanted it to do the shopping with, and I'll be fast tracking the 2 year old onto his own bike.

Pat

Dee Dub said:

Am looking at purchasing a bike trailer for transporting twin boys behind the bike. My thinking so far has covered:

• Preferable to a single bike seat which is only good for one chid at a time
  
• Good for transport to lots of places, including shops as it will also hold additional items (ie shopping)
  
• Have seen the Pacific brand one which appeals (sale price $470)
  
• safety is an obvious concern, so will be even more cautious about route selection and visibility than if it was just me
  
• Will be able to use for carrying other things after the boys outgrow it.
  
• Will also probably need to buy helmets and possibly new narrower rims/tyres for commuting/hybrid style bike. Additional cost may be $200
  

I invite thoughts/further considerations/advice/experience/cost from other users to assist. All gratefully received. 🙂

Thanks in advance.

Dee Dub

your thinking sounds very similar to mine when we purchased ours last year! We got the Croozer twin-seater, which is one of the cheapest (available at Goldcross stores here in Vic) but no problems, and includes conversion kit for stoller/jogger...

I was keen on the trailer as it did allow me to pull two kids and do the shopping, plus it's a lot more comfortable for the child, they can fall asleep, play with toys, etc... And I've never been keen on a small child perched and exposed on the back rack with a high centre of gravity 'n all... The downside being that narrow chicanes and gateways all too common on our trails here do cause some challenges. This will be more of an issue with a double than a single. Although i think visibility of a trailer is pretty high given the novelty factor!! I've found cars give me a much wider berth with the trailer than without and as such I'm teaching myself not to feel like I have to avoid roads at all times...

Quietly, I don't bother with helmets yet - Our girl is a little bit too small, and as far as I'm concerned she's sitting inside a great big roll cage which makes it a bit redundant.. However, when she gets older I'll probably do so to comply with the law... although you could probably get away with it given it's not easy to see the child in the trailer from outside.

Weight is a major issue - The croozer is pretty hefty compared to funky ones like the burleys and so on, but for the money I couldn't argue... Also worth looking at how they connect to the bike - Hub/skewer mount is almost universal now - Bonus if the trailer comes with two mounts so you can swap with others when you get tired of towing it...

Otherwise I think you can't go wrong... It's a great way to add some fun to the riding as the numbers of smiles you get out there when towing a trailer is amazing!

We recently handed on our Burley to a cousin. It received a lot of use in the time, since No. 1 girl was about 8 weeks old, in a car capsule strapped into the trailer.

It's important that the kids are comfortable. When the girls were younger, we used a folded up thermarest, lightly inflated, to give them a cushier ride, a better view and more of an incline for sleeping. Also a cushion to rest their head on. We never used helmets in the trailer, but always on bike seats or backs of tandems.

We often put in another kid in there to allow them a break from a bike seat if they needed a better sleep on a longer ride. Sometimes 2 kids didn't get on too well in the cramped quarters. We didn't do too many ride with our 2 girls together, as the older one was able to ride on the back of the tandem when we started with No 2. Hopefully your 2 would get on well. The older style KoolStops where you can have the kids face different directions allows for a bit more shoulder room with 2 in it, but I don't know if that style is available anymore.

I also used seats often for shorter trips such as to creche. It was less of hassle in traffic, and I usually continued on to work so I didn't want to have to deal with storing the trailer at work.

You may or may not need new tyres for your bike. I'd just use what you have until they wear out. On the flats and downhills, there's not much difference rolling along, but you'll definitely notice the weight uphills, especially with 2 kids. At least you'll get stronger as the kids grow heavier.

As for use after the kids outgrow it, we didn't bother, but then we have panniers to carry gear (and the family station wagon).

It's a lot of fun. I have many fond memories of trips with the girls, well worth the money spent to enjoy family time together.

We have 2 tandems now, so the family bike time continues...

Lots'a great advice in these replies and also evidence that the investment will provide what I am most looking forward to - lots'a family fun and enjoyable tims. Thank you all. The boys are not in bike seats yet, so a trailer will not suffer by the comparison.

I won't want them to be uncomfortable in it, so will certainly test this out, as best as possible before purchase.

For me, the nrew tyres/rims would be a consideration because my back wheel is pretty poor after lots of broken spokes and poor re-builds and I am keen to reduce the resistance as much as possible as adding 30 kg behind will add a lot.

Thanks for all the replies/advice.

Dee Dub

Dee Dub said:

I invite thoughts/further considerations/advice/experience/cost from
other users to assist. All gratefully received. 🙂

I bought a (virtually new) Kool Stride Papoose Caboose off Ebay about 2
years ago. It'll take both my kids, though coming out of Bobbin Head with
trailer, two kids and luggage is a little trying. I don't think this brand
is currently being imported, but I think there are a few floating around
various shops still.

It hasn't had much use other than taking the kids to and from daycare,
with maybe 5 longer trips - mainly because there are a few nasty roads to
negotiate to get anywhere interesting.

Both kids seem to enjoy riding around in it, and I've had a few
disappointed reactions when I turn up in the car, even from the eldest who
was more excited to see his car than Santa over Xmas.

We haven't bothered with helmets - they're in a sodding great roll cage,
and when they wear a helmet it pushes their head forward on the seat.

I wouldn't worry about new tyres unless yours are shagged. There's enough
resistance from the trailer to mask anything on your bike - I do about the
same speed on my 5" duallie with 2.5" knobbies as I do on the 700c
commuter - the duallie is nice when there are hills because it's got
better brakes and lower gears.

Be aware that bollards, etc. will present a challenge. I've found trailer
friendly routes most places I want to go, but there are times when you
have to be a good judge of width on unfamiliar trails.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
"The wages of sin is death, but so's the salary of virtue, and at least
the Evil get to go home early on Fridays" - Pratchett

"Dee Dub" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Am looking at purchasing a bike trailer for transporting twin boys
behind the bike. My thinking so far has covered:

- Preferable to a single bike seat which is only good for one chid at
a time
- Good for transport to lots of places, including shops as it will
also hold additional items (ie shopping)
- Have seen the Pacific brand one which appeals (sale price $470)
- safety is an obvious concern, so will be even more cautious about
route selection and visibility than if it was just me
- Will be able to use for carrying other things after the boys
outgrow it.
- Will also probably need to buy helmets and possibly new narrower
rims/tyres for commuting/hybrid style bike. Additional cost may be
$200

I invite thoughts/further considerations/advice/experience/cost from
other users to assist. All gratefully received. 🙂

Thanks in advance.

Dee Dub

I recently bought a Chariot Cougar CX1. This is a single child
trailer/stroller. They are very expensive and excellent quality but also
light weight (9.5kg vs around 20 for the pacific). They have decent hubs and
spoked wheels. It will be even lighter once I put the carbon zipps with
ceramic bearings on it 🙂

Both mum and dad want to use it for training and also shopping, where you
can just undo the hitch and put the stroller wheels down and take bub
straight into the shops without waking him up.

We bought it as we didn't have a stroller, but haven't tried it with the bub
yet as he's still too little. Worth checking out...

http://www.chariotcarriers.com/

Adam

"Dee Dub" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lots'a great advice in these replies and also evidence that the
investment will provide what I am most looking forward to - lots'a
family fun and enjoyable tims. Thank you all. The boys are not in
bike seats yet, so a trailer will not suffer by the comparison.

I won't want them to be uncomfortable in it, so will certainly test
this out, as best as possible before purchase.

For me, the nrew tyres/rims would be a consideration because my back
wheel is pretty poor after lots of broken spokes and poor re-builds and
I am keen to reduce the resistance as much as possible as adding 30 kg
behind will add a lot.

Thanks for all the replies/advice.

Dee Dub

I had one of the Pacific Trailers for about 3 years and was really happy
with it. Started out with just my son in it but ended up with both my son
and daughter until my boy got to about four years old and he got too big for
it. The kids absolutely loved it and most times we would go riding
somewhere (usually to a park for a play), they would both fall asleep within
about 10 minutes due to the comfortable ride. I was in Canberra at the time
and so it was easy to go wherever I wanted without having to go on the roads
too often (heaps of bike paths in Canberra). I always made the kids wear
helmets even though I was rarely on the roads.

When we finally sold it, my son was about 18kg or so and my daughter 16kg or
so which probably meant I was lugging over 40kg all up. I used a mountain
bike with slick tyres on it and never had any problems with stability
although you have to be careful of making sharp turns at low speed. I used
to be able to easily go up and down gutters without any problem by almost
coming to a standstill and then easing up or down the gutter (took some
practice to perfect).

One thing that you will need to remember is that you need to pedal really
smoothly or else the trailer bounces all over the place. This meant that
for any steep climbs I would have to shift into a low gear (usually on the
granny ring) and spin nice and smoothly whilst keeping my bum in the saddle.
Also, watch out for bollards on the paths (I grazed a couple at about 30km/h
or so when I was starting out!!).

Overall, I would highly recommend one of these trailers as they allow for
great family activities that don't cost anything but your efforts to get to
where you are going. We regularly had "picnic and play" sessions at a park
located about 10km from home and it was a great way to spend a few hours.

Ride On,

Gags

Should also add that this is a worthwhile place to do some exploring too:

bicycletrailers.comhome.jspOpen ↗

Do like those Chariots - complete with suspension! But ouchy $$$...

Dee Dub said:

- Have seen the Pacific brand one which appeals (sale price $470)

I got a Pacific one a while back, the one that converts to a pram (just a
kit that adds a handlebar, front wheel and brake to the standard trailer).
It seems pretty good, but the straps left a bit to be desired. My son had a
hard time sitting up right and his bum ended up slipping forward. I put a
pillow behind hid back and that seemed to sort the problem until he fell
asleep and his head was lolling forward and jiggling about with the bumps.
I just moved the pillow in front of him so he could rest his head on that.
It's a bit hot for that now though so I think I'll eventually get round to
putting in some decent straps myself. You might not have the same problem
with two kids, as the straps are a compromise design that allows for one or
two passengers and there's less slack with two passengers.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the trailer.

Graeme

quote='Graeme Dods'On Fri said:

- Have seen the Pacific brand one which appeals (sale price $470)

I got a Pacific one a while back, the one that converts to a pram (just a
kit that adds a handlebar, front wheel and brake to the standard trailer).
It seems pretty good, but the straps left a bit to be desired. My son had a
hard time sitting up right and his bum ended up slipping forward. I put a
pillow behind hid back and that seemed to sort the problem until he fell
asleep and his head was lolling forward and jiggling about with the bumps.
I just moved the pillow in front of him so he could rest his head on that.
It's a bit hot for that now though so I think I'll eventually get round to
putting in some decent straps myself. You might not have the same problem
with two kids, as the straps are a compromise design that allows for one or
two passengers and there's less slack with two passengers.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with the trailer.

Graeme[/QUOTE]
awesome info, any other reviews??