Bike trailer recs?

[gailrmv]

Does anyone use a bike trailer to bring their kids along for the ride? I''m just starting to research them - not nearly as fun to research as strollers!!

From what I can tell, Burley and Chariot make the high end ones, and Instep and Schwinn make OK less expensive ones.

I''m leaning towards a mid-range Burley (the Honey Bee model) but would love to hear from others. Thanks!

 

[EricaR]

Please do lots of research on safety and make sure your kids are wearing helmets. I''ve seen three separate horrific accidents involving those trailers and most bikers I know won''t use them.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/8/2010 9:49:33 AM
Author: EricaR
Please do lots of research on safety and make sure your kids are wearing helmets. I''ve seen three separate horrific accidents involving those trailers and most bikers I know won''t use them.

Don''t worry, I''m doing lots of research on safety and my son will be wearing a helmet. What happened in the accidents you''ve seen? From what I''m reading, the trailers are quite safe as long as you get one that attaches properly and ride at a normal speed and not take it offroading. The higher end ones attach such that if the adult falls, the trailer stays upright. This is much safer than having the kid in a seat behind the adult, because if the adult falls, the kid falls too. We also intend to ride on trails, not on the road, with our son. My husband and I are experienced cyclists and while accidents can happen any time, we have (knock wood) not fallen or even had a close call in years.

 

[MustangGal]

We have a Schwin one, but it''s still in the box... Hoping to get it out and take it for a spin if we get a weekend without rain!

 

[EricaR]

Date: 3/8/2010 10:16:50 AM
Author: TanDogMom

Date: 3/8/2010 9:49:33 AM

Author: EricaR

Please do lots of research on safety and make sure your kids are wearing helmets. I've seen three separate horrific accidents involving those trailers and most bikers I know won't use them.

Don't worry, I'm doing lots of research on safety and my son will be wearing a helmet. What happened in the accidents you've seen? From what I'm reading, the trailers are quite safe as long as you get one that attaches properly and ride at a normal speed and not take it offroading. The higher end ones attach such that if the adult falls, the trailer stays upright. This is much safer than having the kid in a seat behind the adult, because if the adult falls, the kid falls too. We also intend to ride on trails, not on the road, with our son. My husband and I are experienced cyclists and while accidents can happen any time, we have (knock wood) not fallen or even had a close call in years.

Ok, whew! As long as you are pretty experienced I feel much better!

Accident one involved an idiot parent riding along a busy road with a 65mph speed limit and no bike lane. Lets just say that there was a car involved. The parent and both kids had to be airlifted to a local hospital.

Accident two was some mountain bikers who took their trailer down a super steep hill. The trailer started slipping on the loose dirt and dragged the bike and trailer over. Both went skidding down a ways and over the edge of a 5 foot drop. Unfortunately for me I was the docent on duty in that area and was the first person on scene. Both kids had broken arms and had bonked their (helmetless) heads. I got to call in the helicopter for that one, too, since we were far enough back on windy roads that an ambulance couldn't get in there. (We also got rid of the docent who allowed a kid trailer out on an advanced trail!!!)

Accident three involved an ATV and a parent who was riding while wearing an iPod. He didn't hear the ATV coming towards him and they rammed each other. The little girl in the trailer wasn't strapped in and wasn't wearing a helmet and was covered head to toe in road rash. It was so sad!!!

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/8/2010 9:06:34 PM
Author: EricaR

Date: 3/8/2010 10:16:50 AM

Author: TanDogMom

Date: 3/8/2010 9:49:33 AM


Author: EricaR


Please do lots of research on safety and make sure your kids are wearing helmets. I''ve seen three separate horrific accidents involving those trailers and most bikers I know won''t use them.

Don''t worry, I''m doing lots of research on safety and my son will be wearing a helmet. What happened in the accidents you''ve seen? From what I''m reading, the trailers are quite safe as long as you get one that attaches properly and ride at a normal speed and not take it offroading. The higher end ones attach such that if the adult falls, the trailer stays upright. This is much safer than having the kid in a seat behind the adult, because if the adult falls, the kid falls too. We also intend to ride on trails, not on the road, with our son. My husband and I are experienced cyclists and while accidents can happen any time, we have (knock wood) not fallen or even had a close call in years.

Ok, whew! As long as you are pretty experienced I feel much better!


Accident one involved an idiot parent riding along a busy road with a 65mph speed limit and no bike lane. Lets just say that there was a car involved. The parent and both kids had to be airlifted to a local hospital.


Accident two was some mountain bikers who took their trailer down a super steep hill. The trailer started slipping on the loose dirt and dragged the bike and trailer over. Both went skidding down a ways and over the edge of a 5 foot drop. Unfortunately for me I was the docent on duty in that area and was the first person on scene. Both kids had broken arms and had bonked their (helmetless) heads. I got to call in the helicopter for that one, too, since we were far enough back on windy roads that an ambulance couldn''t get in there. (We also got rid of the docent who allowed a kid trailer out on an advanced trail!!!)


Accident three involved an ATV and a parent who was riding while wearing an iPod. He didn''t hear the ATV coming towards him and they rammed each other. The little girl in the trailer wasn''t strapped in and wasn''t wearing a helmet and was covered head to toe in road rash. It was so sad!!!

Yikes! I''m glad you were able to help in those instances! It sounds like the cyclists in those accidents were using some, let''s just say, bad judgment. Don''t worry, we wouldn''t do anything like that! We plan to ride on bike paths that are reasonably flat and are closed to cars. I am not that confident mountain biking, so I''d never do it with a trailer. And riding with at ipod? No way. I see people driving with them too - bad idea!



MustangGal Will you let me know what you think of your Schwinn when you try it out? Hope it''s fun!!

 

[MustangGal]

We hope to do it this weekend, I''ll let you know!

 

[MustangGal]

I finally bugged DH enough, and we pulled the trailer out of the box yesterday. This is the model we have, my mom found it on clearence at Target last year, got it for $80 marked down from $159.

It went together easy, and does fold nicely and went back into the spot the box has been in for months. The seat belts allowed me to put Kyle in the middle, instead of making him sit to one side. There were cup holders and little pockets on the inside, but if the kid''s strapped in correctly, it''d be hard for a smaller toddler to reach them. DH got it attached to his bike with no problem, and he''s got a crazy looking mountain bike with disk breaks and all. He thought it might be a bit safer on a bike without a quick-release rear wheel. Kyle did fine, I could ride up next to him the few times he got fussy and make faces at him.

The few things that could make it better: The windows were all clear/mesh, so there wasn''t any real sun protection for the kid. The front wheel you can put on to push it around didn''t roll well at all, it was easier to just lift the front and pull it behind you (in and out of the house). And this isn''t the trailer''s fault, but finding a helmet for a 13 month old with a small head is impossible. We got one that we thought fit OK, but the chin strap couldn''t be shortened enough, and he had it off within minutes.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 3/22/2010 6:53:11 PM
Author: MustangGal
I finally bugged DH enough, and we pulled the trailer out of the box yesterday. This is the model we have, my mom found it on clearence at Target last year, got it for $80 marked down from $159.


It went together easy, and does fold nicely and went back into the spot the box has been in for months. The seat belts allowed me to put Kyle in the middle, instead of making him sit to one side. There were cup holders and little pockets on the inside, but if the kid''s strapped in correctly, it''d be hard for a smaller toddler to reach them. DH got it attached to his bike with no problem, and he''s got a crazy looking mountain bike with disk breaks and all. He thought it might be a bit safer on a bike without a quick-release rear wheel. Kyle did fine, I could ride up next to him the few times he got fussy and make faces at him.


The few things that could make it better: The windows were all clear/mesh, so there wasn''t any real sun protection for the kid. The front wheel you can put on to push it around didn''t roll well at all, it was easier to just lift the front and pull it behind you (in and out of the house). And this isn''t the trailer''s fault, but finding a helmet for a 13 month old with a small head is impossible. We got one that we thought fit OK, but the chin strap couldn''t be shortened enough, and he had it off within minutes.

Hi MustangGal! Thanks a lot for coming back with your review. You got a great deal on your trailer!

SHortly after I started this thread, I found a Burley on Craigslist for about half off the orig price, so I bought it! We only used it once but so far so good. I completely agree with you about the helmet. I bought one for a toddler, and it seemed to fit OK until we got going in the trailer and then it covered his entire face. Poor guy. He was actually a pretty good sport about it. I found an infant helmet on amazon (Giro brand) which I need to order. I will report back and let you know what I think of it.