Children's trailers - any suggestions?
Discussion
I'm looking for a trailer for towing my one year old ebbing the bike, we have seats on the back of our bikes but this would shade him from the sun and allow us to do longer rides without him getting bored.
It needs to convert into a buggy so we can lock the bikes up and push it around in the city centre, and we want a two seater so there's room for shopping in there with him. At the moment we're looking at a Thule Coaster....
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/products/active-with-ki...
Is there anything I'm missing? The cheap ones don't have a front wheel and look a bit flimsy but I don't want to go crazy and spend a fortune.
It needs to convert into a buggy so we can lock the bikes up and push it around in the city centre, and we want a two seater so there's room for shopping in there with him. At the moment we're looking at a Thule Coaster....
http://www.thule.com/en/gb/products/active-with-ki...
Is there anything I'm missing? The cheap ones don't have a front wheel and look a bit flimsy but I don't want to go crazy and spend a fortune.
A few comments based on my use of trailers...
Our first one had 16" wheels which were too small really. They fall into every single pothole, and the whole thing felt too low to the ground. It was a Spokey Joe. A friend gave it to me so I can't complain. It got us started on the whole idea and gave me some ideas for improvement. It was lightweight, and folded up neatly for car transport.
Our second one had 20" wheels which meant it rolled better, seemed to ride out the bumps and holes better, and was higher off the ground on the couple of occasions we encountered deep puddles (the bottom of the body of the trailer stayed out of the puddle).
I bought off Ebay for under 80 quid - brand new - with 2 inches of "suspension". Let's call that "springs" as there was no damper. All it would do it take the edge off the very worst bumps, but let's not belittle this. Kids *can* get rattled around in trailers so don't go mad with the tyre pressures. However, there are much better suspension trailers. I would consider one of the better ones if I were going to put another very young child into one.
Both of mine were "doubles" which was fantastic for my daughter to stretch out and sleep in, but they do present problems on cycle paths getting past/through the inevitable metal-gate restrictions for motor vehicles. And they're heavy overall. The last one was 15Kg without it's occupant.
I used ours a lot. Hundreds of miles (low thousands) over 4 years. That it was large was both great and not so. It was heavy (because it was cheap) but each ride with it gave me a good work-out. It allowed us to go cycle-shopping when we went on holiday to France - you can get loads of BBQ stuff and bottles of red wine in the "boot" area.
Everyone I passed looked in at my daughter and said "Ah..!!" or some other "Wow, how cute" kind of expression. My daughter is blonde, and would be either snuggled-up in a pink sleeping bag during winter, or chillaxing with her sunglasses on in the cool breeze of the French summer. If they saw her asleep then they were almost overcome with cute-overload.
Since using one, I've been designing a trailer which I think would be better for children - a single width one, with a single wheel (there are LOADS of benefits to a single wheel), a crash/safety cockpit which reclines and yet can be easily adapted by the owners for their kids as they grow, has adjustable "simple" (cheap and light) suspension and is both light-weight but made from NON-esoteric materials (i.e. not carbon fibre). I've got the design to the point where I need a partner now to help me with the manufacture but I'm convinced it would be a great fun place for a kid to spend time. A single wheeled trailer leans with the bike. Ride the Virgin Pendolino from the Midlands to London and sit in one of the aisle seats facing forwards. The feeling as it winds through the countryside is incredible. It feels
so natural. This is what I have been trying to achieve for children's trailers.
The other totally hysterically-fun way to transport children is on the front of a cargo bike. There are two that I particularly love - the Larry vs Harry Bullitt Bike, and the Butchers & Bicycles Mark 1 leaning trike (it's the "leaning" bit that's important again). These are another world away in terms of cost but look at some of the expressions on kids faces on YouTube... like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srBYG3ZGlO0
Our first one had 16" wheels which were too small really. They fall into every single pothole, and the whole thing felt too low to the ground. It was a Spokey Joe. A friend gave it to me so I can't complain. It got us started on the whole idea and gave me some ideas for improvement. It was lightweight, and folded up neatly for car transport.
Our second one had 20" wheels which meant it rolled better, seemed to ride out the bumps and holes better, and was higher off the ground on the couple of occasions we encountered deep puddles (the bottom of the body of the trailer stayed out of the puddle).
I bought off Ebay for under 80 quid - brand new - with 2 inches of "suspension". Let's call that "springs" as there was no damper. All it would do it take the edge off the very worst bumps, but let's not belittle this. Kids *can* get rattled around in trailers so don't go mad with the tyre pressures. However, there are much better suspension trailers. I would consider one of the better ones if I were going to put another very young child into one.
Both of mine were "doubles" which was fantastic for my daughter to stretch out and sleep in, but they do present problems on cycle paths getting past/through the inevitable metal-gate restrictions for motor vehicles. And they're heavy overall. The last one was 15Kg without it's occupant.
I used ours a lot. Hundreds of miles (low thousands) over 4 years. That it was large was both great and not so. It was heavy (because it was cheap) but each ride with it gave me a good work-out. It allowed us to go cycle-shopping when we went on holiday to France - you can get loads of BBQ stuff and bottles of red wine in the "boot" area.
Everyone I passed looked in at my daughter and said "Ah..!!" or some other "Wow, how cute" kind of expression. My daughter is blonde, and would be either snuggled-up in a pink sleeping bag during winter, or chillaxing with her sunglasses on in the cool breeze of the French summer. If they saw her asleep then they were almost overcome with cute-overload.
Since using one, I've been designing a trailer which I think would be better for children - a single width one, with a single wheel (there are LOADS of benefits to a single wheel), a crash/safety cockpit which reclines and yet can be easily adapted by the owners for their kids as they grow, has adjustable "simple" (cheap and light) suspension and is both light-weight but made from NON-esoteric materials (i.e. not carbon fibre). I've got the design to the point where I need a partner now to help me with the manufacture but I'm convinced it would be a great fun place for a kid to spend time. A single wheeled trailer leans with the bike. Ride the Virgin Pendolino from the Midlands to London and sit in one of the aisle seats facing forwards. The feeling as it winds through the countryside is incredible. It feels
so natural. This is what I have been trying to achieve for children's trailers.
The other totally hysterically-fun way to transport children is on the front of a cargo bike. There are two that I particularly love - the Larry vs Harry Bullitt Bike, and the Butchers & Bicycles Mark 1 leaning trike (it's the "leaning" bit that's important again). These are another world away in terms of cost but look at some of the expressions on kids faces on YouTube... like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srBYG3ZGlO0
Last word (sorry)... TRY before you buy if you can because the front wheel is always an afterthought. I never worried about this because mine was only every intended to be a trailer but more recently I've attached the front wheel to allow the kids to push each other around on the campsites we visit. They love it but it has highlighted what a crappy design most of the front wheels are. They come loose, or they're off centre (so the buggy tips one way too easily), or they aren't casters so turning them is impossible - in fact keeping them straight is impossible because a fixed front wheel is inevitably NOT totally in the straight ahead position.
Thule generally does good stuff but it's normally priced towards the upper end, and I personally think their designs are about 85% resolved (good but could do better).
The problem with a lot of the others is they are Chinese rubbish - copies of other people's designs which means there are a limited number of designs out there for the sheer number of people selling their brand. Does that make sense?
Mine's a Chinese rubbish copy. Perfect for how we use it and decent enough for under 80 quid, but if I knew how much I'd end up using one, I'd have paid 5 times more and had something lighter and better sprung.
Thule generally does good stuff but it's normally priced towards the upper end, and I personally think their designs are about 85% resolved (good but could do better).
The problem with a lot of the others is they are Chinese rubbish - copies of other people's designs which means there are a limited number of designs out there for the sheer number of people selling their brand. Does that make sense?
Mine's a Chinese rubbish copy. Perfect for how we use it and decent enough for under 80 quid, but if I knew how much I'd end up using one, I'd have paid 5 times more and had something lighter and better sprung.
We've got a Croozer "Kid for 2" and I can't fault it really. Been using it for five years or so and it's never let us down. The small stroller wheel is located centrally and the trailer is pretty stable when using it in this mode. It also has a proper larger front wheel which is superb for footpaths and bridleways, and my wife goes jogging with it too in this set up.
http://croozer.co.uk/products/croozer-kid/croozer-...
There is bags of room in the boot for a day out or shopping, together with a five and a one year old.
http://croozer.co.uk/products/croozer-kid/croozer-...
There is bags of room in the boot for a day out or shopping, together with a five and a one year old.
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 8th July 23:17
Tried a trailer for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Cycled round Bute with my granddaughter behind me and it was so comfortable she kept falling asleep
Even managed to do the famous Serpentine climb in Rothesay with my granddaughter tagged behind me
...but she seemed more interested in her yoghurt than the view from the top
Even managed to do the famous Serpentine climb in Rothesay with my granddaughter tagged behind me
...but she seemed more interested in her yoghurt than the view from the top
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