child trailer

mrushton

Is there a previous thread on trailers? I just need to know a good make without blowing the budget (a £1k Croozer is out) that folds compactly. It's for one child. Burley look nice but the option list looks like it ramps the price up. Any pitfalls about using trailers I should know? (steep hills and potholes to be avoided)

steve77345

Wow £1k Croozer havent seen them that expensive. Think they are around £300 at the mo. I would recomend it though they are fantastic, convert to a buggy or running buggy, sturdy, wind and water tight with the cover, loads of room in the back behind the kids for backpacks (actually fit my sons balance bike in the back behind him).
Best £300 we ever spent.
I dont think any of them deal with rough terrain very well so tarmac or light fire roads only I would suggest.

Steve

mrushton

Thanks for that. I don't need one that converts to a stroller that's why I was trying to avoid the expensive ones. £300 is the top end of the budget but I obvioulsly want one that is reliable/well made.

White Horse

Have you looked at the Avenir ones? Around £120-£150. Hard floor, plenty of room for 2 kids and luggage in the back. Good harness as well. Easy to clamp on to the bike.

mrushton

That was next my thought. We've only the one child to move. But obviously a decent hitch is essential

ndru

Try Adventure AT3. It can carry up to 40kg and easily serves as a cargo trailer too. It also costs about £150. If you want I can sell you one for £130

andrewc3142

Our third has just been born so I've done some digging into this area, and talked to various people we know who use trailers, with a view to (limited!) touring in northern France next summer. My wife also wanted one that could be used as a jogger.

We have narrowed down to the Chariot Cougar 1. Only trouble now is actually getting hold of one! Difficult to source in the UK (on various websites but not in stock and none of the suppliers seem that interested in calling back or taking an order). Suspect we'll import it from the US - lower price plus carriage and duty works out roughly the same as retail in the UK.

Hope that's helpful.

mrushton

Chariot = £££ I think.

www.bike24.de might have some. Euro or US sites seem to be cheaper

andrewc3142

True enough. I think for a Chariot to make sense it needs to see a lot of use, probably both cycling and running, and for the family hols. Trouble is, it's the sort of thing that can be worrying buying cheap.

Not a huge fan of rear baby seats so a trailer seems the best option, at least until they can fit on the back of a tandem and share the work.

zebra67

We imported our Chariot Cougar 2 from REI in the USA. Be advised that VAT or import duty (one of them) on "baby carriages" used to be (and my still be!) lower than for regular cycling gear, this will help reduce your total bill if you do import it... which did work out about the same as buying it from Kinetics or other UK supplier.

jeremyrundle

As a single Dad, I would never have placed my loved ones in a trailer of any kind.

There have been threads here where cars have hit cyclists from behind and someone wants to add a low child buggy.

Sorry, no chance.

andrewc3142

Jeremy: Take your point, but I'm not convinced other options are better. We used one of those rear seats things for our older 2. They get restless until they fall asleep, which is not that comfortable for them. Plus, and my wife finds this more than I, they unbalance the bike, particularly getting on and off, and at lights if the kid starts bouncing around. And is the kid actually any safer if rear ended than in a strong cage? Don't know the answer, but somehow I doubt it.

Like with the great helmet debate, there are always horror stories persuading people to take the most cautious line. And indeed there are equally horrific stories for car crashes, peds hit walking on the pavement, accidents in the home, etc, etc. Each needs to take their own view of the actual risk involved and the trade-off in terms of quality of life, etc, and whether that is acceptable.

jeremyrundle

I agree with all you say, i do, but, we limit where possible any danger, I don't fly because I have no control, I drive, perhaps another moron may hit me but al least I have some control, I have no control over a moron running into a buggy behind a bike but I have the decision not to use one therefore removing the risk.

baudman

Jeremy, there's certainly routes that I avoided when we had a trailer (and now when we have a CargoBike and a BoBike mini/trailgator combination). Some of those choices were traffic related, and others were purely topographical

In my experience, drivers are very wary of a trailer and will give you a lot of clearance.

And yes, there could always be the moron out there not watching what they are doing. But then, that's not how I choose to live my life. Nor is it a life lesson I want to pass on to my girls. Otherwise we'd never leave the house. (Oh... hang on, most accidents in the bathroom, so couldn't go in there either).

jeremyrundle

baudman wrote:

(Oh... hang on, most accidents in the bathroom, so couldn't go in there either).

Cynical, a question was asked I gave my opinion, without cynicism.

In fact the correct answer is "most accidents happen where there are most people".

It is like saying that because there are less accidents involving women drivers they have to be safer, in fact there are less accidents recorded with women because at any one time there are less women on the road, and, less in total.

to quote a well known website

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also reported that from 1975 to 2003, female deaths in motor vehicle crashes increased 14 percent, compared with an 11 percent decline for male motorists during that same period. Insurance industry experts peg the rise in female deaths in vehicular crashes to more women obtaining driver's licenses than in the past and driving more miles than, say, 25 years ago."

mrushton

jeremyrundle wrote:

I agree with all you say, i do, but, we limit where possible any danger, I don't fly because I have no control, I drive, perhaps another moron may hit me but al least I have some control, I have no control over a moron running into a buggy behind a bike but I have the decision not to use one therefore removing the risk.

You don't fly but the pilot(s) are required to requalify on the aircraft type every year and have a medical. When did you last take your driving test? Also, aircraft must fly in prescribed lanes. You have no control on the road. If the driver of a 32 ton truck decides to drive over you it's doubtful you will be able to anything and the roads are full of uninsured drivers who have been tested once. Life is a risk. If you have neighbours, ow do you know one of them isn't storing 5000 litres of petrol in their house. You can only do so much.

jeremyrundle

Actually I have HGV and am an advanced motorist, anyone can apply for an AM examination.

In my opinion and if I had my way, a person should be tested every ten years at least, and when over sixty five every five years.

mrushton

But when were you last tested? As an AM you know that you cannot expect anyone on the road to drive sensibly. My point about flying is it's actually v.controlled by highly qualified,regulated people whereas motoring has none of that. Anyone can get in a car and do whatever they want until they crash etc. we actually have v.little control over anything. You can minimise risk tho hence your point about trailers but there is prob. as much danger to children as pedestrians or passengers

jeremyrundle

Within the last ten years.

And I agree with you, we can only minimise risk, we all know you could have a check up today and a heart attack tomorrow, some would say that bungee jumkping is safe if all precautions are taken.

Didn't help the chap about ten years ago when the wrong cable end was tied to the baloon, not the one he was using......

bumpitybump

mrushton wrote:

Is there a previous thread on trailers? I just need to know a good make without blowing the budget (a £1k Croozer is out) that folds compactly. It's for one child. Burley look nice but the option list looks like it ramps the price up. Any pitfalls about using trailers I should know? (steep hills and potholes to be avoided)

Have used a trailer pretty regularly at weekends over the last couple of years and found excellent for ferrying kids around. One downside using in Autumn / Winter is when heading down steep hills the speed builds very rapidly and if you need to take a sharp left or right turn part way down the hill you need to scrub off all speed well before the turn. If the turn is actually on the hill you actually need to slow down too much before the turn, release the brakes and then you will accelerate round it as the trailer pushes you round. Only really noticed it as a problem this autumn, but my kids now weigh 35kg combined, plus about 10 kg for the trailer. If you try and brake gently whilst going round the turn you have a high risk of the front wheel locking or being pushed sideway by the weight of the trailer! Ask me how I know.

Having said that I really like the trailer for the kids, got a second hand well used Burley off ebay for £125. It folds pretty flat to stick in the back of the car to take on holiday, gives a lot of weather protection for the kids and its stable - unlike kiddie seats which attach to your bike. A sturdy mountain bike with low gears - for hills and easy starting would be a recommendation of mine for using a trailer regularly. Not so much of an issue though if you've just one lightweight kid.

jeremyrundle

One question, when considering a trailer would you use disk brakes or the other type.

bumpitybump

Currently using vee-brakes on my trailer towing bike, these have sufficient power to lock the front wheel up if given a firm squeeze in dry conditions. If you are towing in a hilly area and need to brake a lot you would wear the rims down pretty quickly using vee-brakes so disc would be better, but not essential.