Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
  • So then, kid carrying bike trailers, what can they really handle?
  • dangriff
    Free Member

    Mrs Griff will start cycling to work from Monday, rather than car to drop the kids to nursery and then train to work. Her start time means leaving earlier on the bike leaving me to drop kids off before cycling to my own work.

    I intend to get some sort of kiddy trailer to drop them both off, but the commute has some interesting (short/steep/fast) singletrack with the odd mild drop off and a few flights of stairs. Will I be ok with the trailer still attached? I’m not considering this with the kids in it, obviously (well, little Griff no. 1 may be up for it).

    Also, with two kids in tow, is there room for my laptop, work clothes, sarnies?

    I’ve never used one before, so any help/opinions are welcome. Any product recommendations equally welcome.

    BluePalomino
    Free Member

    A lot will depend on the willingness of the child to ‘hang on’. From your end, you can’t do sharp turns too well and balance will be different. I found the trailer no problem (once i got used to it). In fact i appreciated the extra leg power up hills 😉 Fairly simple off road is very do-able, once you get used to the extra length, weight etc.
    A decent laptop specific backpack would sort out stuff carrying.

    mandog
    Full Member

    Empty trailer should be fine with all you describe above. You may struggle to get 2 kids and all the kit you describe but worth a try. I bought mine off ebay for about £120, seemed good quality.

    Didn’t keep it long and sold it though as the Wife banned me from using it again after the first family off road ride.

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    poly
    Free Member

    Dangriff,

    I think BluePalmino has assumed you were talking about a tag-a-long style trailer, but you wouldn’t get too kids on that especially nursery age. So I assume you mean a trailer with 2 wheels side by side and a cover over the top.

    I have an Edi Bike (revolution) one and would have no problem fitting laptop bag, clothes, and sarnies in assuming you don’t need to take bags for the kids going to nursery.

    If I understood correctly you are planning a sensible ride to the nursery with the kids and then some more extreme riding with the now child free trailer to your work.

    With a 2 child trailer you need to be aware of the width. My experience is it will fill the whole of a canal towpath – so you need to assess if it will make it along your single track (bear in mind that with generally less chunky tyres it will pick up punctures easier. We’ve just moved to slime tubes because we found it picking up thorns on the verges of paths too easily.

    A little drop off (say 6 inches) will be fine. Not sure about strairs – in principle it should be but you might get some sort of horrible bounding about behind you that might flick you off.

    Bear in mind also that they add rolling resistance (2 extra wheels on the road) and in a head wind extra drag.

    Does the nursery have a pram storage area? Could you leave it there?

    vinnyeh
    Full Member

    There’s a big enough difference in width between a one and two child trailer to make things a lot trickier in my experience. With a single you can go a hell of a lot of places- the extra width of the double makes a lot of ‘one bike width’ trails either impassable or a pain in the ass. Switchbacks are out of the question obviously.

    As poly, try to leave it at the nursery if at all possible.

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    Can you not leave the trailer at the nursery ?
    Our kids nursery has a fire escape round the back & they let me store the trailer under there & then head off to work myself.
    In practice it works well as they get into the trailer in the garage at home, I get to nursery, unhook the trailer & wheel them right up to the door of the nursery.
    Having the garage where I can store the bike & trailer all hooked up & ready to go is a godsend.
    I did make a q/r for the trailer as the std one was pants.

    The takisawa road-train…

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    As above, our nursery had a buggy park, and a folded trailer was fine in the corner.
    Drops and steps with a trailer can be difficult with the change in balance / lifting rear wheel etc.

    dangriff
    Free Member

    Hmmm, didn’t consider the width.

    No buggy storage in nursery unfortunately.

    Commute route to work includes some very narrow singletrack with roots/thorny bushes to the sides and the occasional staggered barrier, so an alternative route seems to be in order.

    I forgot also that I need to carry 2 kids, 2 kid’s rucksacks, my work clothes/laptop/sarnies. May need my own rucksack in addition to the trailer, which I can then bung in the back after I drop the little ones off.

    How secure are these things anyway? Do they just have a lap strap, or a full 5 point harness? Little Griff no. 1’s middle name is dangerous, so unless he’s fully restrained, he’ll probably try to get out.

    theflatboy
    Free Member

    Little Griff no. 1’s middle name is dangerous, so unless he’s fully restrained, he’ll probably try to get out.

    you’ve only got yourselves to blame there, then.

    vinnyeh
    Full Member

    So, no room for storage, even with the buggy folded up and the wheels off?

    Ours (Chariot Cougar 2) has a 5 point harness (and fairly effective suspension) but I’m not sure what other brands have. According to the makers the folded size is 105x80x25cm, so could just about be put in a cupboard or at a pinch left resting against a wall in a corridor.

    dangriff
    Free Member

    I’ll try to negotiate with the nursery to leave it there. How old do kids get before they are just too big to carry in one of these?

    I did mention earlier that the cause of this thread was Mrs Griff deciding that she was going to cycle to work. Feedback from her today was that she enjoyed it, but the pace was a bit slow for her! Time for me to get her a 40lb DH monster then.

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    Our Burley has a ‘boot’ that easily swallows a few small rucsacks, picnic, champers etc

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    Our trailer above has a “boot” that takes 2 rucksacks.
    (Phil & Ted bags fit perfectly)
    Wife drops off my suit hanger w/ fresh shirts, pants, socks etc; as she passes my works on her way in on a Monday.
    I usually have a rucksack but have just bought a rack that I’ve yet to put on. Mid-summer commutes with a rucksack aren’t much fun.
    Trailer above has 3 point harnesses with additional lap belt. I also sit them on one of those non-slip mats to keep them in place.
    If its really cold/wet our two have all-in-one waterproof suits that keep them dry but to doesn’t seem to bother them at all. Once they are tucked in with a fleece blanket the only one feeling the cold is me…
    Oldest is 4 this year but quite slim in build (unlike his Dad!!!).
    I’ve had them both asleep on the way home a couple of times, so I guess that’s testament to how comfy they are in it.
    Only ever had the one mishap…taking an off-camber corner a bit to fast with just the eldest aboard. He decided he HAD to sit in his usual spot rather than in the middle, & leant the wrong way during the corner. The trailer went over onto its side. I shat myself, but the lad thought it hilarious & wanted to do it again. He was strapped in & the harness held him in place a treat.

    DrP
    Full Member

    I’m sure burley sell an adaptor that allows you to tow a trailer behind a trailer!

    Have been searching t’interweb with no luck though…..

    DrP

    kpt1972
    Free Member

    kpt junior loves his trailer, it copes with the trails up at nant yr arian well enough but it does take a little getting to for sqeezing through the gaps but only two rolls to far which he didn’t seem to bothered about as hes always strapped in and got his helmet on to.

    poly
    Free Member

    Almost all trailers will have 5 point harness.
    You will be surprised how much you can squeeze in the “boot”.
    Your kids should be fine in one of these until school age. I would suggest that a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old might start to be hard work but good muscle building!

    dangriff
    Free Member

    PMSL at takisawa 2. Don’t let little Griff no. 1 know that trailers can go upside down or he’ll always want to do it.

    You’ve all persuaded me it’s the way to go. Plenty of room, I’ll remember to put helmets on the kids and it sounds like worthwhile exercise. Bring it on!

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    We tried helmets on ours but the overhang on the back of the helmets makes them tilt their heads forward a lot, more so with the youngest one. I weighed up the risk & due to being strapped inside what is effectively a role cage I figure they are safe enough. Certainly a lot safer than a rear child seat.

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