Now the boy is approaching his first birthday, I’m after a single seater that can handle loose, gravelly fire roads without turning my son into jelly. Is it worth paying the extra for a Thule or Burley? What about the Weerides?

We’re also considering a top tube mounted seat, but only t’husband could use that (my bikes are too small) – I think some of them require a particular type of stem?

At that age we had ours on a topeak rear rack mounted seat.

It’s got some springy bits to soften the ride and they protect them quite well if the bike topples over as the sides wrap round. Makes your front wheel a bit wandery and ideally you need plenty of chain stay length to get stability and comfort as they grow.

Edit. Sorry I’ve commented on the one option you didn’t ask about in true stw fashion! In fact forget the bike seat or trailer and put them in a canoe instead.

We used one of these for our daughter (I have it for sale if you want it):

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-accessories/child-bike-trailers/halfords-single-buggy-child-bike-trailer

It’s perfectly adequate for gravel fire roads, but isn’t up to anything more than that since the only suspension is the tyres. It’s also not very weatherproof: it’s not too bad in a shower but in a downpour your passenger is going to need waterproofs.

But for occasional use we found it was just fine. Folds up pretty flat, too, which was useful: it was easy to fit in the camper along with the four of us and a fortnight’s kit.

Just to make garage-dweller feel at home: our boy went in a rear seat instead of a trailer or a front seat, too 😉 Once they were three they were on a Cnoc 14 attached via a Follow-Me tandem, so the seat/trailer only does a couple of years’ service.

Don’t forget that unless you have the front window permanently deployed on a trailer, a full rear mudguard and flap is a good idea.

The Thule and Burley ones are brilliant, the last few threads on this topic seem to have all concluded that the optimal STW choice is a second hand one of those if you find one.

The first trailer we bought was a cheap steel framed thing which weighed a ton and was hard work to pull. We then bought. Chariot (now Thule) and it has lasted all our 4 children and is currently on loan to another family with two kids. Gives you an idea of how well built they are. I used to use it daily for training rides when my kids were under two. They loved it.

I’ve had a burley deelite for a couple of years. It’s been very well used for all kinds of off-road riding – trail centres to highland tours.

The burley ones have some basic springs for suspension which take the edge off the rattling. IME it’s not the rattling that’s limiting. It’s the side to side caused by pot holes and rocks that the kids hate which the springs don’t help. Also, you can’t stand to pedal so big monster hills are hard.

The main thing with the decent burley and Thule ines is they’re a) much lighter and b) easier to use. If you’re thinking of using it as a jogger as well I’m not that impressed with the burley jogging kit.

Our little man has the weeride to travel in when we all go out, the bath tub base is good, and you can chuck a fair amount in with him, but as said no suspension, but I have padded the seat with an old carry mat and added an extra strap, and he loves being in it.

Following on from my thread on running buggies, we bought a Thule Chariot CX1.

A bit more expensive but my wife will use it to run with a lot and I’ll use it on the bike a lot, so saves us from having a running buggy and a trailer. Oh, and you can also get skis for it if thats your thing!

They’ve now been replaced by the chinook which isn’t as good build quality and doesn’t have the brake for running.

Got ours from germany here as it was only a few quid more than they go for second hand over here. Quick delivery to England, no probs with the site, which it would appear seem to specialise in baby / bike stuff, who knew such shops existed!

Cheers all!

I should probably have mentioned that I ride a full susser, so I’m not sure how rear seats would work! I don’t actually know how full sussers are with trailers, come to think of it, so I might have to get a new bike too. 😛 Does anyone know if trailers hitch onto ebikes easily, I don’t know if the motors make things awkward…

Don’t forget that unless you have the front window permanently deployed on a trailer, a full rear mudguard and flap is a good idea.

^ That’s the sort of thing that’s good to know in advance, rather than learning through experience!

Also, you can’t stand to pedal so big monster hills are hard

I’ve never been able to stand to pedal – I’m missing ligaments in knees and have terrible cartilage, so it’s granny ring and slowly spinning all the way. Big monster hills are already hard as are slight inclines in general, doh. So yeah, I think weight of the trailer is definitely going to be a factor.

Obviously I don’t know quite how dodgy your knees are, but I shouldn’t worry toooo much about the additional weight: it’s nowhere near as noticeable in a trailer as it is on a bike-mounted seat. But clearly steep hills are steep hills and physics is physics.

Again I can only speak for the Halfords trailer but that one attaches under the lever side of a standard QR, so a full-sus shouldn’t present any specific issues unless the dropouts have a particularly problematic shape. (And, on the weight point, it’s light too: another benefit of not having much in the way of features ;))

I went with a Chariot/Thule Cougar four years back and it is a great bit of kit. The attachment is simple as it’s just an extra plate that goes between the quick release and the frame with an extra long skewer to compensate. Not sure how it works for other axle types but I imagine they have most standards covered.

One of the first things I did was to buy some fat BMX tyres for the wheels so I could run them at really low pressure and let them soak up the smaller bumps the suspension might not. The running wheel setup is decent but probably a bit unwieldy compared to dedicated running prams. It does work brilliantly as a pram for pushing round rough walks where you want a bit more weather protection than a rucksack gives and you can get away with using it as a pram around town with the small front wheels attached.

The only negative is the cost, especially since Thule took over – I managed to get mine in a sale from an american bike shop for $300 and took the hit on import duty, as it was still a bargain. Otherwise, I’d have definitely gone the 2nd hand route!

The more expensive ones (croozer kid for 1, Chariot etc) ARE significantly better than the cheaper trailers.

Trailers are cool because:
-kids are lower to ground, bike is more stable, can carry other stuff, kid protected from rain/wind

Trailers are a faff because:
-big and heavy, wide, take up space in the garage

Ours (2.5) now sits ona weeride in front of me (on a kona Minute).
I love it as we can caht and I tickle her!!

The wife still uses the trailer from time to time as it’s better for her bike, though I’ll be trying a wee ride on her bike.

Are you based down south at all?
I am likely looking to sell our Croozer kid for 1 trailer, and also have the weber baby insert (useful for, well, babies!).

Reply if interested

DrP

The Thule range has been completely changed for this year, the new models are called the ‘Cross’ and the ‘Lite’

New Range

The old U.K. spec CX’s sold out ages ago, which is why shops were offering the Chinook as a substitute./

If you’ve got a maxle, look up the Robert axle project to get one to fit your trailer, neat bit of kit and saves trying to bodge the hitch to fit. Two ours behind a full sus with no issues.

Firstly, I haven’t read any of the replies so apologies if this has been said. (Not likely)

We bought a Burley 2 seater with the jogger bits when child number 1 as about 9 months old as we liked the fact we could sit her centrally in it with loads of room for toys, blankets and other gubbins, plus the boot would come in handy for longer adventures in the future.. It’s been possibly the best bike accessory we ever bought.

We’ve never had any issue with kids not being comfortable and always felt they were safe. The massive boot space is big enough for a nights camping stuff, it’s really stable and feels secure. We’ve taken various combinations of our friends kids out as well and without exception, they’ve all loved it. When child 2 came along, he was straight in there and loved it, plus he’s more of a thrill seeker than his big sis so I could take him out at 2 or 3 on is own to bounce down some lumpy trails while he laughed his head off. With the wheels, towing arm and jogger kit inside, it folds down flatter than any decent offroad double pram so we’ve taken it on every holiday and it still gets a cheer from the kids when they see it. The handle on the back is also a great place to strap a run bike so that jnr can toddle off round the park when you stop for ice creams and swings.

Even after nearly 7 years of use and having just come to the sad day when we realised it wasn’t going to be used again, my sister is looking forward to having it passed on for her 2. She’s seen how much our kids have loved it and wants hers to get the same. Not sure her non bikey other half is gong to put it through it’s paces in the same way we have though.

We had a double Chariot Cougar (still do in fact). It was great:

Took it on Neilson holiday to Greece and took the weans on mini tours round some Greek island.

Took it to Fontainebleau many times. Big wheels coped well with the sand. Allowed us to schlep huge amounts of luggage to the boulders and move the kids about without waking them up.

Took it round the blue at Llandegla, Afon at CYB and many other easy trail centre routes. Stick the kid(s) inside for the uphills, strap the bike(s) onto the handlebar. Get a supreme workout up the hills and then turf the sprogs out for the downhills where possible. When they’re knackered stick them back in the trailer and continue.

Useful if you have a campervan and are staying in one site for a while. You can tour about without having to remake the van each time.

Unless you’re definitely not having a second kid, I’d recommend the double one. Otherwise you’ll just end up selling/swapping it later on.

If you’re near Manc, come and try out ours. I should really get round to selling it, now the kids are 9+

Forgot to add the other crucial thing about a trailer. You can wrap the kids up insde on a shotty foul weather day and go for an invigorating cycle ride without any concerns about them getting hypothermia. They’re lovely and snug under the rain cover, and warm.

Our trailer kept me relatively sane in those early years when exercise was so hard to come by. Combine childcare with strenuous effort, what’s not to like…

Chariot (now Thule) Cougar 1 here. Found on ebay, paid about £250 I think for it with the infant sling, running kit (single front wheel) and cycle trailer bits, from a couple who’d already used it lots with 3 kids.

Standard fitting is for QR but bolt-on (hub gear, etc) or through-axle options are available so should fit anything. Spares of everything available (although £££) should you need them.

Have got plenty of use out of it so far, both as a rugged pushchair (if we go and see my parents we usually do a long walk through the woods with the dog) and as a trailer. Love doing the nursery run with it, and have been round the family trail at Bedgebury with her in the back.

It’s big though, with wheels off and folded down it won’t fit in a normal hatchback unless you drop the seats. Only just fits diagonally across our Golf estate boot now.

New prices are bonkers but I’m hoping buying secondhand and selling when we’re done with it won’t cost us any more overall than a new Halfords one.

With a 14 month old this is a timely thread, but how much??!!! £5-800 for some of those. You could by a car/bike/watch etc for that.

The Weeride looks interesting and £75 at Halfords. I like the look of the position, not sure how wide you your kness have to go when pedalling. That could be a big negative.

weve had a croozer double for 5 years now

eldest was in it from age 1, trips round the park etc

later joined by number 2

it is huuge folds nice and flat and wheels pop off in seconds but its wide and heavy

kids love it, great for beach holidays as its gota huge boot- even fit 2 balance bikes in the boot when the kids get tired

used it daily to drop the kids at nursery, lock it up tehre, wife cycles to nursery and pics them up

for gentle off road stuff its great, swinley etc, done glentress green etc

ours is the older version without suspension, id opt for that or fatter tyres for more comfort

they can get a pit of crap flung off teh back wheel, so guards help

as for hitch, expensive option… https://robertaxleproject.com/
look at turbo trainer axles for a cheaper option

also got one of the hitches drilled out for 12mm thru axle on my full suss, by a local garage

any excuse to post this vid
[video]https://vimeo.com/104859583[/video] (boys were 2&4 then i think)

twins are 1 now so theyve been getting out and about too

We were lent a fantastic burley 2 seater. Absolutely brilliant bit of kit and we did lots of rides everywhere with it. Ok over rough-ish ground/ easy trail-centre routes too. We could fit our 2 kids and a picnic in, + the balance bike fixed to the back. Very stable – I never flipped it, although it would get small air very easily. Not sure why, but you tell from the whoops behind that exciting things were happening!

It folded well, had easy to service wheel bearings and cleaned up well. And as above, unless moving at 2mph on clean tarmac, you always need the front screen up or your kids get a facefull of rear-tyre crud.

So based my total sample of 1, I would recommend a 2nd hand burley. I think it was a bee.

I did notice at centre parcs this weekend that all the trailers on the hire bikes were burley, must be OK build quality if they stand up to that amount of use/abuse.

Been absent from this thread for a bit because I’ve been out practising what I preach with the wee lady. 5 hours of riding, playing in the woods, lunch out, then the park, then ice creams, then home. Bloody marvellous

Dropbox won’t let me embed images for some reason

I used a bike seat for a single child as they can see more than in the trailer.

For taking two children I used a halfords double trailer and it was fine, used it in the woods several times a week for at least 2 years taking them to nursery. It looks a bit flimsier than the Burleys etc but I never had any problems with it (probably lighter than the more expensive models).

Sweajnr is 3 and we now have the fully variety of options. 😯

The Chariot is used mainly for commuting. Sweamrs and I both work in the same area of town but at different locations. Luckily we can store the Chariot at his day care and so pick-up / drop-off etc happens smoothly with an adapter on each bike. Also if you’re planning to use it for that purpose don’t underestimate how much stuff you might need to bring in / out. Being in Canada we’ve also got the ski attachment 😀

For gentle rides off road we use a MacRide v1. It has it’s issues (especially around delivery times) but it’s a great bit of kit for us. It’s also handy for nipping to the shops etc or going to other peoples houses locally. Probably 2+ though as they need to be able to support themselves fully.

Sweajnr is also just starting to pedal and we have a FollowMe. Not really used it much yet but can see the potential.

Arise, necrothread! Arise!

Still looking for some means of taking my son on rides. Can’t do a front frame mounted seat because my bikes are too small. Can’t do a rear mounted one because one’s a full susser with a drop post, and the other is an ebike (according to Evans, no rear seats will work with an ebike :() .

I’d like a trailer, but it seems a faff getting a maxle kit (and I’m not sure if it’d be a bit weird on the full susser), and I’d prefer to put it on my ebike due to my decrepit knees. Anybody pulled a trailer on an ebike?

Have you considered the Weehoo Igo Turbo?

We (and three other friends) all bought them for our kids. Attachment is simple, they come apart easily, suitable for 29ers and because of the single rear wheel they are narrower than the handlebars which make judging gaps etc much easier than a trailer.

My daughter has really outgrown it now but she had a ball using it and it was very easy to ride side by side with two of them. If it’s something you’re interested in feel free to drop me a line, ours is now sitting unused.

Question for the STW parents – how old would you suggest a child needs to be to go in one of these trailers?

My daughter is coming up 11 months old and I’m thinking about getting one to start using in the spring – so she’ll be about 15 months by then?

I may need to resolve a small issue with my hardtail – its a non-disc compatible frame that I’m running a disc brake adaptor on so I need to see if a trailer will still hook up or not. If not I need a new frame for 26″ wheels with a normal qr rear, but with a disc brake mount and a straight 1 1/8th head tube that’s not too long for my existing fork.

I decent trailer is the way to go in my experience. If you want to ride whatever the weather and want to (or have to) take child with you then a trailer keeps them warm/dry/happy. We used a Chariot CX1 and they are great. Bit wide for tight single track but fine on wider track and fireroads (with some chunky tyres on). Used it with full sus (QR axle) and it was fine. Mostly used on hardtails (inc singlespeed and road/cross bikes).

Maxles for Thule trailers seem to be fairly easy to come by, and there’s always this guy https://robertaxleproject.com/

CX1 isn’t cheap, but you will use it more than you think and it will get you out riding when you didn’t think you would. They also convert into an amazing off road pushchair you can run with. It was probably my least regretted cycling purchase ever 😉

We used our from 8 months with a support harness thing. Well supported and strapped in. No helmet needed really when that small (or bigger in the trailer really).

Our daughter was 6 months old when we first suspended her car seat from the roof of our Burley. We only did short trips but she fell asleep after 5 mins. The weight of the car seat also helped the suspension work.

We started very gentle rides at 7 monthsish, the trailer was a Chariot with decent suspension so they didn’t get shaken around as much, then we built up steadily to full on off road by 13 months or so.

We made them wear helmets from the start, not because we thought they were in any danger with the full roll cage round them, but we wanted to get them used to wearing lids so we didn’t have a fight on our hands later down the line.

Get a decent trailer, they’re great, loads of happy memories from ours, I reckon next year will be our last with it as the wee lady will be under her own steam, I’ll be sad to see it go.

I went the weeride route. Its hreat for interaction but have to be careful which bike. Now on a tarn and its perfect as its long enough to give me pedal room

Just bookmarking this. Am keen to start doing this next spring when baby will be 14months or so. Wife hates the on-bike seat concept so it will be a trailer for me. Am just envisaging concrete/gravel cycelepaths and flat sandy doubletrack, but looking forward to it.

Six months old for us. We put a Weber baby seat in a Croozer trailer, worked absolutely fine. I recently retired our Burley D’Lite double as I can no longer get both kids in it (age 6&4).

Trailers are great bits of kit – stable, water proof, and loads of room for baby kit. I did an overnight camping trip using ours.

Have you considered the Weehoo Igo Turbo?

I was looking at the Igo Blast, as that’s for younger children (our land’s too young to have the one with pedals, sadly). Bit dubious about the one wheel though!

Why dubious about the one wheel?

Just worried about stability and comfort, which I know is a bit silly.

Just worried about stability and comfort, which I know is a bit silly.

Only natural when it comes to the safety of your kids. I can only offer a view of having used ours on paths, tracks and the odd trail over a couple of years, we also took in on a holiday to France a couple of times which was great.

I think this was the video that sold it to me although I don’t confess to have ever done much singletrack on it!

[video]https://youtu.be/E50MHup4x4o[/video]

I haven’t used a single wheel trailer, but I have used a tag-a-long quite a bit and the high mounting point on those does affect stability a bit. It’s not a massive issue, but it is noticeable compared to a hub-height hitch. There’s the stability when stopped thing as well – with a trailer you just get off and lay the bike down and the trailer stays where it is.

The big difference is what experience you are after for the kids – wrapped up and cosy in trailer or riding along with you on a Weehoo. Which you want depends on where and when you ride and your kid too.

There is a trailer that gives you a cross between the two… but you’ll have to stump up north of a grand for one:
http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/trailers/singletrailer/

Just worried about stability and comfort, which I know is a bit silly.

Not at all. I used to use a trailer but now use a WeeHoo. A trailer is definitely more stable, particularly if the WeeHoo is loaded up (e.g. for a camping trip) which can make it feel like the tail is wagging the dog. You do get used to it fairly quickly though.