what child bike trailer

which is best for 2 kids who got what how do you find them to use on and off road. cheers

We’ve got an Adventure AT3, it’s a 2 seater, but currently only 1 child (another on the way…). No 1 loves it! You can get a water proof cover and it’s great for getting out and about.

It’s pretty wide so you have to pick your route well, but it seems to handle pretty well and he finds it comfortable enough.

I couldn’t bring myself to pay the extra money for the Chariot that everyone below will suggest! 😉

for VFM cant fault the croozer. I have the single (had mine nicked in france in June, but miss it so quickly replaced it wth another as soon as we got back)

If you want to use it offroad and it’s bumpy then a Chariot.
The double isn’t much wider than a single.
I own a single BTW but a friend has the double but yet to use it in anger with 2 kids.

chariot is to drool over for us lesser mortals who don’t want yet another mortgage but great, bought a second hand burley on Friday ad and it is brilliant, double with waterproof layer etc very low resistance so I honestly didn’t notice it much even up hill!

I’ve got a croozer. It is great. For primarily off road I’d prefer a single seater, our two seat is a bit wide for d singletrack. However I have put two babies in it a few times, so I guess it comes in useful.

It is very solid. Only thing I wouldn’t recommend is going down descents with big rocks, you’ve got to be a bit careful about bottoming out on them.

Croozer seat always looks very comfy and secure, and the baby sling is brilliant when they are tiny. I’ve done 40 miles in a day with her in the trailer and she appeared to like it (picnic and cake stops probably helped ).

I ride with it every Thursday, plus sometimes at weekends, it has done hundreds of miles now, and still looks pretty much good as new.

Good in rubbish weather, was lovely and warm in winter when there was still snow on the fields, and also has quite good ventilation / sun shading for summer.

I also looked at chariot and burley too – chariot does look a little more fancy than the croozer (blooming well should be at the price) but the burley ones I really didn’t see any reason they were expensive, if anything they seemed a bit more basic.

Second-hand Burley here, as Joe says there’s not much to it but the upside is that it doesn’t weigh much. Won’t go on bikes with rear discs, though. I think I read somewhere that there’s an alternative hitch available, but I’ve never bothered looking into it any further. It’d be too wide/uncomfortable for anything resembling “proper” off-road — fine for forest tracks and the like, though.

Why cant if fit onto bikes with rear discs? im looking for one for our 3 year old but both bikes have rear discs.. will most trailers fit bikes with rear discs?

Just bought a Burley Bee, in an effort to get some guilt-free bike time. A 2-seater, though we only ever plan on 1 occupant, you can adjust the belts so he (8 months) sits in the middle & still has 5-point harness. Only had one 2-hr ride so far, pretty pleased, loads of storage behind the seats (change bag, clothes, shopping, sofa), comfy enough for sleep on reasonably smooth paths (though he did nod off on a pretty rough farm track too…) and he seems fairly happy, no screaming complaints anyway. Currently attached to my HT with back disc, no problems so far, & I reckon if it did go over for some reason, he’d be ok, with a decent roll cage effectively around him. I guess one unavoidable problem is dirt kicked up from the back wheel, the bee has a mesh screen to limit it (+rain cover) but found a few wee piles after maybe 4 miles on half-dry tracks.

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Kinda wish I’d had the £$ to get a single seater, but this’ll do fine.

I’ve got the single seater Chariot. It’s expensive but you get what you pay for. The suspension works well and the third wheel option has transformed the run to nursery with the wee one. No more crappy pushchairs with their tiny wheels! 😀

Got a Halfords solo one for £90 which has been very good – no real issues with it

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_724057_langId_-1_categoryId_165542

Why cant if fit onto bikes with rear discs? im looking for one for our 3 year old but both bikes have rear discs.. will most trailers fit bikes with rear discs?

Croozer fits fine on a bike with rear disc brakes. I think it has to have a normal sized axle, but I can’t see any other reason it couldn’t go on pretty much any bike.

The halfords one fits on a bike with rear disc – QR axle.

Cowled drop outs can be a pain though.

My Burley fits with rear disc very little clearance between hitch and disc if I had a 185 disc it wouldn’t have fitted but does with smaller disc… really depends on the layout of the rear triangle as to how it fits!

hiya hope everyone doesnt mind me jumping in like this, BUT,
im desperately looking to get a bike trailer for my 11month old.i need the jogging wheel function too, so i can use it for dog walking. i wont be taking a baby on roads etc as i worry about the traffic, plus ive not been on a bike for about 2years! but summer is here,and im dying to get out with my hubby and 5yr old,when they take the bikes down the woods.
Am i best to get a single? as i have a little boy who will be 6 in november, i doubt he will want a ride in the trailer as hes a very keen mountain biker, bit daring at times! we are Def not planning on having anymore babies so i think we will go for a single, are they any less study?
Ive been looking at getting a 2nd hand cruiser, with suspension,but max i want to spend is £250 really, even that i think is rather alot for a trailer but i really want a decent one so i guess ill have to bite the bullet and try to find one for that!
ive also seen the croozers…. these look great but no suspension ?
ive seen some on ebay brand new for £70 delivered,they are doubles but have suspension… but ive never heard of the make. i guess if im only using it twice a week for a couple of hours in the woods a cheaper make would be ok?
Please can someone help,….. does anyone know of any trailers apart from cruiser, or the weird makes on ebay which have suspension?
sorry for essay! thanks in advance!

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I don’t really think the suspension is as important as having big wheels. I’ve ridden on some quite rocky stuff and it still looks comfy in the croozer. Unless you’re doing super-technical mountain biking, the croozer is fine with the big wheels.

Single definitely for woods if you don’t need two seats – much easier on narrow tracks. I’d love to have a single as well as our double for that.

Joe

ah really! thanks for that… does anyone know the difference between the croozer 737 or 525 i think it is..

I’ve been using one of thesefor the past 3 years, for a lot of that time it was my main kiddie transport, getting near daily use.

The explorer is cheaper than chariots but has been sturdy enough during continued use and abuse. Has a massive pocket at the back and folds pretty small. I wouldn’t want to use it on really rough stuff but find it fine on firm off road tracks.

You want to make sure, whatever you buy, has:

20 inch wheels minimum
foldable and wheels easily removed
Big pockets
Ability to add a third wheel and use as a buggy is handy.

They are great and much easier to tow than you would expect, but you will know about it on the uphills!

Be honest with yourself, are you really going to ride it off road? If not, I don’t see the point in spending any more that this. My trailer has covered a good few hundred miles, so this is the voice of experience!

what do you mean off road? im the wifey, its my husband who is the down hill mountain biker 🙂 i signed up using his name as i know he will benefit from this forum more than i would do, as im not really a bike kinda lady, in fact ive not ridden one for 2years now!!

the places im thinking of going with this are… the local woods – id stick to the path ways, but theres a few little lanes of the main track, my 5year old loves to take his bike , it is quite hard ground,

heath lands, again only a bit bumpy, and a few more dog walking lanes if there not too narrow as id hate to run my trailer through dog poop! can i add mud guards to a trailer does anyone know? .
ive not had any luck finding a chariot, i think i may go with a croozer, will a croozer be ok for my needs? i worry that my 11month old may get jiggled?!?

Cheers for info some good pointers there for me to think about.

I looked long at the Croozer and also the ones sold at Halfords, and in the end bit the bullet and got the Chariot. We live up a bumpy lane, therefore every ride involves ‘off road’ and pushing a pram is a right pain, so the larger wheels and adaptability of the Chariot to change into a light, nimble stroller is ideal for us.

It folds down in seconds and goes in the roof box, nice big wheels and all the nice touches like a sunshade which hides underneath the main cover, so you can swap things over nice and quick, amongst many other neat design features. It also takes baby slings, so you can use it with younger babies on walks and very gentle rides, as it positions them just as if they were in a normal pram/stroller.

I still shudder at what we paid for it, even though we got it for a good deal as it was the showroom model/end of season etc, but it looks like it will last the distance, and most importantly, the twins love it.

if i could find a chariot for about £200 that would have been good, but seeing as though even the ones with no suspension are making lots and lots of money, i have now gone for a croozer, hope the no suspension issue will be ok, but from reading this forum lots of other users have trailers with no suspension so i think we will be ok, im not planning on out running my dogs anyways and they are slow most of the time being american bullys and mastiffs so at least ive made a decision at long last. 🙂 thanks everyone

I’ve got a Bumper Explorer Solo. Good for the price. Shame the wheels don’t come off easily as it makes it a bit tight in the boot of the car and rules out taking it on camping holidays. also the front rain cover is a poor fit.
Still I’d recommend it it you can’t afford the expensive ones. It seems a lot better than the Halfords ones.
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