bike kiddie trailer

[brummie65]

has anyone brought a kiddie trailer of ebay the ones they sell for around $150 thinking about getting one just want to know are they allright

[munga]

i have an alloy framed ebay one bought in bris. they work well if your child is big enough to manage sitting up while wearing a helmet.
well constructed and easy to tow, as long as your chainstays are long enough. not suited for fitment to race bikes with tight geometry, because your heel will hit the mounting clamp.

[mikedufty]

I bought one off ebay, a two seater that converts to a stroller, aluminium frame.
It seemed good value for the price compared to those in the shops, and I think was a good buy.

The biggest problem is it came with a mounting which is a clamp type arrangement to clamp to a seat stay. This is designed to fit a narrow steel frame I think, it didn't satisfactorily clamp onto my 90s steel mtb or my wife's more recent aluminium one. It did work, it just had to be clamped very hard and still didn't feel totally trustworthy. It is also awkward to attach and detach because the hinge is a spring, and has to be bent when the trailer is behind, you need to set everything up in an awkward alignment to get some tension out of the spring. A lot of the more expensive trailers have a quick release setup, and I ended up modifying ours with a bit of steel bar bolted to the disk brake mounts on the frame, and a steel pin. My wife still had a bit of difficulty disconnecting it because of the spring tension, but it was OK if you knew the right angle to pull.

The trailer is set up for europe, so it sticks out more to the kerb side of the bike. Not really a problem, but you need to learn how close to the kerb you can't ride.

We added a fair bit of padding to the straps inside.

Mine came with removable bars around the outside of the wheels, which I never fitted, because they don't seem to serve any purpose other than stop you getting through narrow gaps like checkouts. We also removed the hand brake for the front wheel in stroller mode, which is pretty useless since all weight is on the back wheels.
It will fall over in stroller mode if there is shopping in the boot and the kids get out.
I also had several broken spokes. I think some might have been physical damage from trying to get through too small a gap as a stroller, but they may be dodgy wheels. Easy to replace.

Our kids have outgrown ours, they insist on going on trailer bikes now or riding themselves. Haven't decided whether to sell it or keep for a shopping trailer.

[fatherofmany]

I use one alot and they are fun for the kids. My twins are nearly four and still love riding in it, yes both of them at the same time. We regularly take family outings and sometimes I use it to take them to the shops. And if I'm feeling really keen I take them to do laps of the local outdoor velodrome, just a couple of things though...

Don't get a clamp on style. Do get a hitch/coupling style. Much easier to put on & off, and it doesn't slip or crush damage your frame.

Trailers that attach at the axle are easier to corner that those that attach at the seatpost

Get a foldable one if you are going to store it in the shed, they take up a lot of room.

Most are american or euro and have the flag on the left, this is dumb.

Hills are a lot harder to navigate when you are towing 40kg behind you (bumps become hills... htfu).

Corners are a lot harder to navigate when you are towing... take them wide.

Braking is a lot harder when you are towing 40 kg behind you... brake alot sooner than you would normally.

If it is windy, then pull down the weather cover, otherwise you are just towing a parachute.

Don't tow on a bike with clipless unless you are very practiced at getting out of them quickly.

Pedestrians can be stupid creatures, watch out, they see you as a bike, give you room, and then walk in front of your wide load getting run over by the trailer.

"Oh look, giggle, there's two in there" comment is only funny for the first 25 times, therefter it becomes boring/annoying

most of all... have fun

[nickj_d]

We bought one off ebay for around the same price and is probably the same one you are talking about. Here are some comments.........

We ordered the one on ebay, and before it was delivered, we noticed one of the large department stores had some aluminium ones on sale for around the same price. We ended up buying the aluminium one, thinking that we would return the one we bought on ebay. There was a considerable weight difference between the two (approx 8kg's for aluminum one versus approx 13kg's for the steel one off ebay).

As it turns out, we ended up keeping both of them as we have two kids and can take one kid each. The heavy one actually rides better because it has larger, sturdier wheels. It just means I take the youngest kid in the heavier trailer, whilst my wife take the oldest kid in the lighter trailer (and the wife can still manage to take both kids in the larger trailer quite easily).

The one bought on ebay was definately better construction than the one bought at the department store (larger and sturdier wheels, more durable canvas material, and a larger seat). The trailer clamps onto the back stay quite easily, and find it just as good as the other one which uses a hitch connected to the back axle. The hitch one can be a nuisance if you want to frequently change which bike you are going to tow with (I ended up getting a mate to fabricate a second bracket for me).

Unless you're willing to spend big (>$400) on better quality aluminium ones from a bike shop, you should find the one off ebay suitable to you.

The kids love them, and it's fun taking them for a ride.

[brummie65]

'thanks for your reply guys i'll weigh things up in the next couple of days and see what happens

[mikedufty]

The cheap one we got off ebay had an aluminium frame and is quite light. Seem to be a couple of different ones on ebay now that look very similar, one that I think is the same as ours, and another that looks the same but says it is a steel frame, but has a better quick release type hitch.

I think my kids (3 and 5) are still small enough to fit in the trailer, but we got a trailgator hitch for towing them on their own bikes, and they like that so much the trailer is out of the question.

[Zac150]

Whilst I can't comment on the quality of the trailers from Ebay, one thing to consider is the various features the trailers offer.

We have used our bike trailer for a couple of years, completing social rides, trips to the shops / local markets and a couple of family bike holidays on the rail trails.

A trailer which has storage space is great for carrying gear for shopping / picnics. Some of the trailers with quick release & jockey wheels are great as you can use the trailer as a pram, we have a lot of fun at the local farmers markets riding over for breakfast and then carrying home our shopping.

I would make sure that the connection of the trailer to the bike doesn't effect bike racks etc if you are thinking of carrying extra gear a bike rack is useful.

Cheers Zac

[brummie65]

i have ordered one that connects to the back axle are they still allright to use with a quick release system as i dont like the idea of using the clamp style from the advice i got from some of you guys

[hartleymartin]

After I bought one such trailer on the trailer itself it has a warning not to tow it faster than 16 kph. Now, that's not normally a problem for me, as I tend to only ride at 15 kph anyway, but now it's got me worried if I take it on long downhills where it is not unknown for my to hit well over 50 kph.

[il padrone]

Standard product litigation avoidance clause

Many years ago now, we had a Winchester Originals (later Koolstop) trailer that had similar 'do not ride > 20kmh' warnings on it. On more than one occasion I've had that trailer at ~65kmh with the two kids aboard. Funny thing to look in the rear view and see my son with his blonde hair blown up into a 'shock mop'. "Gee daddy, we're going fast!"

Also took that trailer down a forest track near Beechworth once, with the wheels becoming alternately airborne over diagonal water-bars. I'd told the kids that "Now we will do a downhill blast". Shrieks of glee from the kids all the way down. "Daddy can we do that 'downhill blast' again?"

Trailers are great for kids

[brummie65]

16 klms will do me fine yeah brothers got one put the kids in it the other day and all i hear now is can we get a kiddie trailer several times a day

[Zac150]

My Daughter loves the down hill tracks especially the spoon drains. We were riding from Thredbo down to Cascade Hut on the Victorian border and I was singing to her Up and Down as we sped downhill over numerous spoon drains. To my horror a couple of young mountain bikers flew past (safely - I was riding at 35km off road they were doing well over 40kms) and laughed at my excellent singing. Mind you when we caught up they did say how great it was that we were out and about.

We have used the trailer on camping trips on a couple of occasions, it is great fun bike touring with kids, they get a real sense of adventure.

[webman]

What would be the max weight that you could put in these trailers? I wouldn't mind something like this for the occasional short trip on the weekends, but I'm thinking my two children would be too heavy (9 years old and 5 years old). Would you think this is too much?

[Zac150]

The amount of weight a bike trailer will carry depends on the brand.

I have a Chariot trailer which will carry up to 45kg. I have had a friends five year in the trailer and had no problems, over five years and I would think that the child will probably be to tall to fit in the trailer.

One alternative to trailers for older kids are the tag along bikes, these connect to the seat and turn a normal bike into a tandem bike. Great for older kids who still want to pedal but are to big for a trailer.

[mikedufty]

Also consider the trailgator, which converts the kid's own bike into a trailer. My kids (3yo and 5yo) love them. You can unhook them and let them ride for themselves when traffic conditions and their energy level allow, then hook them up and tow home when they get tired or the roads are too busy. Not as good for sleeping in as the trailer, but my kids much prefer being on their own bikes. The disadvantage is you can't tow 2 kids at once. I'd have thought a 9 year old could ride for him/herself most of the time though.