2 kid bike trailer

annR

We are thinking of getting one of these at the moment so that my husband can bring the 2 kids (3yr old and 10mth old) to creche. However I'm wondering how much use we'll get out of it - the 3yr old is very tall for her age, probably around 110cm at the moment. I find it hard to figure out online what the max height of the child would be. Does anyone have one and what height is your child? What are the dealers around Dublin with a good selection so we could try sitting her into one?

Bluefoam

annR wrote: »

We are thinking of getting one of these at the moment so that my husband can bring the 2 kids (3yr old and 10mth old) to creche. However I'm wondering how much use we'll get out of it - the 3yr old is very tall for her age, probably around 110cm at the moment. I find it hard to figure out online what the max height of the child would be. Does anyone have one and what height is your child? What are the dealers around Dublin with a good selection so we could try sitting her into one?

I think this concept is all wrong. You should have a bike that the kids can pedal and you can put your feet up and steer...

But realistically it might be worth considering a cargo bike if the size of the kids is gonna become an issue. Look up bear cycles... They can be a little pricey, but very practical.

tomasrojo

The Chariot Cougar 2 gets good reviews. Very pricey though, and a bit wide, but the one-child version (Cougar 1) is excellent (and is a very good, weatherproof stroller in its own right), so I presume the 2 is also of high quality. They're supposed to be able to accommodate up to a five-year-old.

This shows both models:


A few people have cargo bikes, and I think I'd go down that route if I had enough money. Christianias and Niholas look very good, and seem least likely to turn over, given that they're tricycles.

annR

yeah I've been told my 3year old is the size of a 4.5 year old and if they only accomodate up to a 5 year old we could be nearly at that size already.

I don't really want to get a cargo bike because we already have bikes. I think we'll have to sit her into a few of them and see what we think.

doozerie

Fitz Cycles in Stillorgan now sell Chariot trailers but I don't think they keep any in stock (at least they didn't have any in there a few weeks back).

We bought our Chariot Cougar 1 (an excellent trailer, as tomasrojo says) a couple of years back from velo.ie in Tipperary. We dealt with them entirely via e-mail so I don't know if they kept any in stock at the time but I believe they do have them now (not sure which model(s) though). The guy we dealt back then had a lot of personal experience with trailers - he no longer works there, but I'd suggest giving them a ring to raise your questions with them as I'd imagine the other people there would be able to help too. I've dealt with them again recently and they remain a very good shop to deal with.

The width of the trailer is certainly something to bear in mind. Our Cougar 1 had very little clearance to get through the gate at the side of our house (a reasonably standard width gate), I've only recently cut back the wall and replaced the old gate with a wider gate to make life easier. Plus we store our trailer indoors and it barely fits through our back door. For a different house these issues might not apply, but certainly for our house a double trailer simply wouldn't work at all.

Lumen

I got a decent steel-framed Raleigh one from Staggs in Lucan, about €130 IIRC.

My kids have outgrown it now. If you're looking for something second hand, PM me (I'm in Dublin 15).

fat bloke

Ignore the recommended size/weight figures and you'll get loads of use out of it. I used one up until last May with a 7 and a 5 year old in it. No bother. Only strain was on my legs when the road went up.

Iwannahurl

I have a Chariot Captain XL, bought from velo.ie.

My 4-year-old is not far off 110cm, but I haven't actually considered whether height might be a limiting factor, only weight.

Do you know what height percentile your child is in? It's possible that if she is an 'outlier' in this regard you may run into trouble, as I doubt manufacturers design for users that are far beyond average dimensions. The seat-belt straps can be raised only so far...

b.harte

I picked up a 2nd hand one last week on adverts for 50 euro. It is one of the halfords double ones. I've only used it 3 times for shortish spins to get our 2.5yr old used to it.
The idea is the same, use it to drop him to creche (3km) instead of taking the car and room for the baby as well when he gets a little older.
So far he loves it, a bit fiddly putting the seat belt on him as they are rubbish but once he's in he's not getting out easily.
The only problems I have so far are mud/water spray from the rear bike wheel hitting the plastic freaks him out (early ocd?) but this can be solved with a mudguard. It seems sturdy enough but it also feels as if cheap materials were used. The folded size isn't too bad when the wheels are off.
Cycling with it is a bit odd, I thought I had a nice steady full range pedal stroke but the additional weight and the spring in the tow attachment feels as if I am jerking along the road.
It also took a bit of getting used to the width of it even with wide bars on the MTB not being a lot narrower, I live in the country and have a habit of cutting in on bends, the buggy did hit a ditch the first day out but a bit of single wheel action didn't do it any damage and the child stayed in place...win..win.
I would certainly look into spending as little as possible to see if it is something that all parties are happy with, if it works out then fork out on a good quality one that will serve you all well and will survive to have a decent resale when you no longer need it. I can vouch for this with a jogging buggy I got, the first child hated it and flat out refused to get in it, so it sat idle annoying my wife until the 2nd child was "sturdy enough" to go, and he loves it. It wasn't expensive but it's a bummer watching something that cost sitting idle, hence I went the low spend route on the bike trailer.
Also, our 2.5yr old is tall, his head has good clearance under the canopy but I wouldn't think he will be comfortable at age 4.

tomasrojo

b.harte wrote: »

The only problems I have so far are mud/water spray from the rear bike wheel hitting the plastic freaks him out (early ocd?) but this can be solved with a mudguard.

A rear mudflap really reduces the amount of backspray. I found that a mudguard on its own didn't really cut out very much, since my mudguard didn't even go down as far as three o'clock on the wheel.

Unfortunately, mudflaps are quite hard to get now, but you can make your own ones quite easily.

ciotog

Bluefoam wrote: »

I think this concept is all wrong. You should have a bike that the kids can pedal and you can put your feet up and steer...

But realistically it might be worth considering a cargo bike if the size of the kids is gonna become an issue. Look up bear cycles... They can be a little pricey, but very practical.

Have you seen the new running boards from Xtracycle: http://everydayadventurers.com/2011/11/new-product-running-boards/ look like they'd be just right for some, probably bigger, children. I have no children so no idea and the cats just refused to sit in the freeloaders

Iwannahurl

tomasrojo wrote: »

Unfortunately, mudflaps are quite hard to get now, but you can make your own ones quite easily.

True that, and utterly ridiculous in a country where rain is so often complained about.

I had to smuggle my mudflaps in from the Netherlands, I think (or Berlin -- somewhere European anyway). Staff in Irish bike shops just looked puzzled at the concept.

Iwannahurl

Bluefoam wrote: »

I think this concept is all wrong. You should have a bike that the kids can pedal and you can put your feet up and steer...

That would work on so many levels...

rp

annR wrote: »

We are thinking of getting one of these at the moment so that my husband can bring the 2 kids (3yr old and 10mth old) to creche. However I'm wondering how much use we'll get out of it - the 3yr old is very tall for her age, probably around 110cm at the moment. I find it hard to figure out online what the max height of the child would be. Does anyone have one and what height is your child? What are the dealers around Dublin with a good selection so we could try sitting her into one?

I've one I could sell: fitted up until seven years old. It's a Legerro Classico, a good quality swiss trailer, with Weber hitches (two with kick-stand, and one without), mudguards, and it was wired for hub dynamo lights, cover has faded a bit from being left outside.