77 BIKE TRAILERS: (and related products)
Description
This article is from the Outdoor Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
77 BIKE TRAILERS: (and related products)
I'm looking for a bicycle trailer for riding around with children. I
ride about 10 mi/day (5 each way), so I'm interested in durability and
weight (or, lack thereof). Cost, as always, is also a consideration.
Does anyone have any first-hand suggestions, or pointers to any
articles comparing various brands and models?
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Thanks for the information. Most of what I've gotten is a long list of
articles posted to rec.bicycles over the last few years. However, the
concensus of that list and the other responses seems to be that either
Burley or Winchester are the trailers to buy. If you like, I'll send
you the long list (about 2000 lines, some of which are duplicates).
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I would like to second any recommendation for a Burley D'Lite. We got
one and really liked it. The advantages:
1) Easy to put on and take off a bike, so you can easily use the bike
solo to commute to work.
2) Tracks easily so is easy to pull.
3) Fits all bikes, so my (then) husband and I could BOTH use it. I
have a child-size bike with 24-inch wheels (given my 4'10" this was
necessary) and the hitch works just as well as on 27-inch wheel bikes.
In fact, I could NOT get a over-the-wheel kid seat for my bike, so
trailers were the only choice.
4) Carries 2 kids AND junk. I often gave rides to my daughters friends
at daycare (until the combined weight of 2 kids exceeded 60 pounds or
so). The only problem with the extra weight is that it is harder to
pull; you probably won't want to go very far with that kind of a load.
But the trailer did not seem to mind.
5) Seems much SAFER than with an over-the-wheel seat.
The only disadvantage that I can think of: cost.
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Burley has a new product called the Burley 'Roo. It has almost the
same hitch as the D'Lite. The only difference in hitches is that the
universal flexible spring joint has been replaced by a flexible solid
rubber joint combined with a conventional hinge. The hinge allows
usual right and left turning flexibility; the solid rubber shaft allows
the bicycle to fall without either turning over the trailer or breaking
the hitch.
After the hitch, the product implementation is very different from the
D'Lite. The trailer sits two children. It has no cargo space. I'm
not sure if the roll bar and/or hitch fold. The wheels are 16 inch and
solid spoked. There is a non-conventional quick release mechanism.
The floor and seat are made from a single molded plastic tub. I don't
know if a rain cover is available. It comes with a safety flag and rear
reflectors standard.
Price ~$250 list.
I wouldn't want to use this for long tours (smaller nonstandard wheels,
lack of cargo space). I wouldn't expect the trailer to last through
several kids and/or years (plastic tub, solid rubber universal joint).
It looks OK for tooling around town in a safer way than with rear child
carriers. It is probably lighter than the more feature rich Winchester
(also about $250).
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About a month ago, I posted asking for information on easy fastening
bike helmets for my three year old, who was getting a two wheeler for
his birthday. Here is a summary. I tried to email everyone, but I
am abysmal at keeping track!
Most people said that they had not found a helmet clasp that a three
year old could manipulate themselves. Most kids seemed to be 6 or so
before they could routinely fasten it alone. Several people
recommended a Bell brand helmet as very safe (meets both ANSI and SNELL
standards)
Here's our experience: We first went to a specialty bike shop. The
only brand of child's helmet they sold had a clasp that _I_ had a hard
time with, and both models cost almost $40! So we went to Toy's R Us.
There we found about 6 different models, all with the buckle with
little plastic wings that you depress from the side, as found on many
highchairs, strollers, etc. This seemed to be a much easier clasp to
work. All the helmets were rated for SNELL standards, but I couldn't
find any ANSI markings on any of them. We got a nice neon orange and
yellow (with reflective tape) model that matches his bike, for about
$25. (Sorry, I forget the manufacturer).
Brad LOVES his bike, and hasn't complained about the helmet at all.
In fact when the girl next door wanted to try his bike, he told her
she had to wear the helmet too. (She doesn't wear a helmet riding her
own bike). And the boy across the street has started BEGGING his
mother to buy him one - and after hearing my sister's bike accident
story, she said she would get him one. So that will be at least two
kids in the neighborhood wearing them.
Brad CAN fasten his helmet, if we leave the chin strap just a little
loose. I have been doing this for now, but about half the time he asks
me to put his helmet on for him. I know leaving the strap loose
reduces the safety factor a bit, and as he gets better at working the
buckle I will tighten it. But it does protect him. Just yesterday he
had his first "real" crash, fell over and off the bike, and didn't get
hurt, even though the helmet hit the road.
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A few caveats here. First, the proper fit is important in a bike
helmet; if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, go to a good
bike store and let them fit your child. Second, the helmet must be
worn properly for it to be of much use. New Jersey law requires kids
under 14 to wear helmets -- but many of the kids I see just plop them
on there heads without any regard to how they should be worn. (FYI --
the advice I've heard is that the front brim should be about 1" (2.5
cm) above the eyes.)
Also, last I heard, the Snell standards were (mostly) tougher than
ANSI's.
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