Touring France with a child's trailer

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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British Eagle
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Joined: 28 Apr 2014, 3:04pm

Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by British Eagle »

Has anyone experience of this? I'm wondering if you can take a trailer on the French trains and how easy (difficult!) it is with two bikes, panniers and an infant (who has trailered since he was 8 weeks old and is now 8 months). We would be camping too.
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syklist
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Joined: 19 May 2008, 6:43pm

Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by syklist »

British Eagle wrote:Has anyone experience of this? I'm wondering if you can take a trailer on the French trains and how easy (difficult!) it is with two bikes, panniers and an infant (who has trailered since he was 8 weeks old and is now 8 months). We would be camping too.


If your trailer has a nose wheel and can be used as a pram then I suggest that you should check the rules regarding bring prams on French trains. I discovered that a ferry (in Norway) I was thinking of using has a ban on bike trailers but there is no restriction on prams...

We did a cycle camping tour last summer in Norway and Denmark when Syklist Junior was around 7 months old which went very well. We used a train from Oslo back home and the trailer and bikes went in the goods van. It can be a bit hectic when putting your bikes on a train especially if there other cyclists getting on at the same station. Keep a cool head and get into the habit of counting bags in and out of the train.

One suggestion, I don't know which trailer you have but our trailer had one of the basic hitches, a large spring with a piece of elastomer through the middle. These hitches are definitely not suited for longer tours. The trailer tugs rythmically on the bike all the time which is especially tiresome when climbing. If your trailer has one of these then I would suggest you think about swapping it for a Weber coupling set (bike and trailer). These are expensive but work very well.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
British Eagle
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Joined: 28 Apr 2014, 3:04pm

Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by British Eagle »

Thanks for that. Norway and Denmark would be an awesome trip. I've just upgraded the trailer to a secondhand Burley, arriving soon, as I'm hoping we'll be doing a lot of touring over the next few years. I guess it'll be best using trains just for the big planned journeys where we can book ahead - no hopping on and off the locals! I know about 'disguising' the trailer as a pram (on airlines too) but have never tried it; it's just so huge I don't know how we'd get away with it.
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syklist
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Joined: 19 May 2008, 6:43pm

Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by syklist »

British Eagle wrote:Thanks for that. Norway and Denmark would be an awesome trip. I've just upgraded the trailer to a secondhand Burley, arriving soon, as I'm hoping we'll be doing a lot of touring over the next few years. I guess it'll be best using trains just for the big planned journeys where we can book ahead - no hopping on and off the locals! I know about 'disguising' the trailer as a pram (on airlines too) but have never tried it; it's just so huge I don't know how we'd get away with it.

The Burleys I have looked at have good hitches.

I have found Denmark to be the best place to take trains ad-hoc with bikes. We haven't tried it with the trailer as yet though as we didn't need to last summer. I can recommend Denmark in general and West and North Jutland (NSCR) in particular as a good place for a family cycle tour. The NSCR is relatively flat and the scenery changes enough to keep it interesting. A lot of campsites have family rooms with a shower, toilet and washbasins in the same space. The family rooms vary in size considerably but make life easier when travelling with a child. Some of the campsites are on the expensive side but you also have the option of a network of free/almost free camping areas which are only open to cyclists, walkers and horse riders. These have minimal facilities.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Tangled Metal
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Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by Tangled Metal »

If it is the small axle based alloy hitch with the universal joint in the trailer arm (think all Burleys since about 2010 have them but could be wrong about the year) then it is indeed a good hitch. There is complete freedom of movement at the joint and the hitch link to the bike is strong and sturdy. I think the newer Weber links are similar to the Burley hitch in that they attach to the axle. The older one was similar to the older Classic burley hitch which clamps to the corner formed by the seat and chainstays.

Which Burley trailer? We have the excellent D-lite one.
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syklist
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Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by syklist »

Tangled Metal wrote:If it is the small axle based alloy hitch with the universal joint in the trailer arm (think all Burleys since about 2010 have them but could be wrong about the year) then it is indeed a good hitch. There is complete freedom of movement at the joint and the hitch link to the bike is strong and sturdy. I think the newer Weber links are similar to the Burley hitch in that they attach to the axle.

There are a number of different Weber hitches. I have an axle mounted one on my Dahon folder (E just a tadge low on a 20" wheeled bike) my old touring bike has a Weber coupling combined with a stand mounted on the rear fork (B). My VSF tourer has a Weber hitch that connects to the Pletscher rear stand mount (EP).

The full overview is here I bought my hitches from the Hollandbikeshop, they have a good range compared to other web shops.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Tangled Metal
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Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by Tangled Metal »

Yes, I looked at that after reading an old 2007 thread about alternative hitches. They also do trailers IIRC and some look like little car ones too.
theDaveB
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Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by theDaveB »

Have a look around this site, might be some good info -

http://travellingtwo.com/start-here

Dave
British Eagle
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Joined: 28 Apr 2014, 3:04pm

Re: Touring France with a child's trailer

Post by British Eagle »

We are now the proud owners of a 2010-2013 Burley Solo. Figured this will be the one trailer that's small and light enough to be disguised as a pram and still carry a shed load. I just hope the standard hitch fits my classic British eagle Touristique ... (runs off to see)

Dave, http://travellingtwo.com/start-here has been inspirational to two keen cyclists with a last-minute baby.
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