bicycle trailers

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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jonlemoine
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Joined: 24 Jul 2014, 9:25pm
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

bicycle trailers

Post by jonlemoine »

Hi guys.

Am new to the forum but wanted to ask if anyone uses a bicycle trailer to ferry the kids to and from school. I am considering getting one for the urban commute but the safety aspect is making me think twice. There are fairly decent cycle lanes en route but you do have to join general traffic at times

Thanks Jon
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gaz
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Re: bicycle trailers

Post by gaz »

Welcome to the forum.

Mini-me did the nursery run and swimming pool trips with me regularly by trailer. By school age he'd outgrown the trailer. Check the weight capacity and dimensions of any trailer you are considering (internal sizes do vary).
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
drossall
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Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: bicycle trailers

Post by drossall »

Doesn't answer your question, but I was walking towards town today. Approaching the brow of a hill, I was overtaken by a mum, towing two kids in a trailer. Understandably, she was puffing a bit, and telling the kids that it was a bit of a hill. The reply was:

"Are we going to go down the big hill?"

"Yes".

"Oh good, we can go 'Weeeeee'."

:D :D :D
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: bicycle trailers

Post by [XAP]Bob »

My kids love it - although school isn't far enough away to warrant getting it out.

I recall that the Germans have done (limited) studies, but that they reckon that a trailer is safer than a child seat - they're still vulnerable to a large lump of metal actually hitting them, but falls etc are much better protected in a trailer.

It's the general experience on this forum that trailers get alot more space than "just" bikes, so makes the ride subjectively nicer as well.

You will want lower gears as they grow towards the weight limit of the trailer, but they are great. Oh - and hopefully your kids get on ;) Give them a snack/book/toy or get them to play I spy.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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jonlemoine
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Joined: 24 Jul 2014, 9:25pm
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

Re: bicycle trailers

Post by jonlemoine »

Thanks guys. It gives me a little more confidence to give it a go knowing that others do it as well. I think Im gonna head over to Halfords in the next few weeks to have a look at the trailers and seats to weigh (literally) up my options. I prefer the trailer idea but it all depends on weight as our trip home is up hill (all the way) :-(

Thanks again

Jon
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Vantage
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Re: bicycle trailers

Post by Vantage »

I ferried my two girls around in a halfords trailer from if memory serves, 1 year old till the eldest was 9 years old when the trailer hitch finally snapped.
The kids loved it, especially going over speed humps and around tight corners. They always had their drinks bottles and snacks to hand in the little side pockets and of course, as many teddies as they could squeeze in.
Since the first I used it, drivers always gave a ton of room when passing and were always incredibly patient around us. It was as if I had a nuclear bomb strapped to it, no one ever did anything remotely stupid around it.
The trailer was also used for carrying the shopping home and even helped when moving house.
£70 for 8 years of perfectly safe, fun and practical cycling, hard to top that :)

Ps, I'd recommend going for a double seater over a single for the extra stability and room. They're great for changing nappies too :)
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: bicycle trailers

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Note that the double seaters normally have three crotch straps, allowing a single child to be carried in the central position using the left hand shoulder and waist straps of the right hand seat and vice versa
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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