CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

Child Trailers

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  1. NiallA
    Member

    Hi all. Our car was written off in an accident about a week ago, so (for the short to medium term at least) we are going car-free. I need to be able to move our 3.5 year old around and he's at the top of the weight range for our Hamax seat - it's feeling a bit unstable to have him on the back of the bike. I'd like to investigate trailers instead, so was hoping to

    (a) crowd source any wisdom/ advice on do's and dont's, good models etc;

    (b) possibly borrow one for a day or two to check that the little tyke will cooperate with the whole idea;

    (c) if (b) is positive, see if anyone here might have a trailer that their family has grown out of and they would like to move on?

    Thanks for any suggestions.

    Niall

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. paddyirish
    Member

    Sounds like we are in the same boat @NiallA I'm thinking of something that will need to last for a year to get my youngest (just turned 4) to nursery.
    After that she will be able to scoot/cycle the much shorter distance to school on her own.

    Current thoughts are a tag-along but I've no idea what would be a good make; the Circe Helios was strongly considered when the eldest reached a similar stage but think that ship has sailed now.

    Do others have experience of a young child on a tagalong- do they have the sense to hold on? (I'm not willing to let her learn by falling off once - Mrs Paddy would have my guts for garters).

    Also open to other ideas...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. HankChief
    Member

    Niall,

    You are welcome to borrow mine. I only use it a couple of times a year - for POP Tshirts etc., so no hardship to let you have it.

    HC

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. HankChief
    Member

    @PI,

    Mine eldest went on a TAL fine from 3yo and lover it. Only issue was a mucky face on wet days, but nursery soon learnt to have a flannel waiting...

    You have to watch the distance from the saddle at the lowest point to the pedal at lowest point so they can keep their feet on it. Different makes vary.

    The burley TAL is the bees knees but pricy. I watched eBay/gumtree for a year before one came up close enough and cheap enough to pick up. It's now done 3,500 miles without complaint.

    HC

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. LaidBack
    Member

    UA is at shop.
    Could borrow that for small donation / review.
    Would help me swing a cat in shop etc....
    You'd have to buy the electricity though.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. algo
    Member

    We're away next week and have a Chariot cougar 2 seater - you'd be welcome to borrow it. Like HankChief with the tagalong, I waited a while before a 2nd hand one came up. The harness arrangement is excellent

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. urchaidh
    Member

    Our kids have always loved being in the trailer, never had a problem.

    Our twins were in ours 'til they were four. Started to get a bit heavy (for me) but they were happy enough in it despite it being a bit of a squeeze. It was a very basic model that I picked up cheap by asking around local FB page, it did the job.

    Advantage of the trailer was carrying scooters and small bikes as well - we would go on rides and the kids would cycle a bit with the trailer as backup.

    For number three (currently 16 months) I upgraded a s/h double Chariot. This is clearly a superior bit of kit, much lighter and has basic suspension and a wheel to convert it to a (huge) buggy.

    You're welcome to borrow it for a trial, am in Portobello if that's any use for you.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. SRD
    Moderator

    my youngest loved the helios from 3.5. never had either one fall off, or fall asleep.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. acsimpson
    Member

    My eldest has been on the tagalong since just before his 3rd birthday. He's never had a problem holding on (at least not while we're moving). He's tall for his age which helps with reaching the pedals.

    Within the first couple of weeks he rode POP on it which was over 20Km for the day.

    We've had more problem getting him to let go which unfortunately lead to a nasty handlebar, hand, gatepost sandwich. He now knows that if I shout hands in he needs to hold the middle of the handlebars and I know that I need to ensure I'm never distracted while going through tight gaps and remember his bars are wider than mine and will turn inside me.

    It's also important to always check they are still on when the traffic lights are about to change, especially in the early days.

    We use the tagalong for the nursery run but you'd be welcome to come and try it out, we're on the west of the city.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. NiallA
    Member

    Cheers, all. I'm going to link up with HankChief to borrow his trailer for a while and see how I get on (we're both in W/ NW Edinburgh, so relatively close to each other).

    I do quite fancy borrowing the Urban Arrow to try it out... May get in touch about that, LB.

    Thanks again!

    Niall

    Posted 8 years ago #

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