Hey bike-trailer reviewers. How much did you actually use the stroller function of your bike trailer? And how important is suspension? I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it to spend more for the stroller capability and suspension.
I'm looking at
1) nearly-new Burley Minnow bought from a local, about $175. Good basic trailer, not much suspension, no stroller option.
OR
2) well-used Chariot Cougar for about $200 + the cost and inconvenience of driving 150 miles round trip to pick up.
We are getting a ton of use out of our trailer, because of the stroller option, more than I ever imagined we would just as a trailer.
We have a Nashbar Kid Karriage II trailer with the Kid Karriage I stroller conversion kit. The whole setup is lower-end and I don't expect it will last forever, but my wife uses it almost every day as a stroller to walk ~1 mile each way to the park - so instead of buying an expensive jogger we bought a cheap handle and front wheel.
It works great because I never take the kids too far away from home so I just leave the wheel and handlebar attached. I'll bike wherever with them and then lock the bike up and walk locally with the stroller-trailer.
Our trailer has no suspension and honestly it doesn't make that much of a difference. You really don't need suspension unless you're off-roading or riding on NYC streets (which is, like, the same thing).
The Thule is a much better all-arounder but when you say "well used", I wonder to what extent that means.