Author Topic: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids  (Read 1398 times)

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« on: November 29, 2020, 04:04:04 PM »
Our bike trailer is getting old and worn. We grabbed it free off the side of the road and I did repairs like replacing straps and buckles and adding Velcro to close the fabric lid, but it is getting rips and tears, and more importantly, my oldest at 6 years old is too tall for it. I use it primarily to transport kiddos around and secondarily for family bike rides on the weekends. We are in a rainy place so I need it to be decently water tight.

Can anyone recommend a brand/model that would fit these criteria?

Goldielocks

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7062
  • Location: BC
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2020, 04:26:48 PM »
I like the chariot series of trailers the best, but I don't know about height.

At 6 years, most people are doing a combination of "trail a bike" attached to an adult, riding their own bike, or switching to family walks while the 6 y.o, is on a push scooter and the youngest is in a backpack or stroller.   I found that we slowed down a lot for the little cyclist for these years, and literally stopped to smell the daisies a lot more, and it was just as nice as the 100% biking to destinations we did before.

Note, the trail a bike was great because their stamina did not matter, and I could control their movement exactly while riding near traffic and intersections, saving them riding their own bike for quiet park areas or local side streets.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2020, 06:02:03 PM »
We have one of those tandem attachments for my oldest that we use attached to my husband's regular bike on weekend family rides. The problem is that we have too many kids! A 6 year old, a 3 year old, and a 1 year old. Once a week I bike the two oldest to preschool in the bike trailer attached to my ebike. On the weekend we'll do family rides with the two youngest in the bike trailer. Since I'm trying to commute with the bike trailer as my main use case I can't do a transition period of a kid on her own slow bike or a scooter or something. I suppose I could drive to preschool the one day of the week that the oldest goes, but that would be a bummer.

Goldielocks

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7062
  • Location: BC
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2020, 07:31:02 PM »
We have one of those tandem attachments for my oldest that we use attached to my husband's regular bike on weekend family rides. The problem is that we have too many kids! A 6 year old, a 3 year old, and a 1 year old. Once a week I bike the two oldest to preschool in the bike trailer attached to my ebike. On the weekend we'll do family rides with the two youngest in the bike trailer. Since I'm trying to commute with the bike trailer as my main use case I can't do a transition period of a kid on her own slow bike or a scooter or something. I suppose I could drive to preschool the one day of the week that the oldest goes, but that would be a bummer.
Ah!, yes, that makes sense.   
I think when in a similar situation, I ended up walking with the stroller and big kid on a push scooter.   It was a little over a mile one way, so added up to about 5 miles a day for me to drop off and pick up (working from home).  It took a lot of time.  I did put the smaller one on a bike seat and use the tandem a few times (I only have 2 kids), but did not do that long, maybe because I thought it a bit tippy.

Then I bought a 160cc scooter that I picked the 5-6 year old up from at school, but that was when it was the younger one, and the older one was in school session still, so only one kid.   I did get tired of all that walking/ biking for commuting (for work, too).
I know that others who commute with kids more often look at that RAD bike with the kid seat on it for older kids.

lhamo

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3091
  • Location: Seattle
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2020, 07:54:18 PM »
I've never used them but Burley's seem to be pretty popular/readily available second hand here -- I see them all the time hauling kids and dogs on the B-G trail.  Here's one for sale in Bothell that might fit the two little ones:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/d/bothell-burley-bee-x2-bike-trailer/7238373078.html

You could probably resell for close to what you pay for it used if it isn't a good fit.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #5 on: December 16, 2020, 02:40:51 PM »
I’ve been doing research and the key parameter I am honing in on is seated height. It can be tough to find this dimension listed for bike trailers but the ones that do have it seem to be universally 24 inches. My current one is that height and my oldest is 25 inches seated.

I found that WIKE has a premium double bike trailer that has a 30 inch seated height and so I think I want it. The bummer is that I haven’t found it used anywhere. Not FB marketplace, Craigslist, or eBay. If anyone has any other ideas of where to look, I’m all ears.

https://www.amazon.com/WIKE-Premium-Double-Child-Trailers/dp/B077Y7RSYW

lhamo

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3091
  • Location: Seattle
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #6 on: December 16, 2020, 04:19:21 PM »
They don't get much traffic but you might try posting on the Cascade Bicycle Club forums asking if anyone wants to unload one.  Also post an ask on the places you mentioned. Sometimes people who don't want to take the initiative to list will offer one to someone who is looking.

Also maybe call Recycled Cycles in the U District and the Bike non-profit down your way -- Recycled staff are pretty friendly and may have other suggestions where to look.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Bike trailer recommendation for bigger kids
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2020, 05:00:29 PM »
They don't get much traffic but you might try posting on the Cascade Bicycle Club forums asking if anyone wants to unload one.  Also post an ask on the places you mentioned. Sometimes people who don't want to take the initiative to list will offer one to someone who is looking.

Also maybe call Recycled Cycles in the U District and the Bike non-profit down your way -- Recycled staff are pretty friendly and may have other suggestions where to look.
Thanks for the recommendations

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!