The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Mini Money Mustaches => Topic started by: hoping2retire35 on April 06, 2016, 09:06:22 AM
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Looking for reviews for kids hauler bike trailers.
We currently have an instep I got from craigslist for $60, but with three kids and gear we need another.
Craigslist usually has them $60 and up (at this writing there is only one 'like new' instep for $80) but walmart has brand new instep robin for $79 and allen sports ast2 for $82.
Since our youngest is only 15months I would like one with a smother ride. the allen is steel and I guess if i weighed it down with gear it would be less bumpy or a stiff cushion, but really no idea.
My personal experience is the instep does ok but would be nice to be less bumpy. I have used a mid level(not sure of model)encore burley that was ok too but only at the beach so not a real test of smoothness. I want to take them on public land gravel roads if that helps.
Anyone tried out a lot of bike trailers and know what to look for, in my case a smother (shocks?) ride? All reviews and perspectives appreciated.
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I have used the Insteps for 10yrs now; they are the best deal. With care, they last forever.
Smooth ride: replace the tires with larger 20x2.25 or 2.5" tires, and run at lower pressure.
Such as these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KENDA-KONTACT-20-X-2-25-BLACK-BICYCLE-TIRES-1-PAIR-/191316168814?hash=item2c8b55106e:g:ygMAAOSwRLZUCh2~
they add a lot of expense to the total setup, but last forever and do cushion the ride.
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I have used the Insteps for 10yrs now; they are the best deal. With care, they last forever.
Smooth ride: replace the tires with larger 20x2.25 or 2.5" tires, and run at lower pressure.
Such as these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KENDA-KONTACT-20-X-2-25-BLACK-BICYCLE-TIRES-1-PAIR-/191316168814?hash=item2c8b55106e:g:ygMAAOSwRLZUCh2~
they add a lot of expense to the total setup, but last forever and do cushion the ride.
What about the wheels? should/can you get larger wheels and where? Went to lowes yesterday but no luck.
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We've got the Burley Bee. Love it. Fits two kids (2 and 5), lots of room in the trunk for anything I need to take with me, folds up easily and stores well. No complaints and very happy.
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We have a Burley Bravo. The kids do not complain about bumps and well-cushioned bananas do not bruise in the large trunk.
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just picked up the instep Robin. on sale at walmart for $79 (had the sticker that said $99), same 16" wheels as our craigslist one but less cargo room and does not have the jogging handle. seat is padded but not the 'sling' style like the other. Also did some research and it looks like I paid $60 for a $200 sierra instep(from criagslist), not bad.
Still can't find wheels for the thing.
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Interesting to see all the positive instep reviews. We have one, and while it gets the job done, it's not great. Our kids are pretty crammed in there. My older child who is 3.75 yrs and average height is already hitting his head on the top. He also complains a lot about how bumpy the ride is in that trailer.
I've been eyeing / testing the Burley D'Lite with shocks & am trying to find one used (and cheap) on Craigslist. I've done some test rides with it + kids and it's a much smoother ride than our Instep. It's also much much wider at the elbows / shoulders while having a similar wheelbase to the instep. It's also taller -- my older kid won't outgrow it by height for at least 2 more years. The buckles / straps are much easier to use than the Instep as well. We've also tried the Chariot Cougar 2, but it's really too small for kids over 4 yrs & the storage space is kinda small. Rides beautifully though.
I guess it's not really fair to compare a $100 (new) trailer to a $700 (new) trailer. But I have routinely seen the Burley D'Lite sold used in the $150 - $200 range, and that to me seems like a much much better deal than an Instep having used both of them. Of course we haul our kids either on a cargo bike or in a trailer daily multiple times a day so our expectations are very different than someone just using something recreationally.
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if they fit, I could just buy a brand new kids bike from walmart for $50 and use the wheels on the bike trailer. It would be cheaper.
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if they fit, I could just buy a brand new kids bike from walmart for $50 and use the wheels on the bike trailer. It would be cheaper.
I dunno about the Instep but the Burley has what appears to be proprietary wheels.
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I've had several Burley D'Lites, all from craigslist.
My bike trailer tip if more than one kid is in the trailer. This is from experience and having the kids fight all the time when I was riding.
After they are strapped in, you show them 2 cheese sticks. You tell them you will give them these cheese sticks when you are five minutes away from the end of the ride if they don't fight.
They never fought after that and I was frustrated that I hadn't thought of it sooner.
Oh, and the way to find Burley products in your area is to use something like searchttempest.com/
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I know I'm resurrecting an old thread here but I just wanted to confirm: it seems like most people are recommending Burley brand trailers, correct?
My son just turned 1 and I am very excited to try to pick up a trailer (hopefully on Craigslist in the Denver area where we live). Since we aren't likely to use it for another couple of months, I'm wondering if it's worth trying to find a Burley D'Lite or similar for sub-$200 on CL versus getting a new InStep right away.
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https://denver.craigslist.org/bik/d/burley-dlite-trailer/6555544773.html
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My kids have outgrown the trailer, but we used chariot trailer. The attachment to the bike worked better for us than the burly did at the time, and I still use it to haul groceries. It has never had an issue (other than a flat that was my fault for riding into the curb when loaded with groceries. I liked the adjustable suspension, and the single had a weight capacity of 75 lbs. Seats were mesh and there was a good screen material so the kids didn't get too hot.
I have nothing bad to say about burly, just wanted to give my positive review for the chariot. Don't buy new unless you want to take out a new mortgage though. It doesn't look like that's your plan anyway, just wanted to caution you that the new prices for the chariot trailers are a bit steep.
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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.
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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.
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Thanks, chemistk. We ended up going with the Burley. I realized we could just tuck the carrier in the trunk if we want to bike someplace and be mobile. I figure we'll use it for a few years and resell.
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I ended up getting a Burley as well- going to take it out for the first kiddo test ride this weekend.
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Hi Benjy, welcome to the forum. Perhaps you're not familiar with the forum's infrastructure, but you're dragging up a lot of old threads to post about bike trailers and it's clogging up what people can see. I believe there are also forum rules about self-promotion, though I don't know the exact details.
You might want to cool it on making this post over and over, basically. I hope you find lots of useful material elsewhere on the forum. :)
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Hi Benjy, welcome to the forum. Perhaps you're not familiar with the forum's infrastructure, but you're dragging up a lot of old threads to post about bike trailers and it's clogging up what people can see. I believe there are also forum rules about self-promotion, though I don't know the exact details.
You might want to cool it on making this post over and over, basically. I hope you find lots of useful material elsewhere on the forum. :)
I noticed that and was hoping his helpful post would instruct me on how to DIY a bike trailer out of SPAM. Alas, I was deeply disappointed.
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Looks like he got banned and now *I'm* the one necroposting! Dangit.
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I was going to ask about it since I came here and just saw your post, @Tass . But thanks for the context, now I won't assume it was you :-)