6. Kiddie carriers - trailers

1 Dec 2008

How about celebrating Junior's first birthday with your first ride together? Equipped with a child seat or trailer and once your little one is strong enough, your bike becomes again a healthy, convenient option for locals trips. Ride On tested nine child seats and four trailers so you can know which family transport option suits you best.

Children can be carried on a bike or in a trailer from the time they can sit up by themselves (approximately nine to 12 months) until they are between four and six years of age, depending on the child's weight and the carrying capacity of the seat of the trailer.

Trailers

Child trailers don’t fall over, track really well, provide a smoother ride for the rider and the child, protect the child from the elements and have substantial rollover protection. They don’t compromise the handling of the towing bike. These trailers take most of the weight over the trailer wheels and put (roughly) 10% of the trailer weight on the towing hitch (towbar). Most child trailers can also handle up to 45kg (gross weight), so that's much more luggage carrying capacity.

Child trailers are great if you have two children (some only carry one child, but many carry one or two children). They also offer configuration options (usually optional extras) that convert them into three-wheel joggers or supermarket-style prams. They start to make more sense and justify the financial outlay when you can reconfigure them to widen their applications.

Child trailers are quite expensive and they are large objects. If you normally bring your bike in the front door at home the trailer is probably going to block the hallway for everybody else. The garage is the natural home for trailers. Most trailers can be disassembled and stored, but this negates their convenience and ability to ‘just pedal down to the shops’. It’s better to be able to just hitch-and-ride than to go through the assembly drama every time you want to go somewhere.

Some literature suggests that even though they come with visibility flags, child trailers could pose a safety problem in bad weather conditions including fog, low light, and even at night or twilight. You can maximise the visibility of a trailer by fitting reflectors (if they don't come as standard) and a rear light.

This means if you choose the trailer option you have to plan your route by scouting the way looking for low traffic, generous bike lanes and wide paths. If in doubt there's (almost) always the footpath, which you can use when you're towing a child trailer.

What about a child seat?

More about the options for babies on board

Which Trailer?

 

The Burley Solo wins the trailer category on the basis of its function and value for money. The Chariot is clearly the most innovative and clever design, but it’s just too expensive.

	Model	Price (in cycle format)	Max weight inc. luggage	No. of children	Reccomended max speed	Converts to pram/jogger extras or options	Dimensions (in mm)	Rating out of 5
	Charles Purton Kiddicarrier by Charles Purton Imports tel (03) 5248 2208	$550	11kg; 45kg	2	16kph	Optional jogger kit	H - 900 W - 870 L - 1280	2.8
	Pacific alloy Trailer/Jogger by Bike Corp www.bicorp.com.au	$549	14.7kg; 45kg	2	15kph	Jogger Brakes attached to jogger handle	H - 860 (incl jogger handle) W - 870 L - 1700	2.6
	Chariot Cougar 1 by Morris Stanley tel (02) 9550 5814	$1220	10kg; 34kg	1	25kph–16kph around corners	Optional Pram or Jogger attachments Can go off road and on snow Parking brake Suspension 2-child carrier available	H - 1100 (including jogger handle) W - 670 L - 1370 (with bike attachment)	3
	Burley Solo by Greenspeed www.greenspeed.com.au	$850	10.7kg; 34kg	1	24kph on smooth flat roads; 8kph or less on turns and uneven roads	Stroller Jogger Skier 2-child carrier available	H - 920 W - 700 L - 1500	3.2

Tips for child trailers

• Children in the trailers (and riders) must wear helmets and seat belts.
• Always check quick-release mechanisms are securely fastened before a ride.
• Always ride with a safety flag.
• Children must be old enough to wear a helmet and a seat belt, and sit upright.
• Riders towing a child trailer should be experienced and capable cyclists – preferably adults.
• Riders must ride with consideration and care and allow greater braking distances and times for crossing roads and pedestrian crossings.
• If carrying two children, stability is better if the heavier child sits on the hitch side of the trailer.
• There are no Australian Standards for child trailers.
• Do not leave children unattended in trailer.
• Do not use the trailer in fog, rain, at twilight or at night.
• Never carry a child whose sitting position (including helmet) exceeds the roll cage of the trailer.
• Set the parking brake before unloading or when stopped.
• Trailers can tip over when going around corners, so be careful turning, and make sure children stay seated and steady (no jumping or bouncing).

What kind of bike do I need?

Child trailers usually attach to the rear wheel axle of a bike and will fit most bikes whether they have a quick-release hub or a nutted hub. They’ll also attach to most bikes with disc brakes and full-suspension (front and rear) systems. Child trailers do not like bikes with Breezer-style dropouts (dropouts with flanges or locating lugs), as the trailer connections need a flat surface. However, several options are usually available if you have a bike with an unusual dropout or chainstay.

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