New Dad here. Child Carrier or Trailer?

[HenryA]

Another trailer vote from grandpa. Kids love it, you can carry plenty of stuff for the kid and it's safe. When I think about child bike seats, I think about a can of paint on a step ladder. When that gets knocked over.....

[lucieli]

We went with the Burley double trailer. There was plenty of extra room to pack diaper bags, picnic lunches, extra layers of clothes, etc and when our kids were really young we could put them in their infant car seat which easily fit into the trailer. They were able to ride along in comfort and style. We also had the added bonus that the trailer converts to a stroller so we could bike to a destination and then lock the bikes and push the trailer/stroller around. The Burley trailers are not inexpensive but we got plenty of use out of ours before passing it along to friends and then family. It recently made its way back to us and while no longer in great condition for child use, it will work perfectly as a cargo trailer to haul gear to the beach on our Cape Cod vacations.

[IFRider]

Granted, for as it was twins so not a big decision. I say trailer due to the fact that you can carry extra stuff to keep passenger entertained. Half the time, my kids would sleep and half fuss for about an hour then need a break. This is where a trailer helps a ton in bring a picnic for the park or other play things. We used a Burley and bought the stroller conversion which worked well for take to other outdoor things. The cover on the burley was nice for riding in the colder weather although in warmer weather it was too much. There is a screen cover but be warned, riding on a crushed gravel reail trail, the kids were covered in a fine dust. I used an old rigid mtn bike to pull them around with flat peddles.

I stayed away from the rack based even though I had been given a used one due to the high center of gravity.

Warren

[OperaLover]

Another vote for the Burley double. My oldest is 15 now and we bought it new when he was a wee tike. All three kids rode in it separately and we could get two in no problem when they were little. It now is used as a grocery getter/cargo hauler. It still works and rolls great and the fabric while faded has not frayed or torn. The low center of gravity makes it manuverable and the frame acts as a roll cage and pretty protective, especially if the child is strapped in and always with a helmet. (Not that we ever had an accient.) Bike can fall over but the trailer will stay upright. The attachment system is easy on and off so it works across multiple bikes. The clamp will mar the paint on your stays, but not too bad. The older models like mine were even made in the USA!

[benb]

Originally Posted by OperaLover

The attachment system is easy on and off so it works across multiple bikes. The clamp will mar the paint on your stays, but not too bad. The older models like mine were even made in the USA!

I'm not sure when they changed it but the Burley hitch no longer clamps onto your stays so no worries about frame damage.

The current ones (and we bought ours in early 2014 I think?) mounts onto the rear skewer. Very easy to install, no tools required, only thing is it is not compatible with some frame designs that have no space around the dropout. In fact for us out of 5 bikes we own it only works on one frame. My wife has a Trek Cali SL and a Giant OCRw and it doesn't work on either of those. It also doesn't work on my Trek Domane or my Giant NRS. So it's only ever gotten used on my All City Space Horse. For the most part that is the bike that it always made the most sense to use it with anyway (gearing, design for utility, and I'm the stronger rider) though so it was no big deal for us. I almost bought a Seven Axiom SL last year instead of the Domane and it would have worked on that, and Seven also said there were no issues with pulling a trailer with that frame.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by benb

I'm not sure when they changed it but the Burley hitch no longer clamps onto your stays so no worries about frame damage.

The current ones (and we bought ours in early 2014 I think?) mounts onto the rear skewer. Very easy to install, no tools required, only thing is it is not compatible with some frame designs that have no space around the dropout. In fact for us out of 5 bikes we own it only works on one frame. My wife has a Trek Cali SL and a Giant OCRw and it doesn't work on either of those. It also doesn't work on my Trek Domane or my Giant NRS. So it's only ever gotten used on my All City Space Horse. For the most part that is the bike that it always made the most sense to use it with anyway (gearing, design for utility, and I'm the stronger rider) though so it was no big deal for us. I almost bought a Seven Axiom SL last year instead of the Domane and it would have worked on that, and Seven also said there were no issues with pulling a trailer with that frame.

Burley does make an adapter to address that issue:

https://burley.com/product/hitch-adapter/

And thru axles: https://burley.com/product/thru-axle/

[bking]

Originally Posted by HenryA

Another trailer vote from grandpa. Kids love it, you can carry plenty of stuff for the kid and it's safe. When I think about child bike seats, I think about a can of paint on a step ladder. When that gets knocked over.....

Another "grandpa" here and I see it the same as you do. I cringe a bit when I see a small child strapped into a seat of some kind on a bike. That head--that they struggle to hold up at all, is really going to hit hard should the bike go down.
Trailer for me, we've got two of them. And regarding putting them in at any age, you can build up whatever you can come up with--strap in a child car seat, and peddle them around in it. My grandkids love it. And they get to take their "stuff" with them.

[brendonk]

Another vote for a trailer. We had a double that the kids loved to cruise around in. Probably because we frequently went to the park and then the local ice cream place on the way home. A great way to explore neighborhoods and show them how much distance we could cover in a short amount of time. We even put our 20 pound dog in the trailer so we could go to the dog park. Quite a sight to glance back and see two smiling kids and a confused dog. When your child gets old enough be prepared for their friends to ask for rides.
Helmets are a must. Two kids back there knocking their heads together can ruin the day.

[gallant]

Thanks guys. My Yuba Spicy Curry has a lower rear cargo bench where the kids sit. This is because the rear wheel is 20 inch vs the front wheel is 26. So it makes it more stable vs the Yuba Mondo. Still not as stable as a trailer but I do notice the difference. My buddy has a Yuba Mondo that has a much higher rear rack that I tried once. With the kids on his Mundo I felt like they would tip over.


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[merlinmurph]

Look for a Burley or Chariot on Craigslist, and be patient. A friend got his Chariot on C-list and sold it for what he bought it for.