Child bike-trailer recommendations

[kgreene10]

Some low-life just stole my wife's bike with our Burley Bee bike trailer attached while my 4.5 year old son went to the bathroom inside our LBS. It happened moments ago, and I'm livid.

We use the trailer all the time and will need a new one ASAP.

The Burley Bee was our first one and it was okay, but required a few rolled up towels to make it comfortable for the kiddo and, more importantly, the ventilation wasn't great. Austin gets really, really hot for about a hundred months a year and we want to avoid baked-boy syndrome.

I also want something that can be easily transferred between my bike and my wife's (ahem, soon to-be new) bike. Her's will likely be a mountain or urban bike and mine is a coupled ti road bike.

The Bee also had the virtue of costing $240, so please give me your recommendations for trailers that cost about $350 or less (you can factor in the current 20% off coupon for REI members).

Thanks!

[ultraman6970]

Sent you a msg, I know somebody that has one moving around.

[Pastashop]

Chariot (now Thule) has been great for us. Have a single (cx) and a double.

[weisan]

What !

I am activating a city-wide man hunt for this low-life.

Sorry green pal, hope you found a replacement soon.

[kgreene10]

What !

I am activating a city-wide man hunt for this low-life.

Sorry green pal, hope you found a replacement soon.

Thanks. I've alerted the members of my large club (Violet Crown Sports Association) and a friend posted on FB. So, yes, please keep an eye out for a guy on a too-small very old maroon Specialized Rockhopper with a nearly new yellow Burley Bee in tow and no kid in it. Please call the police is you do see this low-life.

[weisan]

Which LBS?

Is the act caught in surveillance camera?

[weisan]

This one just went up yesterday.

https://austin.craigslist.org/spo/5508620452.html

[kgreene10]

Thanks. Our is yellow with black and looks like this -- https://www.rei.com/product/896408/burley-bee-bike-trailer

It was stolen from outside Mellow Johnny's amidst the many unlocked bikes.

There is a surveillance camera and the awesome staff there is going to review the tape.

What kind of a creep sees a bunch of bikes and decides to steal the one that carries a kid?

[weisan]

What kind of a creep sees a bunch of bikes and decides to steal the one that carries a kid?

er....homeless dude with a lot of stuff to carry?

[awdwon]

Chariot (now Thule) has been great for us. Have a single (cx) and a double.


I picked up an older double chariot off craigslist for a great deal and am very happy with it.

[p nut]

I picked up an older double chariot off craigslist for a great deal and am very happy with it.

Double Chariot here as well. The best trailer we've ever had. You can pick one up on Craigslist occasionally for cheap.

[moose8]

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/chariot-cx1-elite-performer-stroller-1-child~p~6662a/?filterString=s~chariot%2F&colorFamily=02

I think with an adapter this becomes a trailer. I bought it on Sierra for around $250 - if you pay attention to their coupons and uses active junky you can probably get it close to that too.

[cetuximab]

Used both the chariot and the weehoo.

The weehoo is better. I love the weehoo.

It is a little more than your price range.

https://www.rei.com/product/886190/weehoo-igo-turbo-bicycle-trailer

[d_douglas]

Chariot! They're expensive, but they retain value. I bought a double used for $~$250 and sold it two years later for ~$200.

$50 for two years of use!! :)

[binouye]

Used both the chariot and the weehoo.

The weehoo is better. I love the weehoo.

It is a little more than your price range.

https://www.rei.com/product/886190/weehoo-igo-turbo-bicycle-trailer

I've used a Burley, a Chariot, and Weehoo. The Chariot was Much better than the Burley. The Weehoo was better than the Chariot as the kid got older. At about 4 we stopped using the Chariot. For both the Chariot and Weehoo we bought extra hitches, so that my wife and I could alternative picking up and dropping off the kid. We stopped using the Weehoo at 5.5ish , when we got a tandem. Now we've got a Co-Motion Periscope, which is worlds better than any trailer could be.

Friends borrowed the Weehoo, but their kid is older now and I think they're ready to pass it along. If you want a well-used Weehoo with extra hitch and don't mind paying shipping, it's available cheap. I also have a spare Chariot trailer hitch, filed down to fit the Breezer-style dropout on my Ti frame.

[p nut]

Only thing about the Weehoo is the lack of shelter. We've ridden in snow, mud, etc. and the kids have stayed perfectly warm and dry. A blanket, warm Nalgene bottle with the rain flap velcro'd down and they were having a ball in 15 deg weather.

[saf-t]

FYI.......

https://burley.com/recall/

[roguedog]

+1

Another weehoo fan here. Just seemed more interactive for all.

[kgreene10]

Thanks everyone. We got a Weehoo with pedals for the little guy. It looks great and I wouldn't have known about it without this thread. Also, good tip on getting him sunglasses given exposure to road grit.

Now, we need a new bike for my wife. She is 5'5 and will use it for the Weehoo and occasional city riding. What would you recommend? MTB? Cross? Hybrid?

Also, would it be safe (and advisable) to attach the Weehoo to my all ti coupled Seven road bike? It has a Thompson Masterpiece seatpost, so I'm thinking at a min, I should get a sturdier one.

Will rim brakes be enough? Our son is just 35 lbs now and the Weehoo adds about 28 I think. I'm just 156.

Thanks all.

[AngryScientist]

whenever i wander around REI, i do think how good looking their own branded bikes are for practical, utilitarian typed purposes. i bet one of the novara bikes would be perfect for your wife. this safari looks great for pulling and city riding.

http://2w2c.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Safari.jpg

[jh_on_the_cape]

had both single and double and they were great.
use an REI coupon or something. many happy miles!

Chariot (now Thule) has been great for us. Have a single (cx) and a double.

[jimcav]

it was the coolest thing, I could see my son. Sold it before we moved to Washington (where son #2 was born) and I missed it--they stopped making it so it is the luck of craigslist

[p nut]

Now, we need a new bike for my wife. She is 5'5 and will use it for the Weehoo and occasional city riding. What would you recommend? MTB? Cross? Hybrid?

Also, would it be safe (and advisable) to attach the Weehoo to my all ti coupled Seven road bike? It has a Thompson Masterpiece seatpost, so I'm thinking at a min, I should get a sturdier one.

Will rim brakes be enough? Our son is just 35 lbs now and the Weehoo adds about 28 I think. I'm just 156.

Thanks all.

What's your budget? For cheap, any old MTB will work.

http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/5506731343.html

Rim brakes, as long as they're functioning right, will be fine. I pulled around my kids (total ~60lbs combined weight) on CR720 canti brakes and road levers with no issues.

[benb]

Depends what you do but you want a bike you can put the power down if there are any hills at all!

We love our Burley Solo and we are looking forward to getting a Weehoo this summer or next summer.

The recall on the Burley was mostly for user error. I love the new part they sent out though as it makes it faster to switch the trailer between running stroller and bike usage.

[cderalow]

we bought our burley cub from REI a couple years ago.

None of them are super comfy. We liked the cub because it's got a hard plastic bottom. Weighs more, but is more versatile, keeps the kids drier in the rain and seemed a lot more durable than the other cloth bottomed versions.

I feel like they've upped the price since we bought ours since I recall it being around $400 but Burley says its $700 now.

if i recall correctly it had the largest seating width and leg room at the time.

I've towed my brood around in it frequently, and have used it around the mall with the stroller kit quite a bit.

[binouye]

Will rim brakes be enough? Our son is just 35 lbs now and the Weehoo adds about 28 I think. I'm just 156.

Thanks all.

Congrats on the Weehoo, they're fun. My wife pulled it behind her MTB with V-brakes, had plenty of stopping power. I pulled it behind bikes with discs and with rim brakes. Both worked fine. Just don't lock up your rear brake while going around a sharp corner, or else the Weehoo can push the rear wheel out into a slide.

And +1 on the sunglasses. Kid in a Weehoo is directly in line of fire for mud tossed up from the rear wheel. We once had a ride where we got in the rain on a dirt road -- thankfully kid stayed cheerful and saw the humor in getting totally splattered with mud. Glasses kept the mud out of her eyes.