question for those with 2+ kids

[vqdriver]

i'm expecting my second child in may and went trailer shopping with my wife over the weekend. i've been hauling my 2yo in a chariot single trailer but was wondering how ponderous it is with a double. the sales rep said that the double 'feels' much wider with a significant increase in drag over the single.

of course, i won't be racing with it, but i do like to go out for an hour or two on the weekends to get some saddle time.

[Mikej]

He is telling you single 'cuz they got a ton of them, or 'cuz he knows you'll be back to get a double. Check craigslist for burley delites - I saw a brand new one for 225.

[93legendti]

I have only had the double Burley. It feels wide, but not too wide. I can fit thru the narrow openings on our trails. My longest ride with the trailer is 1:45. It's not ponderous for me.

[happycampyer]

+1,000

I used a 2-seater Burley Cub for years to pull my two kid in with no problem. Yes, it is a little wider than a 1-seat trailer, and it obviously weighs more with two kids in it, but so what? In either case you need to be careful where you ride--away from traffic, no giant hills, etc. My favorite rides were on rail trails. One child can sit in the center, btw, so even if you got it now, you would get plenty of use out of it for several years to come.

Burley makes first-rate products. I've moved on to Burley Piccolos, which are fantastic trail-a-bikes. Still have the Cub in the garage. Maybe I'll post it in the classifieds.

[Dekonick]

I have a chariot knock off - made by chariot! Anyway - 2 kids is more work, but who cares? It is fun.

Had the chariot single and LOVED it - sold it here. :)

[93legendti]

Last summer I often took my son for rides during his nap time. He would fall asleep 10 minutes into the ride. There is nothing like getting a ride in and getting your toddler to nap at the same time.

[billrick]

We're expecting our second in June, and I've also been eyeballing the Burley 2 seater. Everything I've read points to the Burley as the best double for the dollar. I'm currently using the Chariot Sidecar so I'm not worried about the width. I ride primarily on the C&O Canal tow path, so flat and bumpy is the name of the game.

:)

[MRB]

I used a Burley D'lite for years, and it pulled fine. We found ours used for about $225 and will be selling it for about $200 pretty soon. They pull fine. They are "offset" to the left (non drive side) of center, which keeps them off the curb, but takes some care when going between two posts, like fence gates.

[Mshue]

The biggest limiting factor for me is not the drag or extra wide feeling, it's that my kids weren't really interested in sitting in the trailer for two hours (although strategically timed stops at the park and/or Dairy Queen certainly help). Frankly, it's easier to get up super early and get my miles in before they're awake. But the Burley's nice for casual family bike rides. YMMV.

[csm]

I had the trek deluxe or something. it was big enough for 2 kids and I enjoyed pulling it. it was great for slower-type rides but I did pull it with my legend as well as mountain bikes.

[L84dinr]

The biggest limiting factor for me is not the drag or extra wide feeling, it's that my kids weren't really interested in sitting in the trailer for two hours (although strategically timed stops at the park and/or Dairy Queen certainly help). Frankly, it's easier to get up super early and get my miles in before they're awake. But the Burley's nice for casual family bike rides. YMMV.
Figure out a way to operate a generator with enough power and throw a dvd player in there for the childrens to watch Sponge bob ;>) The childrens get Bored!
If you are camping and trying to get from one spot to another with in a park the doubles work great though.

[Clydesdale]

I love cyclists...

Makes me smile that in trying to find a way to haul two small human beings behind a bicycle, some salesman is out there talking about drag! It's also going to feel twice as heavy. :)

Enjoy having two little ones, it's more than twice the work of one and any way you can find to be with them AND ride is worth trying. We put many miles on a kid trailer before they started figuring out how to escape. Blessings on the delivery.

[konstantkarma]

There have been many posts on the benefits of trailers with kids. I have a Burley D-light, and it works great for 2 small kids. It is a very well made and thought out piece of equipment. The frame is sort of like a tubular aluminum roll cage. It looks really solid. It is obviously heavier with 2, but on a flatter ride it isn't really that noticeable once you get the momentum headed forward. The offset isn't too big a problem, once you are aware of it.

Here's a pic of my boys sharing the ride..

Burley (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=56945)

[maversa]

I switched from a Chariot Cougar single to a Cougar double when my 2nd son was born. I ride for up to 2 hours at a time with both boys in the trailer, and the only real difference I notice it the weight when we start rolling. The extra width isn't really a problem. We ride mostly on bike paths and on an ocean boardwalk. They have a blast back there, and I get a great workout in.

For what its worth, I got what I paid for the the single on Ebay a while back.

Mike

[vqdriver]

I love cyclists...

Makes me smile that in trying to find a way to haul two small human beings behind a bicycle, some salesman is out there talking about drag! It's also going to feel twice as heavy. :)

Enjoy having two little ones, it's more than twice the work of one and any way you can find to be with them AND ride is worth trying. We put many miles on a kid trailer before they started figuring out how to escape. Blessings on the delivery.

thanks for the warm wishes. :D

thanks for all the suggestions. consensus seems to be mostly burley users here. i have chariot conversion kits already, altho i hadn't thought about using it with just one kid in the center. that'd be helpful. also, i neglected to mention that when towing, we go to a popular mixed use loop nearby, so there's not too much auto traffic and a couple short/steep climbs. mostly i'll need to be able to dodge side by side joggers and the random dog.

regardless of drag/weight..... i'll end up towing the kids cuz it's just fun.

[majorpat]

Its all been said here, but let me pile on the Burley bandwagon. Never pulled a single so can't compare, but mine is worth the $ and time. Nothing better than haullin' the circus animals...mine go right to sleep as well. Get it, don't wait!
Pat

[itsalldark]

do yourself a favor and don't buy a new burley, they are junk!! Nothing like the old ones. New units are built over seas and are almost impossible to fold and build quality is a joke. They sold most of there inventory last year to costco because most LBS's would not go near the product!!!!!!! Just say'n

[djg]

We did just fine with a Bell double trailer (that was obviously a Burley knock-off). It worked through three kids, although the youngest (twins) have turned 7 so we've retired it. I've seen a few bad designs out there -- and plastic wheels seem like a disqualifying feature on some budget models -- but really, most of the trailers I've seen seem fine. All of them, loaded with two kids, will change your riding, but so what? You mellow out and take turns easy, and you gear down (and modify your expectations) climbing.

[Michael Maddox]

Another +1 on the Burley D'Lite.

If you get the stroller wheel, it's great as a large stroller, too. We use ours for SeaWorld and other family outings requiring lots of walking, where a small child is going to be just worn out. It carries a lot of stuff, and it's a MUCH better push than most strollers, even jogging strollers.

[rugbysecondrow]

The biggest limiting factor for me is not the drag or extra wide feeling, it's that my kids weren't really interested in sitting in the trailer for two hours (although strategically timed stops at the park and/or Dairy Queen certainly help). Frankly, it's easier to get up super early and get my miles in before they're awake. But the Burley's nice for casual family bike rides. YMMV.

I have been thinking about this as well since my wife is pregnant with our second, who is due in September. I have an IBERT (http://www.ibertinc.com/) now that my 2.5 year old loves, but this was after trying an InStep trailer. The trailer actually worked well enough, but she never really liked being back there and didn't enjoy the ride so much. In 2010, when I have two to lug around, then, maybe I will give the recomended Burley a shot.

Question though, do you all use helmets for your kids in the trailer? I did and the helment actually pushed her head forward. Does anybody else have this problem, or is it more unique to the InStep model I had?

Thanks and Congrats!

Paul

[93legendti]

...Question though, do you all use helmets for your kids in the trailer? I did and the helment actually pushed her head forward. Does anybody else have this problem, or is it more unique to the InStep model I had?

Thanks and Congrats!

Paul
I had the same issue wih our Burley. I called the local Police and they had no idea if helmets are required with the Burley, so we do not use them. Anyway, my kids would not ride in the Burley with helmets, since the helmets push down over their faces.

FWIW, the Burley is guarenteed not to tip. With the roll bar and harness system a helmet is not "needed".

[dogdriver]

Get the double Chariot, keep the single-- you'll be able to use all of the bits you have for the single (jogger wheels, etc) and there will be times you'll be taking only one of the small humans with you.

Enjoy! Now you're pulling your own cheering section.

Cheers, Chris

[konstantkarma]

I had the same issue wih our Burley. I called the local Police and they had no idea if helmets are required with the Burley, so we do not use them. Anyway, my kids would not ride in the Burley with helmets, since the helmets push down over their faces.

FWIW, the Burley is guarenteed not to tip. With the roll bar and harness system a helmet is not "needed".

No helmets on our boys in the Burley either. It still bugs me but I have not been able to find a way for them to be comfortable and wear a helmet. The helmet presses against the mesh seat back, and pushes it down on their little heads. There is supposed to be an adjustment for this on the seat back, but the kids slide down a bit in the harness (which is a very safe 3-point, BTW). Since we are only riding with it on a gravel rails-to-trails MUT, and it has a pretty stout aluminum roll-cage, I am not too worried about it.

[CaptStash]

Used to have a Burley Delite. Never did have the second kid. We got a lot of use out of the Burley. Great piece of equipment now in the hands of friends who are getting even more use out of it.

Best Burley memory was climbing up a local hill on my hybrid with my 3 year old in the trailer "Faster daddy faster! What's wrong daddy, I want to go faster!!!"

CaptStash....

[konstantkarma]

My 2.5 year old says that to me when I'm driving our "fast car"! That is, the car that is not mommy's mini-van. Must resist the peer pressure!

Used to have a Burley Delite. Never did have the second kid. We got a lot of use out of the Burley. Great piece of equipment now in the hands of friends who are getting even more use out of it.

Best Burley memory was climbing up a local hill on my hybrid with my 3 year old in the trailer "Faster daddy faster! What's wrong daddy, I want to go faster!!!"

CaptStash....

[csm]

no helmet here with the Trek trailer either. just couldn't get one to work.

[maversa]

No helmets with the Cougar double, but it is next to impossible to tip the trailer over.

My kids love to give me a hard time about going faster when we climb. They love it when we fly down hills.

[gregclimbs]

No helmets on our boys in the Burley either. It still bugs me but I have not been able to find a way for them to be comfortable and wear a helmet. The helmet presses against the mesh seat back, and pushes it down on their little heads.

This is where IMHO the chariot is better... The seatback stops at shoulder height and MY boys wear helmets in the trailer.

I pull a 3yo (4 next week) and 5.5yo in it regularly. I pick them up from school in it 3-5 days a week in the good weather.

There are no easy trailer workouts. Period.

g

[Bradford]

We always use the helmet with our Chariot single. When he was smaller it pushed forward, but it works just fine now.

We also have him wear a helmet on his tricycle. My thinking is that the sooner he gets use to helmets the more normal it will seem.

He likes his helmet and is really excited to go shopping this weekend to buy a new one.

[Polyglot]

Buying a good trailer like the Burley Delite ends up being very inexpensive as they sell very easily as used items. I got mine before I even had kids, then used it for both of mine. It has very little drag once you get up to speed. I now ride with my daughters on a triplet and there isn't much difference between the triplet and the bike with a trailer.

Another item that has not been mentioned is that many trailers now come with conversion kits to allow them to be used as strollers. This in itself was worth the purchase price of the Burley to me. It was the smoothest stroller that you could ever imagine. We always used it when we went to the zoo or the beach as we could load up the 2 kids plus picnic gear and extra clothes...

I sold ours after 10 years and got back what I had originally paid wholesale for the trailer.

[93legendti]

My daughter loved to tease me by yelling "Daddy sit down!, when I stood to climb. I would quote her by saying "no say that!" Sometimes, I would stand just to tease her...a daddy-daughter thing, I think

[billrick]

We always use the helmet with our Chariot single. When he was smaller it pushed forward, but it works just fine now.


That was our experience with the Chariot sidecar. The helmet pushed his head forward when he was 18 mos and younger. Now that he is 2 yo and 30 lbs, the helmet is fine. Chariot seems to be good about providing headroom.

Not bike related, but yesterday my 2 yo came running out of my office with my 3 wt small creek fly rod and yelled, "FISH!" I haven't taken him out on the water yet, so I don't know where he got it, but my heart just about busted open with joy!

:banana: