ChrisM

Hi all,

I'm planning on purchasing a Piccolo to ride with my four year old son. I've heard that they are very stable, but I'm wondering if they are stable enough to pull a Burley d’Lite trailer behind the Piccolo. I'm thinking of using the d’Lite for my 13 month old son when my wife isn't around for a ride or for going grocery shopping, etc. Has anyone tried this? My fear is that it would be unstable or that the trailer would be all over the road. Kind of like a 'crack the whip' effect. I'd rather just get a tandem, with the four-year-old as stoker and put a bike seat on for the 13 month old, but I'm kind of 'storage challenged' at the moment and have no room in my shed for a tandem.

Any thoughts?

masiman

Yes you can do "the train" exactly as described. I have seen it done a few times and have heard comments from many who have seen them. It will be ridable but will understandably require more control from the captain than your single or even a tandem.

You will probably have to take corners a little wider. I know I have to with my tandem and trailer configuration. I will be going for a tandem, trail-a-bike, trailer hookup within a year.

My #1 (7 yrs) is a little more aggressive and will ride solo or on the tandem. #2 (5 yrs) on the other hand hardly rides solo at all, but will fight to ride stoker. That does not bother me because we are all out there having a good time .

Enjoy your hookup and be prepared for a new nickname in your "hood". A neighbor told me that I am now referred to as that guy with the big bike and the trailer.

karmantra

Check this site
https://www.bikefriday.com/main.cfm?f...&Category=News

and scroll down to child attachment bikes and see picture & article.

JerseyBoy

i bought a trailer the moment my daughter turned 1. It is an "inStep" trailer. I didn't know anything about the company, but the trailer looked exactly like the Schwinn and Topeak (both of which would have busted my budget). The instep worked wonderfully well for 3 yrs. She loved it and it freed up my wife and me to shop by bike and do other chores. It was also great on family vacations for long family rides. I highly endorse the use of the trailer. It was remarkably safe and convenient.

ChrisM

Thanks for the input!

Love the link about the train. 500 pounds! I guess this will be a good way to get in shape.

When I used the d'lite in the past with my son when he was younger, his helmet would always get pushed down over his eyes. After readng around this forum, I think I'm ready to give it another try. I think (hope) I just need to adjust the straps a bit.

cierrecart

We have the instep trailer as well, and the same thing happens with my 15 months helmet. I have to have my 4 year old tilt it back for her. Not really a problem as she's usually asleep within 5 minutes of being in the thing anyways.

Helmet Head

I've pulled a Burley trailer with 2 kids in it attached to a Piccolo with my daughter on it, but only for a short distance for fun. Assuming the trailer and Piccolo are each 20 lbs, and the kids average 40 lbs each, that was 160 lbs! And we went up a steep hill.

My concern was whether the rack "hitch" is designed for that much weight. It looks like it can handle it no problem, but I wasn't sure.

jackm

I haven't tried this myself, but I was curious what others thought about the "train" as well, because a few years from now I'll be in the same situation.

I can offer some advice about the helmet slipping down, however. We put a rolled up towel behind our son when we buckle him into the trailer. It pushes his back away from the seat far enough that the helmet only touches slightly and it seems just as secure. We also have a friend with a child helmet that is rounded in the back, as opposed to pointy, and this seems to help quite a bit.

R900

I've got the stuff, but wouldn't try it. I've seen it done, but you are stressing the hitch and that is a lot to control. We ended up with a tandem with child pedals and a Piccolo or trailer (depending on what my son wants to do).

John

ChrisM

What about putting a child seat over the rack that the piccolo attaches to? I haven't seen it up close yet, but it seems like it would be possible to mount a seat above the Moose rack and still have room for the hitch to move back and forth. I wouldn't want to take a chance with jury-rigging something, but it would be cool if Burley made something that fit.

karmantra

You would have to fit the seat quite high above the pivot point of the Piccolo if it could be mounted, raising your center of gravity, and making your bike and the Piccolo unstable. If you took a fall, the child in the child seat could hit the ground at a great impact. Better to think Piccolo & trailer! Don't see Burley coming up with something like that because of the liability issues.

ChrisM

True, true.

What about one of those front mounted child seats? Like this: https://www.ibertinc.com/. They look like they would make handling very difficult. Anyone ever try something like this?

tuolumne

I have ridden hundreds of miles with our Burley train; Duet tandem, Piccolo and D'Lite trailer. It is very stable and braking hard from 25 mph is no problem. The tandem has a rear drum brake which helps on long descents. The child stoker kit provides some extra help. Before the tandem, I pulled the tag-a-long and trailer (3 kids) with a mountain bike and that worked fine too. The tandem is a bit more stable though. The Piccolo is a good choice; far more stable than any of the other seatpost attachments we've tried. Enjoy!

tuolumne

By the way, the twin boys pedalling are 3-1/2 and the two passengers in the trailer are 2 and 4-1/2. They can't get enough of the open air sight seeing.

ChrisM

Our Piccolo came in this week. It really is awesome and totally stable. I haven't tried hooking the trailer to it yet, but I can see where it would work well. I'm planning on getting another Moose rack for my wife's bike so that either of us can use it. I'm wondering though if anyone knows of a child seat that can attach to the Moose rack. We have one from Kettler that works great, but it won't work with the Moose rack in place. The ideal setup would be if we could attach a rack to each bike and be able to use either the piccolo or a child seat with either. It seems like every seat I've seen comes with it's own rack, so I'm guessing that they each require the rack from their manufacturer. I'm going to check with my LBS to see if they have any that fit, but I was wondering if any of you had any thoughts.

tuolumne

Try one of the front mount bike seats shown here https://www.kidzproducts.com/ I've never used one, but it allows a tag-along to be used simutaneously.

ThomCat

I have a Bob Yak and a BoB Coz, and had planned on putting BoB Nutz on the Piccolo after it arrives. Anyone have that setup as a train? I'd be using it with my commuter single and my tandem, depending on who's going along, and wouldn't be putting more than about 30 pounds in the trailer - small grocery trip.

Thanks!!

pathdoc

Just got the Piccolo about 2 weeks ago. This thing rocks. Great performance, no issues and I already added a rear fender for rainy day use. My 7 year old daughter loves riding with me. This has really allowed me and my daughter to spend more time together. The rack mounted without any problems and the mechanism which attaches the Piccolo is easy and quick. Overall this is one very nice trailer bike.

smiles29

Yes, you can. It is easier with 2 pulling.