LBH

This is my first time posting on here, so please forgive me if I post something incorrectly.

Anyway, I am looking to purchase a trailer bike for my 4 1/2 year old son who is on the larger size for his age. I am looking at the Trek Mountain Train 206 or the Giant Halfwheeler 7. (I realize he is too young for the gears right now, but don't want to have to upgrade in a year.)

I rented the Trek single speed version this past weekend and we biked 15 miles on a smooth paved trail and he did not complain at all. So I know the Trek version fits him well and I have no complaints about the Trek from that day except the weight.

When I researched online, I saw that the Giant version was more lightweight. However, I have not been able to find a place to rent one and in order to purchase, it has to be ordered. So, I am unable to try it out to see if it fits my son well and also to test out how the different hinge system works and feels on rides.

Does anyone have any input on which trailer bike would be best? Which hinge system would be better? (The Trek fit snugly at the hinge and the Giant seems to be a freer moving hinge...unsure which is best or how this translates to the feel and stability of the ride). Also, is the alloy Giant just as "strong and stable" as the steel framed Trek when it comes to the kids trailer bike?

Any input or help on this would be greatly appreciated in order to make my decision on which version to order. Thanks.

irclean

I vote for the Adams Trail-a-Bike. It comes in a number of different versions; steel or alloy, geared or single-speed, 20" or 24", and there's even a tandem.

https://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/trail-a-bikes/

The hinge system is better than most others I've seen, and the TAB is easy to switch between my and my wife's bikes after buying a second hitch. We bought the Original Compact with the optional backrest and I am very impressed with the bike so far. Our son loves it!

masiman

Adams, Giant and Trek hitches seem to be about the same to me. There are other cheaper versions out there (names escape me now) but their hitches have been problematic. Adams is the only one I know of that had/has a tandem TAB. I am not sure if the backrest is a universal option or Adams specific. Folding TABs can be nice for transport and storage.

The real separation for TABs is between Burley and the others. The Burley hitch is the best by far. The others mostly work but can require some jiggering to get them where you want them.

I can go either way on gears. Mostly when they are ready to use them they are ready to be on their own bikes. I am glad we have the gears but we do have to call out to them to shift higher or lower.

LBH

Thanks for your information and input. I am still researching and looking around. Hope to make a decision soon so we can get it ordered and start riding! To masiman, I have read that Burley is the best, but from what I have heard, I just don't think I want that hitch on my bike all of the time when I am riding alone. Still unsure. Thanks also for your input on the gears. My thought was that if the gears were there, it would be a good opportunity to begin teaching him how to use them, etc. Not sure if that would be the case, but that was my thought process.

Thanks again! I am looking forward to making my decision and getting it ordered!

masiman

If you can rent or borrow one of the models you are thinking about it may help you decide between the seatpost hitch style and the Burley. I now remember that it was a Kent we had. It was a donation so it was worn. I could not get it to work and further donated it. I imagine it is in a trash heap somewhere. That was the low end and used. There are a number of posts here requesting help to adjust the seatpost hitches. I'm pretty sure there are more who are happy with them than not happy. I imagine a good shop near you would let you test ride with one. I don't know if any dealers are stocking the Burley.

Best of luck with choosing. Get it soon, summer is already ticking away.