padfoot11

Hi,

Can you guys give recommendations on how to ride with my children? I have to children aged 4 and 2. I have two bikes as well, an orbea mx30 and the other one is dahon folding bike.

Would you suggest to go for a double child trailer? Which trailers are best?

Another option that I was thinking was to buy a child seat for each of my bikes. What child seats do you recommend for the orbea mx30 and dahon folding bike?


Thank you in advance for those who will respond.

nenovster

Hi,

Mine are 5 and 7. When they were 2 and 4, we had the Schwinn Trailblazer double trailer. A bonus for the trailer is that it has loads of storage - we used to bring water, snacks, jackets, wipes, music, etc. After my little one turned 4 (and the older one was riding on her own), we switched her to a Schwinn Runabout Bicycle Trailer. Not specific affinity to Schwinn - that's just what I had found on CL that fit the bill at the time. Very happy with both purchases.

As to best trailer, that would depend on your needs - there's cheep, fast, light, durable, portable, go-anywhere, etc. - what are your priorities?

When they were babies, they had the iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat that's mounted on the steering column - they enjoyed it but outgrew fast. I was never a fan of the rear mounted seats because of the "view" the clid gets .

Good luck!

Chuck M 

If you can find a good double trailer on CL or facebook marketplace at a good price, pick it up. Ten years ago I bought one for $25 that the original owner's kids outgrew. I used it for three grandkids and when they outgrew it I donated it to someone that posted on social media they had a need. The guy turned out to be a meth head and sold it on facebook marketplace the next week for $40 so they hold their value as well as a john boat.

NRissy

Hey, I am a couple of years ahead of you! One thing you might want to think about is getting a beater bike for you and the kids. Mine is a old trek 3700 MTB I picked up for $75. I never liked trying to load a kid on a bike while trying to keep it from tipping over so I went with a cheap Schwinn double trailer I got used. When it broke I replaced it with a nice single trailer (now I am getting a cheap double trailer given to me by a friend who no longer uses it). You can always find something used on craigslist or FaceBook market place and then upgrade to something nicer later.

When my son turned 4, I purchased a wee-ride co-pilot hooked the trailer we had behind it so his younger brother 18 months could come along.



I used that rig for about 18 months. Then I realized my 5 year old was frustrated with the single gear. If I was going faster that about 12 miles an hour he was spinning. Going up big hills was too hard on his little legs. So, I purchased a tandem and got a stoker kit:




This coming summer the three- year old will use the wee-ride co-pilot and summer of 2023 youngest brother will be in the trailer.
By the time my middle son is old enough for the tandem; I hope older brother can keep up on a bike by himself!

Good luck!

Russ Roth

Spend the money on a decent one and he'll be able to. Used a trail-a-bike with my youngest like you have there with a trailer behind on occasion, sometimes the wife pulled the trailer and I pulled the trail-a-bike since she always felt unstable on it. Once the oldest was almost 7 I modified a raleigh rx24 to fit her, tossed on 20" wheels and cut the cranks to a better length, and she had no trouble keeping up. By the time the middle kid was 6 he was fitting a 20" and we managed to score a redline conquest 20, and the youngest was on the trail-a-bike only. Also modified that down to a 16" wheel with shorter cranks to fit him since the youngest is small and wasn't 4 yet. Later tossed a 5sp freewheel on and a 5sp shifter and just ziptied the housing to the frame.
By this time the rx24 was up to its original 540iso 24" tires, the middle was on a diamondback podium 24. Although I had to ride slow, even pulling the trail-a-bike, the other kids still kept the rides fun and were fine going 10-12 miles and even did a tour involving 30-40mile days.
Now the eldest is 11 and getting a 12sp cross bike with 700c wheels and being invited to training camps, the middle kid is moving onto her 43cm, 650c wheel road bike and old 24" raleigh for cross, and the youngest will finally fit the redline conquest 20 this year. Another couple years and it'll be a question of if I can keep up with them.

NRissy

I picked up a specialized 24 in 1x9 for free from somebody because the back tire had been destroyed. I hope by the time my middle child is on the tandem my son can use that bike.

I really need to find a nice used 16in bike. I have a friend lined up with a nice 20 in bike; but his son is still using it and my 6 year old is too short to safely use it.

With three boys I am going to buy nice bikes that will last through all three instead of buying a department store bike for each of them.

Trav1s

I used a Co-pilot behind my Cannondale Quick 1 for some time and suspect she got frustrated by how hard it was to pedal compared to her Trek Pre-Caliber. We used it a fair amount which I think helped with balance but she liked to let me do all the pedaling. Plus that thing was HEAVY. I like the idea of an old MTB for trailer work and they can be purchased and rebuilt very reasonably.


My daughter rode the wheels off of her 16" Trek Precaliber and cannot say enough good things about that bike. (I'd watch FB marketplace for one or and equivalent and save some money.) She rode it for two years and outgrew it at age 6. Upgraded to a 20" Specialized Hotrock 6 spd I found on FB marketplace. I scored a gently used $350 bike for $80. Made some adjustments, upgraded some tires, and she is on her way.

fooferdoggie 

we have the weehoo on our tandem. but its the older one and does not have as much curve on the main bar so I would've to take off my wife's suspension seat spot for a regular one to use it to get it high enough. but with my wife shoulder replacement the roughness without it makes her shoulder really sore.. Plus I could not use bags because it would rub the rack. I saw this on another fellows tandem and made my own. I need to put a shorter pipe on I was not sure how it would work til lI built it at my shop and brought it home. the only thing I goofed up on Is the bottom plate needed two rounded corers as it hit the lower struts. a shorter pipe and maybe I will paint it black. I wish I could make it removable but I just don't want to work about the clamp system slipping if it moves when I put it back on. I also used silicone adhesive to help lock it in place.

etlo

I love this setup! I am considering setting up something similar to this on my wife's bike. Can you share any additional photos or insight on this approach? Her rack is an Axiom Journey which has a high weight capacity, but my concern is mostly on whether or not the struts can handle the forces pulling back on them/the rack.

fooferdoggie 

its really strong and we have not seen any issues. I bolted it on that clamps the frame and I also used silicone glue to really lock it in place. maybe not use it with heavy kids that exceeds the weight limit of the rack?

etlo

Good to hear! Her rack is supposed to support up to ~100lbs so it should be fine. Burley has a tag-along bike that uses a similar rack mount hitch so I figure if a legal team signed off on the method then it must be reasonable/safe enough, but I have never seen it done with the WeeHoo until I came across your picture!