Cycling & bikes - Which trailer-bike?

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Which trailer-bike?

For my 6 mile commute, my 5-year-old daughter is towed behind me in a
trailer. I'm considering the purchase of a trailer-bike for this trip.
I might also attach it to the MTB for use on easier trails around here
on occasion. My 9-year-old rides his own bike on this commute.

There are three bike shops in my town. The Giant dealer has the Giant
Halfcycle for $185. The Trek dealer has the Trek Mt Train 201 for $169.
The 3rd dealer has the Adams Trail-A-Bike for $135. These are all for
the low-end, single-speed models. I think the Adams is the only one
that's steel; the others I think are Al.

Are these all basically equivalent? Is the Giant significantly better
than the Adams?

Also, is single-speed okay? or should I consider the multi-speed models
that are available? I'm not too worried about gears for my commute, but
I'm thinking about the potential MTB aspect.

Also, does anybody know if trailer-bikes fit on the fold-down bike
racks on the front of many city buses?
Thanks for any thoughts on this.

RFM

RFM wrote:
For my 6 mile commute, my 5-year-old daughter is towed behind me in a
trailer. I'm considering the purchase of a trailer-bike for this trip.
I might also attach it to the MTB for use on easier trails around here
on occasion. My 9-year-old rides his own bike on this commute.

There are three bike shops in my town. The Giant dealer has the Giant
Halfcycle for $185. The Trek dealer has the Trek Mt Train 201 for $169.
The 3rd dealer has the Adams Trail-A-Bike for $135. These are all for
the low-end, single-speed models. I think the Adams is the only one
that's steel; the others I think are Al.

Are these all basically equivalent? Is the Giant significantly better
than the Adams?

Suggest you try them out. Each would have a different hitch
configuration. I know that TAB sells spare hitches for mounting on
another bike.

Also, is single-speed okay? or should I consider the multi-speed models
that are available? I'm not too worried about gears for my commute, but
I'm thinking about the potential MTB aspect.

When I got one, it was the folding 5-speed model, and the subject
user learned a lot about gearing before even being able to ride.

Also, does anybody know if trailer-bikes fit on the fold-down bike
racks on the front of many city buses?

Those racks are just a wheel track and a support bar. I would think
you'd have to unhitch the TAB, load your bike and the extra, and
secure the TAB somehow besides using the latching mechanism. (Remember
toe straps? Ideal for this purpose.)
Note that bus racks only hold two bikes, so if your son comes along
someone would have to catch a subsequent bus. -OR- get a folding TAB
and bring it on board. (When the buses in SE Mich finally got racked,
I was talking with a driver. "What if you get three cyclists?"
"Someone would have to bring their bike on board.")

Google for TAB and its other names (trailer cycle) in this group.
Many posts.

HTH
--Karen M.

I have the Trek with the 24" wheel and no gears. My daughter and I used it
like crazy and it was great. The folding feature was much more important than
I thought it would be. I was the only one that that towed her so having the
seat post attachment on my bike was no problem. Something silly like having
her own little water bottle holder on the frame was a big deal for her.
Whatever you do, GET ONE OF THEM AND USE IT. It was the best thing I did for
getting her out on the bike with the family and getting some exercise.

wrote in message
ps.com...
For my 6 mile commute, my 5-year-old daughter is towed behind me in a
trailer. I'm considering the purchase of a trailer-bike for this trip.
I might also attach it to the MTB for use on easier trails around here
on occasion. My 9-year-old rides his own bike on this commute.

There are three bike shops in my town. The Giant dealer has the Giant
Halfcycle for $185. The Trek dealer has the Trek Mt Train 201 for $169.
The 3rd dealer has the Adams Trail-A-Bike for $135. These are all for
the low-end, single-speed models. I think the Adams is the only one
that's steel; the others I think are Al.

I pulled my daughter (now 11) for 5 years (4.5 - 9.5). We did a *lot* of
mountain biking, but a fair amount of road riding, too.

Are these all basically equivalent? Is the Giant significantly better
than the Adams?

I can't speak about the others, but I had pretty good luck with the Adams.
I looked at the Burley Piccolo, but didn't like the rack-hitch because: 1)
I wanted to have multiple hitches and 2) I didn't want to leave the funky
rack on my MTB when out riding with my buds.

I *really* beat on the Adams. We frequently went on very technical trails
(ski slopes, etc.), the chainguard and pedals got pretty abused-looking. We
eventually wore a fairly substantial tire down to the cords. The hitch on
the Adams got a bit floppy, I didn't worry about, as, over time, I came to
see it as an advantage. All hitches seem to have some slop, with a lot of
slop, the trailer-bike would list to one side, which didn't really affect
handling but prevented most side-to-side flopping. My daughter became quite
adept at keeping it loaded to one side.

I had the 5-speed model. It held up well, the wheel stayed true, I thought
it was pretty light and well made. BTW, trailer-bikes have terrific resale
value. As my daughter got older (she was tall for her age) many people
asked me if I was interested in selling (she refused to allow me to sell
it, so it still hangs in the gargage).

Also, is single-speed okay? or should I consider the multi-speed models
that are available? I'm not too worried about gears for my commute, but
I'm thinking about the potential MTB aspect.

Low gears are definitely a big help on the trails. A couple of problems: 1)
the rather low-end components used plus the short chainstays yielded rather
crappy shifting 2) grokking shifting is a lot to ask many kids that age --
at least it was for mine. I would just shift it into a low gear in hilly
sections myself, and leave it there -- that worked much better.

BTW, the 5 years on the trailer-bike make her a very strong and
enthusiastic cyclist. At 11 she has great power, balance, and bike handling
skills. She did a 20 mile road ride this morning (in a 45 degree rain), and
wants to race (MTB) next spring.

"Karen M." wrote:

Note that bus racks only hold two bikes, so if your son comes along
someone would have to catch a subsequent bus. -OR- get a folding TAB
and bring it on board. (When the buses in SE Mich finally got racked,
I was talking with a driver. "What if you get three cyclists?"
"Someone would have to bring their bike on board.")

That's a nice attitude. Here in Portland, the answer is "They have
to catch a later bus."

--

-TTFN

-Steven

you may wish to consider the trail-gator

http://www.trail-gator.com/

--
vlad

Thanks for all of the great responses and encouragement. I'll make a
circuit of all of the LBS's with my daughter and try them out.

When I ride the bus, I'll probably end up bringing it on the bus with
me. They rarely have more than a very few riders when I ride and
there's plenty of space. Officially, if the rack is full, bicyclists
are supposed to wait for the next bus, but I'll just pretend I don't
understand Spanish if the driver tells me not to bring the bike on
board.

RFM

RFM wrote:
Thanks for all of the great responses and encouragement. I'll make a
circuit of all of the LBS's with my daughter and try them out.

When I ride the bus, I'll probably end up bringing it on the bus with
me. They rarely have more than a very few riders when I ride and
there's plenty of space. Officially, if the rack is full, bicyclists
are supposed to wait for the next bus, but I'll just pretend I don't
understand Spanish if the driver tells me not to bring the bike on
board.

Have DD practice the pathetically sad eyes-well-up-on-cue thing, as well. :D

--Karen M.