More on Bike Trailers

independence_with_lex

Had some follow up questions on my Endurance Corner Article – Active Parents.

What’s the best trailer?

I use a double trailer as it lets me cram two preschoolers inside for a trip to school.

Double Trailer

When I’m going on a longer ride, I take one kid at a time and can fit in everything I need to keep her comfortable.

Independence

 

On my longest trailer ride (5 hrs total time), we climbed to 12,000 ft and she had lunch, blanket, iPad, pillow and headphones in with her. In the end, she ate a snack, played a little music on speaker and enjoyed the view.

Any tips to get started?

  • Keep it short – I started with 20 minutes and have found that under an hour is best
  • Keep it fun
  • Always be willing to stop – they settle eventually
  • Remember your passengers are in the shade and not riding – lots of clothing and blankets
  • If you are a keen cyclist then the high-end trailers are well worth the money

What bike is best?

I use a full suspension 29er mountain bike.

I have a triple front chain ring and a ton of gears.

Without the trailer, I can get up most everything in Colorado with my middle chain ring. So the smallest ring is for climbing steep stuff with the trailer and when I’m above tree line.

Don’t use a high-end road bike with thin walled tubes – there is additional torque that runs through the system that can ruin your frame.

If you’re doing a long mountain descent then the disc brakes are essential to control speed and avoid overheating the braking system.

I’m mainly on pavement but we will do some hard packed dirt occasionally.

+++

Overall, the trailer is an excellent workout. I can blast myself with a 30-45 minute climb and be home in under an hour.