Picking a trailer

Bicycle Trailers will help make your life easier whether you're using it for work or for pleasure. There are bike trailers for all most every type of riding activity. Some of them will convert into another useful tool such as from bike trailer to a baby jogger or stroller. They offer bicycle trailers for touring, grocery shopping, picking up the kids from school and even transporting the family pet.

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Safety

A good bike trailer is built with safety in mind. A great feature is the roll bar. It is designed to protect the precious cargo inside in the event of a rollover. It also helps strengthen the overall integrity of the trailer. Look for the bicycle safety approval by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and the EN15918 Standards for Europe.

Ease of use

As mentioned above some bicycle trailers can convert into a stroller or jogger. This is very useful, say you pick up the kids in the trailer during the week from school and then go to the farmers markets or hiking on a local trial on the weekend. Here are some great conveniences offered:

  • Five point harnesses with padding
  • Removable and washable seat pads
  • Reclining seats
  • Adjustable sun shade
  • UV protection for windows
  • Trailer parking brake
  • Foldability for storage
  • Two seats

The different types of trailers

Cargo bicycle trailers can handle up to 100 lbs and will have tie down hooks. They can have divider compartments for large and smaller items. A tailgate is available for easy loading.

Commuter trailers are lighter and offer different styles of bags to grocery shop or load luggage and briefcases.

Pet trailers offer removable floors for cleaning, mesh zip windows and tailgate for loading.

  • Cargo - groceries or luggage
  • Commute - Most can carry to to 100 lbs.
  • Pet - removable floors and zip mesh windows.

Recommendations

For most of us who want a product to get the job done well and looking good doing it. I recommend Burley Trailers. Top notch and light weight. Ideal for daily errands from grocery shopping to having the kids tag along. Some of their product fold up for storing in the garage.

For those of you who want a work mule that can haul mountains and not complain about doing it, Surly has a few trailer sizes for you. They are known for quality craftsmanship. They Specialize in building bike frames and complete bikes. So building a trailer that can handle awkward sized weight and still be able to be stable is their expertise.

If you’re just not sure that towing a trailer is for you, maybe you should check out a bike that has an extended rear end. Still a one piece bike but its rear end has been lengthened to accommodate large cargo bags or passengers.

Thats what I thought, very cool! Surly has one they call the Big Dummy. This guy can handle up to 200 pounds. It almost doubles the capacity of some of the tow behind trailers. Remarkably it still rides like a bike. I have had the pleasure of riding one.