Choosing Your Baby's Travel System Has Never Been This EASY
The Travel Gear You've Been Looking For
We've put together the best of the best travel gear just for you! You'll absolutely LOVE these for your car and all your travels!
In This Article
9 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Bicycle Trailer
- Do you need a single trailer or double trailer?
- Do you want to use the trailer for more than just biking?
- What’s your budget?
- What kind of terrain will you be riding on?
- How much storage space do you need?
- Do you plan to ride in inclement weather?
- Are you going to be riding up hills?
- How old is your child or baby?
- Do you need the trailer to fold small for storage or transport?
Great Bike Trailers Features
Comfortable Seats
The seat quality of bicycle trailers varies a lot. Some have a hard bench with a few straps. Others are well-cushioned and have 5-point harnesses. The more often you ride, or the longer you ride, the more critical is having comfortable seats.
Quality Wheels
Wheels make a trailer roll smoothly, and yet, they’re the most-overlooked feature when people are buying a bicycle trailer. Look for a bike trailer with 20″ wheels and metal rims and spokes.
Simply put…
If you go for cheaper, inferior trailers with 16″ wheels and plastic rims/spokes, they won’t roll nearly as smoothly. “Budget” trailers have 16″ wheels, a trade-off you’ll have to make at the lower price points.
Good Brakes
Most of these have foot-operated brakes to help keep your trailer in place while it’s parked. Some multi-sport trailers also have a handbrake when strolling or jogging. This is nice for heavy loads and rolling up hills. That being said, a hand brake can be a pain to install, and it adds other complexities.
Accessories & Spare Parts
If you’re planning on using your travel system or baby travel gear often, consider buying from a well-known brand when it comes to offering excellent customer service and lots of accessories and spare parts to choose from.
Let me tell you something.
Thule and Burley are the two best brands at doing just that. Both have loads of accessories (including infant slings and multi-sport kits) and spare parts (including extra hitches to use the trailer with other bikes).
Bike Compatibility
Unlike a bike seat, trailers tend to be entirely compatible with bicycles like mountain bikes, road bikes, commuter bikes, and even fat bikes. The one thing to be careful of is that most trailers attach to your bike’s rear axle. So, they’ll work with just about any bike that has a quick-release skewer (like bikes with disc brakes, for example).
Now:
Bikes with a standard quick-release to mount the trailer hitch on and bikes that have adapters from the Robert Axle Project won’t work on bikes with a thru-axle. If your bike has a thru-axle on your rear wheel, you’ll need to choose a brand with a thru-axle adapter (as Burley and Thule both do), or you’ll need to buy an adapter from The Robert Axle Project.
Weight Capacity
Bike trailers vary significantly in terms of how the weight they can handle. Cheaper trailers can only hold about 40 pounds, but higher-end trailers can take about 100 pounds. If you’re planning on carrying more than one child or lots of gear (like groceries), then pay careful attention to this aspect before you buy a travel system or travel gear for your baby.
Is a Trailer or Travel System the Best Option for My Family?
For parents who want to cycle with their young children, the first option is a bike trailer. Trailers are undoubtedly the most popular way to cycle with young kids and babies – and we can see why. Bicycle trailers and some travel systems can carry multiple kids, gear, and even your kid’s bikes.
Trailers VS Bike Seats
Compared to child bike seats, trailers tend to be safer. Good-quality trailers are roll-cages that protect your child from a crash or a tip-over. On the other hand, with a bike seat, if the parent crashes, the child will crash too.
Let me tell you…
Some people still like bike seats more than a trailer, especially a front-mounted bike seat, for example. Some people use both. This is because a bike seat puts your child close to you so you can talk to them and interact with them easily.
Trailer Age Range
Trailers are best for young kids. If you’re comfortable with it, you can buckle a car seat into your trailer. For parents who have multiple young children, a trailer is often the best option to put two kids in there.
But slightly older kids find it boring. If your child is three or older, a trailer-cycle is better, where they’re able to pedal with you.
Travel System Age
From the get-go, you’ll need one – right at birth. That’s if you’re planning to use your car to transport your new baby home. Research travel systems before your baby arrive and have one ready to go before you deliver so that you’re prepared.
Around 6 – 9 months, your baby will sit up and will want a better view of the world. Then use the full-size stroller on its own. Simply put, it’s the only stroller you’ll need to purchase as it grows with your baby.
5 Bike Trailer Pros
- Can convert to jogging strollers
- Affordable
- It can take more than one child
- Can take gear plus a child
- Safe when tipping over or in a crash
4 Bike Trailer Cons
- More expensive than a bike seat
- Low parent-child interaction
- Low child engagement (no pedaling, etc.)
- Heavy
So, we’ve put together all the best travel systems and travel gear for your baby so that you don’t have to do the hard work of researching, stressing, and obsessing over the tons of available options!
Popular Questions
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Which Travel Gear Is the Best for Me?
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