Anyone Have a bike trailer for 9 yr old?

[shoegirl1020]

I've been wanting to buy a bike so I could go bike riding with dh and dd10. However, my ds9 will not/cannot ride a bike. He loves his scooter, which wouldn't work on a bike path.

So, I was thinking of getting a bike trailer for my ds2 and was hoping they make one large enough to accomodate a child between 100 pounds with a sibling.

Anyone have any suggesstions or a website that I could visit>?

[Mickey'snewestfan]

What about a "Trail a bike". It's something that hooks onto the back of a adult bike and basically makes a tandem with the back seat lower. The child in the back pedals, but doesn't steer. They also don't have to be able to balance. I got one for my DS when he was 4 and even though he was far from being able to balance a 2 wheeler he did fine with this.

I know that I'd never be able to pull a 100 lb child unless they were doing a lot of the work.

[dawnball]

Most of the bicycle trailers on the market have a max combined weight of 100lb between 2 children and gear. Your big problem is likely to be width and height, not weight. The trailers are built for smallish children and frequently have dividers between the seats.

A chariot cabriolet might work for you, since I think it allows sitting in the center position. A burley cub is probably worth trying, since it's the largest burley. I think that REI tends to have both of those in stock so you can see how your son would fit.

Trail-a-bikes are an option. You can usually get an optional seat accessory that provides a backrest and seatbelt. They come in varieties with and without the ability to shift gears.

For yourself - get the lowest gears you can, because you'll need them if there are any hills where you're riding. Even on flat land starting from a stop with a loaded trailer is like trying to start a semi powered by a geo metro engine. Riding is easy - acceleration is very hard. You'll want powerful brakes too.

You might want to consider something like an xtracycle. It isn't a traditional trailer - but he could sit on the back and rest his feet on a set of footsies. An xtracycle will probably be easiest to drive of the options. There's a new frame built to have native xtracycle capabilities that Surly will be releasing this summer.

A trailer is the safest, but the hardest to manuver and propel.