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46 votes
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Does toddler need a helmet inside a bicycle trailer?

Generally helmets are recommended for carrier usage by manufacturers and governing bodies, although local cultural practices may vary depending on perceived risks. Helmets are recommended because it ...
Rider_X's user avatar
  • 30.4k
22 votes

I am trying to find a trailer for a disabled adult

There are a lot of options that don't involve a passive trailer. Moving two people with the energy of one person means that hills are to be avoided. You'd struggle to get up an overbridge or short ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
20 votes

Does toddler need a helmet inside a bicycle trailer?

We opted for helmeting our kid whenever we use the trailer in bicycle mode (i.e. not as a pram). This is why: Our neighbours managed to flip over their trailer once. Kid got a nasty bump on the head, ...
user38391's user avatar
  • 209
17 votes

Does toddler need a helmet inside a bicycle trailer?

No, your kid does not need a helmet, if you have a proper trailer. Proper trailers do have belts and rollover protection. If you don't wear a helmet in your car, you don't need one in a trailer. ...
Leonidas's user avatar
  • 287
14 votes

Burley trailer - Repair cut in plastic window

I was going to suggest any clear roofing repair tape. A manufacturer known as Gorilla have a product with the following description. Other brands are available. Gorilla Tape Crystal Clear is ...
Noise's user avatar
  • 13.5k
12 votes

Dog Trailer Wheel size - for commuting/touring

I don't have a dog, but that means my trailer passenger can speak. Specifically she can complain about the rough ride compared to the child seat on the back of my bike. That's with 16x1.75s pumped ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.1k
11 votes
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A two successive wheel trailer ; would it work? (followme-tandem)

The follow-me tandem lifts the front wheel of the child's cycle off the ground because that's the only way to have stable handling on corners. I made some primitive drawings to explain. Note that ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
11 votes
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Is there a benefit of lacing trailer wheel spokes radially instead of crossed?

Crossed spoke lacing is primarily necessary to transmit torque from the hub to the rim, rather than for increased strength, although I suspect hub flanges have more strength when loaded by a crossed ...
Argenti Apparatus's user avatar
9 votes
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How do you lock up your bike trailer?

I have a Burley pet/cargo trailer and when I take it to the store, I use a long (~ 3 meter) cable with a loop on the ends. I loop the one end around itself on one wheel, loop it around the hitch bar, ...
Johnny's user avatar
  • 1,789
9 votes
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What are the advantages of the Burley hitch design?

The spring hitches seem to be a cheap/simple way to allow the flexibility needed to both bend and twist when the tow bike corners, but they have an annoying side effect. In my experience when ...
LeighC's user avatar
  • 136
9 votes

Does toddler need a helmet inside a bicycle trailer?

I mainly go with @Leonidas: no helmet for children inside. We have a quality trailer (from Chariot). I like my children not to wear a helmet in the trailer because: A helmet puts their head in an ...
Chrglmgl's user avatar
  • 191
8 votes

Designing Bike Trailers – Especially the hitch and load

There are a few of these trailers around, even some that are made in the US, including some from a company that sells multiple options (although they may have stopped, everything is out of stock on ...
Móż's user avatar
  • 23.3k
8 votes

Experience biking with child trailer during winter?

I strongly suggest you put a studded tyre on the bike (ideally 2, but certainly the back in your case). I run Schwalbe winters for occasional icy patches (overkill round here, except when they aren't)...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.1k
7 votes
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Is it appropriate to carry furniture with bike and suggestion for equipment

Based on the photos on the Christiana website I think you'll be fine. The exact law I'm not sure of, I can't find a translation of their bike laws online. It seems that people do carry big loads ...
Móż's user avatar
  • 23.3k
7 votes

Camber angle on a two-wheel trailer?

Tyres wear a heap faster when they're not square to the road surface. For example, tadpole recumbents wear out front wheels very fast. Also, those riding bikes while towing trailers are going ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
7 votes

What is the technical name for the push-on type of wheels that are found on some bicycle trailers?

As various people have noted, wheelchair hub is the correct term for these one-sided, push-button release hubs. It goes without saying that this type of mechanism is now being widely used in cycle ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
7 votes
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How do I true a trailer wheel?

I would skip using the truing stand and just true the wheel on the trailer. You can generally clamp a strip of something to the frame to act as an indicator (have it stick out and just brush the rim, ...
Daniel R Hicks's user avatar
7 votes

Are there any bike tires that can hold 500 lbs (225 kg) each?

At those weights you're looking at three wheels minimum and maybe four. Simply loading 1000 pounds (500 kg) onto a trailer will be difficult without a lifter of some sort, and you would have to ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
7 votes
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Attaching child trailer with motor in the way

There are trailers where the boom/drawbar attaches to the bike's seatpost. These normally exit the chassis in the middle rather than at the side. One variation on that attaches to a ball on the ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
6 votes
Accepted

B.o.B Yak Trailer on car

The yoke spacing on the BOB Trailer is quite a bit wider then a typical front fork mount bike rack, you could probably modify one with wider spacers and use a trailer skewer (or similar fabricated ...
Jamie J Wanke's user avatar
6 votes

Can I use a Brompton bike with a trailer like the Thule Chariot Cougar?

I have a Chariot (now Thule) cart attached to my Brompton (with internal gears). It has the standard adapter (similar to the one in the picture above) and works fine. I didn't have to do any ...
JoseCarlos's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

City Bikes vs E-Bikes with baby trailer

First, a city bike is a style of bicycle with sit up and beg styling, generally a single gear or internal gear hub with chainguard (although derailleurs do exist), full fenders, and a step through ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
6 votes

Camber angle on a two-wheel trailer?

On top of Criggie's answer there's another practical reason: camber would increase the width of road taken up while simultaneously decreasing the usable width. When towing I'm already very aware of ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 57.1k
6 votes

Looking for bike trailer with pedals for a disabled, older adult

Disabled cyclists are cyclists and so they would like some control over steering, braking, or pedaling. It's tough to design a strong singlewheeled adult-sized pedaled trailer because of the weight ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
6 votes

Child sleeping in bike trailer

I hacked the seat in our burley trailer to recline by decoupling the seat top from the frame tube it ran through (required disassembling the trailer), and suspending the seat top instead from some ...
WPNoviceCoder's user avatar
6 votes

Is there a lightweight electric assist braking system that can be applied to a bicycle trailer?

People have come up with their own inertial/surge trailer hacks. Google is your friend here. On stackexchange is a related question: How to build surge brakes on bike trailer? As far as I know, there'...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 29.1k
6 votes
Accepted

How is bicycle trailer stability affected by hitch position?

In my experience, an axle mount is most stable compared to a seatpost mount. With the seatpost clamp, the differences are most evident when braking and when turning. The contact point is a hefty "...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 121k
6 votes

Is there a benefit of lacing trailer wheel spokes radially instead of crossed?

A consideration is the diameter of the wheel, compared to the hub diameter. The smaller the wheel, the more difficult it is to "cross" the spokes.
Daniel R Hicks's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Elastomer in bicycle trailer hitch: is it important?

A spring, of course, is just a piece of wire. When you bend a spring, you're just bending a piece of wire. In a perfect world, the wire would bend evenly along it's entire (coiled) length. In the real ...
Christopher Monroe's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Saw a large bike trailer with seating for an adult. Who's making it?

Ok this is weird. Immediately after posting the question, I googled for used bike trailers for people with disabilities and found the company, Czech republic based Benecycle, it's one of theirs: (...
mart's user avatar
  • 377

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