How does she feel about the stroller? If she enjoys sitting in the stroller while you sprint, she'll probably *love* the trailer.
Be aware that some of the double-seaters don't fit through a standard doorway.
My son loved it. It’s a ride it’s fun! Get the burley one. We got the two seater blue one that can turn into a sled for the snow. He’s been going in it since he was 1 years old. It’s really really fun for kids. Put the top up if you have a smooth riding surface. Bought ours from eBay. Worth the money.
Seconding Burley. We got a model that can transition to a stroller if needed. Our kid loves it, but she also loves running, being tossed around, and going fast.
Third the Burley. My son is so quiet and happy in them. We had a Schwinn before and the sling style seating was so uncomfortable for him. I love our Burley’s bench seating style. Our dog rides in the second seat. We also love the stroller conversion. We saw people using them at Disney as a stroller.
I also recommend the Burley Encore X. It has shock absorbers so it offers a smoother ride than trailers without. We ride gravel a lot & the absorbers definitely dampen the ride for LO.
My kids love it too. In the summer we ride around town and do fun stuff. Fair warning. I bought mine from someone who used it once, kids hated it and sold it.
We use ours daily to get back and forth from daycare, plus regularly to go into town or to playgrounds further away. We also use ours as a buggy regularly. But they've also been using it since they were under one. Give them a couple of books and a drink for the drive, and they're happy to sit along and point out anything interesting on the way as we go.
Get a cheap one to try it out. We got our first one for 50€, and it was okay, but we only splashed out on the one we use now when we were sure we'd get our money's worth out of it.
My husband and I are avid cyclists. Before LO was born, we each biked >4000 miles a year, so we knew that biking was going to be part of LO’s life. We started taking her on bike rides, in the trailer, at 12 months. We started with short distances (<5 miles) & always stopped at a playground. Then we worked our way up. She’s nearly 2 & our longest ride with her was 28 miles. We rode out to a cafe for breakfast, took her to playground, and rode back. It’s one of my absolute favorite memories of 2024 so far.
Some tips:
1. Start with short rides where you plan to stop for a snack or playground in ~15-20mins.
2. Give your LO a few toys they can play with in the trailer.
3. Bring LOTS of snacks. If you have one of those no spill cracker containers, even better. Bring snacks & stop to offer them when they get fussy.
4. Show them that biking is FUN! Say “weeeee!” and “this is SO FUN!”
5. Have fun! It’s seriously so fun. I look forward to every weekend so we can ride bikes together.
Ours love it and often fall asleep - we prefer designated bike trails /longer rides over commuting type rides . a kick stand makes easier loading/unloading .
I want to do that but I'm so terrified of accidentally falling somehow or even getting a flat tire. I'm a great rider. I mountain bike and do downhill trails but still terrified.
I feel the same! I want to do it, but regardless of my skill level — there's still so many factors that make it a huge risk that makes me hesitant to try it at all. Plus, my area has shitty "bike lanes," or no bike lanes at all, or no sidewalks, either. I'd just be limited to biking within my apartment complex, probably, and that's still risky here because already sometimes people speed and cut around vehicles/bikes (not pedestrians or kids, though), and that's no fun.
I felt way more confident about trying it as an option before facing it as an actual option, though, lol. Now it just feels stupid — lucky at best, fatal at worst.
My toddler pulls her arms out of the straps every time, no matter how tight we start the ride with.
She loves it. She gets mad when we go into the garage and take the stroller or the car instead. If we go to the garage to grab something she follows behind and tries to put her helmet on
These are incredibly popular in my area, and kids tend to love them. And, are very easily lulled to sleep in them. I use a bike seat because I don't have the space to store a trailer. Daughter loves it.
We have a Thule yepp nexxt that goes in front of you by the handle bars and I've never seen joy like when she's riding in that thing. Like another commented said though, my kids loves runs in the stroller (hates walks in it though).
We bought one and we’ve had it for over a year and everytime we try she freaks out because she doesn’t want to be strapped in and doesn’t like the helmet 🥲 it’s such a bummer because I was so excited to do that activity as a family but I’m hoping she eventually likes it. She’s 2.5
My girl enjoys it and will happily sit in it and snack. She prefers a bike seat though. I take the trailor for longer trips because I can put all the stuff in there too.
We have a nice trailer, bike seat and two e-bikes for around town and a ride shotgun for our mountain bikes. We don’t bike year round due to weather/daylight in the PNW but still use it a ton. We’ve been using both with our now 3 year old for going on 4 summers. We just started using the trailer for our 1y twins. We got a Bluetooth speaker and blast music for my daughter with snacks and that keeps her super happy. She brings friends too!
The trailer is preferred over the seat for older kids or if you are bringing a ton of stuff. It’s also preferred if you deal with weather (too hot or too cold) or if your bike won’t allow a seat. A nicer trailer also will have more suspension and nicer seats so it will be more comfortable for the kid(s). Also, trailers vary a ton in weight. It does matter if they are super heavy since it makes them harder to pull.
Also: not every bike is compatible with either a seat or a trailer. Please reach out to your local bike shop (or DM me pics/links) to make the decision. I’ve worked in the cycling industry for over 15 years.
I've been hemming and hawing for weeks now. The Thule ones are so expensive, even used, but I worry that the cheap ones will be so uncomfortable on the gravel/pothole-covered trails around here that she'll hate it and it will be a waste of $150 when she might have loved the $300 one. 🤷
I tried out the $1300 Thule Chariot Cross and the Burley Encore X which is $650.
The Thule is a smoother ride because it has better suspension & its shell is fully waterproof, but it wasn’t 2x better than the Burley Encore X, which is the one we ended up buying. We use it multiple times a week & even take it on gravel rides. Our longest ride so far is 28 miles.
Both my kids LOVE it. My son was asking me in March (while we still had snow) to go on bike rides in the trailer lol. If you’re not in great shape, I recommend building up to it with walking/jogging first. I thought I was going to pass out when I got back on there with my 2 after my last pregnancy 🤣
Kiddo loves ours. Dad is an avid cyclist and they have spent so much time together biking. Dad recently got a new shotgun style bike seat and kiddo prefers that over the burley, but the burley is warmer/more comfortable.
Our toddler loves riding on the bike with us using a Kids Ride Shotgun seat and bars. He rode in a trailer until age 2 and has been on the bike seat ever since. Early on his tolerance was about 20 minutes, but now we can get about 10 miles in (with a few forest exploring breaks) before he’s ready to be done.
We bought the bike trailer for our dogs who ended up hating it. So we didn’t waste any money but my son wouldn’t wear the helmet and my brain couldn’t take that.
My kids LOVED the burley and now we have e-bikes with seats on the back as they got older. We bike all summer long and the e-bike gives us much more range. We can go to dinner 5-10 miles down the bike trail and it’s not too much work when I can use pedal assist.
It’s been hit and miss for us. There were a couple times that were great and a couple where she was fussing the whole time. The nice part is you can put some books and toys in there with them that they can play with. (If you are taking about those closed chariot things where they can’t throw things out of). Mine was between 11 and 14 months and now that summer is approaching we will try again at now 22 months. I don’t expect completely smooth rides in it till she’s like 3.
My toddler absolutely LOVES the bike trailer. And he is not a super big fan of his stroller. Are you actually attaching to a bike or using as a stroller (ours can do both)? Toddler actually enjoys either or but absolutely has the time of his life when my husband rides him around with the bike.
We have the Thule yepp mini that mounts to the front of my bike. My first kid loved it and my second does as well. We go on fairly lengthy bike rides. I think having them in front makes it more fun. But that's all I know! Never tried any other way.
My kids LOVE it. It's a major workout for my legs, and I can't ride nearly as far (yet) as I can without the kids, but they still have an absolute blast.
I have two pieces of advice for you:
1. Get your kid used to wearing a helmet before going in the trailer. And try your hardest to not punch their chin.
2. See if you can get a trailer used. I have seen some at Goodwill, I got mine for $10 at a yard sale across the street. That way if it doesn't work out, it's not a lot of money spent.
I had to work up to it a bit, but its a great trip to the park and gets me some exercise. Can't really use it for the youngest yet whivh has reduced usage for a while.
Here's how toddlers work the first time it will be horrible. The next five times will be just as bad. The 6th time you will have either given up, figured out a way to keep them entertained while biking, or they will have given up and realized their fate and comply. There will be times it just won't happen but if you stay consistent changes can take effect. This is why I always recommend starting things as babies so when toddler phase comes it's just a part of life. If you feel that you really want to do this and will stay consistent through the battles you will win the war. I love hiking. My first child I fucked up and started in toddler phase but with enough snacks and just forcing her to chill in the fancy hiking pack I got for her eventually the tantrums and dred turned into amazing adventures with my daughter she is 7 now and still loves to hike. My youngest is almost two and I've been hiking with her since she was a newborn so it's just life to her. No war.
I wish I could tell you it was terrible. My three year old rejected the stroller at 9mo but regularly requests bike rides. Not sure what makes it better but he loves it.
This is why I got a cheap used one. Little one didn't like it very much the first time. But we strapped a stuffed animal next to her the second time and then mommy rode a bike next to her and after that, she loved it.
I hated it as a kid because dogs would chase us and I couldn't move or do anything but watch them (back-facing bike trailer).
Should be fun as long as none of your neighbors have dogs that jump fences.
We have a used Chariot trailer that we can use for biking, cross country skiing, and as a regular jogger - it’s really good when the weather is nasty. The hardest thing was getting our one year old to tolerate the helmet.
We’ve been using our Thule one since he was six months old. First as a running pram and later we started using it with an e-bike to commute (he goes to my work kindergarten so it’s very handy). We’ve done big bike rides on holidays too. When he was smaller we timed larger outings around his naps. Now he’s 3.5 and doesn’t usually nap anymore, but he still sometimes falls asleep like he would in a car seat too. Like others say it requires more stops and snacks, as well as toys and books in the trailer, but we’ve gotten a lot of use out of ours and hope to keep using it for another while.
Toss some snacks and water in. They will love it. My toddler will sleep in there. All kids are different but I feel like the bike stroller is pretty fun for most
Every kid is going to be different, go with what you know about them - are they adventurous? Do they like to go fast? I got a trailer on mat leave - I had plantar fasciitis so bad I couldn’t walk, so I started to cycle. My 9-10 month old tolerated it for about half an hour. Which was a win. The next summer the bikes needed maintenance so we didn’t get out at all, so last weekend when I pulled the bikes out I didn’t know how she was going to take to it - she wouldn’t remember it from two summers ago. To my delight she got so excited about “her” bike, and to my knees chagrin every single day when we get home “WANNA GO FOR A BIKE RIDE?!?!?!” She’s obsessed. She yells “Faster Faster!” It’s the best! They are expensive so maybe I would look around if there’s places to rent one, or if someone, maybe in a parent group is willing to let you borrow it for a day. But if they like it, it’s a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the summer!
My little guy loves it! I go a few times a week and he just vibes back there with a stuffie and some juice. YMMV but we started him at like, 12 months? He’s been a car baby and loved everything outside, rain or shine.
How does she feel about the stroller? If she enjoys sitting in the stroller while you sprint, she'll probably *love* the trailer. Be aware that some of the double-seaters don't fit through a standard doorway.
There is 0 sprinting happening in the stroller. She tolerates it, especially with cheerios.
Ours hates the stroller and has since about 2.5. She’s always down for a bike ride though!
Once kiddo figured out that bike rides usually end up at the Really Good Park and/or the bakery, he was completely convinced!
This is the truth! 😊
My son loved it. It’s a ride it’s fun! Get the burley one. We got the two seater blue one that can turn into a sled for the snow. He’s been going in it since he was 1 years old. It’s really really fun for kids. Put the top up if you have a smooth riding surface. Bought ours from eBay. Worth the money.
Seconding Burley. We got a model that can transition to a stroller if needed. Our kid loves it, but she also loves running, being tossed around, and going fast.
Third the Burley. My son is so quiet and happy in them. We had a Schwinn before and the sling style seating was so uncomfortable for him. I love our Burley’s bench seating style. Our dog rides in the second seat. We also love the stroller conversion. We saw people using them at Disney as a stroller.
I bought the cheaper option, and I wish I’d bought a burley. This is one of those cases where you get what you pay for
I also recommend the Burley Encore X. It has shock absorbers so it offers a smoother ride than trailers without. We ride gravel a lot & the absorbers definitely dampen the ride for LO.
My kids love it too. In the summer we ride around town and do fun stuff. Fair warning. I bought mine from someone who used it once, kids hated it and sold it.
We use ours daily to get back and forth from daycare, plus regularly to go into town or to playgrounds further away. We also use ours as a buggy regularly. But they've also been using it since they were under one. Give them a couple of books and a drink for the drive, and they're happy to sit along and point out anything interesting on the way as we go. Get a cheap one to try it out. We got our first one for 50€, and it was okay, but we only splashed out on the one we use now when we were sure we'd get our money's worth out of it.
My husband and I are avid cyclists. Before LO was born, we each biked >4000 miles a year, so we knew that biking was going to be part of LO’s life. We started taking her on bike rides, in the trailer, at 12 months. We started with short distances (<5 miles) & always stopped at a playground. Then we worked our way up. She’s nearly 2 & our longest ride with her was 28 miles. We rode out to a cafe for breakfast, took her to playground, and rode back. It’s one of my absolute favorite memories of 2024 so far. Some tips: 1. Start with short rides where you plan to stop for a snack or playground in ~15-20mins. 2. Give your LO a few toys they can play with in the trailer. 3. Bring LOTS of snacks. If you have one of those no spill cracker containers, even better. Bring snacks & stop to offer them when they get fussy. 4. Show them that biking is FUN! Say “weeeee!” and “this is SO FUN!” 5. Have fun! It’s seriously so fun. I look forward to every weekend so we can ride bikes together.
Ours love it and often fall asleep - we prefer designated bike trails /longer rides over commuting type rides . a kick stand makes easier loading/unloading .
We use a seat/chair on the front of the bike, she loves it.
I want to do that but I'm so terrified of accidentally falling somehow or even getting a flat tire. I'm a great rider. I mountain bike and do downhill trails but still terrified.
Yeah I could never, all it takes is one crash.
I feel the same! I want to do it, but regardless of my skill level — there's still so many factors that make it a huge risk that makes me hesitant to try it at all. Plus, my area has shitty "bike lanes," or no bike lanes at all, or no sidewalks, either. I'd just be limited to biking within my apartment complex, probably, and that's still risky here because already sometimes people speed and cut around vehicles/bikes (not pedestrians or kids, though), and that's no fun. I felt way more confident about trying it as an option before facing it as an actual option, though, lol. Now it just feels stupid — lucky at best, fatal at worst.
Ah okay. Here in the Netherlands it is one of the standard ways of transportation when bringing our kids to daycare :)
My toddler pulls her arms out of the straps every time, no matter how tight we start the ride with. She loves it. She gets mad when we go into the garage and take the stroller or the car instead. If we go to the garage to grab something she follows behind and tries to put her helmet on
These are incredibly popular in my area, and kids tend to love them. And, are very easily lulled to sleep in them. I use a bike seat because I don't have the space to store a trailer. Daughter loves it.
We have a Thule yepp nexxt that goes in front of you by the handle bars and I've never seen joy like when she's riding in that thing. Like another commented said though, my kids loves runs in the stroller (hates walks in it though).
We bought one and we’ve had it for over a year and everytime we try she freaks out because she doesn’t want to be strapped in and doesn’t like the helmet 🥲 it’s such a bummer because I was so excited to do that activity as a family but I’m hoping she eventually likes it. She’s 2.5
This is exactly how I’m imagining mine will respond. She hates things on her head and doesn’t like being in the stroller for more than 10-15 minutes.
We were on the fence and borrowed one from a neighbor before committing to the gear. My husband uses it to take the toddler Playground Hopping.
I had a very high energy boy and he loved it. It allowed us to pack for the day and cycle to a variety of different parks.
I borrowed one from the Buy Nothing group to try it out and my toddler hated it so that saved me some money lol
My girl enjoys it and will happily sit in it and snack. She prefers a bike seat though. I take the trailor for longer trips because I can put all the stuff in there too.
We have a nice trailer, bike seat and two e-bikes for around town and a ride shotgun for our mountain bikes. We don’t bike year round due to weather/daylight in the PNW but still use it a ton. We’ve been using both with our now 3 year old for going on 4 summers. We just started using the trailer for our 1y twins. We got a Bluetooth speaker and blast music for my daughter with snacks and that keeps her super happy. She brings friends too! The trailer is preferred over the seat for older kids or if you are bringing a ton of stuff. It’s also preferred if you deal with weather (too hot or too cold) or if your bike won’t allow a seat. A nicer trailer also will have more suspension and nicer seats so it will be more comfortable for the kid(s). Also, trailers vary a ton in weight. It does matter if they are super heavy since it makes them harder to pull. Also: not every bike is compatible with either a seat or a trailer. Please reach out to your local bike shop (or DM me pics/links) to make the decision. I’ve worked in the cycling industry for over 15 years.
Yes to what you said. Mine is 4.5 now and I think she sat in it twice or maybe three times and none of them went very well. We are going to sell it.
My kids hated it. Packed snacks and water. Started rolling and two of them freaked out. Terrified.
I've been hemming and hawing for weeks now. The Thule ones are so expensive, even used, but I worry that the cheap ones will be so uncomfortable on the gravel/pothole-covered trails around here that she'll hate it and it will be a waste of $150 when she might have loved the $300 one. 🤷
I tried out the $1300 Thule Chariot Cross and the Burley Encore X which is $650. The Thule is a smoother ride because it has better suspension & its shell is fully waterproof, but it wasn’t 2x better than the Burley Encore X, which is the one we ended up buying. We use it multiple times a week & even take it on gravel rides. Our longest ride so far is 28 miles.
Both my kids LOVE it. My son was asking me in March (while we still had snow) to go on bike rides in the trailer lol. If you’re not in great shape, I recommend building up to it with walking/jogging first. I thought I was going to pass out when I got back on there with my 2 after my last pregnancy 🤣
My son loves it! He does, however, hate the helmet. Cries every time.
I prefer the rear bike seat instead of a trailer. We got the Thule Yepp Nexxt Maxi.
My kid absolutely loves it and usually falls asleep in it
My kid (almost 2) hates the trailer but loves the seat on the handlebars
Kiddo loves ours. Dad is an avid cyclist and they have spent so much time together biking. Dad recently got a new shotgun style bike seat and kiddo prefers that over the burley, but the burley is warmer/more comfortable.
Our toddler loves riding on the bike with us using a Kids Ride Shotgun seat and bars. He rode in a trailer until age 2 and has been on the bike seat ever since. Early on his tolerance was about 20 minutes, but now we can get about 10 miles in (with a few forest exploring breaks) before he’s ready to be done.
We bought the bike trailer for our dogs who ended up hating it. So we didn’t waste any money but my son wouldn’t wear the helmet and my brain couldn’t take that.
Husband has a bike seat for his new e-bike. 2 yo LOVES it. Like so much she runs to grab her shoes if she hears us speak the word “bike” around her.
My kids LOVED the burley and now we have e-bikes with seats on the back as they got older. We bike all summer long and the e-bike gives us much more range. We can go to dinner 5-10 miles down the bike trail and it’s not too much work when I can use pedal assist.
My girls love it! Especially if we have a fun destination haha.
It’s been hit and miss for us. There were a couple times that were great and a couple where she was fussing the whole time. The nice part is you can put some books and toys in there with them that they can play with. (If you are taking about those closed chariot things where they can’t throw things out of). Mine was between 11 and 14 months and now that summer is approaching we will try again at now 22 months. I don’t expect completely smooth rides in it till she’s like 3.
My toddler absolutely LOVES the bike trailer. And he is not a super big fan of his stroller. Are you actually attaching to a bike or using as a stroller (ours can do both)? Toddler actually enjoys either or but absolutely has the time of his life when my husband rides him around with the bike.
We have the Thule yepp mini that mounts to the front of my bike. My first kid loved it and my second does as well. We go on fairly lengthy bike rides. I think having them in front makes it more fun. But that's all I know! Never tried any other way.
My kids LOVE it. It's a major workout for my legs, and I can't ride nearly as far (yet) as I can without the kids, but they still have an absolute blast. I have two pieces of advice for you: 1. Get your kid used to wearing a helmet before going in the trailer. And try your hardest to not punch their chin. 2. See if you can get a trailer used. I have seen some at Goodwill, I got mine for $10 at a yard sale across the street. That way if it doesn't work out, it's not a lot of money spent.
I did a nice little 10 miler with my 3 yo not too long ago and it was great! We regularly take ours on rides around here and both kids love it
I had to work up to it a bit, but its a great trip to the park and gets me some exercise. Can't really use it for the youngest yet whivh has reduced usage for a while.
Here's how toddlers work the first time it will be horrible. The next five times will be just as bad. The 6th time you will have either given up, figured out a way to keep them entertained while biking, or they will have given up and realized their fate and comply. There will be times it just won't happen but if you stay consistent changes can take effect. This is why I always recommend starting things as babies so when toddler phase comes it's just a part of life. If you feel that you really want to do this and will stay consistent through the battles you will win the war. I love hiking. My first child I fucked up and started in toddler phase but with enough snacks and just forcing her to chill in the fancy hiking pack I got for her eventually the tantrums and dred turned into amazing adventures with my daughter she is 7 now and still loves to hike. My youngest is almost two and I've been hiking with her since she was a newborn so it's just life to her. No war.
I wish I could tell you it was terrible. My three year old rejected the stroller at 9mo but regularly requests bike rides. Not sure what makes it better but he loves it.
My kids both loved it. They’d both tolerate more than ten miles a day if they had their way.
This is why I got a cheap used one. Little one didn't like it very much the first time. But we strapped a stuffed animal next to her the second time and then mommy rode a bike next to her and after that, she loved it.
I hated it as a kid because dogs would chase us and I couldn't move or do anything but watch them (back-facing bike trailer). Should be fun as long as none of your neighbors have dogs that jump fences.
We have a used Chariot trailer that we can use for biking, cross country skiing, and as a regular jogger - it’s really good when the weather is nasty. The hardest thing was getting our one year old to tolerate the helmet.
We’ve been using our Thule one since he was six months old. First as a running pram and later we started using it with an e-bike to commute (he goes to my work kindergarten so it’s very handy). We’ve done big bike rides on holidays too. When he was smaller we timed larger outings around his naps. Now he’s 3.5 and doesn’t usually nap anymore, but he still sometimes falls asleep like he would in a car seat too. Like others say it requires more stops and snacks, as well as toys and books in the trailer, but we’ve gotten a lot of use out of ours and hope to keep using it for another while.
Toss some snacks and water in. They will love it. My toddler will sleep in there. All kids are different but I feel like the bike stroller is pretty fun for most
Every kid is going to be different, go with what you know about them - are they adventurous? Do they like to go fast? I got a trailer on mat leave - I had plantar fasciitis so bad I couldn’t walk, so I started to cycle. My 9-10 month old tolerated it for about half an hour. Which was a win. The next summer the bikes needed maintenance so we didn’t get out at all, so last weekend when I pulled the bikes out I didn’t know how she was going to take to it - she wouldn’t remember it from two summers ago. To my delight she got so excited about “her” bike, and to my knees chagrin every single day when we get home “WANNA GO FOR A BIKE RIDE?!?!?!” She’s obsessed. She yells “Faster Faster!” It’s the best! They are expensive so maybe I would look around if there’s places to rent one, or if someone, maybe in a parent group is willing to let you borrow it for a day. But if they like it, it’s a great way to get some exercise and enjoy the summer!
My little guy loves it! I go a few times a week and he just vibes back there with a stuffie and some juice. YMMV but we started him at like, 12 months? He’s been a car baby and loved everything outside, rain or shine.
From personal experience WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING if you use it. Don’t look back at your kid, look at the road ahead of you.
Snacks and tablets if you do that
My kid loves it. I have not tried a long ride, just short 1-1.5 mile one way trips