Mrs. Aesthete and I are planning on doing a century ride, my 1-year-old in tow, but we don’t yet have a child trailer. We tried out the In-Step Presto from Target yesterday on a local paved trail and it was terrible. The wheels wobbled and the resistance up a slight grade was nothing short of incredible (I’m talking Devil’s Kitchen incredible). Are there any trailers out there that are <$100 that are reliable, safe, and not sheer agony?
Not one that I could find. I went with the cheap(er) Chariot. But that runs in the $350 range once you get the bike attachment. Worth it though - and it doubles as a kickass jogger AND a kickass stroller too!
We basically are doing the same that you are - and did the whole “start from the bottom and see how cheap we could get” before we got fed up and just got the Chariot. The model name is the Cheetah 2 and it works perfect.
Under $100? Probably not. Everything in that price range is going to be pretty sketchy.
Your best bet is to get a lightly used Burley or Chariot from Craigslist. You can find those on CL all day long for about $200-$300. Soooo many new parents buy these things brand new, tow them around for literally single digits of miles, then let them sit and collect dust in the garage until they decide to sell a few years later.
I picked up a Burley for $275 a few months ago that retails around $550. It still had the little rubber nubs on the tires. I doubt that thing had seen 20 miles of use from the original owner.
Also, any trailer, even the top of the line models, will be a class A bitch up any kind of hill. The upside is you will be a ridiculous beast on the bike in your future races if you do a lot of trailer towing for training.
I have a good old Schwinn Trailer I have works fine that was given to me. Actually it was given to them and I’ll do the same and give it free to another young family that will make use of it when my daughter is older. I’ve gone 30mph downhill on concrete and it’s seemed plenty stable behind my Cyclocross bike.
I think convertible trailers I’ve seen seem like crappy jogging strollers. Maybe not all. FWIM… suspension on a jogging stroller is AWESOME. Works great and makes it a lot easier to push and hold it’s line. on poor pavement and potholes. IF there’s a good trailer that has suspension, I’d go with that.
Not for < $100, no. Those are for the neighborhood and local bike path at best.
When my kids were young we had a Burley. That thing was the shiz. High quality and light. Go to ebay and pick up a used one. They retail at $500+. Just saw a used one on there for $65 “buy it now”.
Anytime I’ve gone cheap, I’d found I wasted my money and would have been better buying nothing or spending more. I’m not saying you need th ebest. but at $100, it’s time to look at e-bay and garage sales.