I am purchasing one of these in a couple of months. Right now the only bike I have is a P2C and I’m assuming that it probably won’t be the best idea to pull the trailer with this bike???
What kind of lower line cheaper road bike bike would be capable of pulling this the best? I’m assuming something aluminum rather than carbon might be the only real thing to look it? I was going to go hybrid or mountain bike, but I’d like to have a bike that better simulates a training ride rather than a leisurely ride and I’ve been looking at picking up a cheaper, even used, road bike anyway.
You wouldn’t want a trailer that hooks to the frame (on a carbon bike).
Pulling a trailer with your tt bike is a good workout. If you feel you must get a road bike you should get the bike you want.
I also recommend Burly trailers. They’re pricy but worth it. We had one and I pulled it with a P2, a cruiser, and a fixie (that’s a work out!).The cruiser and the fixie used a frame attachment and the P2 used a QR attachment. We bought it for ~$500 and sold it a couple years later for $450.
Get a trailer with “wheel guards”. It seemed like a worthless idea but, trust me, they will save your ass. You can see it in this photo (it’s the little black thing in front of the wheel). They keep you from hooking the wheels onto bushes and whatnot.
By simulate a training ride do you mean speed and spandex? I tow mine with a mountain bike with shocks locked and keep speeds slow for safety. You’ll get agood enough workout on trails towing the trailer. If you’re really treting this as a training ride, I would suggest re-thinking it for the kid’s sake…a small bump in one of those things can be pretty dangerous, especially when they are just getting control of their giant heads. Might be a good excuse to get yourself a cyclocross bike too! Make sure you both have helmets on too, it kills me to see stuptarded parents out riding without helmets on. Good luck with the trailer.
When I say training ride, I mean more of a feel and position vs speed. The burley is what I was looking at with the suspension (and kids helmet of course). My daughter is 1.5 so holding head up isn’t an issue.
So then my LBS was just trying to sell me a bike too when they said it wouldn’t be a good idea to pull it with a carbon frame as in my P2C? I would get the one that hooks into the skewer fwiw
I used to use a touring bike. triple crankset. Road bike feel. Indestructible steel frame. I also recommend the burley trailers. I pulled my daughter around until she was 5 years old and then sold the trailer used for nearly what I paid for it new.
I think the best reason to get a road/mtb/cross bike is position. You don’t want to just ride on the pursuit bars on a tri bike, but I’d be a bit worried riding aero, particularly since it can take longer to stop with a trailer. When I think about my daughter, my risk equation tends to change, for better or worse.
So then my LBS was just trying to sell me a bike too when they said it wouldn’t be a good idea to pull it with a carbon frame as in my P2C?
Can’t say for sure they were “trying to sell” you a bike (that is what they do, though). It’s a common misconception that pulling a trailer (or hooking up to a trainer, or racing crits, etc., etc.) will destroy a carbon bike. My LBS will say the same thing. Not true.
As long as you use the skewer connect you’re fine. There was a thread from a while back discussing this. *Some *manufacturers will tell you it’s ok.
The loads your axle can take are much higher than what you’d likely encounter while pulling a trailer. Think about hitting a crack in the road while descending at 57mph. Are going to be doing that with Jr. in tow?
From my experience, however, you will not enjoy pulling a trailer on your P2.
As for the a carbon frame, it may be fine for the actual hauling, but the most awkward part of having a trailer hooked up is the non-rolling time. I’d cringe every time I had to (inevitably) lay the bike down on the pavement to move back to the trainer and adjust kiddo’s helmet or figure out why someone’s crying, etc.
I pull my trailer with a fitness hybrid. Fit is pretty close to my road bike, but the flat bars feel so much more stable with those squirrely low hauling speeds and I also prefer the platform pedals. I think a mountain bike would work well too.
Sure, the bike store was probably trying to get a solid add-on commission boost, but there’s no denying it’s so very handy to have a toss-it-on-the-rack family bike that can get a little beat up without interfering with training.
I would say yes with the skewer thing but the P2C has that horizontal QR release so I would advise “super tight” to make sure. However, don’t worry bout the carbon bike stuff. I pulled a trailer with my race road bike with no problems just got to remember about braking distance as people have mentioned and all the kid stuff mentioned as well. You might need some lower gears if you’ve got a few hills in your area as well.
I picked up a gently used Giant Cypress comfort/hybrid bike for $200 and its perfect for pulling the little ones or just riding around the park with the 8 year old. I even put a bell and a mirror on it.
If you want cheap and safety, buy a used steel mountain bike (or other upright). If you are pulling a toddler, you’ll get a better workout at a slower, safer speed (yet still high wattage) on an upright bike.
I also recommend Burley. I completely wore one out with my two kids, lots of touring, and living without a car for more than a year.
You could use the P2C as long as the trailer is the kind that attaches via the dropouts. Also, the mounting tabs on these trailers can be a bit big and not fit onto all dropouts. I’ve pulled my 3 year old in a trailer on my Giant TCR TT, that setup is a little tricky because of the rear facing dropouts, but it does work. It’s more comfortable to pull a trailer w/ a mountain bike, but the tri bike works fine. The braking isn’t that much worse, and I didn’t have any trouble riding in the aero bars here and there. It’s actually really stable with the trailer on. Just be prepared to have cyclists crack jokes about it (which strangely doesn’t happen when you tow a trailer with a mountain bike).
Pretty much any bike will do if you get a trailer with skewer mount. I used our Chariot with my tri bike and mountain bike for our first child - it’s the same bike kit, I just had one for each. It probably wasn’t wise, but I even went aero too to simulate Don’t overthink your decision on trailer either, the only real necessity in my view is 20" wheels for ride quality.
an old Schwinn Varsity or Continental, with a kickstand…
those frames are like cockroaches, survive a nuclear strike; plus they are theft-proof. Otherwise any old steel-frame bike would probably be fine…
The kickstand is very useful for kid rides which typically have lots of stops.
I mostly use an Aluminum Cross bike. The big reason for me is I try to stay off the streets while pulling my son around. I prefer staying on trails which happen to be gravel.
I have pulled him with my Carbon road bike. No difference.
I use a Surly Long Haul Trucker for pulling our Chariot. I found it used and it was cheap. I’m sure that there are many other good cheap choices out there.
Things I appreciate are fenders (keeps some spray/dust off of the Chariot), triple chain ring (Chariot weighs 25+ pounds, and so does my kid - climbing even small hills is a chore), fatter tires (I ride on a mix of road and paved/gravel trails), and canti brakes.
Now we have a second kid, and I’m wondering if we will want to upgrade to the double Chariot.