Bikin' Convoy

[cdnguy]

I tried to tag this question onto another related thread but got no advice so here it goes...I have three young boys at home ages five and under and I purchased a bike trailer just over a month ago. I really enjoy having it and so do my kids. However my oldest is tall for his age and looks a little awkward sitting in the trailer so I ran out and bought for him a tag-along. He really seems to enjoy this much more than the trailer. What I want to do now is to try and pull both the tag along and the trailer, for which I have previously critized another for on this forum (which I now apologize for :o ). I just wanted to know what others think of this idea before I head out. Safe and do able or not?

[DCCommuter]

I feel your pain, I also have 3 under 5 and I'm always looking for creative ways to take them along on bike rides.

I've done the trailer behind the trailer bike, both behind a burley piccolo and an Adams 2-seater. The Burley felt rock solid with one boy in the trailer, the trailer seemed to add to the stability. With the Adams, I went down one hill at about 10 mph and decided that was enough of that foolishness. That was with two boys on the bike and one in the trailer.

I wouldn't worry about the rig coming apart -- these things are generally built plenty strong. The question is one of stability, and that depends on the design of your particular equipment. A couple of times I've lifted the rear tire while pulling a trailer. When that happens, the bike tends to get pushed sideways by the trailer and pivot about the steering tube and the trailer hitch. If you're not quick you will go down. This typically happens while braking going down a hill, and you don't have to be going particularly fast. So you want a rig that puts most of the weight on the rear wheel. I think this is one of the reasons the Burley works better than the Adams.

The other stability issue is the sensitivity of the steering. I find that with a heavy load I have to make exaggerated motions with the steering, and I worry about over-correcting, and I need a wider path. I think this is why Burley recommends that the weight of the trailer passengers not exceed one half of the weight of the tractor bike rider.

Really the only way to know is by trial and error, taking it slow. You may want to substitute a few bags of cement for your passengers at first. It's pretty easy to tell if something is stable or not; the only time I've ever been surprised is braking down a hill. In any case, you won't go far. I would say ten miles with a rig like this is an accomplishment.