Recreational & Family - Can I pull my two boys in a bike trailer using my Fuji League Road Bike?

I need to know if I can pull my boys in a trailer using a fuji league road bike. The trailer is not that heavy but my boys are 32lbs and 48lbs. I know that I should have purchased a touring bike and am saving up but for now I promised my 6 year old that I would bike him to and from school 16 miles per day. Is there any upgrades that I can make to the bike to make it work? I also have a Fuji XC mtb/hybrid. I don't mind the ride but it is not as comfortable over the 16 mile haul! Any suggestions?

If it were me, I think I'd use the hybrid. That's quite a bit of weight to pull with a bike that has (I assume) what's become standard road gearing, 53/39 and no more than 26 teeth in back. That's too high for most riders, IMO (which is another way of saying it's too high for ME) even without a trailer. Certainly if there are any significant hills, I'd be hurting with that weight in back.

I'd recommend getting a trail-a-bike. I bought one for my 6 year old and he loves it.

I've heard of people also putting a trailer behind the trail a bike (although that would be really long and I'd bet turns would be funky). That might work for you taking 2 boys at once. My younger boy loves the trail a bike too, although he just coasts because his legs aren't long enough to pedal.

I wouldn't expect either of my boys to have the patience to simply sit in a trailer for long rides.

At that size, they are ready to be put on a tandem. Structurally, your road bike should be sufficient. You're pushing 100 lbs of combined trailer and passenger weight, though. A compact crank or, better, a triple, will give you lower gears to haul the weight up your hills.

I need to know if I can pull my boys in a trailer using a fuji league road bike. The trailer is not that heavy but my boys are 32lbs and 48lbs. I know that I should have purchased a touring bike and am saving up but for now I promised my 6 year old that I would bike him to and from school 16 miles per day. Is there any upgrades that I can make to the bike to make it work? I also have a Fuji XC mtb/hybrid. I don't mind the ride but it is not as comfortable over the 16 mile haul! Any suggestions?Just some thoughts.

Your post seems a little confusing because you have two things going on. Are you going to pull *both* kids 8 miles (I assume its 8 out and 8 back). Or just one kid? Why would the touring bike be better? I've pulled my 40 lb'er with a mountain and a road bike (both Fuji). If you've got hills (which is how I imagine Virginia, anyways) then you're going to want some low gears. When I'm pulling, my speed drops to near 10 MPH. Is your 6 year-old prepared to spend two hours a day in a trailer? Will you be going back home then? So you're doing 32 miles/day just for school commuting?

Is this a special school, or do they not have school bus service in VA?

A bit a humor!! They actually do have school buses here but I do not trust my child on one. He is just starting school and he would get entirely too much adult education on a school bus (they put high school kids on the same bus with the elementary students). I will be pulling both children because the youngest is 2 years old. The trip is 4 miles there and 4 miles home. I do this for exercise not because I must!
The point is, I need to know if the Fuji road bike can handle the load or do I need to use the hybrid? The road bike is a 24 speed bike.

The point is, I need to know if the Fuji road bike can handle the load or do I need to use the hybrid? The road bike is a 24 speed bike.
Is there a problem with trying both? Why not experiment? Is is something to do with the hitch mechanism? I've never pulled a trailer.
Robert
ps good for you for doing this.
pps They'll be exposed to lots of older kids at school anyway, so I'm no sure the bus would be that bad.

I pull my children to school as my schedule allows, I use an old steel road bike and have no troubles( watch out on corners trailers can tip at the higher speeds a road bike can travel). It is good family fun, you are setting a good example, and you may do it faster than driving an automobile. I am able to take them up to the door, I do not have to wait in a line of cars 1 block long to drop/pick up and my son enjoys his classmates thinking its "cool". I know you will enjoy it.

I pull my 2 kids in a trailer w/ a road bike. My bike handles the load just fine. It's a steel frame, not sure if that makes a difference, and it has a triple. It is hard for me to haul that much weight. I can pull one kid in a trailer on hills but when I take 2 kids I go to a flat rail trail. Still I think you should give it a try. Maybe you could bike only in the morning and use the bus/car for the trip home.

Is there a problem with trying both? Why not experiment? Is is something to do with the hitch mechanism? I've never pulled a trailer.

Robert

ps good for you for doing this.

pps They'll be exposed to lots of older kids at school anyway, so I'm no sure the bus would be that bad.Oh -- only 4 miles each way! If its fairly flat, I don't think you'll have much trouble with either bike. If its not flat, cooker is right -- the only way to know is to try. Maybe have a labor day family bike ride.

Heh heh. My parents never worried about who else was on the bus. Or if we had to que up for a half hour in sub-freezing temps. Unless VA is a lot different, the older kids will get dropped off at a Middle or High School, so they won't have to encounter post-puberty kids on the playground.

A bit a humor!! They actually do have school buses here but I do not trust my child on one. He is just starting school and he would get entirely too much adult education on a school bus (they put high school kids on the same bus with the elementary students). I will be pulling both children because the youngest is 2 years old. The trip is 4 miles there and 4 miles home. I do this for exercise not because I must!
The point is, I need to know if the Fuji road bike can handle the load or do I need to use the hybrid? The road bike is a 24 speed bike.

I hated the fricken' school bus as a kid- could not wait to get off and on my own. The school bus I rode was a self-contained victimization device, where your kids are locked up with the bullies and jerks. Maybe they're doing a better job of managing the bus environment and behavior these days than they were 35 years ago, but I kind of doubt it.

I don't know your actual bike (beyond checking Fuji League Road Bike on Google), but would guess that it can handle it. Steel frame, triple, right? I'd ride the bike that was most comfortable for you, and your gearing should handle it fine. If the upright stance of the MTB/hyb. seems better after comparing, you can always change the tires on the MTB over to semi-slicks or real slicks and get a more efficient ride.

Either way, go for it. I ride my kids daily, three miles each way, and can't say enough good about it. Your heart and lungs will love you for it.

Steve

Hehe, I tried looking at pics of trailers online and I don't see any that I would have been caught dead in by the time I was 5-6. Don't most kids have a complex about getting pulled around in a trailer after they are 3-4 years old? I remember wanting to be "cool" at school back then. Are trailers "cool"?

Geez, maybe we were different back then, but I think we'd pick on kids who came to school in one of those trailers....lol

Then again, EVERYONE took the bus back then (or rode their bikes beginning in 2nd grade). Nowadays tons of kids get dropped off.

As I posted today in another thread, and apropos of this discussion, today from my porch I saw a guy go by on a hybrid with a trail-a-bike and a trailer, and a kid on each. He was spinning in a low gear, and encouraging the older child to pedal to help him, but in a jovial way...he didn't seem to be having any difficulty towing this caravan. I thought of asking him about his situation so I could report to these forums, but he was gone before I acted. Then I saw a lady with a kid on a trail-a-bike coming the other way and they were all excited and chattering about having seen the first guy.
Robert

...we'd pick on kids who came to school in one of those trailers...
Nowadays tons of kids get dropped off.
It's really too bad they don't get heckled, not for their sake, but for their parents.
Robert

I take my six year old daughter to day camp every day during the summer. This year, we switched from bike trailer to Trail-a-Bike. She loves it! She would much rather travel on the bike than ride in either of the cars. Part of the appeal is that she can see much more than in either the trailer or a bar; part of it is that she gets to help out by pedaling. The trailere was getting a bit cramped for her anyhow. The Trail-a-Bike is much faster than the trailer, particularly up hills.

How old is the oldest boy? Could he ride behind you and the six year old? Could you attach a Trail-a-Bike to a tandam? Two kids with backpacks in a trailer would be fairly crowded, I should think.

Paul

My kids walk to school, but I hauled them to/from day camps and such in a trailer and they loved it and it was plenty "cool" -- at least until the point that the eldest just got too big for it. It sounds like your load is about the upper limit for a trailer -- 80 lbs plus trailer -- but your bike should be fine assuming *you* can handle it.

Heck no.

I pull my Chariot Caddie with my old Schwinn MTB. I have never tried it with my old Fuji Dynamic 10 road bike, but I'll bet it would do it just fine. I can hardly tell the trailer is behind the MTB when it's being pulled. Also, as a note of interest, on the front of, or near the front of the new Chariot carriers mini catalog or brochure, the trailer is being pulled by a road bike. Have fun!