Recreational & Family - Pulling trailer with a road bike

Does anyone pull a kid trailer with a road bike. I have 700 X 25cm wheels and I was wondering if the tires are too skinny for the weight of a trailer with kids.

We pull a trailer all the time. I pull it with my cross bike, that has road wheels and 28mm tires. We have owned three trailers, and none of them really put much weight on the bike hitch.

Depending on the weight of the child and stuff packed in the trailer, you'll be down a couple gears, especially pedaling up hill. I think if your in good shape you won't have a problem with a road double crank, but a triple might be nice for big hills.

Personally I'd never have another trailer that doesn't attach to the skewer in some way. The first cheap trailer we bought clamped to the frame, and really messed it up. I love the ball hitch on our latest (and last) Chariot brand, that goes under the skewer. When we were shopping, this was an option on the Burley's as well.

I just have the In-Step trailer with a 2 1/2 year old that is very well behaved in the bicycle trailer. Right now I am pulling her with a Trek 4500 but I have a new found love with my road bike and would rather ride that more than anything. The other bike we ride is a Kona Eighty-Eight model but the fender mounts interfere with the trailer mount so I need to use my road bike or my mountain bike. I was hoping to sell the 4500 and keep the road bike and the Y3 full suspension downhill.

There should be no issues pulling it with a road bike.

I've pulled mine with my road bike on vacation where it was flat, but where I live it is hilly and I need my mountain bike's granny gears to make it up the hills.

A trailer does not not put much more weight on the bike, so pretty much any tire that you use will be fine. But like others said above, the gearing on a road bike might not be ideally suited for dragging it around.

jim

My husband has a triple on his road bike and has not yet needed the little ring to pull the trailer. He has 23's on that bike.

I'm building up a new bike specifically for pulling the trailer, and I plan to put fatter tires on it -- probably 28's but I chose a frame that could go up to 32's. I am also putting a triple on it because I am nowhere near as strong a rider as my husband is and I think I will need the granny gear.

(Mostly it is just an excuse to get a new bike, though.)

Thanks everyone for the replys. I feel better now.

25mm should be no problem.
If you have any hills around go for triple crank if pulling any significant weight.
Uphill with the trailer is the only time I use smallest ring and granny gear.
Granted, you might have less cargo than I:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_5626.jpg

Assuming your road bike has good enough brakes to stop you + trailer and low enough gears to make it up hills you are probably fine.

Personally I prefer towing a kids trailer with a flatbar bike with platform pedals. I've tried towing my Burley cub twice with my road touring bike (triple crank + canti brakes + STI brifters) and didn't feel like I could reach the brakes quickly when I wanted to. I don't like to use clipless pedals when towing my kids either, I want to be able to bail instantly. I much prefer using my old MTB or my new "urban MTB" (fully rigid, disc brakes, flat bar) for towing the kids. YMMV.

25mm should be no problem.
If you have any hills around go for triple crank if pulling any significant weight.
Uphill with the trailer is the only time I use smallest ring and granny gear.
Granted, you might have less cargo than I:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_5626.jpg

That should be on a ThinkGreen card or postcard. :) Well done.

So long as the trailer mount/hitch attachs safely and you can stop/control the bike - shouldn't matter at all what kind of bike you use. I've ridden with a fixed conversion (road) bike, my regular road bike and my fully fred commuter MTB and they all work just fine for towing both my daughter and misc. cargo around in the trailer.

My MTB is by far the best suited bike for the job, but I know I can still use the others in a pinch - I feel faster with the road bike at the helm, and WAY more cautious when riding fixed (yes I run a brake).

I only have 1 bike and its a roadie
I tow my son all the time, I have a double and am not in great shape
So I rarely/never use the big ring
I tried using clipless the other day and regretted that
(Try starting up hill with a trailer trying to get you foot in.... not good)
I find it easy and it puts little to no stress on the bike
So I say Go for it

No problem with a road bike... you probably want a skewer hitch to use with your road bike and Y3. I used a standard clamp-on Burley hitch on my road bike for a while. It wore a little spot in the paint, not really a big deal.

Gearing depends on you, but I only see trailers on bike paths, and they are flat, so gearing is a non-issue. I did fine pulling a trailer with a road double; YMMV.

....Gearing depends on you, but I only see trailers on bike paths, and they are flat, so gearing is a non-issue. I did fine pulling a trailer with a road double; YMMV.

I think that really depends on the profile of the path :). I've ridden in WV some and I can't see how I would get by with a double and I pull with a double occasionally (titanium racer).

My usual trailer hauler is an old POS Rock Hopper but I've used the carbon fiber race bike a couple of times. The Chariot's hitch attaches to the skewer. I figure the rear axle is probably the strongest part of the bike and pulling a trailer shouldn't put any more stress on it than a hard sprint.

I trailer my son with a single speed track bike [fitted with a CB].

:)

I pulled a trailer much like that touring the upper peninsula of Michigan, including across the Fireroads through the National Forest last June. It had 75 pounds of gear and water across the Nat Forest because I was fully self supported there and had to pack water in with me. It did a fantastic job!

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII076.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII090.jpg


25mm should be no problem.
If you have any hills around go for triple crank if pulling any significant weight.
Uphill with the trailer is the only time I use smallest ring and granny gear.
Granted, you might have less cargo than I:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_5626.jpg

I put a mt train 206 on my 5200 pull the kid around 3 years on it.