Recreational & Family - Maximum trailer speed?

Does anyone know know how fast you can realistically and safely ride with a 2 child bike trailer attached to you bike, with say:
a) one or two kids
b) some non living cargo. ;)

Does anyone know know how fast you can realistically and safely ride with a 2 child bike trailer attached to you bike, with say:
a) one or two kids
b) some non living cargo. ;)

That is a difficult question. It depends on a lot of things such as ...

(1) weather
(2) how good your brakes are
(3) how old/heavy/developed your children are
(4) riding environment

And I think that it is safe to say that there is probably little to zero (public) data on the topic.

Thanks.
Well, I guess then I should ask, if teh manufacturer really low-balling it when they say maximum 10 mph?
That seems really slow to me. I ride more like 16 mph at a liesurely pace (without a trailer)
Do you think I can safely go that fast on a nice dry day?

I don't think I'd trust that trailer very much if they only thought it could do 10mph. On the other hand I do not know what the manufacturers are saying in their literature and legal disclaimers, i.e. mine may state something similar but I trust it to do well over 10mph. I know I have gone over 30 maybe to 35.

In my estimation there are four important parts to the trailers. 1) Hitch, 2) Frame, 3) Fabric and 4) Wheels. I also think this is the order of importance in terms of potential danger in the event of failure.

Out of curiousity, what make and model of trailer says this?

Thanks.
Well, I guess then I should ask, if teh manufacturer really low-balling it when they say maximum 10 mph?
That seems really slow to me. I ride more like 16 mph at a liesurely pace (without a trailer)
Do you think I can safely go that fast on a nice dry day?

That seems low to me. I think that given decent lines of sight and a well functioning bike, you should be able to go 15+ mph with a well-developed child. I think that stopping distances will get unreasonably long if you approach 20+ such that you would need exceedingly good lines of sight.

Note that this is just speculative. I have not worked anything out on a piece of paper. Obviously as you get heavier loads not only will you have a harder time getting up to speed but you will have a more difficult time slowing down. I would adjust accordingly and experiment incrementally with caution.

I've gone 45+ with the 4 yr old twins in the Burley trailer.
The 7 yr old was riding on the rear rack, the 13 yr old was stoker and I was was Captain...

Aboard a Greenspeed tandem trike! :D

I must admit, when I applied the brakes at that speed, all that happened was smoke from the skidding tires. :rolleyes:
I wouldn't recommend going that fast with a trailer being pulled by a BIcycle, tandem or otherwise.

Be careful in turns (I have not flipped a trailer yet, but supposedly several people did).
But on a good straight dry road, with good visibility we go in high twenties (and my kids would prefer it even faster)
From glancing at speedo, it's something like 28 mph for the trailer and 24 mph for the commuter train option:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_0625.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_0666.jpg

I don't think I'd trust that trailer very much if they only thought it could do 10mph. On the other hand I do not know what the manufacturers are saying in their literature and legal disclaimers, i.e. mine may state something similar but I trust it to do well over 10mph. I know I have gone over 30 maybe to 35.

In my estimation there are four important parts to the trailers. 1) Hitch, 2) Frame, 3) Fabric and 4) Wheels. I also think this is the order of importance in terms of potential danger in the event of failure.

Out of curiousity, what make and model of trailer says this?

THANKS EVERYONE!
I'm referring to the Schwinn Mark 3 Bicycle Trailer
http://www.instep.net/Product/Bicycle_Trailers/Detail/33_Mark_3_Bicycle_Trailer_13-SC767/

I've gone 45+ with the 4 yr old twins in the Burley trailer.
The 7 yr old was riding on the rear rack, the 13 yr old was stoker and I was was Captain...

Aboard a Greenspeed tandem trike! :D

I must admit, when I applied the brakes at that speed, all that happened was smoke from the skidding tires. :rolleyes:
I wouldn't recommend going that fast with a trailer being pulled by a BIcycle, tandem or otherwise.

Darn those long California hills with wide sweeping curves :). Sounds like it was fun, lol. We usually ride flap open, no screen convertible style. Unless we have bugs, plan on going for speed or will be on terrain where things can get thrown back by the tires (water, gravel, sand, etc.).

I got cracked on the shin once in a paceline by a rock about .5-.75 the size of a fist that someone hit with their tire and snapped it airborne. I think it gave me a small hairline fracture because that thing hurt for a few months in certain positions. We were only doing about 25, but I'd hate to see what that same rock would do to the kids in the open carriage since shin level is about face level.

WE also go much faster than 10 MPH. Most people do. I think we have topped out are 28 and probably could have gone faster, but I was scared. The kids however loved it. I was on a paved bike trail, so there was no traffic to worry about, but it is worth noting that they stopping distance is long at that speed. I recommend that you keep speeds down if you are riding in traffic. It honestly take longer to stop a bike at that speed than it would a car.

Thanks everyone. OK, I guess, as i originally suspected, the lawyers got them to put a really low max speed. Happy biking!

I never saw any max speed limit on my instep trailer, but I've been a little over 20 with my 18 month old in it, she was giggling and laughing and having a grand old time though.

Thanks everyone. OK, I guess, as i originally suspected, the lawyers got them to put a really low max speed. Happy biking!

Part of the equation is the quality of the trailer. There are some low end models that I wouldn't trust at 15mph. On the other hand I have had my tandem trike with Hase Trets trailer up to 39mph and it was rock solid.

Be careful in turns (I have not flipped a trailer yet, but supposedly several people did).


I have. I was trying to make the ride more fun for my daughter by slowly zig zagging down the road in front of our house ( low speed, but sharp turns) when it flipped. She was fine, strapped in tight and hanging on her side, laughing hysterically. The trailer was fine as well, so I'm sure they will hold up at whatever speed you can get it going.

ALWAYS have eye protection for the kidlets. Either sunglasses, or the plastic windshield for the trailer. I don't think the mesh screen is adequate at all; a bit of sand in your eyes is no fun at all and could do real damage.

Re: speed, it really depends on your comfort level and ability to control the combined mass. With kids though I tend to take it easy.

another thing that comes to mind is that, on the Chariot axle hitch at least (Burley uses a comprable hitch), the forward weight on the hitch caused by the bicycle's braking is taken up by the rubber clasp and the safety pin, and not any of the forged parts of the hitch. so while slowing gradually from a higher speed should never be an issue, braking quickly might lead to part fatigue and sudden failure...

mind you, this is all just speculation after looking at my Chariot's attachment. i normally cruise in town somewhere between 12-18mph on the rolling terrain, much slower up the steep hills (um, like 5mph), and conceivably much faster than 25-ish-mph on descents (i normally just coast and rest).

All of this is academic in our case, as our 14-month-old is perfectly happy until we hit 17 mph, at which point she cries. I have no idea what happens at that speed, but she is happiest at 15 mph or slower, and does not like to go fast.

Maybe that will change when she's older. At this point, she is about 18 pounds and probably not getting much benefit from the shocks.

Darn those long California hills with wide sweeping curves :).

NO...sorry! :p

Hiway 9, from Felton to Santa Cruz, CA.

The descent part is about 2 1/2 miles and is carved in the steep granite slopes of the San Lorenzo Valley.
Barely wide enought to be legally a 2 lane road.
Solid rock on one side, sheer cliff on the other. Tight, blind corners carved through the redwoods.
An "S" in the road, bisected by a railroad crossing.
You get the idea.

Really, ... where's the "fun" in wide, sweeping curves? :notamused:

Brakes? ...We don't need no stinking BRAKES! :innocent:

NO...sorry! :p

Hiway 9, from Felton to Santa Cruz, CA.

The descent part is about 2 1/2 miles and is carved in the steep granite slopes of the San Lorenzo Valley.
Barely wide enought to be legally a 2 lane road.
Solid rock on one side, sheer cliff on the other. Tight, blind corners carved through the redwoods.
An "S" in the road, bisected by a railroad crossing.
You get the idea.

Really, ... where's the "fun" in wide, sweeping curves? :notamused:

Brakes? ...We don't need no stinking BRAKES! :innocent:

Sounds like a thrill ride :). I agree, the speed is more fun with an element of danger in it.

I've had our chariot trailer up to probably 20mph going down hills. All I hear is "weeeee" from the trailer. At the bottom the kids are begging to turn around and do it again.

The trailer feels very stable at higher speeds, and the trailer acts like a parachute to a small extent, limiting top speed. I wouldn't try turning going that fast, but never feel out of control.

Yeah, since I last posted we have definitely hit 25 mph on occasion with the Chariot. She got over her fear of speed and now she likes to go fast. I mentioned this:


another thing that comes to mind is that, on the Chariot axle hitch at least (Burley uses a comprable hitch), the forward weight on the hitch caused by the bicycle's braking is taken up by the rubber clasp and the safety pin, and not any of the forged parts of the hitch. so while slowing gradually from a higher speed should never be an issue, braking quickly might lead to part fatigue and sudden failure...

to my husband and he agreed that it was possible there might be an issue there, but he thought it unlikely. We agreed that fast curvy descents are probably a bad idea for a variety of reasons, though.

These days we go anywhere from 12 miles an hour to about 17-18, depending on the wind and who is pulling. She seems happiest at about 15-16 mph.

to my husband and he agreed that it was possible there might be an issue there, but he thought it unlikely. We agreed that fast curvy descents are probably a bad idea for a variety of reasons, though.


glad you two discussed this ;) i thought about this after i posted it, and realized that what i wrote was true to a point---a rather significant point---namely, that the safety pin is made of steel, whose fatigue characteristics are gradual and not-so-sudden (unlike aluminum, which is prone to sudden snap under fatigue:eek:). in other words, the pin would bend before it would snap. crisis averted.