We just bought our son's 1st birthday present. A barely used 2001 Chariot Chauffeur. It is in fantastic condition. We are very exciting to take little James out biking with us.
I have a couple of questions for people on here.
Right now our chariot is only configured as a bike trailer, I am debating about either the Stroller kit or the Jogger kit. If you have the jogger kit, how do you transport the attachments (wheel & support arms) while biking? Also, same question for the stroller wheels? I was thinking that I could just mount them upside down while biking. Do you leave the handle mounted at all times?
We are really looking forward to this snow melting so we can start biking again!!
(pictures to follow)
Thanks very much,
Glenn
bikinggrrrl
02-06-10, 09:22 AM
Congrats on the trailer. When we cycle we generally have no plans to stop and walk around with the little guy in stroller-mode. Thus, we remove the stroller wheels and handlebars before we even head out. Decreases weight and drag.
If our LO wakes up and is fussing, the last thing he wants is to continue to be contained in the trailer. In those circumstances we make a full blown pit stop and let him run around in a park or similar patch of grass.
Can you out the skis on your trailer? Chariot makes conversion kit for that too. We have been taking out our LO while we snowshoe or cross-country ski this winter. Nice to get use out of the trailer year 'round if possible.
That makes a lot of sence, why increase the weight of the trailer if we are not really using it as a stroller. No need to go out and buy it until we are using it, at that point if we figure we would use it then we can always order the stroller kit at that point.
As for ski's it doesn't look like there is one for the model year I have. That is ok though, we are not really into x country skiing or snow shoeing. If we need something we will get some sort of sled. I think my parents still have the sled that I used as a kid kicking around somewhere.
Thank you,
Glenn
pwdeegan
02-06-10, 09:38 PM
when go to a walking mall or some such i frequently carry the stroller wheels inverted on the wings when i bike with the trailer in tow. that way if my daughter is sleeping, or gets tired of walking, or i just need some place to stash our groceries, jackets, or other junk, i still have the Chariot, while the bicycle is locked up elsewhere. best system ever. and the added weight of the stroller wheels is negligible. the tow arm attaches to the side of the Chariot (on my it does, anyway), the flag i either just leave on or take apart and stow in the rear compartment.
fyi, the stroller wheels work much better for this than the jogger. the jogger is great for straight lines without people, so i've found for my semi-urban life that the stroller is more convenient. be warned, however, that the stroller makes the Chariot a little rear-heavy, which means if your kid is not in the Chariot, then it might have a propensity to flip backward when unattended. to get around this, you can add some ballast to the front, like your groceries, a bike lock, etc., transferring to the rear when your kid gets back in.
edit: just noted the Chariot Chauffer has no apparent rear storage compartment. just the same, the stroller wheels could still mount on top when being trailed, and stuff (a bag slung over the back when walking, e.g., your bike panniers or some such) could be fitted to the rear push handle, assuming it hadn't been detached for weight-savings... because, really, when you're already hauling 50+ pounds of weight, that aluminum push bar is going to break you?? lol. as for me, if i'd wanted to save that amount of weight, i'd've passed on the burger and milkshake i had today! -->that's just more fuel for the ride (or an excuse to go burn it off).
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