Originally Posted by
acidfast7
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i also should say that I'm quite anti-trailer unless one lives in the countryside. for urban areas they're dogs.
as a counterpoint, the Nihola bikes are excellent ... used they run about €1000 or about €500 if you OK with doing a quick rebuild (hubs/brakes/etc...), they run about €2000 new.
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/produ...x-1-_-10101221
I would not consider the Chariot CX1 to be a dog. It pulls plenty fast over good distances. Much more lively ride than the Nihola or other bakfiet type bikes when speed, distance, hills, and other traffic w/o separate facilities are factors. We took our kids on many group and social rides in the trailers and I was definitely able to keep up with the pack. As I said in earlier post, I regularly pulled our Chariot at 22-27mph on our run into downtown. And rode the same hills back up on the return home. Not as easy to do on a bakfiet or with a child in a seat, front or rear.
The trailer also allows you room for toys, clothes, kid stuff, etc… Take it to the grocery store to bring home lots of edible cargo. Pull your kiddo to preschool/school and then leave it locked up. Ride on to work unloaded. You or your partner can pick up the child and trailer in the afternoon. Use the trailer as a jogging stroller, swivel wheel stroller, or ski travois. Convert it to grocery, cargo, or dog trailer when your kids outgrow it. Lots of uses, even if the child trailers aren't for everyone.
That is why I posted links to the Surly Big Dummy and Yuba Mondo. Also versatile and with some limitations.
Bakfiets are very nice. Indeed, agreed. They just were not the best option for where I live in my city. If it were flat, great bicycle facilities, and all of my destinations were within five miles, then probably so. Won't be taking a bakfiet on social/group rides or overnight camping trips, though.
Big Dummy, Yuba, quality child trailer pulled behind a decent bike, are all better options for longer, faster, extended types of riding.
Trains and busses are tough with any of the child capable options. Dummy and Yuba don't fit on our bus bike racks. I have detached the trailer and loaded it as a stroller on both our busses and train here. They will let you roll the Dummy and Yuba on to our trains. Bakfiets no way. Bike with trailer on the train, sometimes yes and sometimes no, depending on the operator and current occupancy on the train.