this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2024
167 points (100.0% liked)
Bicycles
3127 readers
13 users here now
Welcome to [email protected]
A place to share our love of all things with two wheels and pedals. This is an inclusive, non-judgemental community. All types of cyclists are accepted here; whether you're a commuter, a roadie, a MTB enthusiast, a fixie freak, a crusty xbiking hoarder, in the middle of an epic across-the-world bicycle tour, or any other type of cyclist!
Community Rules
-
No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
-
Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
-
No porn.
-
No ads / spamming.
-
Ride bikes
Other cycling-related communities
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Yeah, if you're regularly doing heavy loads, getting a purpose-built trailer is a good idea. But if you're just getting groceries, you can probably get a kids trailer used for <$100.
We have a fairly robust (and not cheap!) child trailer. Yes, it can work, but there's so much wasted space because of the seat.
If buying used, I think you do get the best value from a child trailer, though.
Eh, I think the seat actually helps keep things organized. I put heavy, boxy things on the seat, lighter, bulky things in front of the seat, and bags and whatnot behind the seat. Mine looks something like this, and has the coverings and everything so things stay dry.
But I don't use it for carrying cargo every day, it's more of an occasional thing. If we go together, we take the car, otherwise I'll try to take the bike so I get some exercise at the same time. If I did it more regularly, I'd probably get a proper trailer with a higher weight limit. But my city isn't really designed for cargo bikes (bike paths/lanes aren't near shopping areas, few proper bike racks, etc), so even if I had one, I probably wouldn't use it enough to justify it. But the kid's bike trailer is perfect because I live right next to a nice bike path that goes to a small fishing pond, so I'll take the kids with quite often. But even when the youngest outgrows it, I'll probably keep the trailer for hauling stuff.
Oh yeah, there is no right or wrong here. If it suits your needs, then it's a perfect trailer! I use mine for the grandkids, and because I have a regular cargo trailer and a Burley Travoy, my needs are met for medium/largo cargo requirements without having to use the kid's trailer.
But, I can see it being super useful and very cost-effective if you have kids, since you can use it with or without the kids.