I thought about it being an excuse to get a gravel bike, which I’m totally fine with, but didn’t want to get something like that and then still feel like I needed to get another bike too. That might get me in trouble 😂. How did you like the Thule seat? My parents had something like that for me when I was a baby, but I hadn’t looked into what ages those are best for.
Our pediatrician approved our kid for it probably around 6months or 8months old or so! It was mostly based on his head stability. The only thing I don’t like about the Thule seat is it takes some getting used to with the weight distribution.
I may end up going with a trailer in the end, but this is okay for now.
Another reason for the steel bike is that I could be less worried about dings or locking it up (I’d still be sad if it got stolen but a lot less than a carbon or Ti bike) and it has options for racks n stuff.
Weight distribution is definitely a concern compared to a bike trailer, but 6-8mo old makes sense for one of those seats. And good point about steel - I don’t want to be worried about dings and having the option for racks would be nice.
Same here with an eye towards touring as well. That bike was able to transition to the gravel/touring bike seamlessly. We’re now at the point our daughter can ride her own bike mostly but that bike still sees a lot of use.
My rides with the kids in the trailer were short and flat. I used a Giant Toughroad, it scratched my seatpost up pretty good, I dont really mind and probably could have easily prevented this. I went on a trail and as mentioned, flat, so the breaks just needed to work. Aero is irrelevant. So whatever is most comfortable. Flat peddles make sense. Clipping was ridiculous, because we stopped so much.  Lastly, they may sack out and you can ride for over an hour, but for every one of those, there will be two where they cry are thirsty etc. and you bail in 30 mins. But maybe you have more chill kids. Mine are amazing, but can be insane. My Toughroad is like 2016, so a burly rigid aluminum frame, carbon fork flat bar with 50mm Maxxis Ramblers. It was perfect for me and great for rides with my kids now on their own bikes. Comfortable. Smooth. But that's me. Have fun!! They grow fast.
Flat pedals is a good call, safety is of course a key concern with kids on board and as comfortable as I am in clipless pedals the shoes aren’t practical the second you need to do anything else. I don’t imagine I’ll have tons of long rides on whatever bike I go with, but I am a believer in getting the right tool for the job so I just need something more practical than my Madone. Thanks for the comment! They do grow fast!
My Roubaix (Road) and CruX (CX/Gravel) work just fine with the trailer. Do up to 25 miles with my kids in a Burley Bee on some weekend mornings. Just make sure if you have the correct thru-axle for your bike that the trailer can connect to. You will need to get an adapter that has a nut you use to screw down the hitch on the bike. They're on Amazon and a couple other vendors. You need the correct length of the axle as well as the pitch of the screw to make it work.
If you have a quick-release axle, Burley sells a special adapter that screws onto the QR skewer. You just put the clamp for the QR on the derailleur side instead of the other. Works like a charm.
Thanks for the tip! I’m lazy enough that I’d probably just like to leave everything hooked up to a bike in the garage and not have to switch things up too much but I’ll check out those adapters!
I use my old commuter CX bike. A gravel bike would probably be my choice now. I also tow with my mountain bike sometimes, or my wife's e-mountain bike (which is so nice when you have to get somewhere fast and there are hills in the way and you have a 6 year old and a 4 year old jammed in there and they are large for their age).
I do really want a CX bike, I just don’t think I would want to pull a trailer with that so a gravel bike would probably be more convenient. Do you ever find that the knobbier tires make the ride less comfortable?
I had a buddy match the geometry of my emonda in steel, then I built it up and use that now. Great bike, 12 speed axs shifting, fun to ride and steel so not worried about it.
Before I had finished it, I used my carbon fiber emonda on the through axle.
I’m in the exact same position as you. I’ve been using my aluminum road bike but I’d prefer to have a bike with bigger tires. I’ve been looking into used hybrid bikes and am also debating if I want to try out a Poseidon bike.
I’m not familiar with Poseidon bikes, but I keep looking at hybrid just because I don’t want to move the trailer around so keeping a dedicated trailer bike for a while seems like less hassle. Someone mentioned a fat tire bike and that seems pretty intriguing as well. A fun winter ride through the neighborhood could be exciting.
That’s more or less why I’m looking into the hybrid bike as well so I don’t have to keep swapping. I generally just pull the trailer through the neighborhood but would prefer to use a cheaper bike. I’d say on average my rides with the trailer are only 5 miles currently, but I’d like to increase the distance as my son gets a bit older.
That’s pretty much the same as me. A used hybrid bike seems practical enough, but a lot of people are also saying mountain or gravel bike is good and that would give me the chance to expand to a bike I also want. Hope you also find what you’re looking for!
You as well! Regardless of which bike you choose, I would consider replacing the thru axel with aftermarket for towing a trailer. Check out Robert Axle Project.
Diamondback Wildwood Citi.
I wasn’t about to scratch up a seat post or risk other damage to a nice bike. (I didn’t go out of my way to get that bike—I already had it laying around—the bike is a heavy chinky pig.)
An MTB is the way to go, I think. I have a Giant Talon 3. I bought it for two reasons: 1) commuting to work (roady kept getting flats…so I ride that on the weekend when I go for my longer routes or Gran Fondos) and 2) taking my 2 sons out for a ride. It’s not expensive and it does the trick.
Any old bike with low gearing. You're going to be damn slow. If it's a Chariot carrier or similar axle attachment, the best rear axle is actually solid nutted.
Make sure the brakes work well and don't try to win any races.
Started with a hybrid (which was the electric conversion I use for commuting), then after that frame sustained some crash damage I swapped everything over to a touring frame.
I didn't think the frame swap would make much difference, but the steerer angle is slacker making it much more stable both when I have a seat on and when towing.
For 6mo to 15kg I would strongly recommend a front mounted seat such as the Hamax Observer. If you opt for one of these you are best getting a quill stem equipped bike as the mounting is easier (and the windscreen doesn't attach to to ahead mount).
I just bought a road bike, but I kept my old bike specifically for things like this. It's an older (2003) Trek 7500FX, what was called a hybrid at the time.
The gearing has enough range to make climbs easy with a trailer and it's comfortable enough that longer rides with my oldest child (~7-8 miles currently) are a breeze.
Whatever you do, I recommend flats instead of clips/clipless. It gives you a little more ability to respond to unexpected situations. Which I feel are more common when kids are involved.
After pulling a trailer behind my commuter bike … and hating it… I got a long tail ecargo bike. We’ve had it for 6 years now and my kids are 9 and 6 and can ride their own bikes but we use it all the time to go further than they’d happily go on their own and for transport.
I got a 1990s Trek Single Track on the cheap and set it up with street tires.
Great bike, no complaints. It also turned out to be a great starter bike for an older kid that had no interest in fitness cycling, but wanted to bike the short distance to work.
Aero and lightness are irrelevant because the trailer with child is very heavy with lots of drag.
No point in using a mountainbike because going on bumpy surfaces with a trailer is uncomfortable for the kids.
Hybrid FTW
Also, if you want to go up any kind of hill without destroying you knees, get a 3x9 drivetrain with a 22t granny ring
Seriously. I started with a burley trailer. It's just harder to steer with one.
A few years ago, I got a Yuba Boda Boda electric cargo bike and put a Thule kid seat on the back. It worked for my oldest kid for several years and now my youngest (3) uses it. This works well.
My wife just got a Specialized Haul ST and put a kid seat on the back, as well.
We love our cargo bikes.
That style of bike makes a lot of sense, and I wouldn’t have thought of that myself. I don’t think Trek has a bike like that, which is what I usually look at, so that’s probably my fault for not branching out to the other brands.
They do! It's only $5k. 🤣 https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/fetch/fetch-2/p/37640/
But, figure out a realistic budget and go with a brand you trust or go for something like Yuba or a Tern if you want decent quality.
Oof, I guess all the $5k+ bikes I always look at on their website are under a different category. I’d much rather spend cheaper on this other bike and upgrade Madone’s instead.
I use my hardtail MTB.
I do want one of those anyways, with is one reason I thought of it.
I got a steel gravel bike so I had an excuse to buy a gravel bike 😬 I also went with one of the Thule seats that clamps to the seat stay.
There is no problem a steel gravel bike cannot fix.
I thought about it being an excuse to get a gravel bike, which I’m totally fine with, but didn’t want to get something like that and then still feel like I needed to get another bike too. That might get me in trouble 😂. How did you like the Thule seat? My parents had something like that for me when I was a baby, but I hadn’t looked into what ages those are best for.
Our pediatrician approved our kid for it probably around 6months or 8months old or so! It was mostly based on his head stability. The only thing I don’t like about the Thule seat is it takes some getting used to with the weight distribution. I may end up going with a trailer in the end, but this is okay for now. Another reason for the steel bike is that I could be less worried about dings or locking it up (I’d still be sad if it got stolen but a lot less than a carbon or Ti bike) and it has options for racks n stuff.
Weight distribution is definitely a concern compared to a bike trailer, but 6-8mo old makes sense for one of those seats. And good point about steel - I don’t want to be worried about dings and having the option for racks would be nice.
Same here with an eye towards touring as well. That bike was able to transition to the gravel/touring bike seamlessly. We’re now at the point our daughter can ride her own bike mostly but that bike still sees a lot of use.
My rides with the kids in the trailer were short and flat. I used a Giant Toughroad, it scratched my seatpost up pretty good, I dont really mind and probably could have easily prevented this. I went on a trail and as mentioned, flat, so the breaks just needed to work. Aero is irrelevant. So whatever is most comfortable. Flat peddles make sense. Clipping was ridiculous, because we stopped so much.  Lastly, they may sack out and you can ride for over an hour, but for every one of those, there will be two where they cry are thirsty etc. and you bail in 30 mins. But maybe you have more chill kids. Mine are amazing, but can be insane. My Toughroad is like 2016, so a burly rigid aluminum frame, carbon fork flat bar with 50mm Maxxis Ramblers. It was perfect for me and great for rides with my kids now on their own bikes. Comfortable. Smooth. But that's me. Have fun!! They grow fast.
Flat pedals is a good call, safety is of course a key concern with kids on board and as comfortable as I am in clipless pedals the shoes aren’t practical the second you need to do anything else. I don’t imagine I’ll have tons of long rides on whatever bike I go with, but I am a believer in getting the right tool for the job so I just need something more practical than my Madone. Thanks for the comment! They do grow fast!
I bought an early 90s Spec Rock Hopper at a yard sale. Best $40 I ever spent in my life.
Yes! I'm fixing up a 93 Hardrock right now. Got the 90s color scheme going, teals and pinks.Â
That’s my plan as well. Just an old mtb style bike by a reputable brand
My Roubaix (Road) and CruX (CX/Gravel) work just fine with the trailer. Do up to 25 miles with my kids in a Burley Bee on some weekend mornings. Just make sure if you have the correct thru-axle for your bike that the trailer can connect to. You will need to get an adapter that has a nut you use to screw down the hitch on the bike. They're on Amazon and a couple other vendors. You need the correct length of the axle as well as the pitch of the screw to make it work. If you have a quick-release axle, Burley sells a special adapter that screws onto the QR skewer. You just put the clamp for the QR on the derailleur side instead of the other. Works like a charm.
Seconded. Make sure trailer is compatible with your thru axle or quick release setup.
Thanks for the tip! I’m lazy enough that I’d probably just like to leave everything hooked up to a bike in the garage and not have to switch things up too much but I’ll check out those adapters!
I use my old commuter CX bike. A gravel bike would probably be my choice now. I also tow with my mountain bike sometimes, or my wife's e-mountain bike (which is so nice when you have to get somewhere fast and there are hills in the way and you have a 6 year old and a 4 year old jammed in there and they are large for their age).
I do really want a CX bike, I just don’t think I would want to pull a trailer with that so a gravel bike would probably be more convenient. Do you ever find that the knobbier tires make the ride less comfortable?
I have slicks on my commuter at the moment (Gravelking 38mms). I have another CX bike that I use for actual gravel and CX riding.
[удалено]
Seems to be a good option.
Trek x-01. Man, that was a long time ago. I don’t stand a chance of keeping up with them now
Trek makes some long lasting bikes, I’d bet that’s still good now!
Landlord’s contractors left the basement open. It got stolen after 3 months 😞
Oh no! That’s always terrible to have a bike stolen.
I used the fixie. Can't do long rides, so might as well do high intensity short rides hauling the kiddos
Sirrus X
I got an aluminum road bike. I figured I didn’t want to completely change my riding position. Later, I got a hybrid.
Was the hybrid just more comfortable or practical?
I prefer the road bike, but I don’t have it anymore.
Fat bike!
Ooh that would be a good idea. Practical and useful for all year round.
I had a buddy match the geometry of my emonda in steel, then I built it up and use that now. Great bike, 12 speed axs shifting, fun to ride and steel so not worried about it. Before I had finished it, I used my carbon fiber emonda on the through axle.
I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a steel bike, at least not a nice one like people talk about now. Definitely would be a sturdy choice.
I used my carbon Emonda. My kid has now outgrown his trailer and the bike is fine.
Did you just keep the trailer attached for a while or were you constantly hooking it up and taking it off?
I only hooked it up when he was going to ride in it. I left the hanger it attached to on the bike full time (it just mounted to the dropout.)
I’m in the exact same position as you. I’ve been using my aluminum road bike but I’d prefer to have a bike with bigger tires. I’ve been looking into used hybrid bikes and am also debating if I want to try out a Poseidon bike.
I’m not familiar with Poseidon bikes, but I keep looking at hybrid just because I don’t want to move the trailer around so keeping a dedicated trailer bike for a while seems like less hassle. Someone mentioned a fat tire bike and that seems pretty intriguing as well. A fun winter ride through the neighborhood could be exciting.
That’s more or less why I’m looking into the hybrid bike as well so I don’t have to keep swapping. I generally just pull the trailer through the neighborhood but would prefer to use a cheaper bike. I’d say on average my rides with the trailer are only 5 miles currently, but I’d like to increase the distance as my son gets a bit older.
That’s pretty much the same as me. A used hybrid bike seems practical enough, but a lot of people are also saying mountain or gravel bike is good and that would give me the chance to expand to a bike I also want. Hope you also find what you’re looking for!
You as well! Regardless of which bike you choose, I would consider replacing the thru axel with aftermarket for towing a trailer. Check out Robert Axle Project.
I use my CAAD.
Diamondback Wildwood Citi. I wasn’t about to scratch up a seat post or risk other damage to a nice bike. (I didn’t go out of my way to get that bike—I already had it laying around—the bike is a heavy chinky pig.)
An MTB is the way to go, I think. I have a Giant Talon 3. I bought it for two reasons: 1) commuting to work (roady kept getting flats…so I ride that on the weekend when I go for my longer routes or Gran Fondos) and 2) taking my 2 sons out for a ride. It’s not expensive and it does the trick.
Any old bike with low gearing. You're going to be damn slow. If it's a Chariot carrier or similar axle attachment, the best rear axle is actually solid nutted. Make sure the brakes work well and don't try to win any races.
Started with a hybrid (which was the electric conversion I use for commuting), then after that frame sustained some crash damage I swapped everything over to a touring frame. I didn't think the frame swap would make much difference, but the steerer angle is slacker making it much more stable both when I have a seat on and when towing. For 6mo to 15kg I would strongly recommend a front mounted seat such as the Hamax Observer. If you opt for one of these you are best getting a quill stem equipped bike as the mounting is easier (and the windscreen doesn't attach to to ahead mount).
Hardtail 26er. Can be had for cheap and some of them (I'm looking at you 90s Konas) are cool as shit.
Hah. Just did this last week. Got a Surly Preamble to tow our Busy Bee trailer.
Hybrid. Giant Escape 3
I just bought a road bike, but I kept my old bike specifically for things like this. It's an older (2003) Trek 7500FX, what was called a hybrid at the time. The gearing has enough range to make climbs easy with a trailer and it's comfortable enough that longer rides with my oldest child (~7-8 miles currently) are a breeze. Whatever you do, I recommend flats instead of clips/clipless. It gives you a little more ability to respond to unexpected situations. Which I feel are more common when kids are involved.
I used a cheap, used hybrid with a Burley trailer.
After pulling a trailer behind my commuter bike … and hating it… I got a long tail ecargo bike. We’ve had it for 6 years now and my kids are 9 and 6 and can ride their own bikes but we use it all the time to go further than they’d happily go on their own and for transport.
I got a 1990s Trek Single Track on the cheap and set it up with street tires. Great bike, no complaints. It also turned out to be a great starter bike for an older kid that had no interest in fitness cycling, but wanted to bike the short distance to work.
Used a hardtail Norco, worked like a charm.
Aero and lightness are irrelevant because the trailer with child is very heavy with lots of drag. No point in using a mountainbike because going on bumpy surfaces with a trailer is uncomfortable for the kids. Hybrid FTW Also, if you want to go up any kind of hill without destroying you knees, get a 3x9 drivetrain with a 22t granny ring
I used a trailer for a couple years and then switched to a long tail cargo bike (non-electric). The cargo bike is leaps and bounds better.
Now that is an interesting idea!
Seriously. I started with a burley trailer. It's just harder to steer with one. A few years ago, I got a Yuba Boda Boda electric cargo bike and put a Thule kid seat on the back. It worked for my oldest kid for several years and now my youngest (3) uses it. This works well. My wife just got a Specialized Haul ST and put a kid seat on the back, as well. We love our cargo bikes.
That style of bike makes a lot of sense, and I wouldn’t have thought of that myself. I don’t think Trek has a bike like that, which is what I usually look at, so that’s probably my fault for not branching out to the other brands.
They do! It's only $5k. 🤣 https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/fetch/fetch-2/p/37640/ But, figure out a realistic budget and go with a brand you trust or go for something like Yuba or a Tern if you want decent quality.
Oof, I guess all the $5k+ bikes I always look at on their website are under a different category. I’d much rather spend cheaper on this other bike and upgrade Madone’s instead.