Child bike trailer: has anyone used one as a jogger?

[plutocrap]

Our family needs to take more exercise, and bike riding seems ideal, as DS and I both have bikes already, and DH is amenable. I'm not sure, though, what to do about 8.5mo DD:

• buy a reclining bike seat (I have a child bike seat already, but it doesn't recline)

OR

• use the non-reclining bike seat for going out and about in town, and a trailer for leisure jaunts, which would enable us to pack picnic supplies and give her somewhere to snooze. Some trailers also have compatible accessories which allow you to turn them into "jogger" style prams, so we could lock the bikes and wander off.

Yet a lot of trailers seem to insist they are for bigger children, i.e. from 18mo. Is this really true? The need for exercise is really fairly urgent (DH is on a roll with his regime, and I'd like to push it along, as well as helping myself).

And has anyone any recommendations for such trailers? I've been reading the Halfords, Argos and other online reviews, but any additional ideas would be very helpful.

Many thanks!

i used a bike trailer for mine, basically the age to use it from depends on your child. my ds2 was walking at 9mths so i figured he would be fine in the trailer.

for my dd who didnt crawl till 9mths and walked at 16mths i used aseat and it has a recline function.

i use the trailer for ds4 who is 4 and will put both of them in the trailer for the school run now.

i thought bike trailers were ok from 12mths generally.

i don thave one that can be a jogger/pushchair as well but i think they are a good idea and have seen some in use and they are great.

spikeyjoes? i think is a make that is good.

i would say look at independent bike shops rather than halfords/argos and try and find a bike forum as they will know what is good :)

I have a Croozer for two. Good points - I like the cut outs for helmets and the pockets inside for bits and pieces. There is a huge storage area in the back. The seats seem good. We used it for DS from about 12 months old (not crawling) with the Croozer insert - although it wasn't that great ie it gave him some support but not really enough around the head area when he fell asleep. Before that we had a Taga bike.
What I dont like is that its a bit fiddly to fit - it means also that you need to remove the childre ideally to remove the trailer - DH can manage it but I struggle. Which also means it doesn't easily convert from bike to pushchair - I had dreams of cycling to the shop, unhitching the trailer, walking round, hitching it back up and cycling home.
I think what we have is one of the best UK trailers, but if I could, I would import a Baby Jogger Pod - one of my friends has one and I believe its great.

its SPOKEYjoes, not spikey joes!! duh!

We have the Chariot Cougar 2. Conversion from trailer to jogger is really easy and quick. The wheels are large, so helpful on rougher terrain and if you do any running. Unlike the Croozer, it has suspension - this makes a LOT of difference when your child/ren are younger.

We rented a basic Burley trailer at CenterParcs that didn't offer any suspension and it was horrible for our DS2 (just over 1yr at the time). He absolutely hated the rattling and shaking about.
When we got the Cougar a couple of weeks later, it was like having a different boy in the trailer :). All happy and smiling, despite the fact that we live in a very hilly and 'bumpy' area.

Chariots are expensive, but they really hold their value well, esp. if you buy used. I think there's one for sale right now on eBay.

You can get a baby 'sling' type accessory to go in the Cougar - almost like a hammock. This is suitable from birth, if I'm not mistaken.
Then, when the child is older and can sit up, you can put a back/head support in (Chariot even make their own) to make it more comfortable.

So sorry I went silent! This had fallen down my discussions list, so I hadn't realised do many people had responded.

Thanks so much for your replies. I've spent a happy (?!) morning perving at trailers and joggers online, and it's a bit ic a shock to see thd cist of these things, isn't it? I'll try to keep in mind your comment about second hand value, elk4baby. Suspension's also a worry; I thought this might be good because if suspension: bluebird.

Do all thr jogger wheels swivel?

The jogger wheels normally do not swivel - they're large and easy to run with, but not ideal to take into small shops (you'd still be absolutely fine in a supermarket).
Chariot offers two small swivel wheels. We've found them brilliant! They can be clipped on upside down when it's in bike trailer mode and then are easily popped into right position, when you get to your destination and want to park the bike. The bike arm is stored right on the side of the trailer, so no worries about leaving it with the bike or carrying it around.
The jogger wheel is fantastic off road and is good for running (though I'm at the far extreme of unfit, so haven't actually done any running with it). Depending on your needs, you can even get a bicycle-style brake for it - if you're going down hills often.

I really don't know if there's a bike trailer with a swiveling jogging wheel out there.

If you're looking to use the trailer as a buggy, I'd say the better options are Chariot and Baby Jogger POD. The latter is fairly new, so will probably be really expensive, but still worth a look.

Have a look at

Do you have any experience with the suspension at CROOZER kid PLUS? Cause I am not sure if it's appropriate for my child... she has 6 months. I think it's doesn't work. Thanks for answers.
Miky

I buy a 2 in 1 stroller and bike trailer here www.aosom.com/category/bike-trailers-and-strollers~397/ it woks fine so far