Winther Dolphin child trailer - should I?

[dyl]

Hello road bike section. Normally I post in the mountain bike forums but this is more of a roady thing.

We have a baby and want to transport it by bike as soon as possible, and I like the idea of a trailer as it seems safer than a seat. We've found a modified Dolphin - the seat has been replaced with a larger one and it doesn't have the bars at the back for pushing it as a buggy, but we can apparently get these bits separately. The Dolphin in its current state is £100 and the replacement bits will be £90. Is that a reasonable price? Or would anyone care to make any recommendations? We have no experience of this sort of thing!

 

[hamster]

I found trailers a great way to transport my kids when young. Don't start until your child can support his/her head unaided. We used a car seat modified and bolted into the trailer in a reclined position. I used a steel framed trailer (Winchester) as I felt that drilling holes in steel was less likely to weaken it than an aluminium one. As for the price, I would check on eBay; it sounds a little steep to me.

 

[dyl]

The problem is that they turn up second hand so infrequently that it's hard to say what they're worth. I know that they're far more new, though.

 

[hamster]

Personally I would look for a Burley trailer, which seem to be the benchmark for these things and which certainly have brilliant resale value. We never bothered with a convertible trailer / pushchair, but it depends on your house etc.

 

[Jonny69]

I've never been happy about the risk of a moronic driver doing something stupid. Be that either deliberately or out of sheer stupidity. I don't mind risking myself, but not my kids.

 

[hamster]

I understand the concern - but in that case your kids would never go out cycling.
My experience over the 6 years i took mine around was that you got a lot more space and consideration when towing a child trailer. The whole thing acts like a roll cage which also helps, unlike a rear seat.
My children have cycled to school on quiet roads since they were 5 (initially on a tandem, from 7 on their own bikes). The biggest danger is the parents immediately by the school. My children have way more road sense than children who are driven around - you simply see it when they walk on pavements with their friends. I think that this skill is well worth the extra risk. But it's an individual decision.

I'll get of my high horse now!

 

[dyl]

I think my feeling is I'd rather not contribute to the problem of too many cars and not enough cyclists, and that I'd rather not bring up a risk averse child who thinks that cycling is too dangerous. My parents let me take crazy risks (like riding my pram wheel based go-kart down our steep street when I was small - I can't believe they let me do that but I'm glad that they did!).

But I've not actually tried it yet - we'll have to see just how terrifying it is when I start.

 

[Synthesis]

Hello road bike section. Normally I post in the mountain bike forums but this is more of a roady thing.

We have a baby and want to transport it by bike as soon as possible, and I like the idea of a trailer as it seems safer than a seat. We've found a modified Dolphin - the seat has been replaced with a larger one and it doesn't have the bars at the back for pushing it as a buggy, but we can apparently get these bits separately. The Dolphin in its current state is £100 and the replacement bits will be £90. Is that a reasonable price? Or would anyone care to make any recommendations? We have no experience of this sort of thing!

I have not read the other posts, so forgive me if this offends anybody. The Winther brand is Danish and is not of the best reputation here in Denmark, the Dolphin trailer is heavy and of not as good quality as other Danish trailers. the one I would recommend is this:

The Spectra Wing new it costs £277 but then you get all the things that makes in to a Tram, Jogger And a Trailer and it weighs a lot less than the Dolphin. If you want I can arrange to get one for you (works in a Bikeshop)

 

[dyl]

We went to look at the Dolphin - didn't buy it. It's bigger than we imagined, probably fine for the job but doesn't fold down as much as we'd hoped, so we're looking in to Burley trailers now. Could do to have a look at one really, but they look to fold down smaller.

I'll have a look at reviews and info on that Spectra trailer. Is it for one child or two?

 

[Synthesis]

it´s for two kids.