That makes no sense...

[mousme]

Why on earth are bicycle trailers so expensive? Also, they all appear to be made for transporting children and not groceries. I found one at Wicycle.com, but it's still more than I would ideally like to pay for a trailer.

*sigh*

Any thoughts one where I could find one at a reasonable price? In Montreal?

Comments

[merccom.livejournal.com]

you could probably build one yourself pretty inexpensively.

the reason they are expensive is BECAUSE they were ment to carry kids. it sounds like that all you really need is basically a basket with wheels attached to it.

shouldnt be a very involved project, just make sure to get largeish wheels to make it ride smoother. then you can say you built it yourself..... inexpensively

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

I use a metal saddlebag baskets for my groceries. They exactly fit a paper shopping bag or reusable bag. Cost about $15 each.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

You could also give the folks at Right To Move a call, or email, and see if they have any suggestions. I've been wondering about how to transport a small kayak up to the canal as well...

[ai731.livejournal.com]

http://www.wicycle.com/cargo_economy_bicycle_trailer.php

$79 + $10 shipping.

You'd need to mount some kind of box on it to use it to carry groceries home though.

This one looks awesome, but it's $350, which seems to be the standard price for a bike trailer: http://www.tonystrailers.com/grocerygetters/model_d.php

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen Tony's before, but I'd feel pretty confident seconding the Wike.

[owldaughter.livejournal.com]

Zellers or TRU (I looked at both flyers yesterday and they've been recycled so I can't remember which) is now carrying one at $99, much to my annoyance after buying on half again as expensive last year. $99 is the cheapest I've found. You don't need to worry about safety ratings or ease of kid-use; I'm guessing you'd be looking pretty much solely at turning and hook-up ease.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Huh. What's TRU? I haven't had coffee yet, so if this is blisteringly obvious, please forgive me. ;)

[owldaughter.livejournal.com]

Sorry; parental shorthand for Toys R Us.

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

How's it holding up? My mom bought mirandaaskew and I a TRU-level trailer back before our daughter was born, and it lasted through little better than a year of use. The older child (now 14) had a Burley last something like 7 years before it was passed along to a friend (who has since passed it along again, intact). Now that the other trailer has failed, we're on a Burley again, and it's holding up quite well (folds for storage more easily too).

[owldaughter.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't buy that one; we have an Instep Take 2. (rummages for link... voila). We paid about $150, and it's been fine. My son thinks it's comfy, although I have my doubts about the sling seat; I suspect he just thinks it's cool. It carries him plus a bag or groceries/library books/snacks handily. It has a decently quick hitch/release on it too. The folding is a challenge for me, so we just leave it set up most of the time. We don't use it intensively, just for the occasional trip round the neighbourhood, and it's been fine for our needs so far.

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

Right, that's probably an important difference. Our trailer tends to see much heavier use than occasional neighbourhood trips. I'd make a ballpark estimate of our use being about 75-100 round-trip commutes-with-child annually, along with about a dozen round-trip cargo runs each year. It'd be much higher, but my bike also has a child seat on the back.

[dizietsma.livejournal.com]

Got mine at a garage sale 2 summers ago.

[kiwano.livejournal.com]

Don't know about where to grab one in Montreal, but for modest amounts of cargo, the BOB Yak (http://www.bobgear.com/trailers/trailer.php?product_id=10) is pretty popular for long-haul tourists who use trailers instead of panniers (and a good deal cheaper than a lot of trailers-for-kids, though still rather pricey). I've also installed replacement/aftermarket hitches for Chariot trailers (http://www.chariotcarriers.com/english/html/index.php) into other trailers. If you're feeling particularly handy (or like bugging a friend who is), it's a really good hitch to use as a starting point (note before starting such a project though, that the hitch runs about $80, and you're probably also looking at at least $60 for a decent pair of wheels).

Of course, my current recession-survival-strategy is "work in a bike shop", so I've been cultivating a slightly more expensive sense of "the right way to do it". The other option for trailers that should warrant some serious consideration is to look for used trailers (remember how I said that the BOB is popular with long-haul tourists; I bet some of them are done touring...) Likewise, you can probably score the wheels for a DIY trailer a fair bit cheaper than $60 on the used market (though I'm not so sure about hitches).