With a trailer, a bike can quickly be converted into a family carriage or a cargo donkey. The choice of trailers is large - how to decide?
Göttingen (dpa / tmn) - If you like cycling a lot, you may want to use your bike not only for fun at some point, but also as a full means of transport.
But how do you transport the children or bring shopping home quickly and easily? Sooner or later the question of a trailer arises. What do cyclists need to know?
"A bike trailer can make a significant contribution to using a bike even better and thus doing without a car even more," says David Koßmann from the Press Service Bicycle (pd-f). Particularly versatile: child trailers, because they can also be used to transport purchases. "Conversely, however, you cannot take children with a pure cargo trailer."
A trailer can be mounted on almost any wheel, provided the manufacturer does not rule it out. "Otherwise there are hardly any differences between city, travel, folding or racing bikes," says Koßmann. Mountain bikes are also suitable. In individual cases, however, the assembly of the coupling, into which the trailer is later latched, can be problematic. "Frame construction or the increasingly common thru axles can sometimes make this difficult. But more and more manufacturers are offering solutions here."
Single track or two track?
Basically, bike trailers can also be differentiated according to the number of wheels: "Two-track trailers with two wheels on the outside of the frame are widespread. They run stably and tolerate a lot of load," explains Koßmann. "Single-trackers who only have one wheel are narrower, which improves their passage through off-road areas, for example."
Single-trackers are less suitable for transporting children. "Such a single-track trailer is smooth and stable when cornering fast, but the prerequisite is that the cargo does not move," says Uli Frieß from the specialist magazine "MyBike". Overall, however, a team with a single track is also significantly longer. Slow journeys through tight bends could also be difficult due to the tipping forces.
The bottom line is that the two-lane variant is more compatible as a family trailer, since it also offers a more stable stand, making it easier to load and easier to move when disconnected.
Almost everything can be transported with a bike trailer, from pets to book boxes. "For children, however, appropriate seats and protection from the spokes must be available. Either a baby seat for toddlers or seats with goods for older children up to their seventh birthday," says René Filippek from the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC).
The weight sets limits
The weight of a trailer is usually limited. "The permissible total weight of the bicycle is decisive here if the operating instructions do not provide any other information," says Frieß. Then the permissible total weight of the team corresponds to that of the bicycle, which is usually 120 to 140 kilos. In general, however, the manufacturers of the trailers would also specify a maximum payload, which then actually only applies to the trailer.
"Children can always be taken on a trailer up to the age of seven, and the limit is two children per trailer," said Frieß. The size should not exceed 1.40 meters. But here, too, the information provided by the manufacturers is decisive.
Many trailers can also be used variably. "Most child trailers are multifunctional and can be converted into a pram or jogger in just a few simple steps," explains Koßmann. A pedelec is perfectly suitable as a tractor. Since they are equivalent to bicycles, the same regulations apply here. The only exception are the fast S-Pedelecs up to 45 km / h. "A trailer can also be used here, but transporting children is not permitted," says Filippek.
