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Afterburner Trailer Bike test rides

12/8/2013

9 Comments

 
We have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out an REI brand Afterburner trailer bike (similar to this but single-speed) because it's just a bit too big for our friends' son (thanks, Dan and Ashlie!). Yesterday was the first day that we got to take it out. We were headed out and Big Brother asked sweetly "Can I ride my own bike?" Unfortunately, it was a route that I wasn't comfortable taking him on. Since Little Brother was coming with us, we hooked it up to the Bullitt. 

The Afterburner is a seatpost-mounted trailer bike. I've always been a bit leery of this design, especially because I usually see dads (it's always dads) racing down the bike trail with their kid flopping dangerously side to side on their wobbly trailing bike. The Mundo wouldn't be able to handle a seatpost mount but I have seen a Mundo hacked to be able to hook up a Burley Piccolo. The Piccolo mounts to a specific rack, creating a much more stable ride, I'd imagine. Dorie, from Hum Of The City uses a Roland+bike on the back of their Bullitt which attaches similarly to the Piccolo. 

The Afterburner hooked up easily to the Bullitt's seatpost. Since it's a pretty beefy seatpost, I had to do a bit of adjusting but it is literally just two standard allen bolts and a quick release. Within a few minutes, we were ready to ride. 
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I was surprised that it didn't feel too weird to have an additional 5' and 50ish pounds trailing behind me. I wouldn't necessarily say that Big Brother's pedaling made much of a difference, it felt like it offset the weight of the set-up and its drag. However, I would stopped pedaling a few times to see if he could push us and we kept moving! He was having such a great time! 

I wanted to test the Afterburner out on a standard bike to see how differently it handled from being on the Bullitt. 
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Today, we rode out on my touring bike, Oscar. If anything, Big Brother's movements were more pronounced with the lighter bike. I noticed that as we would ride, I'd need to do a bit of extra steering to counter his movements. It was a bit unnerving when we were passed by cars. It wasn't scary but we were more wobbly than usual. He was able to pedal the two of us much easier and wanted to do all the work. 

I really enjoyed being able to help him get more exercise than he does in the cargo bike and it was much easier than letting him ride on his own in areas that didn't have very good bike infrastructure. I think that with a little more practice, I'd get used to the extra movement. It was great to have some extra space in the Bullitt box, too. Big Brother was really happy to be able to pedal and ride routes that I won't let him, yet. 

On the other hand, the quick release kept hitting against my legs (more so on the Bullitt than Oscar) and I could see how the wobbliness from bike's design could cause problems. It was just a bit worse than when the boys get really rambunctious on the Mundo but if you're not used to it or prepared, even just a little added excitement from your co-pilot could send you well off your intended path. Overall, the trail-a-bike felt solidly built on it's own. I think that if it had higher gears, Big Brother's pedaling would be a bigger help. 

I really like the idea of having an interim solution to allow the boys to ride but still be connected to my bike (and my riding decisions). I look forward to doing some more testing with the Afterburner and probably try it out on a couple more bikes to get a good feel for how it changes the handling. If we end up liking this set-up, I think we'd go for a Piccolo instead. I can see having a trail-a-bike as a good option for days that my dad might go pick Big Brother up from school or trips with just one child (Little Brother would still need to wait a few years, unless we went with a Weehoo) and not have to deal with a big cargo bike. It's a great idea for longer rides where kiddo still wants to pedal but you don't want to be tied into having to go at their pace or distance. 
9 Comments
john lucas link
12/8/2013 01:37:09 pm

Hi Elle, I've too have noticed that the trail a bikes tend to flop from side to side... IMO the flopping could be eliminated with an improved with a better engineered connection that eliminates the play / looseness. Sadly I've yet to see a manufacturer design a truly good connection for the trail a bikes but I believe one could be built..

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Elle
12/9/2013 06:01:18 am

John, you are the person I'm going to call if we end up getting a Burley Piccolo to see about this Mundo hack: http://bikes-as-transportation.com/how-to-attach-a-burley-piccolo-to-a-yuba-mundo/

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Jon B link
12/8/2013 10:16:17 pm

Before we bought the Kona Ute, my first stab at child transportation was a tagalong bike behind my mountain bike - purchased on eBay and pretty quickly sold again on eBay!

It didn't help that it was secondhand which meant that there was some play in the linkage anyway, but the movement with our oldest (4 year old) on the back was scary.

I think the problem is that any play at all in the linkage is magnified by having the weight a long way behind and on the end of a long lever. It really felt like it was slopping from side to side and exerting a lot of force on the tow bike.

That said, I haven't tried the ones with better mountings like the Burley which might be a different kettle of fish.

I still feel an element of this movement on the Kona when the rear passenger in particular (high up on the Yepp Maxi seat) decides to get overexcited, but it isn't too bad. If anything it feels like the front passenger on the stoker seat makes the bike more stable as the weight is lower down and centred between the axles.

That said, one of the parents are our school drops off their kid on a tagalong and then rattles off quite happily to the office with the empty tag-along so it can be done!

I suspect that when the kids are older though we will need something like the Trailgator so they can bring their own bikes along.

Reply
Elle
12/9/2013 06:05:57 am

I've considered a Trailgator, I really like the idea, but I'm now concerned that it would be a similar situation. I was surprised by the amount of movement because I assumed the fact that BB was now a seasoned rider and he'd keep the bike in control. It didn't feel like he was flopping around dangerously, at least, but it would throw us around a bit when he stood up to pedal, shifted quickly side-to-side, etc. I'm curious to try a rack mounted set-up next because having him work was an awesome benefit for all of us (his joy, more space IN the bike, him getting worn out).

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Melissa
12/9/2013 01:55:55 am

The Burley (and similar Roland add+ bike) design is definitely far superior to the seatpost mount. We tried the Alleycat seatpost-mounted bike trailer first and every time Julie moved from side-to-side I was really thrown off-balance. It didn't bother Charlie when he was pulling her, but he's much heavier than I am (which is the same experience we've had with the Weehoo). So we decided to splurge on a Burley Kazoo (the single-speed version of the Piccolo) that I got on clearance from REI and it is so much more stable. Now I just need Charlie to come through on his promise of a hack so I can mount the Kazoo on my Fr8 too. If you want to try the Kazoo out some time, let me know. Also, I have an Adams trail-a-bike that a friend wanted to donate to our Kidical Mass effort (either to a parent who wants it or to sell), if you want it.

Reply
Elle
12/9/2013 06:12:40 am

That's good to hear that the wobbling problem varies. I think it was worse on the touring bike because it's so light. Now I'm curious to see what my husband thinks. I wish the Weehoo mounted lower because I'd get that in a second to be able to accommodate either child and let them pedal.

I'd love to try out the Kazoo so I could see how different the set-ups are. I'll have to keep an eye out for clearances/used Burleys. I think the Adams bike would be great to either offer as a raffle prize or maybe sell at a swap? Hope to see you tonight!

Reply
Madi Carlson (@familyride) link
12/9/2013 01:10:28 pm

I love our Burley Piccolo! It doesn't flop at all. I cannot count the number of times I've seen seat-post-connecting trailer bikes at a permanent side tilt. We started with an Adams trail-a-bike and it was fine so long as B didn't pedal ;) I believe JC Lind in Chicago (he is awesome, btw!) imports Roland Add+Bikes. The new Burley trailer bike that transforms into a bike is pretty neat, too.

Reply
Elle
12/10/2013 01:46:56 pm

I love that the Burley becomes a bike--much better than being a one trick pony! I'm stuck on Isla bikes though :) Good to hear that the Piccolo mount takes out the flopping!

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AdventureFamilyInMotion link
12/17/2013 04:05:38 am

What a great write up! We are excited to start looking into trail behind bikes in a few years! Im interested in your 2-mile challenge with Clif Bar. We love to bike and have recently started a Family Adventure Forum! check out our page! www.AdventureFamilyInMotion.com Cant wait to read more from your family!

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