Big Dummy experience?

[EasyRider]

Loading the 3 year old into his trailer this morning I realized he’ll probably have outgrown it by this summer. Preschool is just 1-2 miles from home, and it’s been very easy to take him there daily, lock up the trailer, and pick up one or both on the way home in the evening. I will miss it, especially that so much fun cost only $50 on Craigslist.

I’m thinking about whether a cargo bike is a good next step, and in particular, the Surly Big Dummy. I’ve read that the Xtracycle and Yuba bikes are better for kid-carriage than the Dummy, while the Dummy is lighter and the rider position is sportier/less like a townie. That appeals to me since I’m only ferrying my son a mile or three each day. The other 12 miles of my daily commute it’s just me and a bag of clothes and it’s how I get exercise. I’m not interested in power assist, and aside from disc brakes, I already have all the parts I need to build up a Dummy from the frame. On the other hand, isn’t there a bunch of Xtracycle junk $$$ I have to buy for the Dummy in order for a 4 year old to have a place to sit and hold on? So I might save a little money over buying a complete bike, but not a lot?

I have a friend with a Xtracycle 24d who loves it and I can take that for a spin, but would be interesting in hearing from Big Dummy owners on their experiences.

Topic

[huskerdont]

@secstate 152525 wrote:

Just to say, I don’t have anything to tow in a trailer or cargo bike, but I’ve weirdly enjoyed this thread and always get a kick out of seeing cargo bikes in the wild. Would love to see a cargo bike & trailer parade around HP!

Nothing to tow in a trailer you say? If kids aren’t your thing, you could always get yourself one of these:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13207[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

@dasgeh 152540 wrote:

I think there are pros and cons to both, but I’m surprised that from a pulling perspective you would like a trailer more — a weehoo is just one wheel, so less resistance. I haven’t ridden with many trailers, but the ones I’ve pulled have definitely been harder to pull than the weehoo. Also, there’s probably less storage capacity in the weehoo’s sidebags than in a trailer, but I’m surprised at how much they do hold. We haven’t had a problem stuffing the normal preschool stuff in (art projects, lunch boxes, etc). If you really want cargo capacity, you can get the double weehoo set up as one seat, one cargo box.

In other words, pros and cons and ymmv.

Yeah, pros & cons.

There may be less rolling resistance with the Weehoo, but it is much heavier — especially compared to a single-seat trailer. And the attachment point being up on the bike makes it much harder to control. And the wheelbase being so long makes it harder to get around things. So from a pulling perspective I would vastly prefer a trailer. And from a safety perspective. But form a fun perspective the Weehoo is great. So I think it makes great sense as a recreational alternative to a traditional trailer — or cargo bike.

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 152548 wrote:

Nothing to tow in a trailer you say? If kids aren’t your thing, you could always get yourself one of these:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]13207[/ATTACH]

You need to open up the sides of that trailer so your dog can put its head out into the breeze properly.

[EasyRider]

I’m dusting off this thread to report that I saw a Weehoo Venture on sale for 25% off last week and went for it. I’m really glad I did, my 4 yr old loves it. He lets out whoops, and asks to take the “long way home.” Getting him in and out is a little tricky, and as Hozn said, a trailer is more practical and easier for the adult. But the Weehoo is way more fun for the passenger.

The seatpost attachment is the biggest “hitch.” One reason I bought new was to get a model that would work with 700c wheels. Unfortunately, my 700c bike only has a fistful of seatpost exposed, and you need a bit more than that to attach the Weehoo. So I can only use it on my 26″ bike, which has a lot of seatpost showing. Boo-hoo. The other thing is, the hitch won’t rotate around the seatpost properly if the bike has a lugged seat tube, which is what mine has. Putting a 1 1/16″ shaft collar on my 26.8 seatpost solved the problem. This gives the Weehoo the flat surface it wants to rest on, and which most newer bikes have. The collar cost 8 bucks online, and is cheaper and more secure than three other hacks I tried.

[Author]

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