Customer Reviews

InStep Quick N Lite Bike Trailer (Red/Gold/Grey)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I researched this purchase alot and I found the reviews to be helpful so I will add my insights.
I have many years of biking experience and am a former bike mechanic. I would have recomended this trailer to my old customers.
The trailer is well made. The welds are very good and the canopy fits tightly. You do need to adjust some straps to get it to fit spot-on but that's to be expected.
This trailer is light and easy to fold up and store as well as unfold and get ready. The process to go from folded to ready to roll is about 4 minutes. The trailer is self explanitory so you don't need to haul the directions around to get it set up.
The bike hook up is easy, however you need to balance the bike upright to do the hook up. Not a big deal and once the coupling is complete you can lay the bike down.
I have two kids who will use the trailer. They are a tight fit inside as I expected. They are comfortable; they have good leg room and a spot for each of them to have cups etc. There is ample room behind them for storage too. The saftey straps are a real bugger. They are not a fastex buckle as you would expect. They are a snap-hook and a "D" ring hook for the shoulder straps. This is ok going on and a pain getting off. Not horrid but really annoying.
The trailer tracks the bike very well. It does change the geometry of the bike though; so it will take some getting used to. The added weight really is a good workout. I have kept the speed down. I don't want to really be moving and need to do a quick manuver with it. You do need to be careful about clearance though. Keep in mind your footprint is three times larger than without the trailer.
I have been sticking to pavement for now. I want to get my daughters comfortable with it before I go to dirt roads. I will have to do some adjusting of the tire pressure for off road so they don't bounce to death.
Over all for the price you are getting more than your moneys worth. I will add to this review if I have an issue down the road.
************* Update 7/18/07. We have around 200 miles on the trailer. So far there have been two issues. The first is with the front wheel you use when using the trailer as a stroller. My wife used it twice and noticed one of the wheels was tilted.-The amazon picture shows one front wheel, there are actually two side-by-side- It ended up being more than tilted the axle was bent badly. I called InStep and they shipped a replacment out very quickly. I would really caution you not to load this up and use it as a stroller...the front wheel just can't handle it.
The second issue is a trivial one yet it is an area that a design change could be made. The floor of the trailer is fabric. When rolling your child needs to keep their feet on the front frame bar. If they do not they can push the fabric down so it rubs along the ground. My daughter did this for a short trip and one area is now very worn. It would not take long to get a hole. A plastic tray or a rub pad on the bottom could solve this. So far asking them to keep their feet on the bar has sufficed....just keep it in mind.
I would rate this as my best buy of the year and one I wish I done three years ago. I'll update this again if an issue crops up.

I live in san francisco and we bike everywhere so I'd been trying to find a new bike trailer for my 2.5 yo daughter who outgrew her front mounted baby seat. Everywhere I went the trailers were priced at $250 plus. I was a bit skeptical about buying this Instep because it was a "no name" brand (wrong - it turns out that its made by Schwinn) although it was priced at about half the price on others. When I research the product I found it to be lighter than the pricier brands. It runs smooth, easy to attach/detach. I keep the stroller front wheels always mounted so that I my daughter falls asleep and i wnt to walk around she's can continue sleeping. I recently did grocery shopping with the trailer and my daughter. It has a rear compartment that fit 3 traderjoes paper shopping bags, an additional bag in the front with my daughter, and one more on the rear basket that is mounted on my bike. I've also taken my daughter an another of her friends (it sits two kids) and they loved it. Overall, a very good product - although not a sleek and cute as others like the burley - but its lighter, and priced much below comparable products.

My son enjoys his bike trips and I am happy with my purchase of this light bike trailer. I would like to point out some nuances.

I have a Columbia bike and it did not fit on the rear wheel the way it was supposed to. I had to move the rear fender. The seat belts are not so much belts but clips which I find time consuming to unlatch. You have to make sure you have al the straps tight or your kid will slump. This cart is wider than a door frame and would not fit for taking indoors. My son likes storing items in the side section. It has a small drainage hole in the bottom of the trailer which worked great when my son dropped his water. It drained out the water and aids in cleaning the inside out.

I love this trailer. When I started looking for a trailer, I saw how expensive some of the other brands were like Burley and Chariot. I thought I would have to spend a lot of money to get a decent one. But talking to women in my bike club, I got many recommendations for Instep because you can get them at a reasonable price and they are durable. So I bought this one, and it was very easy to put together. No tools are needed. I love how it's not a pain in the rear to use! It attaches to the bike very easily. I also bought a second coupler through instep for my husband's bike. So we can easily switch trailer from bike to bike even mid-ride if we ever needed to. It collapses almost completetely for storage which is another nice thing. My son who is 15 months old and almost 30 lbs uses it and seems to be comfortable since he loves riding in it.

I looked at all of the reviews for this trailer before I bought and thought it was a good choice - especially since it was on sale. When I received it I didn't even need to bother with the instructions, it was very easy to set up. However I did look at the instructions for attaching it to my bike - the pictures included in the instructions for attaching the trailer were not clear at all and for a person fiddling around with bike parts for the first time, it took more effort than I had planned for. But once you get the latch on the bike, taking it on and off is a piece of cake. So, I got it on and could not be happier. My 18 month old loves it. I can ride my bike around my neighborhood in the evenings after work to get what little excercise I can fit in during the day. My neighborhood is hilly, but the ride is extremely smooth and there is tons of storage in the back of the seat if you ever want to take it to the supermarket. It folds down nice and compact and is very portable. The only downside I see to the bike is that there is only one lap strap which leaves a lot of room for movement if there is only 1 child in the trailer - this is the only reason why I gave it 4 stars. For long rides, this could be an issue for some folks. But I only ride it around my neighborhood and my son hardly moves around - he is enjoying the breeze and the scenery too much! So for the price, this was a great purchase in my book.

I bought this after reading several reviews and watching other parents in the neighborhood towing their kids. My 20 month kid was excited to see the product and wanted to help me assemble the product. It was fairly simple to assemble, but I had difficulty reading the illustrations in the manual. I definitely think the manual needs a serious update with sharper pictures. Once it was all done, the real test was to put the kid and go for a ride. The first ride was not fun at all. The kid hated the harness and there was no cushion. The actual seat is not even firm and just hangs. We have a jogging stroller and the base for sitting the kid is so much better. If there is one area of serious improvement, it has to be the seat. We have only one kid at this stage and the trailer looks spacious, but for two kids, it looks like a snug fit. Not sure if two toddler kids will actually fit in comfortably. We are waiting for the second test ride with the kid and this time I am planning to use the cushion from the jogging stroller and see if that helps. Otherwise, you will soon see this item on Craigslist!!
I compared this stroller to more expensive ones at REI and have come to the conclusion that you get what you pay! If you really cannot afford a more expensive stroller, get this and a good cushion so that kid can actually enjoy the ride.

We are very pleased with the design and would recommend the Quick-N-Lite. The product meets all my expectations... Well made, Easy to assemble, folds up easy for storage, a sinch to attach to my bike, User Friendly for my toddler daughter to climb in and out, Safe from roll-over.
I went with the Quick-N-Lite over the Quick-N-Easy because the frame is aluminum (strength & lite weight,less chance of rust). The trailer is nicely engineered for rigidity and fit. There is storage behind the seat for packages, blankets toys, bread to feed the ducks, etc. Fact is, I am not sure what more higher costing model would offer without adding size, weight or un-needed frame around the wheels. Along with being well made, it is good looking.

I bought this trailer to take my three year old daughter on short bike trips. She has so much fun! It's easy to set up and take down - as well as attach to a bike. I also love the ability to convert to a stroller as I've used it for my older kids soccer games - we just load the wee one in, put snacks and other soccer gear in the back (there's an immense amount of storage) and off we go. It's easy for her to get in and out of on her own - and has kept her quite warm and toasty when it's been freezing outside. I definitely recommend this product!

I bought this trailer to tote around my dog, who is about 40 lbs. It was by far cheaper than the Burleys I saw elsewhere, but a side-by-side comparison with a coworker's didn't reveal any obvious differences that would account for the prices.

To make it work for my pooch, I had to add a floor (corrugated plastic) with a cushion, held on by zip ties to the frame. I just connect the leash to one of the straps inside to keep him from running off, but that hasn't been an issue because he loves riding in it. And everyone we pass gets a kick out of seeing him in there!

The trailer folds up very compactly. It fits into a compact car trunk well. I ended up using the little attachment strap for the stroller to hold the whole thing closed when folded up, since if you don't carry it right it can unfold on you.

The best part about the trailer is that it has tons of room in the back for stuff. I use it around town to carry groceries and things. You wouldn't believe how much you can tote in this thing, and you hardly notice it.

One issue, and the reason I took off a star: the mounting hardware did not fit on my bicycle since my bike (a Giant OCR1, 2005ish) had a very narrow area near the dropout. This is pretty unusual--my bike is more of a sports/low-end racing bike, not a neighborhood commuter. I contacted InStep about this and never heard back from them. So what I did was to make a little adapter block out of aluminum and buy a Bob tandem skewer from REI. Not a problem for me, since I'm a mechanical engineer with access to a machine shop, but it might be a deal-killer for other people.

I bought this product for my 1 year old and 3 year old. There is plenty of room for both children and toys. There is a lot of room behind them for storage. You can not see them when you are using this as a stroller. The straps are hard to unbuckle and the instructions that come with it a very vague. There are parts that I didn't know what to do with. Other than the previous comments it is a great product. It rides very smooth and takes bumps really well. It doesn't tip over when your bike does. My children really love it too.