Customer Reviews

InStep Sync Single Bicycle Trailer, Green/Gray

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We bought this for our 13 month old daughter. Several years ago we purchased a bike child seat that attached to the rear of the bike. That was a disaster. Too heavy, akward, and very uncomfortable for the child. So we looked at trailers instead for our youngest. Most of the trailers have two seats, but from what I read and saw in stores, the seats are extremely small and it's not realistic to fit two kids in the trailer together. Plus we only have one kid who isn't riding their own bike. I didn't want to haul around the extra room and weight if the space wasn't needed.

Setup was fairly easy. The instructions to install the hitch to the bicycle are good, and I had it attached within about 15 minutes of setting up the trailer itself. I also bought a second coupling so my wife and I can quickly switch the trailer between bikes.

There is plenty of room for a single child, and strapping my daughter in there was easy. The seat bottom has tension adjusters to keep the trailer bottom from sagging, although there's no way the floor would ever drag. The real beauty of this is once you get your child strapped in and attached to the bike. Unlike the child seat, I had no idea the trailer was behind me. The weight is hardly noticable. The ride is smooth, there is no jerking, it corners naturally, and my daughter sits in the trailer with a huge smile on her face. Some of the bike rides have been lengthy for a one year old - up to an hour, and so far she's never started fussing while being towed around. There is also a small amount of cargo space behind the seat. Enough for a diaper bag or some water bottles.

Overall we're very happy we found this unit. The price and weight were less than the double units, and so far no problems with performance.

I just bought this for my husband for our 2.5 year old child. She's tall (39") and about 30 lbs., and she BARELY fits in it with the 5-point harness.

Otherwise, this is a great trailer, but if you have a child over the age of 3, or a younger child who is tall like our kid, this is NOT the trailer to buy.

We're going to have to try and sell this and get another one, since clearly this won't last a month around here.

Jules

I love this single trailer-for one child but still has room for cargo; diaper bags, etc. It's light too so you can't even tell it's attached to the bike. Makes for comfortable riding for me and my child.

We bought this trailer for our 3 year old son. He's 36" tall, 30lbs, and while by law he is required to wear a helmet and he fits in the trailer fine. There's plenty of headroom left.
This is not a top of the line trailer that you would ever consider taking on century rides, but for the price of a child's bike seat, it's an unbeatable trailer for casual/fitness biking with your family.
I really like the fact that even when the front is open it has a mesh screen to keep kick-up debris out of my son's face and eyes. The amount of storage behind the seat is equivalent to a medium/small backpack. The trailer rolls very easily. You can definitely feel it when you go uphill, otherwise I am not sure can feel it behind me.
The single seat design keeps it very narrow. This is a big plus on trails that include sections on the sidewalks, or that have narrow passages. I didn't have any problems steering this trailer even in sections that do sharp 90 degree turns on the sidewalk immediately after a crosswalk.
Even when moving fast the trailer seemed very quiet and very stable.
Two big thumbs up from our family.

I have read reviews on here stating that this trailer is too small for a lot of kids, well, my daughter fits into it fine and she is pretty tall (coming up on 39 inches) and weighs about 38 pounds dressed.

Firstly, great wheels, really do go on and off very easily, but stay on very securely.

Secondly, it was pretty simple to assemble, but I am a diagram follower (I like pictures!), so look at both if you get confused.

Thirdly, very simple and secure way to attach to my bike (and the paperwork that comes with it tells you you can buy an extra coupler for another bike too).

And lastly, WOW, my daughter is no lightweight and I really don't know she is there at all!

I would highly recommend that you buy a side mirror (larger size if you can get it) so you can set it to watch your little one.

Best thing about this trailer compared to my friends? This one has a roll-up plastic front shield with a fly scvreen behind it - my friends trailers don't have a mesh screen behind the main one, which means they always have it closed because a stone flew up into the trailer the one time they tried it with it open and they didn't want to take the risk of injuring their little boy from then on - hence, he gets very hot!

we purchased this trailer in the spring of this year (and we live in WI). My husband has the bell seat on the back of his bike but my son is getting big and moves a lot so its not safe for me to bike with him like that(i must not be strong enough!). We bought this trailer so that I can take our son for bike rides safely, when my husband is at work. I love the single trailer - its not very wide and its easy to maneuver. Its extremely easy for me to attach and detach, and we have another attachment on my husbands bike if we want to switch. plus it has nice cargo area in the back. my son is big for his age (22 months and almost 30lbs and 35inches tall). sometimes the straps do seem tight and a little difficult to get him into. not that big of a deal for me. the trailer rides nice both on cement and gravel/dirt trails though when I'm on the gravel/dirt trail I have a smaller-holed screen that I put over the one it came with b/c small rocks and small pieces of dirt still managed to get through. my biggest complaint? the side windows --- they seem to hold a lot of the heat in and my son was hot in there on nice days (and he wears his helmet too). plus you can't really see out of them very well. I made my husband take the whole thing apart and I cut off the plastic window and sewed new mesh/screen on the sides (cost me a about $5 to do). I know the plastic was for rain, but seriously, how many people take their kids on a bike ride when they know its going to rain?! :) besides, if it rains, you can typically find cover quite quickly and theres a rain cover for the top/front screen. anyhow, the new screen is great, and he seems cooler and enjoys looking out more. I feel better knowing that more air is circulating around him.. other than that I will use this trailer until he gets too big/outgrows it then we'll have to look for something else!

Can't beat the price, big bang for the buck. Trailer not bulky, very light, my wife tows trailer and no complaints so far. My daughter loves to ride in the trailer. Very easy to setup, we bought a coupler to allow trailer to hitched to two cycles easily. Will be able to go riding again, with our toddler tagging along. LOVE IT!!!!

I bought this for my 3 (almost 4) year old son because the price was right. I use my bike for most of my daily travels. As others have stated, there is not enough ventilation in the trailer. My son gets VERY hot. To the point of being possibly NOT SAFE in hot weather. Per other recommendations, I've cut out the side windows and sown in mesh to keep little arms safely inside. Unless you plan to use this only in cooler weather (low 80's or cloudy) or you are willing to spend a little time with needle and tread. I do not recommend this product.

A little info about me: I have a Jamis Hybrid that I attach this trailer to. My daughter weighs 33lbs. I ride my bike every day.

This trailer doesn't pull as easily as the One Step double trailer that we used to have. Even my partner mentioned this and he attaches this trailer to his Jamis mountain bike.
The bottom could use some support, as it sags a bit when my daughter sits in it. Also, my daughter is 4 yrs. old and and is a bit tall, so the leg room is cramped just a little.

I carry this thing up and down from the second floor (apt) and it isn't too heavy. I don't fold it, but when I got it, setting it up was super easy.

The good thing about this trailer is that it is small.

I have extensive paved trails in my area and thought taking my 7 month old would be fun. I choose this trailer because of the cost and the fact that it's a single trailer opposed to most 2 seat-ers on the market. The trailer is FAR better constructed then I anticipated for the price. Looks great,the frame is very sturdy and the setup was a breeze. I read a few reviews with people sighting the size. I was worried but for a child under 2-3 there is more then enough room. My son is 22lbs and somewhat tall at 7 months. He can sit up and play on his own and he has more then enough room to ride and grow further into this. The only issue I had was finding a safety helmet for a 7 month old. LOL

Cons-
*There is not really a dedicated strap to hold the safety flag on the unit. Even the instructions say to basically jam it the corner area in the rear. This is no big deal but the pole can slide through and hit the ground. Expect to play around with this for a few minutes.
*The seat is not really a seat per sea. More like a floating hammock attached to the frame with a 5 point harness. It's not a factory molded seat. For my child he was comfortable.
* Both the front and read windows roll up to expose the screen mesh for air flow. The side windows are sold and clear only. I understand that you do not want a child sticking their hands out the side windows while riding but the option to roll those up with a screen would have been a better feature. More fresh air.

Overall excellent buy. Far better then I expected for the price.