Customer Reviews

InStep Take 2 Double BicycleTrailer

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I chose this trailer because I have a very active two and a half year old little boy, and I was worried about the stabilty of one of those chairs that attach to the seat of your bike. I liked this trailer for its smaller size and that it is fairly light and seemed fairly sturdy, okay now here is how it did.
SET UP: was very easy, instructions where pretty clear, and most was commonsense. The only thing I had a little trouble with was loosening the bolt on the bike to attach the trailer, so if you have an older bike this part might require a little more muscle.
THE RIDE: I took the trailer on a 5 mile test drive today, the trail was paved, but very bumpy due to root growth breaking through the pavement, over wooden bridges, and up quite a few hills. The trailer did well over the bumps just don't take rough terrain fast. Turning the corners onto the bridges presented a challenge, I would have to dismount the bike and lift the back tire to slide the trailer enough to get it onto the bridge. If it where any larger I would not have been able to take it on the trail. Hills where impossible for me at this time, the slight inclines I could handle, but hills are tough on a bike to begin with, but add 40+ lbs and it becomes VERY hard, I have fairly strong legs but I had to walk the bike and trailer up the steep hills.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are doing any amount of hills your breaks on your bike will need to be replaced a lot sooner, it was hard to keep a decent pace with the trailer going down hill, and my brakes where screaming the whole way.
When you go up and down road curbs you have to take them SLOWLY, and when you kick off to start peddling use your right foot, the left will get caught under the hitch bar and you will end up with bruised heels and ankles and ruin your sneakers.
MAJOR CONS: I really don't like the way the front mesh is set up, the back tires kicks dirt up into the trailer and by the time we where done with our ride my son was covered with dirt, and I was on pavement the whole time. It does come with a clear rain cover but if you use that there are no vents and the inside gets way too hot.
Overall Im pleased with the cart, It does what i need it too. Also, on another review someone mentioned that you can't ajust the sag on the bottom, and you can- the straps are just under the "seat" you can tighten them up all the way and it creates more of a seat look instead of just a big dip. Though I am still trying to find out if it can recline, my sons head was bobbling everywhere once he fell asleep.
Also, I can't see two kids fitting and being comfortable for any length of time; unless your kids get along great and don't mind their shoulders touching.
I also can't see the material lasting long with regular use, it is a cheap plastic pretend canvas that looks a little flimsy, so long as it holds up it is a good deal, once mine gives out I will probably go for a better one, but this one is great for the price.

Yes, "for the price". As with all my reviews, I want to qualify "what it is" vs. "what it isn't" so that potential buyers can put it in a frame of reference.

What it is:
Cheap, incredibly easy to assemble, solidly made. It'll last for a couple of years - enough for 2 or 3 kids to go on semi-regular bike rides. It's comfortable for one 3-year-old or two smaller kids.

What it's not:
Not made of heavy canvas or burlap, not going to last as a hand-me-down for three, five, ten families to use, not good for applications other than pavement, gravel or smooth packed earth. With the super-simplified hub assembly and plastic wheels, it's not likely to last you a million miles.

Impressions:
The wheels "snap in" to the hub assembly so there's no magic to this; there's no solid axle, no suspension, just two greased necks that slide in, 'lock in' to metal apertures, and that's it. The axle 'nub' is metal; but it's not going to have heavy wheel bearings. It assembles unbelievably easily, so while I am a fairly mechanically inclined person and work on my own cars, plumbing and HVAC, I was impressed how simple this would be for a non-mechanically-inclined person to assemble.

I've taken about half a dozen rides with my 3-year-old son seated in the center in the back. Every time I make a 2-mile loop around the lake in the near-by city park, I get two to four comments/compliments from joggers with kids in strollers, other bikers, etc. One guy on a bike paced me and said that the trailer looked great and asked all about it - where I got it, how much it cost, how well it works. It's not cheap junk, so you can put that out of your mind. For $80 it's a steal; I paid about $20 more and that was easily worth it.

However, the seating and sides are all plastic or polyester. Heavier kids will 'ride low' so if you go over rapid bumps or high roots, things you wouldn't really notice on a bike with 26" wheels, the kids could bump their bottoms. My son fits fine by himself, but when my daughter turns 1, it might be a bit of a squeeze to get a 1 year old and a 3 year old in there together. Realistically, I'm not sure I'd want to be dragging around something that's roomy for 2 kids anyway.

Finally, based on the mechanical construction, I would surmise that this one is good for occasional rides for 2-3 families with 2-3 kids. At most. That depends, too, on how big the kids are that you're carrying around, and how the trailer is stored (outside vs. in a garage). I guess that means, I wouldn't really expect to get any more than 1000 miles out of it, maybe double that if the rides are primarily with smaller kids, over smoother surfaces, and the trailer is stored in a garage.

Maybe I'm wrong. Who knows. My kids will probably retire before I actually accumulate 1,000 miles on my bike so... take it for what it's worth. Maybe this super-simplistic hub assembly will last longer than my old cars. :)

Ok first the good things about this trailer:

1. Price
2. Space for additional storage behind the seat which doesn't bother your kid(s)
3. Can fit two kids, but also has a "center" seat if it's only one kid
4. Easy to install on the bike
5. Light to carry
6. Good looking ( i love the blue color it comes in )
7. Anti-mosquitos and rain covers

The issues we see:

1. It has a soft bottom, so we're worried that he might hit something from the ground if we go over a rock or something. So we have to be really careful
2. It's wide, of course for two kids, which means its hard to go on small sidewalks.
3. It can get warm inside it, my baby was sweating today after a long ride, but we live in Miami so i guess its expected

The best thing is that it is lots of fun to go out with the little one with our bikes! totally worth it!

I bought this so I could take my 3 year old with me on bike rides. She loves it. I have used it non-stop since receiving it. It is well made. Love that it has room in the back for extra items. It has an orange flag so it can be seen. I've rode over miles of gravel roads and she said it was bumpy, but still enjoyed the ride. I am very happy with this purchase.

Awesome. This trailer is such a great price and is so handy. I just got it today, so further testing is needed, but here is what I can say so far:
1- It came with a coupler attachment. I had purchased a separate one because others reviewed that it didn't come with one. So it was annoying that I spent extra money when I did not need to.
2- Trailer is easily put together and no tools needed. It took me about 20 minutes but I am a bit slow with instructions. To install the coupler, you will need a socket wrench.
3- I fit two 4 year olds in there and while they were snug next to each other, there was plenty of foot room and room for their stuffed animals and water bottles and matchbox cars and all the other junk they had to bring along.
4- Pulling the extra weight was a workout for my legs, but not too difficult.
5-Super smooth ride for me and for the kids. I was surprised, actually, at how smooth it was. The trailer is also not very wide, it will fit on the sidewalk.

All in all, I think this was a great purchase. I think it will be cool to also be able to bike to the store or my food co-op and be able to carry groceries in the trailer.

My husband and I had been planning a family bike trip on the east coast to see fall colors. But when we found out how much it would have cost to ship our Burley trailer to/from San Jose, CA to Hartford, CT, we opted to purchase this InStep Double Trailer strictly for the trip. We have two kids, 4 and 3 years old and our plan was to put them both in the trailer and our gear as well. We knew it might be tight, but we felt it was worth a try and, if necessary, we'd purchase something additionally. (This would still have been cheaper then shipping our equipment to/from San Jose.) The InStep box was waiting for us at the bike shop and putting the trailer together went quickly. The plastic wheels weren't very hardy, in my opinion, and we'd run into trouble if we pumped them up to more than the recommended 35lbs. The main problem was the lack of storage capacity in the back. We did end up having to rent additional equipment in order for us to fit our gear. That said, it would probably work fine for quick jaunts and around town trips. Two is snug, but doable. But I'm not sure if two passengers and groceries in the back could work, like it does with the Burley.

Not quite as comfortable as the Trek trailer my brother has, as there's no real seat, so kids' legs go straight out. The top doesn't go quite as high either, so perhaps not as safe in a roll-over. But, it worked well for <30minute rides with a 2-5 year-olds, and it towed smoothly on roads and paved trails.

Pros:
* Fits 2 young kids fairly comfortably.
* Nice that it clips a single child in the middle.
* Decent space for groceries, etc
* Tows well
* Minutes to install

Cons:
* Seats probably not comfortable for a 1hr+ ride
* No bar for the kids to step on-- need to get them to scoot in and out

It's a great buy for the price.

Note that this does come with a flag, which the pictures didn't show when I bought it. So I ended up wasting money on a second flag.

I've pondered purchasing a bike trailer for several years and my only regret is not purchasing this model sooner. I was hesitant to get one that does not boast a molded seat since my children are on the larger size for a bike trailer (4 and 6) and I feared they wouldn't be comfortable. But then again, knowing I'll only be able to use this for a short time (especially with my 6yo who *does* ride her own bike most of the time) I was resistant to spending close to $200 or more to get one with a molded seat! I decided to give this one a try since the pricetag was reasonable given the occasional use I have planned for it (once a week or so).

It was very easy to assemble (my 12yo did it for me, husband double-checked assembly to be safe) and very easy to attach to my bike (I did this myself and was pleased to not have to ask my husband for help). It was comfy for the kiddos except the 6yo (45" and 55 pounds) does not fit in the 5-point harness but 4yo (45# and 42") fit perfectly. (Note we are at the end of the 100# weight limit with these two in it together.) They complained of being too warm when they were together (it was about 78 degrees and very sunny) but my 4yo was perfectly comfy temp-wise when he road in it alone (they get a nice breeze if you have the front vinyl panel up (they are still protected by a mesh "window").

Riding my bike with it attached, plus 100# of kiddos was only marginaly more difficult. The brakes and shocks seemed strained but my bike is 10 years old and of course this is no reflection on the quality of the trailer.

First, assembly: So easy to assemble I could do it myself (even though I am not very mechanical) with my 2 kids crawling all over me and it in about 15 minutes.
Second, use: I find it very easy to pull and we have no problems! I am only taking it on paved paths. I haven't tried trails.
Finally, does the kid like it: I bought this to use with my 5 year old (and super tall) Autistic son. It is plenty big for him, although we could not fit a second child in there without it being extremely snug. And because of his disability I wasn't sure if it would be a success or scare him. He loves it. As soon as we had it set up he crawled in and waved "bye-bye".

I had a Trek bike trailer and sold it a few years ago when I thought my husband and I were finished having children. Upon the arrival of my son, we had to order another so we could continue to have family bike rides. I was VERY pleased with the trailer and the ease with which it went together. I would recomend this over and over again. It is nice to see that you don't have to spend a ton of money to get something good. My little guy falls asleep EVERY TIME he rides in it. I should have purchased this instead of the crib!