Customer Reviews

Schwinn Mark III Double Bike Trailer and Jogging Stroller (Blue)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Well designed light aluminum unit. Both sides are rigid and fold up from flat. A cross bar is attached to the back soft panel which attaches at the top to complete the frame. The cover has to be snapped on and off each time to use it. Side windows are rigid. The jogging handle and wheels are then added without requiring any tools. It takes about two minutes to assemble.

The bike attach bar and front wheel attach bar fold under and easily swing out for either use. Once assembled, it rolls great, even on the beach(same results when tested with a 6 and 4 year old). Turning is a breeze since the kids are sitting on the rear axle and and have a low center of gravity. Storage will hold two backpacks, and is covered. Unit will keep kids and gear completely dry in rainy environments. The only issue we have is that the back of the seats is a panel running from the axle to the top cross brack and does not recline when the kid falls asleep. Finally it fits fine in the back of my Venture minivan (so long as I clean out all the books, coats, juice boxes, toys, and general accumulation of my wife's adventures with the kids. but that is getting off topic).

I would buy it again.

Pros:
1.
Lightweight construction.
2.
Smooth rolling.

Cons:
1.
Lack of cushion: as other comments pointed out, baby actually sits on folded bars without any cusioning at all;
2.
Tendency to tilt in the jogging mode: its design renders the larger frong wheel to tilt the trailer upward and back, causing safety hazard.
3.
Too wide to pass through doorways.
4.
Product arrived with missing components.
5.
Handle comes as a separate part not integrated to the trailer; it needs to be carried separately and has to be installed/removed every time you fold the trailer for storing in car trunk.
6.
Mediocre safety belt design: difficult and uncomfortable to use; they do not have the convenience, comfort and safety provided by the types commonly found in regular strollers and car seats.

Overall:
Schwinn/In step intends to market Mark III as a higher-end product their product lines. However, it's quality and design do not justify its price and do not meet expectations. Would not recommend.

We purchased the Schwill Mark III bike trailer for our 2 year old son. We used it several times and then returned it. Here are the things we did not like:

1. The bottom of the canvas seat actually sits on the metal frame below so my son's [...] was bouncing on the aluminum bars under the seat. We ended up putting a pad under the seat to act as a cushion.

2. the "sling style seat" was not a great design. My son kept sliding forward in the seat and the only thing that kept him from sliding off the front was the strap between his legs. I don't know about you, but I don't think that would be too comfortable.

3. There was no relief or recessed area above the seat back to accomodate a child's helmet. The back of the seat kept pushing my son's helmet forward so that it came down over his eyes. He would cry and we would have to stop and fix the helmet about every 10-15 minutes.

4. There is no reclining option for the seat back. When your kid falls asleep, their heads will slump forward or to the side.

The features we did like, but that weren't enough to justify keeping it:

1. The bike trailer and jogging trailer combo at an affordable price.

2. The bike attachment arm and jogging stroller arms fold away underneath the trailer when not in use (but that is what the kid ends up sitting on).

Before we returned this we purchased a Chariot Cougar 2 trailer and tried them both out with our son. He said he liked the Chariot better because the other one was "too bouncy". We love the Chariot, but be forwarned it is very expensive. We spent $[...] for the trailer, bike attachment and stoller wheels. But this has everything we wanted in a trailer except for the reclining seats. This is also the only trailer we could find that has a shock absorbsion system so that the child gets a smoother ride.

I have been wanting one of these for a long time and was finally able to purchase it. It is wonderful. I only have one child at this time and he loves it. It is so easy to manouever. Easy to make turns, I can jog behind it and roller blade behind it w/ ease - it is so light wieght. My son loves the windows and all of the room it offers. It converts super easy to a bike trailer too. The front covering allows either a mesh screen, or a plastic cover to protect from hard winds or if it were to start to rain. My son likes to have both of them up so he can look around w/ the fresh air on his face. If looking at a bike stroller I would highly recommend this one. Schwinn is a great company and if you are looking for something that moves easily, I recommend getting one w/ the larger stable wheel out in front. I cannot say enough great things about it. I love it and so does my family!!

There is little back support for the kids; they are essentially sitting in a sling/hammock that folds them in half. It is positioned so they are sitting very upright so when they fall asleep their heads crook way over - makes me worried about their airway (I am a physician). The other downside is that it doesn't roll straight when used as a jogging stroller, and when used as a trailer it says it is not safe to use over 10MPH. Ahem... That is barely a roll, and they made no mention of this when I was purchasing it. I hope I can sell it on Criags list

First let me say I use this bike/jogging stroller quite a bit. I live in Florida and enjoy being outside and my son loves being outdoors as well. The Pros:
-Reasonable price compared to comprable products.
-Can be used as jogging OR bike stroller (see cons)
-Sturdy and breaks down reasonably well. (see cons)
-Can hold two kids (see cons)
The Cons:
-This is not for the avid runner. There are much more appropriate choices if running is extremely important to you. This is because the tire in the front doesn't track straight all the time without fine tuning (this is done every time you set the stroller up.
-Can hold two kids. This is great but can make the product cumbersome.
-Not completely solid. While the stroller is well built and is solid, by nature, the components that break down (front tire arm) have some play that can be annoying when running. Again if you want a running stroller then get a running stroller. This stroller works for me because it can be used for both running and biking and the fact that it can break down is a big bonus.
-Can be difficult to hook up to bike.
-Running handlebar a pain to attach and disconnect. (come on Schwynn engineers, you could have came up with a much better system)

Overall I would reccomend this despite my laundry list of cons. Its great if you want it for biking but want to jog with it as well but does have its shortcomings.

This bike trailer is not only well priced, but very well designed. The front tire locks in and doesn't turn which is much safer if you are running or moving quickly. When jogging you don't want a front tire that turns as the child can easily be flipped out. There's plenty of room for blankets or pillows if your child is a bit small. This was very easy to put together, took me 5 minutes. The front wheel slips on easily in seconds. This is absolutely a wonderful bike trailer and stroller for the money. Everything was perfect right out of the box, Schwinn did a wonderful job in engineering this product.

This is a great thing to have if you have small children that are too young to ride with you on their own bikes. The only problem we have is that we have to add a pillow behind our son and daughters back (aged 1 and 5) so their helmets don't hit the back of the seat. The seat back goes straight up, so when they have their helmets on they have to always look down slightly to keep it room falling over their faces. But we put in the pillow and it gives them just enough room to be comfy, if a little bit cramped.

We love this bike trailer. It is so lightweight and rolls really easily. I hardly notice when it is on my bike... except on steep uphill climbs. Then, I can feel a little more resistance... but, not much! Like the other reviews said... the seat is a bit awkward. I made seat cushions for our 15-month old so that the back of the seat wouldn't push his helmet forward. That has worked really well, but now we're trying to figure out how to position him (or what kind of cushion to add) so that he doesn't flop over whenever he falls asleep. (It looks like he's folded in half at times.) Other than the seat issue, we really love the trailer. It's such a great buy for the money... we didn't want to spend $500 for a Burley, but we wanted something that had the large stroller wheel in front.

This is a great trailer. It's lightweight, rides smooth, very easy to convert between a jogging stroller and bike trailer, and AFFORDABLE (we paid under two forty)! I'm honestly not sure what else I would want in a trailer. People say there's not enough padding, but I haven't noticed it being a problem. There's plenty of room to add blankets or cushioning if you want, anyway. Perhaps the one place for improvement in the design would be allowing it to fold up easier. This one isn't too hard to fold up, but it's not super convenient either. Not a problem for us, though, since we just store it outside in the backyard. If you're planning on storing it inside then realize it probably won't fit through your door unless you tilt it on the side.

Anyways, we've had this for over a month now and used it with our 10 month old to go jogging and ride bikes. Great deal, and I'm very satisfied with our purchase. I noticed the price went up a bit since we bought it, but it's still a bargain.