Customer Reviews

Springer Bicycle Jogger

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My wife and I have three dogs and we got this at the same time as a Walky Dog to see which one was better before buying a third attachment (as a second one for my bike).

The Springer was a lot more bulky but had a lot of play in it where the cotter pin holds it into place. The cord and plastic hook on the leash end and connector on the rope end are a joke. I realize it is supposed to be a safety feature but one of our dogs was able to easily tug it off. The Springer also allows more room to roam vs. the Walky Dog which means it is easier to veer off to the side of the bike and end up behind the wheel.

The installation of the Springer took a little more time than the Walky Dog. However, the Spinger doesn't move around the pole like the Walk Dog has a tendency to do.

In the end, we ended up buying two other Walky Dogs and are going to try to sell the Springer. If you still determined to buy a Springer, be prepared to make some modifications to the leash system unless you have a small dog that can't pull loose or you like to play a game of hide and seek with your dog if they like to run away on you.

Overall:
I harnessed up my 75lb, 2 year old high-energy pit-bull "Yogi", connected him to this system and within the first block, the race was on! He ran so fast that I had to (gently) use my brakes to slow him down. On the flats, I never even needed to peddle (he likes to pull, and he was wearing a three point Webmaster harness from Ruff Wear, which is a good and safe solution for this system). I wouldn't want to use a collar with this system, due to the potential of neck and/or "throat" injury (I also had a short leash connected to his collar as an emergency restraint device just in case the Springer leash pulled off, but it never did). Unless your dog is way old, doesn't pull and won't react to external stimuli (other dogs, game, kids on skateboards, etc) then you should definitely NOT use this with a collar and get a good harness with wide strapping; preferably with some sort of padding to prevent chaffing (did I mention Ruff Wear?).

Risks:
The only risk to the dog (and me) came when I made 90-degree turns onto cross streets to quickly, which resulted in the dog being a bit startled by the bike coming too close to him (and could have resulted in contact/injury to use both, if it wasn't for my biking skills and Yogi's youthful reaction time and agility). I quickly learned to brake before the corners so I could take the corners smooth and slowly, which gave "Yogi" enough time to adjust to the change in direction.

Price:
Since I already had the harness for my dog (and a Bike), this is a great price-point solution. There are some more advanced harness-type solutions out there that look pretty cool (designed for real pulling), including ones that can be used on human powered scooters, but even with the price of a new harness from Ruff Wear, those solutions are still at least three times the price of a Springer.

Mounting/Technical:
As for mounting, as many other online reviewers have mentioned, you'll need to use more of the provided plastic collar inserts around your bike's mounting point than what the manual suggests (in order to create enough distance between the two mounting plates to get the extremely tight fit required on your bike to keep the entire thing from spinning, which is critical for safe function). The only mounting point available on my full suspension bike was the seat post, but since the Springer only requires 3.8" of vertical tube mounting area, it didn't require me to elevate my seat post any further than I normally have it set. Though my seat post sits perhaps 15 degrees back from full vertical when I'm riding, this angled mounting didn't seem to effect the functionality of this system, since the spring arm was easily able to adjust for that offset.

Dog Health:
All three of my dogs were so thrilled to be able to run with this system, they all wanted to run full-out at the start. This could be dangerous for older dogs or dogs that are out of shape (heart issues or cold muscles which tear easier than warm muscles). Make sure and either start slow and give them a 5-min warm up before being alowed to run, or hook them up after a 15min walk so they are already warmed up. Rough blacktop (and dirt roads) can also damage a dogs paws while running, so try and run them on either fresh blacktop or concrete surfaces. Also, please be cognizant of your dogs heart rate... most excited dogs will run at 100% plus of their maximum heart rate (as will humans!), which could be dangerous even for young dogs, and deadly for older dogs. Force your dog to keep a moderate pace by using your brakes regularly, if required.

Summary:
Highly recommended! Though it will take you an hour or so to get this device tightly mounted to your bike (and remounted once you realize that you didn't have it mounted tightly enough to start with!), and another hour of "first ride" time to get your pooch and yourself used to using this, it is well worth it to be able to provide your dog the higher cardio training it needs for a healthily, stress reduced life. As a side benefit, it will get you outside on your bike more as well, but don't expect to get too much exercise if you have a dog that likes to pull!

I've owned the Springer dog jogger for about 8 months. I did not purchase it from this retailer but it is the same item. I use it almost daily but there are important things a buyer needs to know before buying one. First, the bracket did not fit on the seat post as the directions offered...and I have a basic, common Schwinn. I had to put it on the bike frame, but it still required more plastic sleeves and an additional piece of rubber to get it to fit securely. (I followed the directions to the letter). Plan on tightening some of the bolts after every use for the first 10 to 15 times. The included plastic clip that attached to my dog's collar FAILED, allowing him to run into the middle of a busy four lane street. So, plan on replacing that part with something more substantial. I replaced the harness that came with it, because the quality of it was questionable. With all these things said, it is a great way to exercise your dog and the spring does absorb your dog's lunges very well. My dog loves going for "Springer runs." The manufacturer needs to improve the design.

I was a little dubious about this due to all the problems people said they had with ordering, fitting, etc. but I have been very happy with mine. My dog is 55 lb. and has yet to snap the safety release, though some people said they felt it was too easy to trigger. It has made a big difference in my dog as he has a lot of energy and I can't give him enough exercise on my own two legs. I do want to say I have to place the spring piece upside down, with the open end of the U facing downward, and rotated it back so that it is not perpendicular to the bike, otherwise it was in the way of my pedaling, but it seems to work just fine this way. He's lunged at a squirrel or two and the spring really does absorb much of the pull. Overall I am very pleased.

Now my dog can really run fast and still be safe because I am in control.I still need to buy her a halter to go with the Springer. The tug on her collar looks very uncomfortable.

I have owned the Springer since 96/97 and it has been used by 4 Huskies and one Jack Russell. Only recently have I had to replace the lead that it came with, my Husky mix took off a little before the bike did. Although I did replace the connection between the lead and the spring with a quick link when I first used it. I was comparing the Springer and the other product that has a pole sticking straight out of it, a little scary. I am concerned that one of the dogs may get hurt by that pole, we make sudden stops and turns, not good. I believe I will stick with the Springer, it's been good over the last 10/11 years.

I've been using this item for 4 years now, and as my pack has grown from one dog to now three(two shepherd crosses and a rottweiller cross), I've kept right on using it without missing a beat. The boys absolutely love it - they get so excited when I get the bike, one of them literally jumps for joy!
I've had no issues with the quality or function of the item; it installed easily, has needed no maintenance or repairs, and has exceeded expectations. The only advice I would add to the use of this, is instead of using the plastic clips that come with it, I attach my boys' leashes to the device with carbiners, which works great, and can obviously withstand more abuse than I would expect the plastic things to.
Best of all, I can give my fellas all the exercise the want and need(which is a lot) with minimal effort, if I'm too tired for a walk. A casual pedal will still give them a good jog. Plus, my pack love to chase cats and wild animals, and when we're biking, I have more control over them, and am more secure myself than on foot, with leashes in my hand. I use this every single day(weather permitting), and will continue to do so for as long as I have dogs(forever).

This device is very cheap materials and construction. It is made with mild steel and it's massive like a boat anchor.

This thing bolts to the bike's seat tube or the seat post with a stamped steel clamshell. The kit provides bolts and nuts that are unplated (will rust) and even the washers were left out to save costs. The clamp fits different size frame tubing by using the provided plastic sleeves. The sleeves also protect the frame tube from being marred by the steel clamp. However, the plastic sleeves make it easy for the clamp to rotate on the frame or seat post tubing. The device is expected to clamp to the tubing with sufficent force that the dog pulling on the lever arm will not rotate it. I can tell you that this doesn't happen. Even with the bolts tightened with a strong arm on a long-handled wrench (maybe 90 ft lbs torque), the dog can easily spin the clamp around on the tube. This results in the springer arm interfering with pedaling.

The clamp requires 8 cm of tubing to clamp to and it must not be mounted too low or it will interfere with the pedals or the rider's heel. I was not able to clamp it to the seat tube on my wife's 18 inch hybrid without it interfering with the rider's heels. I had to bolt it to the seat post which means the seat must be raised more than 8 cm out of the seat tube. This is far higher than my wife would adjust her seat for proper fit. On a men's frame with a high horizontal top tube, there would be enough room to bolt it to the seat tube. On most other frames it will have to go on the seat post which means raising the seat if it isn't already.

The clamp parts and tubing appears to be powdercoated rather than painted which is good for the durability of the finish on those parts.

While the bike end of the device is frustrating and poorly designed, the dog end of the device seems to work fairly well. The plastic safety link is designed to break away if the line is subjected to excessive force (the dog goes on the wrong side of a sign pole or something). The nylon rope holds the safety link and the nylon harness clip with a square knot on each end. The square knot on the harness clip end slipped through the hole of the provided harness clip this morning -- another inadaquate design aspect. The knot didn't come undone, but rather the knotted rope was compressible enough that the whole knot just slipped through the round hole of the clip. I can fix this using a washer that has a smaller diameter hole but it's not provided with the kit.

Overall, I don't see the justification for the high price. If this was made with a CNC-machined aluminum bracket and aircraft 6061 or chromoly tubing, came with aircraft quality stainless steel fasteners and the design flaws were overcome, then it would be worth the price. As it is, it's made with very heavy (cheap and weak) steel plate and tubing, and has several design and fit problems that I have to solve myself.

My dog works fine with this device. He was already trained to run alongside the bicycle. Previously I hand held the leash. He graduated to running off lead and I would use a remote collar to proof the training. At this point I only need the springer when we're around heavier or faster traffic. My dog is 28" and over 80 pounds, very fit, lean and athletic. He can cart, sled, bikejor, skijor, lure course and is great at activities that take both power and speed. I do use a bikejoring harness with this, but I don't use this Springer to bikejor. I pedal to keep tension off the line, but my dog can easily tow me on this thing if I didn't pedal. The spring does work adaquately to soften impacts so that neither the dog nor the bike are severely jolted when there's any opposition to the direction of movement.

My 2 dogs and I compete in agility and this is the perfect way to keep them in shape. I take spin classes at my local fitness club then I come home and take them, one at a time, for a workout as well. I pedal at a slow enough speed to cool me down from my spin class but fast enough to give them a nice jog. I would certainly always use a halter for my dog(s) because a leash attached to a collar would be very dangerous to any dog.

Installation is not the easiest and may not fit all bikes. Even if I rotated the bracket away from pedal as much as possible, it will still hit back of foot when pedaling. I have to pedal with heel, not the center of the foot, on the pedal. But it basically works well with my 10 month old golden retriever. Speaking as a design engineer, whole concept is solid but design could be improved.

I will still choose this one over "walky dog". Walky Dog is designed well but I think it has fatal flaw. With same amount of force, you can generate much more torque ( to rotate and tip the bike over side way ) if the leash is attached high like Walky leash. Because this one is attached lower on the bike, same sudden dog pulling force will be less likely to tip the bike over.

If you have a small dog or well trained older dog, I think Walky will be a better choice. If not, this one is better.

UPdated..Aug 2010. Ended up buying both this one and Walky dog. This one is sitting and doing nothing. Walky is the one I use everyday.