Great Bike Trailer with Super-Quick Setup
Written: May 10 '03
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Pros: Very inexpensive at Toys R Us, Quick installation, setup, and breakdown
Cons: Kind of small for two kids, more open than I expected
The Bottom Line: All in all I am extremely pleased with this purchase... 1) because the trailer is a quality product, and 2) because we got such a great deal.
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| skadar's Full Review: InStep Quick N' EZ QE100 |
We just bought the InStep Quick N Easy bike trailer from Toys R Us. The Sports Authority was having a sale on a higher model InStep bike trailer/stroller that I was interested in, but it was beyond my price point and exceeded my feature needs.
I stepped into Toys R Us to do a little comparison shopping and I found this little gem. It's basically the same type of trailer with a slightly trimmed feature set, but it was 1/3 the price of the trailer I was originally interested in. The Quick N Easy trailer retails for $99, but Toys R Us had an in-store coupon for $20 off. After checking out at the register, I realized that for some reason they had taken an ADDITIONAL 20% off of the original retail price. Wow! Total price = $63.
The trailer is so fast to set up! I was able to make it road-ready in about 5 minutes right out of the box without opening the instructions. It really is a no-brainer. You really only need the instructions to figure out how to attach the trailer to your bike. Even this was only 5 minutes more. My bike has a quick-release rear hub, and that certainly helped.
The trailer hooks up to your bike at a heavy spring-loaded joint which acts as a universal joint. This means that you can lay your bike completely flat and the trailer will always remain upright. The bike also maneuvers easily and completely with the trailer attached. If you were riding your bike and someone somehow attached the trailer to it as you were riding, you'd never know. It doesn't affect riding at all.
The trailer sets up in a snap and after riding it fold COMPLETELY flat. You can then carry it with one hand on one side without it flopping open or being unwieldy in any way. The wheels pop on and off with less force and hassle than you would believe possible.
I'll admit that the "cabin" of the trailer is more flimsy than I had imagined from just seeing pictures of this trailer. It's more like a tent on wheels, but I guess this should be expected. My son sits easily in the sling-like seat, but it looks as though it would be a tight fit for the two kids for which the trailer is rated.
In actual operation, the trailer is very quiet and smooth. The wheels are pneumatic, so they will require pumping up... but this results in a smooth ride. The large diameter of the wheels means that the trailer is less effected by bumps and other road debris.
I found that the only thing you really need to be conscious of when riding with the trailer is that it is much wider than the bike itself. It's very easy to ride too close to something like a curb and find that the trailer rides up over it. Luckily I haven't done this with my son in the trailer, only during test rides.
One thing to consider about the InStep trailer models I was looking at. The more expensive model ($180) was also a stroller. This one is only a trailer. HOWEVER! The instructions indicate that you can purchase a stroller conversion kit for $30! That means I can have a trailer/stroller for a total cost of only $93. Therefore, it seems a smarter buy to purchase a lower end trailer and then buy the stroller conversion kit if that is what you want.
Even when we don't have the bikes on the car, we still keep the trailer in the back... it takes up very little room because of the fact that it folds very flat.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 63
Age Range of Child: 12 to 36 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
skadar
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Location: Connecticut
Reviews written: 158
Trusted by: 168 members
About Me:
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