Henry Lubong's Journal

After weeks of product comparison and contemplation, my wife and I decided to pull the trigger on the Croozer 535, a 3-in-1 bicycle trailer. It seems like the market for bicycle trailer is very small. So you will either get something good or worthless. Anything in between is still questionable. I’m not saying you have to spend hundreds of dollars to get a good one. But you have to be careful in your selection because some manufacturers claim a bunch of features on their trailer but don’t work in the real world.

When we decided on a bicycle trailer, we said that we would require a few things from it. First, it must accommodate two kids without them being cramped inside. It should be able to attach to our bikes without any hassle, unlike the old one that we got for $5 from a garage sale. I know it’s only $5 but it works except for the trailer arm. The trailer should also be able to handle rough terrains when used as a trailer and a jogger. That means, the trailer must come with a front jogger wheel. We also wanted to ditch our bulky tandem stroller so the trailer must be able to convert and function as a stroller. Since it’s going to be used as a stroller most of the time, it should look like one and not as a trailer. It should be easy to fold and load in the van.

I know that we are asking a lot from our wish list above. But guess what, there are actually a couple of bicycle trailers that feature what we wanted. When we were looking for a trailer, there are only four brands that we considered as they were the most popular ones and most reviewed. They were the Burley, which is the Britax of bicycle trailers, Chariot, Schwinn and InStep. The Burley D’Lite is the most expensive one but it’s built to last. The Schwinn Joyrider is the first that we considered buying because it almost has all the features that we need except that it doesn’t come with the jogger wheel and I wasn’t too excited about the overall look and design. Then the InStep trailers, which are the most affordable ones and they’re not bad looking either. But  the saying you get what you pay for holds true with this brand. There are some bad reviews specially when converting to a stroller. I think the InStep is the best bang for your buck if you just wanted a bicycle trailer.

While reviewing the Schwinn Joyrider, I saw the Croozer 535. They offer the same features but the Croozer has a better built and design. It comes with a jogger wheel which is perfect for my wife when she wants to run. The separate bucket seat is also nice so my two kids will have their own space inside the trailer. There are not too many reviews and videos but I was sold on the demo video from Croozer Designs. It has everything that we were looking for and it looks very nice on the video.

So the bicycle trailer was delivered in our door on Friday. I was happy to see it because I didn’t expect it will get here on time for the long holiday weekend. It comes in a big box like a regular bicycle would. The only things that needed assembly were the front bumpers, the wheels and the handlebar. I didn’t even need to read the included manual to assemble the whole thing. A phillips screwdriver, a small hex wrench and allen wrench are needed to attach the front bumper and two reflector lights. The rest are installed via the lockable pins. My favorite is the side wheels which are easily attached and detached by pushing a button, no need for skewers! My only gripe is the handlebar which is a pain to attach. They made it look easy on the video though so I’m guessing I might have gotten a bad one. After the assembly, my 2 1/2 year old daughter jumped inside and settled her self on one of the buckets. She likes it. There’s plenty of room for her. Then my wife seated our 10 month old and they both looked comfy inside. I only tried pushing the stroller inside our house and it seems smooth and easy to push. Folding is easy but storing it in the garage or the van is too much hassle just like any other bicycle trailer because you have to take of the wheels (or you can just leave it if you have plenty of room).

Overall, my wife and I are very happy so far with our purchase but the real test is when we bring it in the park/trail. From how it stands, with all its lightweight aluminum materials and durable fabric, I have no doubt that it will perform as it was advertised.