Electric bike which can pull a kids trailer??

olivehorrid

Just Joined
May 20, 2024
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0
Hello all,
I am after some help and guidance please.......
I am keen to purchase an ebike - price range £1,500-£2500 which can pull my Burley Bee kids trailer without any obstruction or damage problems or issues around the motor area on the back wheel and is able to cope with the additional weight of a excited nature loving, chunky toddler.....

I am running around in circles trying to find this information out with a number of different manufactures advising their bikes are not compatible.
Sadly we cannot afford a Cargo bike + we would like to continue to use our Burley trailer which has always worked well and is really loved by our children.....

I have looked at the Specialized Vago range - I hear they are able to cope with the additional weight of the trailer and you can hitch a trailer to the back wheel easily with a hitch adaptor/not interfere with the motor, but any guidance or recommendations would be great please as I really want to make sure I purchase the right bike and it not to be a costly error.....

Thank you :)
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
2,590
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West Wales
Try contacting Woosh. Their bikes come within or below your price range.
Have you thought about converting an existing bike?
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
6,797
3,133
Telford
Hello all,
I am after some help and guidance please.......
I am keen to purchase an ebike - price range £1,500-£2500 which can pull my Burley Bee kids trailer without any obstruction or damage problems or issues around the motor area on the back wheel and is able to cope with the additional weight of a excited nature loving, chunky toddler.....

I am running around in circles trying to find this information out with a number of different manufactures advising their bikes are not compatible.
Sadly we cannot afford a Cargo bike + we would like to continue to use our Burley trailer which has always worked well and is really loved by our children.....

I have looked at the Specialized Vago range - I hear they are able to cope with the additional weight of the trailer and you can hitch a trailer to the back wheel easily with a hitch adaptor/not interfere with the motor, but any guidance or recommendations would be great please as I really want to make sure I purchase the right bike and it not to be a costly error.....

Thank you :)
You need to show exactly which hitch you have because there are many different types.
 

matthewslack

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2021
1,854
1,341
Straightforward solution is to choose a mid-drive bike, then there is nothing unusual about the rear axle. Most major trailer makers provide solutions for the common axle configurations, so look at their websites before settling on a bike.

Any mid-drive bike will easily manage the added weight, you just use a lower gear when needed. You can also swap to wider range gears i.e. a lower bottom gear should you need to.

A cheap and cheerful off the shelf hub motor bike might struggle as you may be below it's efficient speed range more than it likes.

Although I have towed heavy loads thousands of miles with a bottom of the range 40Nm motor, you will feel the benefit of at least 60Nm, which most are.

These days, (top of) your budget should just about get you what you need.

Edit:

Rereading your original post, trailer hitch from Burley should be no problem, but I would think twice about the Enviolo hub and the App related aspects of some of the Vado models.

For straightforward use, I would go derailleur and no need for an app. I would also stick to mainstream motors Bosch Shimano Yamaha.


The big battery is however a great feature at the price.
 
Last edited:

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,361
3,226
Weight of the Burley Bee is 10.2kg, passenger weight limit is 45kg. You should buy a large capacity battery if your journeys are hilly. A large capacity battery means you will stall less uphill due to voltage sag, if at all. My Bafang 36V BBS01B mid-drive with 690Wh on 20" wheels copes with any tarmaced hill, even while dragging up 90kg+ of Homcom folding bicycle trailer + water cargo. I weighed 70kg at the time, lighter now. Bike weighed 22.41kg, I think. The motor controller was limited to 15A back then.

I don't think the Vado will cope with hauling kids in a trailer up hills, especially the steep ones, because the 320Wh battery is too small... and even if it copes to begin with, give it a year or two and it won't, as the small battery degrades with use.

Is the profit margin for such expensive bikes about 70%?
 
Last edited:

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
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584
Pretty much anything really.
I convinced an old friend to go Ebike, and he got a basic Raleigh Felix

He fitted a cheapo trailer, which probably weighs about half that of the bike, and my mate isnt exactly a lightweight himself.

Last time I saw him he was hauling 2 of those build up workshop steel storage racks, which are metal and chipboard and weigh 18kg each.Plus it looked like he had a box of shopping in there too
So the racks added to say 35kg, the trailer itself is 15kg, plus say 7kg(guess) for the shopping bringing us to 57kg
I dont know what Mark weighs, but its going to be 85kg or thereabouts.

Bike is Bosch activeline 40nm and i think 300wh battery,( though tbh it looks more)
But anyway. total load on the system is best part of 145kg. I know his approx journey and while theres no steep hills, there are a few shallow ones, and his distance is probably 10-12 miles(return)

If it can handle that weight, distance etc, I think a chunky toddler(15/16kg ?) + child carrier(15kg) is going to be within most bikes limits.

Is this your intended use ?

The single wheel trailer incidentally is a Tout Terrain Singletrailer which retails about £1200, Certainly not a cheap option, but thats a hell of a lot of abuse it looks to be taking no probs.
 
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portals

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 15, 2022
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180
I would find a friendly dealer and tell him what you're looking to do then arrange a couple of ebikes to test drive and take the trailer with you to test to avoid possible disappointment.
 
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thelarkbox

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 23, 2023
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oxon
I would find a friendly dealer and tell him what you're looking to do then arrange a couple of ebikes to test drive and take the trailer with you to test to avoid possible disappointment.
Dont even bother with the trailer as fixing the hitch will probably not be a viable option.. But do take a heavy rucksack as its all about the ability to move a mass, so just increase your mass ;) if the bike can carry you and a heavy rucksack of a similar mass to the loaded trailer, what more do you need to know..
 
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