Heading into September means back to school for many parents. With a child trailer, you can drop off your little ones on the way to work.

A child trailer is the cycling equivalent of a pushchair. Attached to the rear axle of your bike, you can tow one or two small children behind you. Trailers are recommended for kids aged from 12 months to five or six years, although some have optional baby seat inserts for infants as young as one month. These are intended for use while walking or jogging but could also be used for careful cycling.

Trailers are more expensive and heavier than child seats. On the other hand, they provide more carrying capacity and protection from the weather. Bike handling is largely unaffected as you don’t need to balance the load. Towing a trailer on the flat is easy, although they can be hard to haul up hills; low gears or electric assistance will help there. Good quality child trailers that you can use daily for nursery or school runs don’t come cheap. The good news is that you can get a child trailer through Cyclescheme and save 25% or more on the RRPs listed here.

Here’s what you need to consider when buying and using a child trailer.

• Capacity

Is it for one child or two? Single seaters are slightly cheaper, narrower and lighter but clearly won’t take a second passenger. As well as seating, consider how much additional space is there for groceries, luggage or toddler paraphernalia.

• Width

Measure up any gateways or passages that the trailer needs to pass through. While you can fold a trailer and carry it, it’s more convenient if you can tow it where it needs to go – not least because you won’t have to wake a sleeping child when you get home.

• Storage

All child trailers fold down for storage. The more easily and compactly a trailer folds, the easier it is to store indoors or transport in the back of a car.

• Comfort

Don’t over-inflate a trailer’s tyres. Child trailers carry much lighter loads than adult bicycles, and softer tyres will give your passengers a more comfortable ride. Try the minimum pressure stamped on the tyre sidewalls. More expensive trailers sometimes have suspension for the wheels, which further smooths out bumps and vibration.

• Safety

Children are strapped into their seats with a harness and are surrounded by the frame of the trailer, which will act as a roll cage in the unlikely event that it flips over. Helmet use is nevertheless advisable. While trailers are low down, drivers tend to behave better around them than they do around solo cyclists, overtaking with plenty of room. Most trailers are sold with a safety flag to make them even more conspicuous.

• Hitch

The trailer hitch must be compatible with the towing bike. Check which axle types the hitch will work with and, if need be, what alternative hitches are available.

• Versatility

Many child trailers can be converted to (somewhat bulky) strollers/pushchairs with the addition of one or two nose-wheels and a push-bar at the back.

• Accessories

The towing bike needs a full-length rear mudguard to prevent spraying the front of the trailer on wet roads. A handlebar mirror can be useful for judging gaps and for keeping an eye on your passengers. If you use the trailer in the dark, it must be equipped with a red rear light, fitted centrally or to the offside, along with a red rear reflector. The reflector should be triangular to signify that it’s a trailer, but this rule is not enforced.

• Riding

Trailers are wider than bikes and won’t follow the same wheel track, so be careful to avoid kerbs, bollards and potholes, especially when cornering. The more you use the trailer, the better your ‘antennae’ for the trailer’s width will develop.

M-Wave Stalwart Kid Easy Trailer £289.99

Designed for the German market, this relatively inexpensive trailer is robustly built and meets the European standard for cycle trailer safety (EN 15918). It seats two children and has additional luggage space in the rear, plus a couple of internal pockets. The trailer frame extends around the 20in wheels, which should prevent accidental damage, and the whole trailer folds flat for storage. The hitch fits quick-release or nutted rear axles; there’s an optional converter for 12mm thru-axles. It’s bright yellow for conspicuity, with reflective print, two rear reflectors and a safety flag. Width: 75cm. Weight: 13.25kg.

Burley Bee Single £399.99

US company Burley has been building cycle trailers since 1978 and has a wide range. The Bee is its least expensive and the only one that doesn’t convert to a stroller. Like other Burley trailers, it’s lightweight, folds compactly and has been refined with details like tinted, UPF 50+ windows and seats with extra room for helmets. Due to the adaptors available, the hitch should fit any bike. The Bee comes with 20in quick-release wheels but there are optional 16x3in wheels for bumpier off-road use. A baby seat insert is available, as is a two-seater version of the trailer. The Bee meets the US-based standard for cycle trailer safety, ASTM F1975-09. Width: 67.1cm. Weight: 9.8kg. 

Cube Kids Trailer Double CMPT £599.95

Cube’s two-seater (there’s no single seater) is proof that you get what you pay for with child trailers. It has features that cheaper trailers lack, such as independently adjustable suspension for its 20in wheels, and it’s supplied with a detachable buggy wheel and a folding push-bar so you can use it on foot. It also comes with a rear light, a sunshade and the usual safety flag. The padded seats are contoured for helmets and there’s a 70-litre boot space behind them. Optional extras include a jogger kit, which consists of a larger front wheel and a front fork, a baby seat insert and a thru-axle kit. The trailer folds for storage, although it’s quite heavy to lift. Width: 86cm. Weight: 18kg.

Hamax Avenida Twin £649

The Hamax Avenida Twin is similar to the Cube trailer in that it’s a two-seater equipped with suspension, a stroller wheel and a height-adjustable push-bar. Like the Cube, it has useful storage space behind the seats and a sunshade up top. It also has a parking brake, which is handy when getting children in and out and when the trailer is used as a stroller. A baby seat insert is available, as is a 12mm thru-axle kit and a rain cover. Unlike the Cube, there’s a single-seater Hamax Avenida as well. Both fold for storage and meet EN 15918. Width: 78cm. Weight: 15kg.

Thule Chariot Cross double £1,099.99

Yes, that’s a lot of money for child trailer but the specification warrants it. The Thule Chariot Cross has adjustable leaf-spring suspension, an adjustable push-bar, a parking brake, a rain cover, a sunshade and a rear light. The seats can be independently reclined in seconds for the comfort of sleepy children. The front buggy wheels are stored on the side of the trailer, making it quick to convert. There’s a large cargo bag at the back, which can be folded away when the trailer is converted for jogging. For that you’ll need the optional jogger kit – a two-piece fork and larger front wheel – that’s stored in the aforementioned cargo bag. There’s even a cross-country skiing kit! Other options include a baby sling and a thru-axle kit. A single-seater version of the trailer is available. Width: 80cm Weight: 14.5kg.