Coaster bike trailer by Thule: Review

Before owning the Coaster by Thule I had a one child bike seat that attached to the back of my bike. The bike seat was pretty awesome as it would let me bring my child (up to 40 lbs) with me on short or long trips. Unfortunately the bike seat didn’t allow for any additional storage and it didn’t work so well when both my kids (3 and 7) wanted to join me on my rides.

I live in Victoria, BC, Canada. My home is located approximately 9 km or a 20 minute bike ride to downtown. I love biking and it’s the easiest way for me to commute to downtown. Biking to me has always been a great way to get around. It is a fun outdoors activity, and now with the cost of fuel and everything impacting the environment, biking seems like a better way to stay grounded. It’s with these reasons that I introduced biking to my kids at a very early age, and hope to share this experience with them for the rest of their lives.

The Coaster is a great addition to our family

This light-weight bicycle trailer and stroller is a nice add-on for your bicycle. For me the Coaster allowed me to bring both my kids with me on long bike rides, and for everyone to arrive safe and in rolling in comfort. Coaster by Thule review

I selected the Coaster based on 3 factors:

Safety is number one on my list. The Coaster has safety in mind and supports this with a hitch that securely attaches to my bike, includes safety harnesses for the passengers, a bright coloured design for high visibility, and a safety flag that reaches about 6 feet tall. The trailer is light-weight and does not interfere with your biking mobility. The Coaster performs effortlessly on flat surfaces and has a low bearing tug on inclining hills, all depending on the weight and passengers you are taxiing. It manoeuvres well on pavement, trails and through wet conditions. For additional safety, my kids always have their helmets and they don’t seem to mind.

The next item of the list is comfort. Comfort is a must have for me because our typical bike trip will register approximately 20 km or 12.4 miles. This means that both my children have to endure a trip that could possibly feel like eternity. This I know first hand from some of our driving road trips.

The Coaster has comfortable seats with plenty of leg room. The large 20 inch wheels offer a smooth ride both for the biker and riders. Large UV-protected side windows offer a clear view of the world and constant change of scenery to keep my passengers entertained. A removable 2 in 1 weather cover on the front offers a vented, bug-free, fresh air mesh cover and a rain cover to keep everyone dry and happy. There’s plenty of storage inside and out. The pocket inside the trailer make it easy for my kids to bring there snacks, water bottle and favourite toys. The back cargo has plenty of storage for blankets, jackets, beach toys, picnic items and my camera. Coaster by Thule review Last on the list is the cool factor. Thule did a great job designing the Coaster. This compact trailer has a modern design that will fit just about any bike. The Coaster is lightweight (24 lbs), easy to assemble (8 minutes for me), has a quick connect hitch to my bike, detaches and easily collapses and folds for transport or storage, and best of all it also converts to a stroller. I know that the idea of the stroller conversion isn’t for everybody but for me this is a handy little buggy is ideal on some road trips and it also doubles as a transporter for our accessories from the parking lot to hotel rooms. Coaster by Thule review

Thule thought of everything that I needed when they designed the Coaster

I would highly recommend the Coaster. Listed just under $400 this bike trailer is a must have if you enjoy sharing your biking experience with your children. The out-of-the-box installation was quick and easy and all came together is less than 10 minutes. The Coaster collapses easily for storage and everything including the wheels can be detached with a push of a button. Regardless if you need the Coaster for 1 or 2 kids this is a good investment that offers safety, a super cool time machine for your kids and a fun way to get around.

Coaster by Thule review

To learn more about the Coaster by Thule, check out their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

 Thule

19 Comments

  1. I’m thinking about getting this trailer soon, I have a question when using it as a bike trailer, does it ride centered to the bike or centered to the hitch so that it might stick out a little on the left?

    I’ll be taking the little one to daycare in it 5 days a week and live in Vancouver, how is it in the rain? When used without rain cover, would it soak the kids inside?

    Thanks for your helpful review!

    1. Hi Agnes, a bit of a late reply… sorry! I feel that the trailer does ride in the center quite well. We haven’t used it in the rain tons but when we do the kids stay dry! I love this bike trailer!

  2. Thanks for your review which made me definitly choose this trailer! After assembling it, I was just wondering one thing: the floor where kids put their legs on is just canvas (not rigid), so I am a bit concerned to let kids walk on it to reach the seats… It seems to me that the canvas could easily tear with the weight, what do you think (and what’s your experience with your kids)?

    1. Hi Thomas, We haven’t had any issues with the bottom of our trailer. My kids weigh 45lbs and 50lbs. We have had no issues with this trailer AT all. I’m still so happy with it.

  3. WE have bike trailor and we LOVE IT! I have used it so many times both on my bike and as a stroller. Its nice for cold days, because I know that the kids are protected and warm.

  4. I wanted one of those for years and now my kids are too big for one. Sad panda. We rented something at the cottage once that might have been this brand. It was awesome. Thule is known for good quality.

  5. That looks like a lot of fun. I am hoping to buy a bike towards the end of summer and be able to carry Carter in the back this fall. I will have to check out this bike trailer. Thanks for sharing and bringing it to my attention.

  6. Watching children checking out scenery inside of a Coaster is always a happy sight to see. 🙂 Always see a few of them used along the lakeshore in Toronto, so its great to hear exactly how truly safe children are in these seats (I guess as long as it’s a Coaster by Thule at the very least… not sure if there are other brands. *shrugs*) Any existence of a seatbelt was a concern that would tend to niggle in the back of my mind while watching one go by, ’cause you don’t really see anything but the child’s head as they look out their side window, lol.

    1. The seat belts are awesome in the Coaster Aeryn Lynne. I’m never concerned that they will giggle out. My kids love rides in the coaster so much. They are always asking to go for a bike ride!

    1. I’m so happy we have it. I’ve seen them for a long time and now I that I have one I can’t imagine life without it! It makes getting around with a bike so much easier!

  7. Your kids look like they are having so much fun! I am with you on the safety factor…that would be my #1 as well. Thule looks like they have made an amazing quality product that is at a great price and I like the easy set-up part too! And there is nothing like spending time outdoors with the family when the weather is beautiful!

    1. Thanks for the comment Angie! The Coaster was SO easy to assemble and is just so great. I know we will have many adventures with this bike trailer.

  8. That’s very nice! I also had the bike seat for my toddler and last year it was a great time for me and him riding in the back. But now that he’s bigger and he doesn’t want to ride in the bike seat anymore. This trailer would be really perfect for him (and probably my 7-year old boy as well). Great review!

    1. The weight capacity on the Coaster is 100lbs and both my kids combined are under this. I’m sure it would work for both your kids too!

  9. Thule is known for their quality products and it looks like they’ve continued on with their tradition of excellence with this bike trailer.

    I love that you can get out and enjoy the outdoors safely with your entire family. Nothing the matter with looking great while you do it.

    Besos, Sarah
    Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo

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