The Charriot Sidecarrier is easily the most unique looking child trailer on the market, it is reminiscent of the old motorcycle side cars of old. Having your child riding exactly to your right does offer some distinct advantages as well as having some drawbacks.
Pros:
Sociability is easily the biggest benefit of the Sidecarrier as your child can see you and your face (and not your butt) and you can see your child's face. This is huge as this allows a parent to comfort, interact and share the riding experience with your child. The child can talk and see the parent, so instead of falling asleep they will coo and play with the parent. If you are daring, you may even reach in and pick up a dropped bottle or toy while riding. In the pull behind trailers, depending on the age, most kids will drift off after 15-20 minutes, that does not have to happen in the Sidecarrier. Having your child on the right side of the bike moves them further from traffic, your body and bike acts almost like a buffer between the child and traffic. The maneuverability and road feel of the Sidecarrier is a bit better than the trailers because it is one wheel rooting your bike down as opposed to two wheels. Lastly, your child is not directly behind your rear wheel and no longer suffers from road debris that is kicked up from your bikes wheels.
Cons: There are two major safety cons we noticed with the Sidecarrier and both pertain to the widened footprint of the Sidecarrier. It is now possible to hit things that a normal bike wouldn't hit simply because you are wider. So you need to account for that while riding and give an extra cushion. Accouting for this extra width will change where you ride your bike in relation to the side edge of the road, which changes where your bike is placed in relation to traffic - you are now further out into the road. Since your child now extends out from you, you will add a little bit extra space, or cushion, between your child and the curb. This cushion will increase when there is snow on the side of the road or if road is uneven and worn on the edges (rural roads tend to degrade from the edges inward) thus pushing you even further into traffic.
For more info on the Chariot Sidecarrier, please visit www.Chariot.com
Price: $500
The Chariot SideCarrier is not inexpensive at $500 a pop, it is the most expensive single child trailer on the mass market. It does offer some pretty neat advantages, so if price is an issue you can always try and buy a used one on Craigslist, Ebay or by exploring your local bike club's web site classified or for sale section. That is how we purchased ours, used on Craiglists for $175. If your local bike shop does not carry Chariot products, Amazon always has them available online. It might be a good idea to drop it off at your local shop and let them handle attaching your SideCarrier, that way you and the SideCarrier start off loving each other (installation can be a real pain and requires a bit of patience.)
