Can an Ikea bike trailer match a cargo bike? Putting a bargain-bin cargo bike trailer to the test 

Bike trailers!! One of the most overlooked, underestimated things on the planet! We've replaced our fleet of work trucks and vans with cargo bikes and trailers! Thanks for the video!

The advantage of a trailer over a cargo bike is that you can disconnect the trailer when no need and you have your traditional bike again!

Beware of your stopping distance when pulling a trailer. I had a terrifying moment flying down a very moderate grade pulling the kids and dog in a double trailer once. I'd say 100lbs of cargo. Traffic light turned red and I couldn't get the bike and trailer stopped in time. Escaped unscathed but learned a good lesson that day.

I went through my first 4 years of retirement without a car and just used my recumbent bike and a cargo trailer and I used it for everything I did, everything I needed to haul including moving furniture. I got rid of the 20 inch tires and went with 16s which made the ride more stable. Also, rather than putting things in an empty cargo trailer I bungeed a heavy duty tote to it that fit perfectly because the bottom was narrower than the top. Having a lid on it kept everything safe, secure, and dry. Also, the rails were removable so I took them off and then used the frame from a futon somebody threw out as a platform, raising it above the height of the wheels using 4 small heavy duty totes and then as usual using bungee cords to hold everything. The biggest single item I ever carried in it was the huge recliner that I am sitting in right now. But I was able to use my bike and cargo trailer for nearly everything I needed to do.

I saw a guy in Miami pulling a home made bike trailer behind an old schwinn , the trailer had the same size wheels as the old ten speed , the man had a 4x8 sheet of plywood laying on top, and a bunch of tools in the trailer cage . I was impressed with his ingenuity

I'm sure someone else has said it, but here's Cargo Hauling 101: Secure your cargo with bungee cords at least. Level 102: Tarp your load or bag your loads --depending on items. Otherwise, I love your video.

I had a similar cheap bike trailer when I was a true bike commuter (I didn't own a car) and it was essential for groceries and such). I even carried a 40-gallon aquarium once. I had it connected to a full flown touring bike so the gearing was never an issue. It's a much better, less wasteful option than having an entire extra cargo bike just for the occasions that I needed to carry more than would fit in my panniers.

with an e-bike, hills are no more of an issue that you want them to be! I haul my trailer all over the place with my Rad.

The lack of straps on the cargo gave me anxiety, but it actually seems like this thing is surprisingly great for an Ikea product. I could definitely see myself using it for shopping trips.

It's always sad to see how car centered North American city's are. Great video!

Dude, you need to strap down your cargo. you're gonna have bruised fruit and squashed bread, or a traffic accident. good reviews otherwise

I had a SLADA bike. I really liked it. I specially liked its elegant colour matched racks with bamboo wood slats, after the style of the trailer. In fact, I was thinking of getting the trailer in addition... when the email arrived recalling the SLADA bike on safety grounds.... I was a bit pissed off. Like I say...I really liked that bike.

Just made my own with some 24" wheels I had and an old heavy plastic crate. Have about &15 into it with just the SS nuts and bolts I needed.

My experience in socal is that, for shopping, I prefer to make a cover to shield my cargo (groceries) with some kind of cover. In my case, I build aluminum camping trailers, so building a small teardrop trailer for cargo worked out very well. An added benefit is that people in cars tend to notice me much more with the "cute" trailer. It is also useful because I can lock it closed if I have to go to multiple places when shopping.

I'm surprised more long haul cyclists (touring, bikepacking) don't use trailers like this. Think of all the cool $hit you could attach to it? I would fit mine with solar panels, lights, turn signals, all kinds of stuff! Sweet... And version 2 would TRANSFORM into something useful as well.

Comparing cargo bike to cargo trailer: The trailer is cheaper by a decimal point. It's much easier to store, haul up stairs, etc. It's also easier to handle when riding.

A cargo bike is nicer to drive, than a Bike with a trailer. But for day to day shopping I still prefer the trailer. I use it as my shopping card and in my old flat I even took it into the Elevator right up to my flat door. That made the trip as a hole so much more convenient than it would have been with a cargo bike or a car.

I've been trying to use my bike more for small errands and things like that instead of driving everywhere. While I can't use it to two grocery shopping for seven people I could use it for smaller trips to pick up odds and ends. This has inspired me to take the old Kitty bike trailer that I no longer need out of the back of the garage and convert it into a cargo trailer.

You might want to Google "securing your load" before hauling unstable (long/tall/top-heavy) cargo. That's an accident waiting to happen.

To make it last longer than most Ikea products you might want to look into bolt/screw locking glue or something. I can't remember the exact name but it's a type of super glue that is used to keep screws from vibrating out. Which given how much that trailer bounces around I can imagine being a big issue if you don't want to tighten every screw every few trips.

that thing is awesome. Totally want one. I could fit all my groceries for the fam for a week in that thing, that would be excellent. Nice find!

I own one of these trailers, and im proberly one of the only people that truely put it past its limits. I got mine chyeap to I use mine to haul stuff I find on garbage day wich is offten other bikes and small engine stuff and car batteries, wich then i bring a load of batteries to the scrap lard. I bring the trailer waaaay over max load and it hasnt had any issues over time now. only the fenders rub but you can fix that but cutting the offset off them where bolt is and then put washer on other where bolt goes. Also own the bike with all its accessories. one of the best riding bikes i've owned. I wont be bringing it back for recall as I also bought all my ikeas spare parts so I have many belts and other parts for it. 10/10 would reccomend the trailer if you can get one

To scrap a great idea like a practical bike for a good price simple, because of a belt drive is ridiculous. One has to imagine they’ll be back with the bicycle concept in the very near future as it makes the most sense in these times. I tell you what the Sladda bike cargo trailer seems like it should sell well.

I love these type of bike trailers! I have the old kids trailer that is not used anymore and i'm thinking of attaching it again and using it for hauling light things or groceries from the store again. Just put floor padding on the bottom canvas part for protection and haul around.

I pulled my daughter around in a child's trailer for thousands of miles when she was young, and she loved it. We occasionally used it for shopping too, most often with my daughter still inside (it was a double trailer and had a boot/trunk area behind the seat). I miss towing it - the occasion of going out together as a family. I don't really need a trailer anymore (daughter is 13yo now and rides a bike I built for her), even for bikepacking (panniers are usually enough) but I have thought about getting a more comfy sleeping bag and mat, and have considered how I would carry those on the bike. Perhaps one of those single-wheel trailers is the answer. A two wheeler is too tricky/wide on many trails. I don't think that Sladda trailer was sold in the UK. Can't find any on the local eBay listings.

Well put together video: punchy, no waffle and engaging. Fab!

That's a shame about the belts on the Sladda. The gates belt on my urban bike will probably outlast every component on the bike, including the aluminum frame. I mean, it's the same kind of belt material that goes on a timing belt for 100,000 mils on a car.

Just found this channel, love your videos. Curious, how did you lock up the trailer at costco while shopping?

Well put together video, thank you! I didn't even know these existed.

This is a pretty good test. Tou need to keep in mind that when driving downhill you need to have a good braking system - break jow in good condition.

Amazing as always

I LOVE my bike trailer. It's actually the one for toddlers size kids to sit in, but my daughter is 11 yo and refused! :D I use it for hauling books to the library, supplies to picnics, pick up the groceries I order online(aside. I LOVE parking in the car spaces to pick up my groceries!!), and my daughter loves loading all her doll supplies in and heading over to a friend's house for a play. Best purchase ever!!! (except I picked it up on fb marketplace for free)

I have a Burley Coho XC trailer and I have already used it on 2 grocery runs each weighing in at roughly 85 lbs. I have had the trailer for about 3 weeks now. It will be used mainly for bike camping but I will be using it for everyday use as well.

To the point and modest are the highlights of the video. And your objective is most ideal - using more bikes in urban life rather than purely sporting and excercise purpose. That can certainly cut pollution.

My partner and I used to live in SE Calgary and we would take our cargo bike and kids to that same Costco for our big stock ups! We even parked it exactly where you parked your bike in the shot at 4:58! It was a 30km round trip for us and was surprisingly doable with Calgary's bike infrastructure. You are totally right the most dangerous part of that trip was the parking lot of the Costco, also I found lots of businesses in that area would put their signs right in the middle of the bike lanes. I kicked a lot of them over on my way by.

i have an ausome brand and a schwinn trailer that i use on my everyday commuter ebike , they are awesome for hauling home everything you can think of. we dont even own a car anymore because of how this has changed our life. great vid and good luck!

I have one of these bike trailers. I also have one of the bikes. I am soooo disappointed they stopped selling them. The bike came in different size wheels. They stopped selling them before I got around to buying the other size. The bike is sturdy. It feels funny when it shifts but I can live with that. The auto shift is a neat novelty. Oh, and, yes, the belt broke on me. I heard there are different qualities of belts. They say get one made to handle winter. The regular one will break when cold.

Buy flip top tote containers. You can take them into Costco, load them in Costco, and strap them down. You can even stack them two high and strap them down, but this will make the trailer top heavy and tip. When loading trailer always put more weight up front for stability.

When I lived in Australia I got a trailer for my kids to ride in. I actually used it more often to go to the shops for groceries. When it was folded down it was fairly aerodynamic, and when it was up it could hold quite a bit. More than my legs could drag up hills haha

Be interesting to see if the sladda bikes, ever make a return? Here in the UK Voi e-bikes use a belt drive.

I really want a Sladda. Bummed out that they don't sell them anymore.

Those trailers are AMAZING for the prize. We own two of them, and haven't regretted it. There is a bit of play in the axles, but the way they interface on the trailer, it would develop play anyway. I've seen trailers for double the original price, with similar build quality. We hauled an old washing machine in one of them once without any problems (other than being heavy).

You never said how much it cost 😕 I already have a cargo trailer, that has been heavily abused, but I just wanted to know how cheap it could be compared to what mine cost.

I have a bike trailer too to haul my kids around and do a bit of grocery shopping. ideal machine . Love it

LOVE THIS!

Love your videos dude

Sladda is a quite funny name for bikes and trailers as it means "to skid" in Swedish, but also Sladd is cable

My trailer was free and was intended to haul children...I just used the frame and built a cedar bed . I use it to haul bags of leaves and firewood, and pick up junk mowers people are throwing away..... You do need a geared bike when hauling any kind of weight, and a kickstand for the trailer stabilizes the load so that it doesnt flip your bike when you park it.

An old kids trailer is easily converted to cargo trailer. Just remove the canopy and strap some totes down in it. Cloth bottom keeps it lightweight.

Love the video thanks for making!!

4:44 This is the first time I’ve seen a bike carrying ANOTHER BIKE 😂 blows my mind. Genius. Now I’d like to see the other bike carrying another bike! Ha The only ridiculous thing I’ve seen is someone hauled an entire dresser via a bike. I’m starting to think cars are overrated unless it’s raining 🤷‍♀️

6:50 i dont know what you are talking about. Most people i know still have their billy bookshelves after 30 years Wonderful video. Im sad i can't buy myself that

What a find!

Watching this in 2021 when the Google algorithm decided it would be a great time to suggest it to me... No Ikea bike trailers in existence now LOL

I love bikes, Ikea and Costco so I love this. Now I wish I could get one.

Had the same experience. Found the Sladda(means skidded) trailer after they was off the market, just like you. Actually one of my best investments ever. Have moved a hole used kitchen with it. (Except for the tall cabinet and the fridge. I have a soft box with zipper, that fits pretty perfect inside the trailer, so I can keep things dry. Together with the cargo bike, i can shop, pick up kids, and bring stuff to work. It's brilliant!Have had it for many years now without any trouble. Just perfekt. Only wish it could take a little more weight and was a bit longer. But for the price, it's very good.

Did this for years. My first was a franken-babybuggy. Yeah, it was pretty much like it sounds. Then I got a proper bike trailer off ebay for 100.00 shipped. It was amazing. Had 20 inch wheels like this one. Fished a couple kids bikes from 'all trash day' and used the rear fenders on the trailer. Took the rest of the bikes(sans tires+tubes) to a metal recycling place. Had an old Univega hardtail mtb w/a threaded rear axle and street tires. Attached the trailer arm there and looped the safety band around the chainstay. The arm had a flexible section so the trailer cornered really well. The trailer came with a heavy-duty canvas insert w/a cover. It was 'water-resistant'(yeah, right). But, I did a mix of clear silicone caulk and mineral spirits. Brushed several coats on the insert. I lined the walls with plastic film, caulk, duct tape and Gorilla glue. While never completely water tight it was way better than stock. Used plastic trash bags for added waterproofing inside. The cover had velcro that lined the outside perimeter on 3 sides that kept everything looking tidy. I would do laundromat, grocery, garden and tool runs all the time. Probably used it 3-4 days per week. Loved it. Punctures got to be a PITA so I replaced the stock tires w/Schwalbe Marathon Plus 20x1.50. I had SWP 26x1.75 on the mtb. That took care of the puncture problem. My life situation changed, so I don't use one anymore. But, I'd highly recommend you give it a go. Bike/trailer combos are awesome for alot of things instead of a car. Cheers.

I’m all about keeping everything the same. So my bike has 26 x 1.95 street tires and tubes and so does my cargo trailer. That way when I’m biking to and from camping trips I only have to carry the same size spares.

Excellent video, thanks for sharing.

Nice. Before I had a kid, I had a Burley Nomad cargo trailer, and it worked quite well for both local shopping and multi-day camping/touring trips. But when my daughter came along, I bit the bullet (not the Bullitt) and bought a Douze cargo bike. It's definitely more convenient than the trailer. I've rationalized the cost by noting that most of my friends, when they started having kids, bought minivans or SUVS -- and it's way cheaper than a minivan.

The good feature is the tow bar that also serves as a push handle. But try to get a fold flat upper frame, for much easier storage of your trailer. Friends are buying cheap folding trailers for just 67€ these days. So many more people have regular uses, and space for them, over the more serious, costly, cargo bike.

Nice review dude!

Sweet find.

I've been bike commuting for the last year, and for half of it I've used a bike trailer anytime I had my son with me. It has been fantastic. My longest trip is getting groceries, which is about 17 miles round trip with lots of hills. I end up with maybe an extra 120 lbs behind the bike, but it's electric so I just crank it up a bit more when I need to. I also enjoy doing things by bike that are objectively silly. For example I used the trailer to get a pallet that I saw on the side of the road so I could cut it for firewood, and the last time I got groceries I also purchased two fruit trees. That extra 50 lbs did mean I had to do the walk of shame the last 20 m of a hill though haha

you can take it to the bars, and pick up a date and bring them home.. that is a really friendly way of putting some weight into it.. :) nice review.

I have an Haibike SDURO Trekking 3.0 e-bike and I have the SLADDA trailer for it and I use it everytime I go shopping! :D Love it!

A cargo trailer makes more sense for most people than a super heavy, huge, cargo bike. Unless you are hauling "cargo" on a daily basis, a cargo bike owner will be dealing with all that weight, bulk and girth for no reason. For most of us, who want to get groceries, kitty litter, or maybe some soil for the garden, a trailer which is literally not there when not in use, make far, far more sense. I have a powerful ebike, the Burley Travoy and the Flatbed. Between the two of them, there is not much that I cannot deal with.

I use the WIKE cargo trailer for my mobile bike repair business, Vélo A&A in Montréal, Canada. I like the fact that I can detach the trailer and then I still have a regular bike to use. I don't think any trailers on the market can compare to cargo bikes in terms of max weight, mine is only rated for 125 lbs. Also emergency braking can be sketchy with a fully loaded trailer, but I imagine that's an issue for cargo bikes too.

Looks very close to the trailer I bought a few years ago. Mine has a thick plastic sheet along the bottom rather than wood. But in the end it works great for hauling. The spring in the arm (identical to yours) means you can feel a slight springiness when riding. If you speed up you can actually feel the spring stretch. It's hard to really describe.

I have a cargo trike, a Babboe Big. It is really on an other level. It can easily carry 4 little kids, or even a big man in the box, or unbelievable amount of groceries. But this comes with a cost, of course first of all the cost itself :D. The weight of the empty bike is huge, 45kg, you need to carry this weight besides your real cargo, so if you just hauling moderate amount of groceries it not worths it. And do not forget transportation, I mean you can transport your bike and trailer on a train, or you can fit in or on a regular car. You can no do this with a heavy duty cargo bike/trike. When I bought the Babboe I had to take it apart so I could fit it in to a very big 7 person family car, what or company uses as a truck. So it is very big, no chance to put this thing on to a train, it even can not fit through a regular Hungarian door. But I love it anyway. It is slow but it can transport my tired wife, if she calls for a ride from the train station. And people love it, they allways say "This is a cool bike, I would use one like this."

Looks a great trailer

I have a Travoy, love it. Nice video. Thanks

Awesome vid, thanks for sharing! How do the wheel axles attach to the frame tube, do they have the push button lock on the hub? I was really excited when Ikea first introduced the sladda bike, shame they couldn't make it workout. I'm still waiting for someone to create a decent belt drive to compete with Gates and hopefully bring the prices down.

Cool looking trailer

I sometimes use a bike trailer in hilly Seattle. I have a nice mt bike with some very low gears. If I have a heavy load it can be tiring getting up the steepest hills, but still doable.

Thanks brother.. pickin one up

I bought a bike trailer (retrospec rover hauler), connected it to my electric sit-down scooter (emove roadrunner v2) and went grocery shopping to Sam’s Club, for the first time, this past saturday. I love it! Btw, I’ve been commuting to work by electric scooter (a hiboy s2 pro, the roadrunner I’ve had it since Nov.) for more than a year now. My job is less than 2 miles from my home and Sam’s Club is about 2 miles from home, so everything is nearby…. I’m so glad I got rid of my car…

Yes I love the trailer it will go on my three wheel bike

Bikes are so magic ❤ they can handle almost anything.

My Birley travoy bike trailer is fantastic , used it for shopping to bike camping it is just so useful , bike trailers are under estimated , everyone with a bike should have one.

I love that wagon wheel

Think I will swing past IKEA on my way home from Chestermere tomorrow.

i love it!

Belly of the suburban beast… that was my favorite line.

Great video! Inspired to keep an eye out for a trailer like this. Do you think it’d be fine with a hybrid bike? My trek 7.1fx is my commuter and I wonder if the gearing is good enough for trailer hauling

I might take a look at this for my Retrospec Judd

Just bought a trailer for my E-Trike, the trailer had three cartons of beer and two bags of ice, I used a couple of tie downs to keep things flying around, didn’t lose a beer.

i glad i got 1 from ikea clearance sale...use to haul my RC boxes..

So, it's been a bit. Are you using the bike trailer as much as you thought you would? I'm just afraid it would just take up space in my garage

Nice I want too get a Trailer for my bike so I can use it too go Campimg and too The Shops and what not I might Make One , I hope your Trailer is still going , Thanks for the Video

Bicycle cargo trailers are the best way to go grocery shopping and traveling around town

I'm looking for something like that. My ideal would be one I can ride to the supermarket, unhitch and wheel into the store, fill with groceries (using their scan-as-you-shop scanner), then just hitch up and cycle home. The repositionable towing bar looks ideal for that. Shame IKEA don't sell them any more.

As a resident in Calgary, who rides up that same hill most days, I feel your pain.

I use a 1963 Royal Bicycle from England it’s been in America since the 70s and it is the best Urban bike I’ve ever rode and just a beautiful bike

I think the biggest issue with that trailer at a glance is how big the holes are in the rack siding. It means you tend to have to have your cargo inside other boxes or bags or things could easily fall out. Also straps or bungee cords to hold things like that bouncing ice chest down.

good going

Nice. I'm just researching to build my own bike trailer.

Hi ! Thanks for video. How does it handle down slope when charge with heavy load?

Awesome for sure but i live on the west coast centeral valley needless to say carry two locks one for your bike and one for your trailer make sure you lock each one to a bolted down rack.

Awesome I love ikea