Yakima Caddy-Yak Child Cycling Trailer
By Jon Sharp

Do you remember your first experience outdoors? Remember the first time you were able to ride your bike without your dad running along side to catch you? Remember the thrill of the wind in your face? Do you remember the first time you had that feeling--that you wanted to spend every spare moment of your life outside in the "great outdoors"? I love the outdoors. Especially, I love to enjoy the outdoors from the vantage point of my bike. With the help of Yakima's Caddy-Yak child trailer, I hope to show my children, at a very early age, just how great an experience it can be. The question is: Will the Caddy-Yak stand up to such high expectations?

Setting up the Caddy-Yak for the first time was painless and fast. I found the included instructions made any step that wasn't initially intuitive, clear. The wheel quick release is a nice feature. There is a small button in the center of each hub that, when depressed, releases the wheel from the rest of the trailer. This, combined with a simple folding mechanism, allows the Caddy-Yak to be folded for transport in the trunk of a car. A word of warning: Even when folded, the Caddy-Yak takes up a lot of space.

The Caddy-Yak connects to a bike via a sturdy rubber clamp that attaches to the non-drive side chain-stay and seat stay near the drop-out (where the rear wheel attaches to the frame. The connection is quick, yet solid. Like most bike trailers--especially those made to transport children--the clamp is such that you can lay your bike horizontal on the ground and the trailer will remain upright and attached. My only complaint--and this goes for other child trailer systems--is that there is no leeway for non-standard frames or disc brakes. Make sure you use a bike with a traditional rear triangle and no disc mounts. To use any other frame is dangerous and would most likely result in injury. In the future--as disc brakes become more popular--I would like to see different mounting options for different types of bikes. On my road bike, I also experienced some occasional contact between my heel and the mounting bracket.

The Caddy-Yak is well built and well designed. It's built to seat two, but is made to also accommodate one seated in the center. Safety was a high priority for Yakima and it can be seen in all the safety feature included: 5-point harnesses, roll-cage design, included blinking LED light for the rear, reflective panels, canted rear wheels for greater stability, safety orange flag, clear rain flap for bad weather, and mesh flap for keeping debris away from the kids while still allowing great air flow. Children are supposed to wear helmets while riding in the Caddy-Yak, so there's a nylon lycra panel behind their head to make room for the helmet. The Caddy-Yak meets or exceeds all ASTM safety standards.

If you've never ridden with a trailer, it takes some getting used to. For the most part, I didn't find the Caddy-Yak to be a hindrance at all (except on hills, of course). It does add some weight to your bike--more if your kids want to bring all their toys along--but it's not too heavy for the job. I liked the ample room for storage space, so you could even pick up a few sacks of groceries with your kids in tow.

Summary: The Yakima Caddy-Yak is well built and functions flawlessly. I'd love to be able to mount it to my disc-brake equipped bike, but that's a minor complaint. I really liked all the features and room. I always felt like my daughter was probably a lot safer than I was, and that's a pretty good feeling. Like all Yakima products, the Caddy-Yak is durable. At $425, it may seem expensive, but it's sure to last years and years. I think the best feature--one that was never mentioned in the manual--was the huge grins and giggles it elicited from my daughter as we sped along the streets. Yep, it looks like she's falling in love with the outdoors, too.

Jon Sharp is a contributing editor to GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking and teaching his children to love the Great Outdoors.

For more information, contact:
Yakima Products
1385 8th Street
Arcata, CA 95521
USA
1-888-925-0703
www.yakima.com