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Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike

Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike

Item # 752015
!
This item is currently sold out or unavailable online.

For your reference, this page contains historical product information.

The single-speed Novara® Afterburner brings a new level of user-friendliness to folding trailer bikes!

  • Tool-free folding mechanism is intuitively easy to use; simply unscrew the hand-friendly knob and fold the arm back on itself—it's that fast!
  • Sturdy hitch adapts to a wide range of seatpost diameters without need of switching out parts, attaching easily via bolts and a quick-release
  • All of which means it's a snap to move the Afterburner from bike to bike
  • Single-speed operation is simple for a young mind to comprehend: get on, hold on, pedal!
  • High-tensile steel frame provides a sturdy, solid ride and the longevity to last child after child
  • Fully adjustable cockpit accommodates kids of various sizes (80 pounds max weight); simply move the seat up or down and angle the handlebars to fit
  • Features a detachable forward deflector (like a fender without the wheel) and a full-length chainguard, so your child stays free of wet and grime
  • Handlebar pad adds an extra bit of safety; soft rubber hand grips accommodate small hands
  • Large platform pedals make it easy for small feet to stay aboard
  • Bright orange safety flag mounted on tall rod increases your small rider's visibility
  • Measures approximately 53 inches folded and 74 inches unfolded
  • Trailer bike is easily assembled upon arrival—just install the handlebars and pedals and you're ready to hook up and go!
  • Suggested for kids three to six years old

After an initial break-in period you might notice your bicycle performing less responsively than the day you brought it home. Not to worry, this is typical of all new bicycles and simply reflects that cables have stretched or their housings have seated themselves into final position. To keep running at peak performance, all REI bicycles come with a FREE warranty tune-up, which should be accomplished between the first 100-200 miles of riding or after the first two months if you're accumulating miles less quickly. Contact your nearest REI bike shop for details and an appointment for this important service.

Imported.

Item 752015


An oversize shipping charge of $30 applies to this item (plus regular shipping fees). Or ship it FREE to any REI store for pickup.
Read more about shipping options.

Manuals and Instructions:

manualAfterburner Manual

Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike Specs

Specification

Description

Weight23 pounds

Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike
 
4.0

(based on 7 reviews)

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Built to last (7)
  • Easy to grow into (6)
  • Highly adjustable (5)
  • Smooth ride (5)
  • Stable (3)

Cons

  • Heavy (5)

Best Uses

  • Street riding (6)
  • First learning (3)
  • Light riding (3)
  • Reviewer Profile:
  • Casual adventurer (6)

Reviewed by 7 customers

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Sep

4

2007

(8 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

 
4.0

Very Nice

By REI-BOB

from Denver, Colorado

About Me Casual/ Recreational

Site Member

Pros

  • Built to Last
  • Easy to Grow Into
  • Smooth Ride
  • Stable

Cons

  • Heavy

Best Uses

  • First Learning
  • Light Trails
  • Street Riding
  • Training wheel transition

Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

This was my second trailer bike. First, I bought an ALLYCAT from my LBS, but it had an ugly feature whenever my kid leaned slightly to one side, it would "clank" over onto that side. At first I thought that might be normal but Google told me I was not alone. So, off to REI. No "clank" from the AFTERBURNER and in general it works well. The captive folding screw on the ALLYCAT is a better design but most other points go to the AFTERBURNER. The fender is a nice touch. The quick-release is easy once you realize you need to take your entire seatpost OUT of the frame. You will aslo need a 5/6mm allen wrench to make many adjustments including the kids seat. None of the trailer bikes can be used with a Carbon Fiber seat post. On our first day out, we rode 20 miles through the mountains from Frisco to Breckinridge on a paved but very hilly path. My kid laughed and smiled the entire time.

Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

REI response:Glad your child enjoys the ride!

(8 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

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Sep

12

2007

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

 
4.0

Very Nice

By kayaken

from Mount Vernon, WA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

Site Member

Pros

  • Built to Last
  • Easy to Grow Into
  • Highly Adjustable
  • Smooth Ride

Cons

    Best Uses

    • Family biking treks
    • Light Trails

    Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

    Great way to include kids that have short legs, but are old enough that riding in the chariot is an insult. Trouble on the first day with adjusting, because we didnt have an allen wrench, but had a great time, once we figured it out. She was laughing and "racing" the whole way. There is a little "rocking", but overall a great outfit for an affordable price.

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    (5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

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    Sep

    4

    2007

    (5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

     
    3.0

    Over all nice but...

    By KandL

    from Sammamish, WA

    About Me Avid Cyclist

    Site Member

    Pros

    • Built to Last
    • Smooth Ride

    Cons

    • Heavy
    • Seat is scratchy

    Best Uses

    • Big Kids
    • Street Riding

    Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

    After we got the quick fix from the recall, the quick release threads had a problem we guess, we got our 4 1/2 yr. old daughter out on this yesterday. She rode 11 miles and said her bottom hurt so first thing we will do is switch out the seat that has too much stitching on it and not enough cushion. It is heavier than the trailer she was using and the tubes are very big, harder to carry on a car bike rack. I wish it was more streamlined, lighter and had more cushion and less stitching on the seat. Our daughter is over average height and we still have to put blocks to make her reach to pedals comfortably. She rocks from side to side a bit. But overall, since we haven't tried any other trail a bikes, it's going well. She did ride 11 miles on her first outing! And had a ball and is ready for more. My husband seems to like it, just takes a little getting used to versus the trailer he has been towing for 3 yrs. Do like the folding arm feature. Not sure about recommending it. We may go look at some others.

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    (5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

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    Sep

    12

    2007

    (4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

     
    5.0

    This trailer bike rocks!

    By Scott of Cali

    from Lansing, MI

    About Me Casual/ Recreational

    Site Member

    Pros

    • Built to Last
    • Easy to Grow Into
    • Highly Adjustable
    • Smooth Ride
    • Stable

    Cons

      Best Uses

      • First Learning
      • Street Riding

      Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

      This trailer bike has been great for my 4 year old. He is now 5 and still wants to go for a ride all the time. We had a trailer that he sat in but this makes him feel like a big kid.

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

      (4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

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      May

      12

      2008

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

       
      4.0

      quick release lever falls out

      By SuperDaveO

      from Oakland, CA

      About Me Casual/ Recreational

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Built to Last
      • Easy to Grow Into
      • Highly Adjustable
      • Smooth Ride

      Cons

      • Heavy
      • Quick release falls off

      Best Uses

      • Street Riding

      Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

      My daughter loves her afterburner. She is 3.5 years old but rather tall for her age (about 42" tall). We have the seat as low as it will go, and the pedals are about the right height for her. I would be surprised if the afterburner would work well for children under 40" tall, but then again, they will get taller soon! She is a bit skittish on her small bicycle with training wheels (mostly about going downhill), but is very confident on the afterburner.The ride was fairly wobbly at first, but 6 weeks into using it, it seems much less wobbly. This improvement is probably a combination of both of us getting used to riding in this hooked-together configuration. We have been up to 19 miles per hour on smooth pavement, and she loves it.My only complaint is that the quick release lever (that is used to secure the afterburner to the seatpost of the adult bike) fell off this weekend while I was transporting our family bicycles on the bike rack behind our car. This loss was incredibly disappointing to my daughter, because we finally arrived at our bicycling destination (Yosemite) and we could not ride at all. The replacement part appears to be reasonably priced at [$], but I will be taking some action in the future to prevent this from happening again. I wish the owner's manual had warned me about this possibility. Now you have been warned. :-)Otherwise, this is a great product.

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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      May

      3

      2008

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

       
      4.0

      So much fun for the whole family

      By Crafty Kate

      from Benicia, CA

      About Me Avid Cyclist, Casual/ Recreational

      Pros

      • Built to Last
      • Easy to Grow Into
      • Highly Adjustable
      • Stable

      Cons

      • Heavy

      Best Uses

      • Big or Little Kids
      • First Learning
      • Street Riding
      • Trails

      Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

      This was such a great buy for us. My son is a short-ish 3.5 year old and he has never ridden an actual bike before but he hopped on this bike with ease and LOVES it. His feet just barely reach the pedals when they are at the very bottom, but he's fine with that - and there's PLENTY of room to grow as he gets bigger. We've done around-town riding with some good hills and just today did a 20 mile bike ride and he had so much fun and it was great. I love that my husband and I can go on long rides, our son is happy riding along and we don't have to wait for him since he's attached!

      I'm using this with my lightweight road bike, so the Afterburner is heavier than my whole bike, which adds a little wiggle behind me, but nothing I couldn't get used to after the first few rides. Unlike other trailer bikes I've seen this doesn't tip over unless MY bike tips over, so I feel secure with him back there. It is harder to go up hills since standing up while biking adds too much wiggle to my bike, so if you're planning on doing lots of steep hills you might do better using a mountain bike with this (which reduces wiggle).

      It is also SO EASY to take on and off - just twist the screw! It folds up easily and fits on our bike trailer.

      I should say that we did fall over once today. I've found taking turns is pretty easy with this attached, but we did an uphill hairpin turn and found ourselves in the sandy shoulder and once I realized we were tipping over I couldn't unclip my shoes in time and we fell over. Totally my fault. My son cried for a few minutes due to the surprise of falling but we were both fine and he happily hopped back on.

      I gave it four stars because for it to be perfect I would like it to be a little lighter, but I love how sturdy and stable and secure it is, how easy it is to install, and I would totally recommend it to anyone wanting to bike with a child. Great buy and so much fun for the family!

      Service and delivery comments:

      I loved buying this from REI - they set it up for us, showed me how to attach it to my bike, even watched my baby for me so I could test it out with my son!

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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      May

      27

      2008

       
      4.0

      My son likes it.

      By Callan

      from Grove City,OH

      About Me Casual/ Recreational

      Pros

      • Built to Last
      • Easy to Grow Into
      • Highly Adjustable

      Cons

      • Heavy
      • Pedal hits ground
      • Rough Ride

      Best Uses

      • Light Trails
      • Street Riding

      Comments about Novara Afterburner Trailer Bike:

      My son likes it. His friend at preschool loves it and cannot stop talking about it. Overall it is good. The trailer allows my son to feel like a big kid even though he is only 3.5. He likes it better than the Burley trailer. Now he can accompany us on longer rides and if he gets tired he doesn't have to pedal. The major problem we have is that when I turn a corner the inside pedal hits the ground. Not always, but often. Not sure how to fix this. Also I can feel the trailer laggin/pulling behind when we go over bumps. Last week this was an issue. We went over a bump and my son hit his crotch hard on the seat. All I felt was the trailer lagging and the thump as he hit the seat.

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

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