Bicycle trailers for dogs, your report on the ADAC website from 07.02.2022
Recipient ADAC, Mrs Andrea Pichotta, Mr Matthias Zimmermann
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for your report on bicycle trailers for dogs. I think it's about time someone addressed this issue. It is essential to help consumers make this choice. The variety of trailers is very large and confusing for consumers, so they urgently need support.
So I think it's all the better that the ADAC is not shirking its responsibilities and is supporting consumers with a report and explaining what's important about a bicycle trailer!
Unfortunately, I have noticed some misinformation from your organisation, including incorrect information, and I am also missing more precise information that the reader can use as a guide to find an easier answer to their questions. Personally, I would have liked to see the ADAC do some professional research, invest some time and effort, and give one or two end users a chance to have their say.
You may be interested to know what information I personally have and what I would have liked to see included in such a report.
Starting with the less important topics of price and weight.
The price range for dog bike trailers starts at €46.99 for the Trixie S128813 and ends at over €1500.
Unfortunately, the weight information is not correct. There are trailers for dogs from 9 kg to 80 kg. That is the standard.
You write that suspension is important, but provide no information as to why suspension is important. You also provide no information on how suspension works in a bicycle trailer and how many different types of suspension there are on the market. But you consider this to be important?
Your information about the ratio of the size of the dog to the size of the trailer is not correct. Let's take a Great Dane as an example. You say that the trailer should be 150 cm long, 80 cm wide and 150 cm high. How big would the bicycle trailer for a Chihuahua be? 25 cm long, 16 cm wide and 25 cm high. This is not possible.
I was unable to find any information about the dog. Every dog has its own character, every dog has different habits, every dog gets older and then the parameters change by 80%, at this point at the latest your parameters no longer fit and cannot be applied. The breed is always important. In Germany alone, according to the VDH, there are 250 standard breeds with official breeding licences, not including hybrids such as Labradoodle, Maltipoo, Cheagle, Cavapoo, etc. There are also 340 breeding breeds. There are also 340 breeding breeds throughout Europe.
Soft cushions in the trailer may make the owner feel good, but unfortunately, they are neither healthy for the spine nor relaxing for the dog. Again, I wish you had done more research, and you would have quickly realised that it is important for a dog to have a pad that protects its joints and vertebrae.
I agree with you that safety is a top priority. Lights, headlights and reflectors are essential for safety. But why don't you tell consumers what to look out for when we talk about a traffic regulation, for example? I assume that bicycle trailers for dogs are also used on the road! Surely, you know that every tail light, every rear or front light needs an approval number. Which supplier has a rear light or spotlight with a Z number? As far as I know, NONE. But I think people should be informed that this is important if the trailer is to be used on the road.
I would also have liked to see issues such as poison in the trailer addressed. Or that a trailer should also be repairable, but above all that we should also look at our environment, our footprint and our eco-balance when we buy.
I was pleased to see that your report did not refuse to address this issue, but I was disappointed with your execution and research, as I doubted that this was the ADAC's claim.
I would appreciate a response from your organisation.
YOURS SINCERELY.
J. Arnold
This is the answer from the ADAC!
Dear Mrs Cornelsen and Mr Arnold,
Thank you very much for your e-mail, which we have studied intensively and with great interest. The ADAC Technical Centre is responsible for responding.
We regret that you consider our article on bicycle trailers to be incomplete. We see a huge development in the field and range of bicycle trailers.
Our technical articles are updated annually. We take your criticism as an opportunity to use some of your comments in the revision.
We appreciate your comments.
Please understand that we cannot include all aspects in our articles. This would be beyond the scope of our size. In addition, we are often unable to carry out in-depth research, for example on the recommended size for the breed in question. We often lack the capacity and experts to do this. Also, we have not come across such detailed explanations in our research. So we can assume that even specialist institutes do not deal with this.
On the other hand, we are obliged to invest our members' contributions only in projects with a clearly calculable financial outcome, which experience has shown was not foreseeable in this case.
We wish you continued success in marketing your products. We find them to be very well-thought-out and of high quality.
We hope we have been of some assistance and wish you a safe journey.
