Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

2 years after having my second child, my husband and I are getting serious about making some healthy lifestyle changes. We already own a double stroller, which is perfect for everyday errands and trips to the zoo. Totally love that stroller, use it all the time, BUT it does not support our new jogging and running habits. Since we're also tossing around the idea of purchasing some new bicycles this summer, and I was not wild about spending another ungodly sum of money for a true jogging stroller (our first double stroller was already in the $400 range) the Clevr bike trailer was our compromise. I took a chance on this particular trailer because there weren't many reviews on it. (I'm the first for the green version, but both the blue and red models only have a handful of reviews.) I chose this over another brand because the price was more reasonable, but mostly because it has an ACTUAL front tire and not one of those dinky umbrella stroller "wheels" that get stuck and won't even turn on umbrella strollers. I'm writing this review based on my first impressions, as it arrived today and I have used it a total of exactly one time. First, Assembly. I've never put together a bike trailer before. I've never even seen it done. It's easy enough to figure out, but it's gonna take a little while the first time through, until you figure out what order you need to open everything up, and find the specific locations for all the cotter pins. That's because the instructions that come with the trailer are a complete JOKE. They were clearly written by someone whose first language is not English, and the illustrations are too small to really be of any use. Add in a couple toddlers who want to "help" and you can see why it takes a while. (Oh. And they pack the instructions in a small plastic bag folded INSIDE the trailer, so you have to open up everything to find them.) The benefit of this is that once you have it put together correctly, you're not going to forget how to do it! There are also no instructions included to tell you how to fold it down, but since it's the same steps as assembly in reverse, it's not really hard to figure it out. The instructions DO state to push the rear wheels on until you hear a click...but they're wrong. And since you've read this far into my review, I'll just assume we're friends now and you'll trust me. There's a small button on either end of the rear axle. Slide the tire on, push the button, slide the tire in more. It won't click, but you'll feel the difference in the placement and you won't be able to just yank the tires back off. The front wheel is equipped with a locking mechanism to prevent the tire from swiveling. (In case you're wondering, the swivel tire is the difference between the "premium" and "deluxe" models.) The pin only lines up on one side though, so if you're trying to lock the wheel in place for running and it's not working, turn the wheel 180 degrees and do it again. Now on to actual performance! The kids (2 and 3.5) were cozy sitting side-by-side, but they were by no means cramped in there. The seat back seemed supportive, both had adequate head space (they were not wearing helmets though, so please take that into account) and they had plenty of room for feet down below. Both kids were amused by the small pocket on either side below the windows, and several matchbox cars were promptly placed inside by the boy child to accompany him on the ride. There's a nice little cargo area in the back, enough for a diaper bag, small cooler, and a couple of jackets. More on that space later. Considering the trailer itself weighs just shy of 40 lbs, and it contained 50-60 lbs worth of toddler, it rolled really nicely. I felt very little resistance when pushing it along our paved neighborhood roads. We've recently had some severe windstorms that have knocked down several small branches and pieces of bark from aging trees. The tires rolled nicely over those obstacles without issue, and I'm confident we could take it on the wooded walking paths of our local park and have a pleasant experience. Just like a bicycle, remember to check the tire pressure before you leave though! I tested out the front wheel in both the swivel and locked positions. I noticed on the swivel, the stroller always wanted to pull left if I was trying to steer it with one hand. (My Fitbit won't track when I use both! Come on! Gotta count those steps!) It wasn't a problem, but I did start to feel some strain in my wrist the longer our walk went on. If you're using 2 hands, you wouldn't even notice. When the front wheel is locked straight there was no issue with the alignment. There is still a significant amount of left/right play involved. Enough that on short bursts of jogging the front wheel will wobble a bit. It didn't affect the steering at all, but this might bug you if you tend to move at a faster pace. Then again, if you know you're needing a stroller to keep a faster pace, you're probably in the market for a higher end jogging stroller anyway. Bottom line, it handles way better than what I had (traditional walking double stroller) but it won't be as nice as the true jogging stroller designed for a more serious athlete. If you need the uniform stability of that front wheel, this is not the stroller for you. It handled just fine for jogging with the front wheel unlocked though, so it met my needs and expectations. The adjustable handlebar is great, but it does feel a bit tight when you're trying to move it. Because of the wider spacing, I found it easier to adjust one side and then the other. I couldn't get enough leverage on the buttons if I tried to move both at once. The one thing I found a little annoying though is the cable for the hand brake sits very close to the push bar. I kept catching my fingers on it as I walked. I think if I loosen the screw on the hand brake I'll be able to rotate the entire thing 1/4 of an inch and fix this. It's not a big deal, more of a personal preference sort of thing. But back to that hand brake... Not sure if it's settings from the factory, or if something happened in shipping, but the hand brake was EXTREMELY loose. When I'd press it, the brake would work, but the cable would wiggle out the other side of the connection. That meant that the next time you use the brake, it's even MORE loose. I tried tightening the barrel adjuster, which helped a little, but it seemed to just keep happening the more I used the brake. In addition, there is also a feature on the hand brake that is supposed to turn it into a parking brake. (Which would be VERY useful when loading/unloading children out the front!) You squeeze the lever, press a pin down on the hand brake, and let go of the lever. The pin is supposed to keep the brake engaged, but since it was so loose, there wasn't enough tension to do this. If you're familiar with brakes on bikes this would be a quick and easy fix, but I'm not, so I'll probably end up taking the trailer to a local bike shop and see if they can help me out. I've emailed the seller through Amazon asking if they have instructions for the adjustment. I'll update the review if they ever respond to me. The cover is sufficient once you get it all in place, but I kind of hate it. There's lots of velcro to line up, and that's to be expected. The front has a plastic window that folds down for rain, or it can be rolled up to expose a mesh window which would be enough to keep out the bugs on cool summer evenings. We played around with it just to see how it fit, but ended up leaving it off for our walk. There are a couple annoyances with the cover though. First, you have to remember to put it on before you clip the handlebars in. There are 2 holes that the bars slide through, so if you forget, you've got to take the handlebars back apart to place the cover on. Second, and more annoying, is that when the cover is attached correctly, there is no easy access to the back cargo area. You have to completely remove the back portion to get to any items you might need, and there's no way to roll it up out of the way and secure it (so you can see what you're doing) after you unhook it from the base of the trailer. There are 2 pieces of fabric that meet at a center spot on the back of the cover, and it seems like this would have been a logical place to install a zipper for easy access. Maybe I'll do that myself too. Third, take a quick look at the product photo that shows the front of the cover. (No really. I'll wait.) There's a piece of velcro that wraps around the front bar of the trailer right in the center. In reality, the velcro is not long enough to attach this way. The manufacturer placed the opposing piece of velcro on the base of the trailer, behind that bar. So you either have to wiggle the velcro from the cover between the 2 frame pieces to attach it (which is difficult; the space between them is so narrow that the velcro catches before you can fully get it in place) -or- the piece of velcro on the cover needs to be longer in order to wrap around that bar (as is shown in the product photo). Since it's not long enough you pretty much have no way to secure the cover to the front of the trailer. I was happy to see there were plenty of reflectors all the way around. 2 attached to the back cover, 2 at the front corners of the trailer, and 1 each on both rear wheels. An orange safety flag was also included. The left side of the trailer (as you're pushing it) has a pocket sewn next to the window for you to slide the flag in. With both those features and the bright green color, it seems there will be plenty of visibility for drivers who are sharing the road. If you can find the right attachment I'd think it'd also be pretty easy to install some flashing lights if you expect to be out with the trailer at twilight. Overall I'm happy with it. It's sturdy, even if it does have some quirks. I know it will meet our needs and that my kids are safe inside. They seem to like it too, which is always a win. I know I picked it apart in this review, but I do think it's a quality trailer that will serve us well until the kids grow out of it. I think it's perfect for folks like us, who are trying to be a bit more active, but aren't ready to go all-in on a more expensive model. The fact that you can use it as a stroller AND a bike trailer is also a big plus. It seems a great value for the money we spent and I do recommend it. UPDATE: The seller responded within 24 hours about the brake issue. They offered no real solution, but did suggest what I'd already thought of, which is to take the trailer to a bike repair shop. I'm pleased to see a quick response though.