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The product is a good idea and is built very well. The construction is very beefy and welds are solid. There is one thing I would strongly caution individuals considering this product, however. It does not fit well on frames of bicycles that do not have a "standard" design. In other words, if the lower frame support from the pedals to the rear tire is not straight, you will have an issue. My bicycle has bends in the frame in that area. I tried to "make it work", but halfway through the ride with my dog, he darted to one side and ripped the back wheel out of the frame.
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I really like this dog leash. I use it for my border collie mix, my lab mix and my foster dog which is a Dachshund mix. The border collie pulls the bike, which I don't like, but she doesn't get tangled in the leash or the bike so it still works fine. I have to be very careful with her because if she gets distracted (squirrel, other dog, etc.) even though she is less than fourty pounds she can pull the back end of the bike out of balance. I have not ever fallen, but I have to pay extra special attention when I ride with her. The other two are great. They follow along at whatever pace I set and it is great. I would be concerned about anyone using this with a large dog or a high energy dog. My recommendation would be to just keep your eyes open and be ready for anything. Other than that, my pack gets a good run every morning and they really seem to enjoy it.Best Deals for Sunlite Bicycle Dog Leash
Looking for a way to get your dog the exercise he/she needs? this is one of the best. There are other fancier designs for more dough with springs and leashes off to the side, but design one works well.I've heard: "A tired dog is a happy dog" and that I've experienced first hand in the past. I've been very excited about getting this bike leash and my excitement was warranted it's exactly what I needed. I can ride a lot further than I can walk, I don't get bored, I have more fun, I can coast down hills, and all while I'm exercising the dog the dog gets a much better workout than I could ever give him on my own two feet.
It doesn't come with instructions which I found odd, but it is easy to slip the catch on the rear axle and velcro the bar to one of the crossbars of the bike it doesn't require any modifications to the bike and I had mine on in about 10 minutes of thinking and 3-4 minutes of trying it out. I didn't even need any tools, just used the quick release on the rear wheel. I believe it would fit on any bike but I'm no expert on bikes.
My dog is very strong, and is still a puppy. I have a mountain bike with thick tread tires, and he can pull left and right and not have any problems with falling over at all. I could feel the pull but it didn't cause any problems of balance or falling and it did not appear at any time to be dangerous to the dog.
It's worked out well for me, I hope it works out well for you too.
Honest reviews on Sunlite Bicycle Dog Leash
UPDATE: SAFETY WATCH-OUT: With more experience I've had my 100 lb Greyhound Husky mix, who pulls hard to the side at squirrels, bend my rear axle quick release hub while riding, which made my mountain bike back wheel loose. Yesterday while at the bike shop getting new pedals for my wife's bike I noticed a bike on the stand with the same Pyramid bike leash as mine, with original red leash. I mentioned to the shop tech that I had the same item but had changed it out due to the safety issues with my bigger dog. He told me that the bike was in the shop because the dog had bent the quick release hub on that bike so badly that he had trouble getting it out of the bike. Because of this safety issue with bigger dogs I've lowered my rating of this item to three stars. I think it still works well with smaller dogs and medium sized dogs that don't pull, but would not recommend it with larger dogs on a bike with a quick release hub. I think it would be much safer with a rear axle that uses the old fashioned thread and nut due to the much larger and stronger components. In any case if you are using this with a big dog with a quick release axle consider going slower and checking the rear axle frequently. One thing I've considered but haven't tried would be putting a sleeve, like a long washer, over the shaft of the quick release axle make it stronger so it won't bend. It may be worth a try if you are handy with this sort of thing.
I changed mine out to a home made unit that I bolted on. Same concept but studier with my big dog. I picked up a 3/4" x 3/4" square aluminum tube from H Depot. Drilled a through hole in my lower frame that holds the rear tire in two places and bolted it on. I did the bolt holes vertically so they would not affect the up and down stresses and used the smallest diameter bolts, Like 1/8". The end of the tube goes about 10" behind my tire where I drilled a vertical hole that I smoothed (to prevent wear) and thread my bungee through and then tie a knot to prevent it from pulling through the hole. And yes because its on the bottom of the frame I have to unbolt my bracket to remove my rear wheel.
Original: Only 4 stars because attachment to bike frame is a little hokey, but nevertheless it has worked well. I've owned this for a few weeks. I have two dogs I run on this. The larger is 100 lb husky greyhound mix that dashes to the side to chase any small prey (squirrels). I looked at all available similar products and went with this one because it attaches to the lowest point on the bike giving me the most stability when my dog pulls hard to the side. I've also replace the rigid nylon leash supplied with a bungee cord to lessen the shock on both the dog and me when he pulls. If you use a bungee cord make sure it is short enough that the dog can not stretch it so that he can run in front of the front wheel. I started with a 1/8" nylon bungee cord which worked surprising well for a week and then broke at the knot. Now I'm using a 1/4" nylon bungee cord that works really well. My larger dog pulls me with this for about 2 miles at 15-20 MPH (I'm NOT peddling) before he begins to tire. When he pulls sideways hard and sharply, I can feel it but its very controllable on good ground or pavement (I'm 150 lbs). I Haven't tried it in the snow yet, but may switch to bike snow tires. With my larger dog, I use a gentle leader which attaches to his head instead of a regular harness. This may help in limiting how hard he pulls to the side. My smaller dog, a 65 lb border collie / cattle dog mix runs along like he was made for it. I have him in a regular chest harness.
Attaching to the bike. See photos. Important if you have a quick release, the bracket is about 1/4" thick and it is likely that you will need to get a longer rear axle skewer/quick release. I tried to use the one I had but could only grab a few threads which I stripped out. My local bike shop gave me another one for free that was a little longer and had a Steel nut instead of an aluminum nut so I could tighten it hard, which I think is needed more so than a regular wheel attachment. I would have felt better if I was using an old fashioned rear axle that had a threaded shaft and nut that I could have cranked hard.
Safety to consider. Some of the other devices sell a breakaway piece that attaches on the leash. This way in case you or your dog get on the wrong side of a pole, tree, or other unmovable object the breakaway piece safely breaks at a low enough force prevent harm to your dog and you. Worth considering (I should take my own advice)
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