Tell me about Tag-alongs

[Sue60N]

My daughter has just got herself a new to-her bike and thinking of how how she might use it for family(short) Sunday afternoon trips out . Hubbie already has one and they have a kiddies seat which now fits their 2 yr old. They also have a 4 yr old (well almost 4) Size wise he´s much taller than his peers. He´s had a balance bike for 1 yr and is quite proficient at balancing, and keen for pedals. So I´m wondering if he´s old enough for a tag- along. They live in very rural area / island location so no real traffic concerns. And because we´re on an island there´s no real opportunity to try one out. I wouldn´t want to steer them towards something that the wee fellow is just not quite old enough for. I´d really welcome any advice that anyone can give.

[meic]

My four year old daughter really enjoys her tag-along.

I can see three main options.

1) Trailgator this a tow bar that attaches to the child's own bike and allows you to let them off under their own steam and then tow them home if they weaken.

2) A seatpost mounted tag-along, these are cheaper and more readily available but tend to have a bad effect on the bike doing the towing, especially with inattentive kids.

3) rack mounted tag-alongs, these are more expensive (Burley Picallo or Isla trailerbike) yet worth it if you do a lot of cycling as they dont have such a bad effect on the parent's bike.

I still prefer a trailer as she can sleep or play with toys in it.

[gaz]

Islabikes are the gold standard of tag-alongs along with Burley Piccolo.

There are plenty of others to choose from and whilst they don't perform quite so well one was good enough for me and mini-me.

More comments and tips here.

[Sue60N]

Thanks Meic and Gaz - I´ve done some surfing on the basis of your posts and the Islabike trailers and the Piccolo look great but at their prices they´d really need to be used regularly. I also see a thread about the Trailgator further down this forum which suggests a bit of instability unless set up really well and of course the wee man would need his own bike - which he doesn´t yet have - so I think it is more likely to be one of the seatpost models.

Interesting Gaz, that you found the gears to be pretty well unecessary; Do other folk think similarly on this one ? And does anyone have a recommendation to help separate the wheat from the chaff on the myriad of makes that there are around or is simply a matter of price as the best indicator of quality?

[fatboy]

I own a single tag-along (currently on loan to a friend) and a tandem tag-along that I now use as we got twins second time around! Both are made by Adams and both are excellent (and they are seat post mounted ones). The handling is OK but I would only consider pulling the tandem one with my flat bar bike. Never felt the need for gears on the single tag-along but on the tandem one the gears are good for getting up steep hills (but then it does weigh a ton and I tend to try and go up steep hills) and may be a good way to teach a youngster how to change gear.

[gaz]

And does anyone have a recommendation to help separate the wheat from the chaff on the myriad of makes that there are around or is simply a matter of price as the best indicator of quality?

Mine had a folding arm. Not a guide to quality in itself but this helped immensely with transportation as it would fit in either the car boot or the passenger front seat and foot well.

If you get a chance visit a local family orientated trail centre, canl path, railway path, etc. Take a look at what other people are using. I've seen a variety of tag-alongs that seem to list visibly to port or starboard of the lead bike when going in a straight line. I wouldn't want to tow one that is likely to do that, of course it could just be poor fitting by the owner.

I'm happy to recommend Trek Mountain Trains based on my experience, you may get a good deal second hand. Be slightly cautious of pre-2003 models, the hitch is narrower (1" compared to 1 1/4" on current models) making it a little more prone to wobble and near impossible to get a second hitch if you want to kit out multiple bikes.

Whatever you get, go for a test ride without a co-pilot and practice attachment, folding and so on at home. I remember watching someone struggling to fit a trail-gator together for the first time in the car park. Not much fun for anyone concerned, it would have helped if he'd bought the right size spanners with him.

Pack at least one spare tube for the tag-along, and make sure your pump will fit the (almost inevitably schraeder) valve. Take a slightly wider line through corners than you would when riding solo.

Give some thought to the lead bike. You'll need good brakes. Many people prefer flat bars although I was happy with drops. If using a seat-post attachment you'll need a round alloy or steel seat post (not aero-profiled or carbon fibre) with at least 2" of post visible above the frame to attach the hitch. I say at least 2" but it may vary a little between models. In order to kit Mrs gaz's steed out with a hitch I had to change her seatpost to gain a little more space but the tag-along arm would still just catch her saddle rails.


You will have fun.

[admin]

Roland Add+bike tag-alongs (e.g. http://www.bikesandtrailers.com/trailer ... index.html) are good, with a sturdy custom rack that the trailer simply clips into. German made. We added the two-legged stands to ours, which make storing the trailers very easy, just pop the stand down and it sits on the stand and back wheel nicely.

The main thing is to get one with a mount that has minimum slack in it. There are rather too many children pedalling around at crazy angles because their tag-along hitch has too much slack or has worn.

I'd recommend gears, but perhaps just a three-speed hub. Allows the child to get used to changing gear for different conditions before they start doing so on their own bikes.

As for minimum age, the child should be able to reliably hold on and not fall asleep, but the main limit we had was lack of leg length to be able to reach the pedals.

[Sue60N]

Thanks all for taking the time to respond - Wish they´d been around when my children were little I think we´d all have had great fun!! You´ve given me food for thought and now I shall undoubtedly spend the next few evenings browsing Ebay, Gumtree and Preloved and of course watching the for sale bit of this forum. I see a birthday pressie coming up!

[sevenhills]

http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/01/03/don ... clebungee/

I will search google, it looks interesting.

[RickH]

If I was starting from scratch now for a child who is already (or nearly) riding independently, I'd probably go for the FolowMe (website) & a regular child's bike.

Rick.

[alpgirl]

We have used a trailgator (the same one) with both our boys. We have found it to be brilliant as it offers more flexibility. For example we rode the Monsal Trail there and back last week, which is about 19 miles. Our 4 year old was able to ride about 8 miles of it on his own as it was so easy to disattatch from his bike. People say they are not as robust as trailerbikes, but we saw some extremely dodgy looking trailerbikes on the trail (rocking from side to side)! As long as the trailgator is set up correctly it is absolutely fine! I would get one for the sheer versatility (and they are a lot cheaper than other options!)

[Sue60N]

Thanks Alpgirl - I do see the benefits of the trailgator if only the space that is afforded in the garage by not having a variety of wheels for different occasions. But do tell me - if the front wheel of the child´s bike is lifted off the ground is kiddie not sitting at an odd angle ?

[hubgearfreak]

I´ve done some surfing on the basis of your posts and the Islabike trailers and the Piccolo look great but at their prices they´d really need to be used regularly.

i don't think that's true. the isla bike will still be worth a fair chunk of it's original cost when your little ones have outgrown it

[alpgirl]

They are slightly tilted, but it has never bothered our children. The front wheel is probably about 3 inches off the road, which doesn't make a huge difference to the angle.

[Cunobelin]

The gears and other fripperies depend on the purpose of the trailerbike!

You will need mirrors to see what is going on, but use the trailer bike as a teaching tool as well as transport, this will leave them better prepared when they go solo.

Keep them involved and learning as you go.

As you approach a hill, give instructions on how to use the gears, as you approach a junction you can teach road positioning, signalling etc, and as they get confident let them "direct" the maneouvers.

We used to play "Spot the muppet" as well, predicting silly moves by other road users.