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Mini-me is 3.5. Can do balance bike but not pedal bike - yet. Tempted to get a tagalong but then spotted one of those towbars which you can use to connect a proper kids bike to an adult bike - kind of lifts the front wheel up. Are they any good?
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trail-Gator-640020-Bicycle-Towbar-Trailer/dp/B000KAZUQY/ref=sr_1_15?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1296052048&sr=1-15 ]Link[/url]
tag-a-long - stable, great for long rides, useful even off road.
tailgator - ok for shortish distances, kid can end up sat at funny angle due to front wheel being lifted, not as stable as a tag-a-long - great where you;re doing a bit of road riding followed by some gentle off road where the kid will propel themselves.
Personally, for a 3 year old I'd go for the tag-a-long - the child os old enough to remember to hang on and you'll get a reasonable distance - at 3 my two managed about 1 lap of the park before gettign tired.
ditto - tag-along first. We have both. Smallest now 6 so can ride a reasonable way, then use the Trailgator. but if we were going a good distance, we'd still use the tag-along
but depends how far you are riding I suppose
Tag along everytime. Ours is quick (two bolts) from shed / three from car to attach. It is much, much more stable than a connector bar thingumy, and much easier for child to learn things like leaning in corners, standing up etc. Ours has been round many red routes / rocky routes with children on board.
Slight Hi-jack, but does anyone have any tag-a-long recommendations or are they much of a muchness?
I must have got a dodgy tag-along. Mine has quite a bit of play in it and does not feel at all safe.
That said,it was a cheap thing and maybe you get what what you pay for but I would not want to do a red route pulling it!
I can imagine the IslaBike one is way better. But my experience is there is very little between them being confident on the tag along to ride far/fast-ish/rougher terrain and riding themselves. The caveat being getting small enough geared bikes is the hard part.
I must have got a dodgy tag-along. Mine has quite a bit of play in it and does not feel at all safe.
That said,it was a cheap thing and maybe you get what what you pay for but I would not want to do a red route pulling it!
Mine was £10 second hand...and I have added margerine tub 'spacers' into the main joint to stop the wobbling.
A tailgator is a git to fit. No matter how much I tighten the fittings Thumps still ends up leaning at an angle. It also feels like a ridiculously long load and so we've never used it in anger.
Local shop (which also does a lot of family bike hire) doesn't recommend tag-a-longs or tailgators until the child is at least four - the risk of falling asleep and off is too high.
I also have a LOCT - we do proper mountain biking on that!
[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/trailgator-or-tag-along ]Isn't it strange that nobody's ever asked this one before?[/url]
Local shop (which also does a lot of family bike hire) doesn't recommend tag-a-longs or tailgators until the child is at least four - the risk of falling asleep and off is too high.
Never had them fall asleep, but that whining noise isn't your bearings!
Got more mileage out of the trailer than the tagalong (and they can sleep in that and often do), but since the youngest was capable of a few miles unaided then a trailgator is quite attractive.
Tag-alongs are fun and you can resell them for the same money. The wobbling is a problem; our small son got thrown off when I wobbled the bike starting off at a roundabout, the length of the tag along amplified the wobble, caught him unawares and he flew off in front of a car. Check the connector mechanism for a stable design.
No issues with a Trailgator here. Doesn't wobble if fitted properly, & is tightened well. We use a cheap donor bike, & spare seat & post for my bike with the clamp attached. Seeing some of the set-ups at Cannock on a busy Weekend makes me cringe. Poor kids bike listing at 30 degrees, while the parent is blissfully unaware. It also releases in seconds leaving the child's bike as a solo.
tag along here too. although he loves it his little (3yr old) legs aren't properly long enough.
keep an eye on them tho as it does wobble back there.
Probably the best tagalong available shame you need to have rack mounts to use it!
[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5391258334_441bce1480.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzrich/5391258334/ ]PA273059[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/nzrich/ ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
use a trail gator on a ghost powerkid 12" rode 8 miles with my 4 year old around the trail at whitelee wind farm at the weekend,the only problems i have are the mud spray from my rear wheel covers him. son loves it and it puts a smile on everyones face that we pass ,considering doing the bottom part of the blue at glentress with it soon.
Our tag along has a couple of old crud catchers on for that reason