Trail-A-Bikes/Tag-Alongs/Co-Pilots – Are they all pretty much the same?

[krazygl00]

The five-year-old is definitely ready to get out of the trailer and get onto a trail-a-bike, so I am looking around at them. They all seem the same to me; some may have different/better hardware. Are some better than others? I worry about attaching it to a nice seatpost, so good attachment hardware is important.

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[ronwalf]

The Weehoo is a recumbent trail-a-bike. It has a harness and straps for his feet, which is good, since my eldest likes to get a good nap in while we’re out.

[Steve O]

@krazygl00 86585 wrote:

The five-year-old is definitely ready to get out of the trailer and get onto a trail-a-bike, so I am looking around at them. They all seem the same to me; some may have different/better hardware. Are some better than others? I worry about attaching it to a nice seatpost, so good attachment hardware is important.

If your bike has a rack (like mine did when my kids were little), you’ll need to make sure the shape of the bar will work with it.
I don’t think there’s too much difference otherwise, although you could save some money finding a used one.

Personally I think having gears on a Trail-a-bike is ridiculous. No kid ever knows what to do with them.

My daughter, in particular, loved the Trail-a-bike. She started riding it when she was 3. It’s way more fun for a kid than riding in a trailer. The one rule we had was that on uphills you had to pedal.

So I agree it’s time to go for it. Good luck!

[hozn]

@ronwalf 86605 wrote:

The Weehoo is a recumbent trail-a-bike. It has a harness and straps for his feet, which is good, since my eldest likes to get a good nap in while we’re out.

My son can nap in the trailer but couldn’t in the weehoo due to lack of head/neck support (seat back just goes up to base of helmet) — so it may only be useful from a napping perspective if your child can tolerate sleeping with their head rolling around.

That said, my son (soon-4) loves the weehoo. He helps pedal, when he fancies. I figure when he outgrows this we’ll be at the stage where he can just ride along on his own bike.

Definitely would not attach it to a nice seatpost. The metal bracket can slide off of the plastic sleeve/bushing going over bumps and will score/scratch/gouge your post. Also they say no carbon, which definitely seems sound given this maiming potential. And since it attaches to the post the center of gravity is high, so there will be a lot of lateral forces to contend with (I assume true of all of this style trail-a-bike). It is awesome when my son decides to suddenly throw his body to one side in some sort of strapped-in interpretive dance. But he loves it and that is what matters since it means he is interested in going on rides.

[Mikey]

Come out to Falls Church Kidical Mass today and you will see all types of childe conveyances, including my 2 child tandem tag-a-long that my boys call the Red Streak Express.

[dasgeh]

Don’t forget “child bike trail along tow bars” like the Trail Gator. They allow you to turn your kids bike into a trail-a-bike, which gives them a separate bike when they want. I don’t have personal experience with them, but there’s always the interwebs.

PS. We love the WeeHoo, in part because of its large weight range.

[brendan]

@dasgeh 86629 wrote:

Don’t forget “child bike trail along tow bars” like the Trail Gator. They allow you to turn your kids bike into a trail-a-bike, which gives them a separate bike when they want. I don’t have personal experience with them, but there’s always the interwebs.

PS. We love the WeeHoo, in part because of its large weight range.

Heh, might be problematic with coaster brakes on the kids’ bike…

B

[valoflyby]

Another option is the Burley Piccolo – attaches to an included rear rack (moose rack). Eliminates the seatpost issues, guarantees rack clearance, allows for panniers to carry all kid-stuffs.

[Author]

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