Tag-along bikes

[Twink]

Anyone any experience of these ?

Dd is getting too big for her seat on the back of my bike (although nowhere near its weight limit) so I've been looking at alternatives. We go too far for her to just have her own bike with stabilisers - I think, though perhaps I underestimate childrens ability. Average trips are 5-10km.

She loves travelling by bike and often requests it even if the weather is unpredictable so I'd like to encourage her as much as possible.

Friend has a Trail Gator on her bike. Put it into any search engine and you'll come up with loads of sites that sell it. It's really good. Cheapest I found was £59.99 on bikecare.co.uk

twink, why not try one out first? I experienced my first tag along bike courtesy of a bike hire place at Bewl Water, a county park. It was lovely to ride through the woods with my three year old on the back. Personally I would have been petrified of taking him on a road. The length of the bike means it is not as manoeuvrable as you imagine. Also, as my ds was not strapped into his seat, and was totally out of my reach, he could have got off at any time - a problem if you are waiting at traffic lights. Anyway, apart from this I thought it was a fun way to travel. HTH

Thanks for those comments. I've just driven into town and passed a woman with one attatched but without a child and it looked quite vulnerable (on a busy A road). I suspect dd isn't quite up to it yet - I'd certainly not be happy to use the routes we currently follow but it's something to bear in mind for the future.

Lara2, thanks for the link for the Trail Gaitor I have seen someone using one of these and they look great but I had no idea what they were called or where to get one.

One of my friends has one of these to take her daughter to school every day in London and they both love it. One thing to be aware of is that the child is obviously lower down than the adult so my friend has a pennant attached to a long pole at the back so drivers know she has a long "load"

I actually saw a man on a bike with his daughter on her bike (with stabilisers, I think) attached with a rope! It was on a public road as well. Not surprised when she came off. Poor kid

They're very common in switzerland. They rear 'bike' always has a long flag at the back. You can also get a bar (don't know the make but have got it in catalogue downstairs) which can connect a proper bike to an adult's bike & the bar is telescopic & can just be clipped onto the adult bike frame when not in use. Seems more practical than the 'half bike' will send you details if interested.

Would definitely recommend trying one at a hire shop before buying. We used one for dd when she was 4 or 5 on the back of dh's bike. He found that the "trailer" was quite wobbly and unbalanced him. Maybe because dd was not balancing her half herself and dh had to balance the whole thing?

It sounds like I'd better see if there's a local bike hire place and have a go !