Tag-a-longs with two rear wheels – trailer tricycles, if you like – are heavier and more awkward to store than single wheelers but are much better for heavier loads.
So you need to set up seatpost hitches with care. This feels like someone grabbing hold of the seatpost of your bike and trying to twist it from side to side. Handling problems are compounded by the plain bearings: there’s a fine line between too tight, which means the trailer won’t articulate properly, and too loose, which gives slop or play at the joint, letting the trailer cycle rock from side to side. Since a bike’s seatpost isn’t vertical (it’s around 72 degrees rather than 90), this leads to a peculiar handling quirk in which the trailer cycle leans out on corners. At best, the turn pivot is vertical and on a bracket that’s behind the seatpost at worst, the turn pivot is the seatpost. The trailer cycle articulates on plain bearings. Most single wheel tag-a-longs attach at the seatpost because that design is cheap and easy to make. Single wheel trailer cycles come in two types: seatpost or rack mounted. She said on her website: "When Molly wants to cycle her bike under her own steam she can, but when she tires or the road gets busy, I can hook her up to the FollowMe (which sits on the back of my bike) and she follows me, in fine and frolicking tandem fashion." Josie Dew, Cycling UK Vice President (pictured below) using a FollowMe Tandem with her daughter Molly. This is because since the end of 2013 the Cnoc 14 and Cnoc 16 have wheels with hollow bolt through axles. If you have an Islabike you will need to order the Islabike version. It's mostly made of steel, but only adds 4kg to the bike's normal weight. just about adequate – although it isn’t as sturdy, but is cheaper.įollowMe Tandem - is a Swiss-designed, rear-axle mounted trailer that lets you bring your child’s own bike along so they can ride separately if they wish. In practice, bike handling is much the same as with other seatpost-mounted trailer cycles – i.e. It’s a versatile solution because you can convert a trailer cycle to a child’s bike, or vice-versa, mid-ride. The attachment process locks out the steering on the child’s bike and may involve removal of the front wheel. TrailGator – is a towbar that fixes to your child’s existing bike to turn it into an ersatz trailer cycle. Some have two and look like the back end of a tricycle. Bikes that aren’t, such as road bikes and most folding bikes, can handle very poorly when you add on a trailer cycle. Such bikes are a good choice in any case because they’re designed be ridden with a load. Only those that will accept a standard rear carrier rack can tow rack-mounted trailer cycles. To attach here such designs use a rear rack that’s like, and often doubles as, a pannier rack.Īll one-wheeled trailer cycles will cope with gentle off-road terrain and all can be taken touring. A much better arrangement, used by Rann in the past and by Burley and Islabikes today, has the trailer cycle’s vertical (pitch) and horizontal (turn) pivots directly above the towing bike’s rear axle. That’s because most modern trailer cycles attach to and pivot at the seatpost. Recently it’s enjoyed something of a renaissance, although with a few notable exceptions the modern versions are actually worse than the Rann trailers of yesteryear. The trailer cycle has been around since the 1930s, when it was invented in England by Bill Rann. They’re more versatile, too, in that you can detach the trailer cycle and have a normal solo bike as required. Trailer cycles are much cheaper than tandems and take up much less space. This is especially important if you are cycling on the road. They will need to be mature enough to understand they cannot just climb off the trailer bike when they want to. We'd suggest this is an option is for a child who is 4 years + has good balance and can confidently use a pedal bike (without stabilisers). Unlike most tandems, all trailer cycles have an independent freewheel. Your son or daughter can help out by pedalling or, when tired, can simply be towed along.
You and your child can make trips that are faster, further and safer than you could manage on separate bikes. It fits to the back of an adult’s bike to form an articulated tandem. It is essentially a child’s bicycle with the front wheel, fork and headset replaced by a long towbar or boom. Safe roads, traffic offences and the lawĪ tag-a-long bike is also known as a trailer cycle.What to do if you have a cycling crash?.Getting sponsorship to cycle for Cycling UK.