Hello all, I am looking for and wisdom or advise that all who have use a trail a bike can give me. I am an experienced roadie and I just got my daughter and myself a trail a bike. I have it attached to by cyclocross bike. We have gone out for a few rides so far. THe longest so far is probably about 8 - 10 miles. My daughter is 4 yrs old, and on her own little bike she still has training wheels. I have noticed that it takes a lot of effort to balance. Is that normal? We have allready had the trauma of having a shoe come off and by looking at the different threads I am now planning on getting her toe clips to help her keep her feet on the pedals. My plan is to get her to the point of being able to do a 40 - 50 mile ride with the group that I normally ride with. She loves going out with me and encourages (tells) me to go faster.
So once again any wisdom, advise, or knowledge from those with trail a bike experience would be greatly appreciated.
masiman
11-01-05, 04:36 PM
One of the things I read in another thread is that the Burley Piccolo is far better than the Adams or any other maker in terms of tracking. I do not recall if overall quality was rated higher. Do a search on Picollo in the Rec cycle forum, you'll find past threads that will help you along your quest.
Good Luck.
wsmc81
11-01-05, 06:39 PM
Hey Dragon,
We have the Adams Tag Along attached to our MTB's (not going to attach that to a CF seatpost!), the steering is much lighter and stability is decreased. I am surprised what I am able to thread between with the attachment but I do have to be constantly aware of what my daughter is doing to the balance of the entire bike (package? unit? contraption?). She rides her own bike without training wheels, but with the Tag Along she does add a lot of unique balancing input! I can feel it when she is actually pedaling and not just pedaling backwards.
The most we do together is 15-20 miles with stops for lunch, ice cream, play in the park, etc. My five year old is very patient but 40-50 miles will be a few years off, and with miles like that I would be looking for a tandem.
Given the inherit limitations it is a great way to spend time with our daughter and she loves the attention she gets when on her 'one wheeler'.
Kirk
Michel Gagnon
11-02-05, 06:34 PM
The Burley Piccolo is definitely more stable than the Addams Trail-a-Bike, but the latter is still a good bike. I don't think that it makes a difference whether or not the child is able to ride on her own; still, some riding techniques have to be learned and expertise has to be developped. Specifically, check the following:
- Remind her often to keep straight. A natural tendency for inexperienced stokers (adults alike) is to try to rubberneck around you. This plays havoc with your balance. Convince her to look on either side while keeping her body straight. Easier said than done, but it comes fast.
- Start at intersections in low gears and spin through hills. Mashing on pedals is destabilizing and standing to climb a hill is even worst.
- Watch for bumps and don't ride downhill too fast. In other words, stay in control and make sure she stays in control too.
- Keep a good grip on the steering.
It seems hard at first, but it comes fairly quickly. However, even though it's now second nature, I do prefer to ride with 46-cm handlebars (centre to centre) precisely because I steer a tandem and a trailercycle. My commuter bike has 44-cm bars which I think I prefer for non-accompanied rides. As for riding on the tops? Forget it with the trailercycle!
whatever6304
11-02-05, 07:53 PM
We're pretty wobbly with a borrowed Trek trail-a-bike, too. The Trek is fixed gear and my daughter spins much faster than I do at any given speed, which results in even more instability. She is getting better at just coasting along when that happens, but she likes to pedal.
The biggest improvement for me was getting a helmet-mounted mirror so that I wasn't turning on the bike myself so much to look for rear traffic (we ride mostly in town). That was when I felt the most unstable and having the mirror is a great help.
We ordered a Piccolo since we love the trail-a-bike so much. Maybe I'll post after spending some time with that.
DieselDan
11-02-05, 10:00 PM
Tip for Adams hitches, when the adjustment runs out to tighten it up, wack it with a ball-peen hammer where it wobbles.
jimhens714
11-02-05, 11:32 PM
I've had both the Burley Piccolo and an Adams trail a bike. The Piccolo is circa 1999 and the Adams was a 1997 tandem (older style hitch which is supposedly less stable than the new designs).
If I was making a recommendation for the purchase of a new one it would be the Piccolo hands down. They are superior for stability and we did a lot of off-road riding with ours as well as road riding. Having said that the Adams wasn't really that bad...but it was a tandem and heavier. At speed it was fine. Going slow was tricky (like starting off from a stop sign).
With either one I have two suggestions:
1. I absolutely agree with your idea about toe straps. If you crash your child is not going to hold you up with her little legs. She's (or he) is much better off strapped in tight. Make sure they always keep their hands on the grips too...none of that "look Dad, no hands" stuff.
2. One of the replies mentioned having them look forward at all times. I absolutely agree with this too as it really causes them and hence the bike(s) to weave and wobble.
There's no reason a little one can't be trained up to ride some pretty long distances but keep it fun for them too. I've had both of my kids out for 30 mile rides. I usually try to have a couple of stops along the way. I took my daughter on a continuous 24 mile ride once and that was pushing it a bit. It pays to keep things fun for them so they'll always look forward to riding.
jimhens714
11-02-05, 11:46 PM
In fact a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's a photo of my daughter and I during a ride on the Granite Bay trail near Sacramento. The Piccolo is in the background. She was 4 years old here.