Recreational & Family - trail along bikes

hi there i wonder if any one can help me i have recently purchases a bike and would like to take my daughters out with me my eldest can ride but was thinking of buyin a tag a long for my youngest as she is only five and can not pedal that far before getting tired i have a full suspenstion bike and unserstand that not alot of tag a longs fit these bike i would be grateful of any suggestions of which one and where i could purchase one however i live in the uk so may have to consider shipping

Mel-

Try this link- http://www.whycycle.co.uk/children-tagalong.htm

Here in the States a seat post mount is pretty typical, and should work with many softtail bikes (full-suspension). My only other advice is to find a tag-along with a gear set, as it's a great opportunity to teach shifting to your girl, in a controlled environment.

Cheers-

Steve

Mel- try this one too- http://www.mailorderbikes.com/products.php?plid=m2b0s98p1164

We got our first trail-a-bike off of Ebay US, an admittedly sketchy proposition. Our experience worked out fine, though, and proved a good deal. YMMV, of course. ;)

There are several lengthy threads on this topic in "Recreational & Family". Scan back through the last few pages of threads to find them. Bottom line: stay with the high grade products sold through bike shops. And, be sure to get the trailer correctly attached to the adult bike...any flaws in the attachment can reduce both ride quality and safety.

Warning: the "trail-a-bikes" from Wal-Mart, etc. are of far lower quality than those from a good bike shop.

I got mine at a local Performance bike shop. Not sure if you can order over the phone with Performance over there. My 4 yr old girl loves it.

Just a warning, during your first few rides you will feel like you are always about to fall over. It is almost like having to learn to balance on a bike again. You won't feel comfortable looking back behind you or doing anything other than looking straight ahead and putting all of your concentration into balancing. However after a few rides you will be fine. I now can look back at my daughter while we are riding and I will even go down hills and hit 30 mph (which she loves and giggle when we do it). It is a great feeling to have your kid ridding with you like that. It makes your ride more fun because you can go at your pace. It also can give you a good workout.

By the way, mine is the Mongoose Alley Cat and it attaches to the seat post.

Have fun

I have used the Mongoose Alley Cat since 1997 when my daughter was 4 (she is 13 now)and have used it a second time with my 6 year old son. It does take a bit of time to get used to since there is now a lot of weight and flex from your seat post and rear part of your frame. My daughter loved it and it gave her the confidence to ulitmately ride her own bikes. Plus, more importantly , we could all go on a family ride together rather than be held back by a hard peddling and struggling child on a 16" bike. My son enjoys it immensely. We have been thinking about buying a Trek or something like it with speeds. The Alley Cat is very heavy and it would be nicer to have something with a lighter frame, wheel, and gears. Also, the attachment design has changed since I purchased the Alley Cat. The newere trail bikes, I believe, have a stronger and less flexible attachment to the seat post. Anyway, they sure are fun and made our family cycling a lot more enjoyable !