Recreational & Family - Modifications for Adams Trail-a-bike

We just got one of these for my almost 4 year old daughter. I had her sit on it at the store and knew she was a little too small for it still but got it anyway because I think she will enjoy it. Because of her size, I got the backrest for it too. It clamps onto her seatpost and has a couple of straps that go around her chest and waist. The handlebars are a little too far forward for her (for my taste anyway) but she really likes holding on to them and we can still buckle one strap around her waist while she is holding the handlebars. My big question is about if anyone has performed or seen any modifications that would serve as a foot rest for her since she can only reach one of the pedals when it is at the 12 o'clock position. I expect that she'll get tired of her legs and feet just dangling there and it would be nice if I could figure out a way to give here a footrest.

Thanks.

I have an idea for a foot rest. Get a piece of wood pole about 1.25" to 1.5" in diameter, about 16"-20" long, and use a 2-hole pipe strap that is nearest to the tubing size of the bike frame (found in the electrical or plumbing section of a hardware store) with 1.25" wood screws, to clamp the wood pole to the bike frame. I don't know if you can visualize what I am describing, and someone may have a better idea, but I thought I'd give it a shot :)

I did see someone in a situation similar to yours. The difference being that they had a tandem Adams trail-a-bike, which is no longer made. They created a child carrier of sorts. I do not have a picture so this is from memory. I think they had wood platforms that they strapped the 3 year olds feet into. I think they also had the seat back with the waist strap. I also think the setup was such that the child could fall asleep in the "chair" without worries.

This answers one part, I have seen it. But the more important part of how to do it, I cannot help you :/.

Good Luck!

Does your child's feet reach the pedals when they're at the 9 and 3 positions?

If so, just let her coast. It's not like her pedaling would make a difference and she'll still love to ride along with you.

If her feet don't even reach at 9 and 3, the bike's too big for her. Even with a shortened crank or 5 inches of blocks, her feet wouldn't be able to reach the bottom pedal at 12 and 6.

Does your child's feet reach the pedals when they're at the 9 and 3 positions?
No her feet don't reach the pedals at the 9 and 3 positions.

If her feet don't even reach at 9 and 3, the bike's too big for her. Even with a shortened crank or 5 inches of blocks, her feet wouldn't be able to reach the bottom pedal at 12 and 6.

I know that it is really a bit too big for her the way it is but I also really think that if I can come up with a way for her to rest her feet on something, she'll be comfortable and safe.

I know that it is really a bit too big for her the way it is but I also really think that if I can come up with a way for her to rest her feet on something, she'll be comfortable and safe.

Murphyce-

Pardon me if you stated this and I missed it, but where are you located? I'm pretty sure I could fabricate someting that would meet your needs, but would need your model trailer to work off of.

As well, are you aware that Adams sells a child seat that mounts on the trail-a-bike. Seems to me like they were addressing the "child too small for strail-a-bike right now" issue. You could buy the seat (yes, I know, more $) and sell it when she gets big enough for the regular set-up. http://www.trail-a-bike.com/interface/adams.php?loc=b&sku=accessories

I like the platform above the chainguard approach- it doesn't seem like it would be too hard to make something to work with the downtube/chainguard area. The big issue would be making it sturdy enough that when she stands on the platform to "surf" (I know my son would do this) that it wouldn't deflect. Not a terrible problem, but hard to design for without the bike. Check out the diagram and see if you can make sense of it.

Let me know if you're interested.

Steve

Slooney,

Thanks for the offer but I'm near Houston TX so I don't think it will be feasible.

I actually considered buying the child seat but there were a couple of reasons that I didn't. Although I certainly want my daughter to be safe, cost was a big factor as the seat is more than half the cost of the bike. Another factor is that she's just started riding her own "big girl" bike (with training wheels) so I want her to get an idea of what it is like to balance on a bike so we can work on getting rid of those training wheels.

I've been looking at a couple of the online bike stores and have come up with a few ideas that I think are workable. I just have to wait until I get home to measure parts of the trail-a-bike to figure out if they will work correctly or not. Looking at my argument of cost above though, I will likely wind up spending close to what the child seat cost in the first place by the time I factor in the back rest that I bought with the bike.

If I figure something out, I will take pictures and post what I come up with here.

Adams has a child seat that attaches into the seat tube.


Adams' website (http://www.trail-a-bike.com/interface/adams.php)

OK, call me overly conservative, but I think under 4 and small as you describe (a long stretch to the handlebars, and inability to keep her feet on the pedals) puts her at too much risk to use the conventional seat, even with a back. I'm not trying to put you on a guilt trip, but she will get tired being stretched out before long, and that is when accidents are likely to happen. I would strongly suggest the child seat until she grows a little bit.

Steve

We put our son on a trail-a-bike at 3 1/2. We also got the backrest - but only used it once. The burley piccolo was too big for him last year so we bought an Alley Cat to bridge us to the Burley. The cranks were considerably shorter and served us very well last summer. Can't wait to use the piccolo this year!

I never bought the back rest. I figured that "cycling" means staying on the saddle, holding the handlebars and putting the feet on the pedals. I checked them in my rear view mirror, had to give instructions once or twice, but they learned fast.

As for reaching the pedals, it depends. My 2nd daughter decided that the Burley Piccolo was hers at 3.5 years old. She couldn't quite complete the full pedal circle but was close to it. My oldest barely reached the pedals at 4.

Anyways, two ideas that might help:

1. Remove the seatpost and saddle and look at the seatclamp. By turning the seatclamp around, you will be able to shift the saddle a bit more forward and to lower it by an extra 0,5 - 1 cm.

2. Do pedal blocks as we used to have when we were children. Cut two pieces of wood and place them on the pedals; bolt these through the empty space between the rubber parts of the pedals. The resulting pedals will be blocks of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm.