This fall I'll be taking my 5-6 yo to kindergarden via bike (2 miles) and will likely continue to do so past that age.
What's the prefered mode? A trailer or one of those pull behind 1/2 bike things? He'll bike commute w/ me year round so weatherproofing is a factor (reason to go with the trailer). Can I put a 50-60lb 5-6 year old in one? Cost isn't really an issue.
I have a MUP and sidewalk to get him there and then will do the balance of my bike commute to work with it which is only an additional couple of miles.

Any help is much appreciated.

I'd suggest going with the 1/2 bike/trail-a-bike/tagalong. Your son is getting to be on the tail end of a trailer. He will be able to ride on the tagalong for longer than the trailer would be appropriate. Plus you'll get him in the habit of getting some exercise everyday. 2 miles should take you about 10 minutes, not more than 15. It will take you almost that long in a car if you have traffic lights and a drop off line to sit through.

Sure. Thanks. Been bike commuting every day for about six years. He doesn't need any more exercise; he's running (literally) from sun up to sun down. My only concern would be making him commute on the tag a long in the winter and when it's raining, or the combination of the two. I guess I could just put him in some warm clothing and rain gear. He's a pretty tough kids so it probably wouldn't bother him too much.

Anyone bike commute their kids to school with a tag a long rain or shine?

Anyone bike commute their kids to school with a tag a long rain or shine?

:) Me. The only time we do not bike or walk is when they have a project they need to bring in.

My son's big on riding (on training wheels) through all weather (PNW very rainy winter). He's only going a third of a mile though, and at his speed; not sure what he'd make of a longer ride w/ rain pelting him at 15mph on a trail-a-bike... now that I think of it, a third of a mile at his speed (2-3 mph) is possibly a lot more time in the rain than at a me-with-trail-a-bike speed, it's just that he's not providing much velocity to his impact w/ the raindrops...

our 7 yo walks or uses his trek tagalong; we have another family that regularly uses a tagalong, rain or shine (chicago); only exception is really cold days.

:) Me. The only time we do not bike or walk is when they have a project they need to bring in.
Cool.

Does someone make a device to lock the tagalong to the bike frame?

My nephew road a 1/2 tagalong in Toronto 365/year behind his mom ... just bundled up well in winter..Investing some good rain and warm layers...used for skating and sledding outing as well. When it came time for him to hit his own two wheeler I sat him on it , pushed and that was it...he's never looked back. The Tagalong will give your child an inherent sense of bike balance...being ingrained into your youngster's muscle memory from a developmental age. My nephew rips on snowboards as well now as well, and I wonder how much the balance has helped him.

At 6, he might be ready for his own bike. One of my kids learned at just a couple of weeks past her fifth birthday, the other at 7 (to be fair, the first one was a freakish athlete, and went on to play for high school state championship teams in two sports). Worth a try this summer, though. It could save you spending money on something you'll only use for a few months.

The Trail-a-bike has been good for my kindergartener's 3.5 mile commute. It's too far for him to ride by himself - especially with any topography.

Nika

I never used a tag-along with my son, but I think its a great idea if you're not ready for him to ride his own bike. I commute about 2 miles to school with my son on occasion and using a MUP its pretty easy. Which school are you headed for in Silver Spring, if you don't mind me asking?

I never used a tag-along with my son, but I think its a great idea if you're not ready for him to ride his own bike. I commute about 2 miles to school with my son on occasion and using a MUP its pretty easy. Which school are you headed for in Silver Spring, if you don't mind me asking?
He's going to the French emersion school.
I think we'd do the tag a long for at the first year and then in 1st grade he could ride on his own w/ me shadowing him.

Since you mentioned that cost isn't an issue, you might want to consider a tandem, especially if you would like to ride other times or would like to tour or anything like that. I ride a three person tandem with my 5 year old daughter and my wife. We don't ride to school, we homeschool, but we do ride quite a bit including the Bike Across Kansas, MS150, and many weekly group rides.

The tandem would be more expensive, but they are really easy to ride and they put the child really close to the driver. Check out the tandem forum for more info.

Do you already own a trailer? If so, why not use it a little while longer until he gets big enough to ride himself.

Littleway -- Thats not near us or I would offer to let you park your trailer or tagalong in our yard during the school day. By 2nd grade my son was a pretty reliable solo rider, so with good coaching you should be fine.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions here.
I'm going to go the tagalong route and mix that up with him riding his own bike when the weather is nice. The tandem is an interesting idea, but I've personally just never been that big a fan of them.

I'm actually quite excited about this as I think it will continue to foster his self reliance & determination.

I'll leave the tagalong at his school for his mom to pick up and bring home. Now I just need to figure out how to secure it in a fork mount bike tray. I suspect I'll have to figure out something custom.


Is it safe to assume I'll need to install fenders on my bike to keep from soaking him?

This fall I'll be taking my 5-6 yo to kindergarden via bike (2 miles) and will likely continue to do so past that age.
What's the prefered mode? A trailer or one of those pull behind 1/2 bike things? He'll bike commute w/ me year round so weatherproofing is a factor (reason to go with the trailer). Can I put a 50-60lb 5-6 year old in one? Cost isn't really an issue.
I have a MUP and sidewalk to get him there and then will do the balance of my bike commute to work with it which is only an additional couple of miles.

Any help is much appreciated.

There is a video my son at the bottom of this thread on his Adam's Trail-a-bike. I've taken him on a 8 mi bike ride on it - which may have been a little to far (he was getting sleepy).

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=300386

Glad I waited to buy something. Turns out he can easilly do the commute on his own. Now I just need to find out where I can lockup his bike during the day.