Recreational & Family - Bike Train?

Has anyone tried this system? Adult bike hooked to a trail-a-bike pulling a trailer? Is this possible and how has it worked for you? Right now our set up is husband pulling the trailer. I have the 5 year old on a trail-a-bike. I would like to be able to go for a ride with the kids while the husband is working. Right now if I want to do that, I pull the 5 year old in the trailer.

If you have tried this please give me some info on how it worked for you.

Thanks
Janelle

Go for it.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/canada_2.jpg

Now thats a bike train! Why don't I see this everywhere? I was looked at like a looney person when I would commute to the store with two kids in a trailer. I wonder what kinda faces and stares I'll receive on my bike train. This is perfect for dropping the 5 year old off at school.

There's someone near us who uses a tandem, a trail-a-bike and a trailer. I see them fairly regularly in the mornings when school is in session. I also have seen someone with a bike Friday that is a triple tandem (?) with a trailer. I'm in Portland though and this kind of thing seems to be all the rage :)

Oh we lived in Washington (Steilacoom) and saw a lot of other bike families. Mostly just bike+trailer, but a bigger bike presence than in Mississippi and Texas. Especially with family commuting and biking in general as a family down to the town center. Moms taking kids to school by riding with them, family going to the coffee/ice cream shop.

We went down to Portland a few times. It's a nice place despite the intoxicated hippie who yelled at my husband lol.

Oh we lived in Washington (Steilacoom) and saw a lot of other bike families. Mostly just bike+trailer, but a bigger bike presence than in Mississippi and Texas. Especially with family commuting and biking in general as a family down to the town center. Moms taking kids to school by riding with them, family going to the coffee/ice cream shop.

We went down to Portland a few times. It's a nice place despite the intoxicated hippie who yelled at my husband lol.

Gotta love the Bair. Not sure if they still do sandwiches and coffee. One of my favorite places when I would hang out in that area

Gotta love the Bair. Not sure if they still do sandwiches and coffee. One of my favorite places when I would hang out in that area

It was open when we left in 2005. I loved Espresso By The Bay. Dupont is a nice town too. That new development (Northwest Landing) they were constructing was really nice. Hope to move back up that way sometime.

I would like to know about these bars that attatch to a bike and pull a childs bike, are like ok?

Go for it. Uphill is very slow, but still worth it.
This is how we did it.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_0666.jpg

Looks good. Can't be any slower than when I was lugging the 5 year old in the trailer. At least now she will be pulling her own weight. :)

I would like to know about these bars that attatch to a bike and pull a childs bike, are like ok?

I think you are talking about something like this (http://www.trail-gator.com/accessories.htm). I have not heard the greatest things about them, something along the lines of did not perform as well as expected. It worked but not the best IIRC.

You can find real trail-a-bikes on Craigslist. I see Trek, Adams, and Giant trail-a-bikes all the time for about 50% less than retail.

Did it for a while last summer. Now the boy is on his own 2 wheeler and the girl sits on the trail-a-bike. Lots of fun, great for 4 miles to the park and back, and really tough on hills. Steers like a battleship, but they both jumped at the chance to go that way. The awesome part is that they both still talk about it, which is pretty good for a now 3 and 5 year old.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs023.snc1/3087_1131033802551_1428440379_336232_3682019_n.jpg

We have done the bike train too. It works, but takes up a whole street to make a u turn. The kids love it!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs023.snc1/3087_1131033802551_1428440379_336232_3682019_n.jpg

Here's a sort of related question I was going to post a new thread but saw this picture. I have one of the seats that attaches to the rack like on the back of the bike there. I've mounted a rack like that on the back of our trail a bike, needed something to attach to the seat and ended up using a hanger for electrical conduit, its quite sturdy. So what if I put the seat on the back of the trail a bike? I'm thinking it wouldn't be any more weight than one of the (rare) tandem trail a bikes.

I would not put a baby seat on the back of a trail a bike. Adam's makes a special seat that will fit an Adam's trail a bike, but you cannot use it with a child riding the Adam's and a baby. It is a one child only thing.

how stable are those 3-bike (bike + trail-a-bike + trailer) setups?

In about a year, I will be needing the bike train...can't wait!

I've done it a few times. It works just fine, and you're your own parade.

I should have tried it once before selling our trailer, but neither of our kids wanted to be in the trailer, they both like being out on bike seats. I think I have the deal done with the tandem trail a bike now, I'll sell one of the copilot sets to offset some of the cost there.

how stable are those 3-bike (bike + trail-a-bike + trailer) setups?

Side to side, I noticed that the train is a little more stable that just trail-a-bike.

I posted this to another thread but since this one is more recently active (and related) I will try again. I have 4.5 year old twins and am looking for a solution for longer rides. Mostly likely I am going to buy an Adams Tandem Tag-Along, BUT....

I have also been considering having a custom seatpost made that would have a "t" perpendicular to the axis of the bike and posts on each side to which I could attach tag-alongs. This way i would have my kids riding side-by-side (because what is a family ride without being able to reach out and punch brother at random moments?) but still being able to pedal independently. I am most worried about the width i would need but it may not take up more of the bike lane than, say, a Burley. Alternately i was thinking about the modified post extend one side behind a bit, so the tag a longs would be a bit staggered and able to fit in a narrower lane.

Is this a stupid idea or genius?

^ Unwieldy. Also the T-bar setting would amplify the differences in weight on both sides (one of the twins jump up from the saddle and your bike will lean towards the other twin). Even hard on mounting up - will you tell them to jump on the saddle simultaneously?
Get Adams' two-seater.

I grabbed this for $165


http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/th_IMG_21911.jpg (http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/?action=view&current=IMG_21911.jpg)
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/th_IMG_21912.jpg (http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/?action=view&current=IMG_21912.jpg)
http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/th_IMG_21913.jpg (http://s306.photobucket.com/albums/nn275/eugenenine/?action=view&current=IMG_21913.jpg)

A little high for the age but newer ones seem to go for $200+ around here.

I know a guy who takes a Triplet with a tandem adams, pulling a Burley trailer with the baby in it. had some pics, but cant find them. last i heard he was having a quad built.

Go for it. Uphill is very slow, but still worth it.
This is how we did it.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_0666.jpg

How are panic stops? Seems like it could be a bit unwieldy in that situation.

We've been using the Adams tandem tag-along since the end of last summer for the (now) 5 year old twins. I enjoy it, but is herky-jerky enough that I wont take it out of the immediate neighbor-hood. So its a bit of a disappointment for someone who was envisioning longer family bike rides around the city. Still -- I don't know what the alternative would be. It may get better now that the kids have grown some and can be a bit more coordinated.

Seems like Adams could have developed a system for attaching the tag-along to the lower bracket, rather than the seat-post and i am thinking that would add some much needed stability.

I have a trail a bike tandem and its not jerky.