Recreational & Family - Tag Alongs....at what age?

I'm maybe a little too anxious to buy a tag along for my grand daughter. She's 3 1/2 years old, fairly tall for her age.
Should I just take her to the bike shop try one out?

I have put some of mine on them at that age, but not for rides more than about 10 hours as they seem to fall asleep. I highly recommend the compact version of the Adam's trail a bike for younger kids or Wee hee's I Go, for younger/smaller kids. Just depends on the kid. The worst that can happen is you get it and she isn't ready so you wait a season to use it.

I have put some of mine on them at that age, but not for rides more than about 10 hours as they seem to fall asleep.


Not LONGER than 10 hours? Don't think I ride that far! Or did you mean 10 miles?

Joyfulmama.....thanks for telling me about the Adam's trail a bike and Wee hee's I Go. Wasn't familiar with those.

I recently bought an Adam's Trail-a-Bike Original Folder Compact (http://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/trail-a-bikes/original-folder-compact/) for my son. He is 3 years and 9 months old, and his Mom and I both consider him a little small for his age. We bought the optional backrest (http://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/accessories/back-rest/) to add a little security. The backrest clamps onto the seatpost, thereby raising it by about an inch, so I also added some blocks to allow him to reach the pedals. Aside from that, the only mod from stock was to swap out the knobby tire for something more pavement-friendly.

On his first ride, my son was pretty scared for the first half a block, but that was quickly replaced by yelps of delight and requests for more rides. His favourite part about riding the bike is when I hammer on the pedals and we drop his Mom in the dust.

The bike fit fine on my 700c hybrid, but I recently swapped it to my old rigid 26" MTB and it seems a better match. The only gripe I have about the Trail-a-Bike is that the handlebars are too wide for my son, and the stem doesn't allow for any fore/aft adjustment. I tilted them toward him as far as seemed reasonable, but he still has to reach for them. It works, but the fit could be better. I'll hold on to the bars as he will eventually grow into them, but in the meantime I plan to swap them out for something more kid-friendly.

I get a lot of compliments on the bike, and my son likes it a lot better than his old bike seat. Now he gets to see a lot more on our family rides than just Dad's backside.

http://i.imgur.com/V1lm1l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yZwOil.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uavlHl.jpg

I recently bought an Adam's Trail-a-Bike Original Folder Compact (http://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/trail-a-bikes/original-folder-compact/) for my son. He is 3 years and 9 months old, and his Mom and I both consider him a little small for his age. We bought the optional backrest (http://www.trail-a-bike.com/products/accessories/back-rest/) to add a little security. The backrest clamps onto the seatpost, thereby raising it by about an inch, so I also added some blocks to allow him to reach the pedals. Aside from that, the only mod from stock was to swap out the knobby tire for something more pavement-friendly.

On his first ride, my son was pretty scared for the first half a block, but that was quickly replaced by yelps of delight and requests for more rides. His favourite part about riding the bike is when I hammer on the pedals and we drop his Mom in the dust.

The bike fit fine on my 700c hybrid, but I recently swapped it to my old rigid 26" MTB and it seems a better match. The only gripe I have about the Trail-a-Bike is that the handlebars are too wide for my son, and the stem doesn't allow for any fore/aft adjustment. I tilted them toward him as far as seemed reasonable, but he still has to reach for them. It works, but the fit could be better. I'll hold on to the bars as he will eventually grow into them, but in the meantime I plan to swap them out for something more kid-friendly.

I get a lot of compliments on the bike, and my son likes it a lot better than his old bike seat. Now he gets to see a lot more on our family rides than just Dad's backside.

http://i.imgur.com/V1lm1l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/yZwOil.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uavlHl.jpg

That is exactly what I did for my daughter when I felt it was time to move her onto the tag-along from the trailer.

If it is possible, try finding a place to rent one. Granted I work in tourist area and stock 200 trailercycles at work, but many locals rent one for the minimum hour rental to get a feel if the kids will like one, as the retail shops only let you ride around in the parking lot for a bit or make you rent one at a higher rate then my shop.

I shouldn't be posting when I am very tired! 10 miles is what I meant, not 10 hours! And it is Wee Hoo. Again, sorry for messing up, I must have been very sleepy

We got our son a regular training wheel bike last spring when he was 3 1/2 and he did ok on it. I got a trail-a-bike for him this spring (he's 4 1/2) and we ride to and from his preschool every nice day we get and his regular bike riding has gotten SO much better. He took a few times around the block to get the hang of the Trail-a-bike but now he's cruising on that thing!

Just be prepared for the random weight shift and the random and inappropriate timing of them applying power, it nearly threw me a couple times.

Thanks to "Joyfulmama", both my neighbor and I have ordered WeeHoo's for our grand babies! I've only pulled the grand babies in a Burly-type trailer. Any suggestions, tips, or cautions for me?

This will probably sounds stupid when I say it....but the first time I put a kid on a trail a bike after having used an enclosed trailer, I totally neglected to consider sunscreen. We had used a trailer a lot and the kids didn't really need sunscreen in there since it had a shade. The weehoo has no sun protection much like bike trailer.

Also you might have to rig something up to keep water in reach. I found that a cup with a long flexible straw worked very well because the kid doesn't have to take it out of the water bottle holder and risk dropping it. But I also tethered the bottle to the water bottle holder so even if it is removed it doesn't fall in the wheels.

My kids love to have bells on their trail a bikes. It takes some practice to get past constant ringing, but we only ring ours when we cross bridges and cross streets/sidewalks.

You will have to post pics of the weehoo in use. I really, really want one, but just haven't had to funds to do so.

Joyfulmama....good points! Our family dr mentioned to take special cautions on avoiding sunburns on kids, especially those under 18. Hopefully, this is going to be something I'll get lots of usage out of. My wife and I have 5 daughters (youngest in mid 20's), and the grand kids are accumulating. We have 6, oldest one is 3 1/2 years old. She's seen the promo video for WeeHoo a few times, and always repeats the part, "Kids can play, snack, or nap"....lol. I have a burly-type trailer the oldest 3 like to ride in. My girls have dubbed it "the bicycle chariot".
Wife has not gotten into biking. Hopefully, I can get her to ride with me when taking the grand kids for a spin. May need her to pull the "chariot" when I'm pulling the WeeHoo.
I did see a water bottle cage mounted on one.

We got our WeeHoo! Arrived just six days after I ordered it. Grand daughter, age 3 1/2, was a bit apprehensive at first, but once we got going, she loved it! Can't wait to get my 2 other grand babies, that are old enough, to ride!
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I shouldn't be posting when I am very tired! 10 miles is what I meant, not 10 hours! And it is Wee Hoo. Again, sorry for messing up, I must have been very sleepy

It must have been the 10 hour ride that did you in and made you sleepy! :)