Recreational & Family - Advice on Purchase of Tandem - Tag-along

Can anyone offer advice on purchasing a tag-along / trailer for my mountain bike? I have a 5 year old and we will ride on the road / parks, etc. Which brands are sturdy, easy to use, etc??

I don't have any advice, but I am looking to get the same thing. The brands I know of are Adams Trail-A-Bike, Trek Mountain Train and Burley Piccolo. The Burley is the pricest (and probably the best), but it requires a special rack on your bike, so that may not be an option.

My LBS sells the Trek, and REI sells the Adams. I don't know which of these are better, but the prices are similar.

Sverre

I can't offer too much in the way of comparision, however, I have a Adams single speed which is now being used by a second child, so the trailer is about 5 years old. We have had no problems with the bike at all.

I have seen one of these trailers that folds or collapses in the middle. From our experience this would be an advantage, as we have often had to drive somewhere to start our rides.

Not much to go on I know, but hope it helps.

I have a burley Piccolo, an Adams Shifter, and an Adams Tandem.

The Burley is the cadillac. It was expensive (about $350) but they typically sell used on Ebay for about $250 so they retain a good deal of their value. It has two features that make a difference if you ride a lot. First, it attaches to a special rack, so the pivot point is above the real wheel contact patch, which is the theoretical ideal for a trailer. This makes it a lot more stable than seatpost mounted trailers, and lowers the center of gravity. Second, the hitch uses ball bearings so it doesn't loosen with wear and can be serviced.

The Adams is the market leader. I picked up both of mine from Ebay. They don't hold their value as well as the Burley, which means you can get a good deal on a used one. The higher-end Adams models (Folder, Shifter) fold, which is a benefit over the Burley. The Adams attaches to the seatpost, which is a little wobbly and takes some getting used to. Compared to the Burley, it's easier for the kid to steer you by leaning one way. The big complaint with the Adams is that the hitch has no bearings, it's just metal-on-metal, so over time it wears and develops play, which makes the whole rig wobble. I recently replaced the entire hitch on the tandem at a cost of about $60.

The tandem is no longer manufactured, and they tend to go for over $400 when they come up on Ebay.

There are a number of lower-priced lower quality knock-offs which I would stay away from. A trailer bike that doesn't work well is no fun for you or your kid.

One problem that they all have is that the cranks are too long for young kids. My twins are almost five, 42" tall and have a leg length of 18 1/2" (inseam). With the burley, with the seat down all the way it's 21" from the seat to the pedal at the bottom of its rotation. The Shifter is 20" if you don't use the suspension seatpost and turn the seat mounting bracket upside down. The tandem is 20" on the front and 19" on the rear. The only way they could pedal with their butts on the seats was for me to get pedal shorteners at about $70 a pair. This also solves the problem that the cranks are 140 cm when a length of 100cm would be better suited to their leg lengths.

All of mine have gears so I can't comment on the value of gears vs. single speed.

It takes about a mile of riding for everyone to get comfortable and then it's a blast.

I would probably get the Burley if it hadn't been for the fact that the rack can't accommodate panniers. With the seatpost mount models the trailer bike will (hopefully) clear my existing rack that usually holds one or two panniers as well as the u-lock. Currently I'm leaning towards the Adams Shifter, which REI sells for $180.

My 5 year old will start Kindergarten in the fall, and I hope to be able to pedal him over, maybe leave the trailer bike at the school, and ride on to work.

I (we) have used a single-speed Addams Trail-a-Bike for 1 year, 1800 km and litterally wore through the hitch. A replacement hitch didn't seem to be available in my neck of the woods.

I have used a Burley for 4 years and over 6000 km so far, and plan to use it for 3 more years. That includes city trecks, long day rides, loaded tours and some Winter riding. Way more stable, and if you plan to do a significant amount of riding, you and your child will appreciate the stability.

Regarding the Burley rack. It is a very sturdy rack. Definitely more stable and sturdy than a Blackburn rack and probably in the same league than Tubus racks. If you need to tow the Piccolo with more than one bicycle, you can buy extra racks for around 60-60 $ U.S. (110 $ CDN, but at that time, our dollar was very low).

And by the way, that rack is a great one for panniers, as you can see here, on the top figure: http://www.bicycletouring101.com/GagnonFamily.htm. The load shown there is light, but we were on a day tour. I have put loaded panniers more than that when touring with my eldest daughter, and the single bike + Piccolo + load behaved quite well indeed. Loadwise, the only problem of all trailercycles is that you can't put much gear on top of the rack for obvious reasons.

And by the way, that rack is a great one for panniers, as you can see here, on the top figure: http://www.bicycletouring101.com/GagnonFamily.htm. The load shown there is light, but we were on a day tour. I have put loaded panniers more than that when touring with my eldest daughter, and the single bike + Piccolo + load behaved quite well indeed. Loadwise, the only problem of all trailercycles is that you can't put much gear on top of the rack for obvious reasons.

Ok, I was reading the online manual for the Burley where it was stated "...do not exceed above weight limits by attaching a rack, panniers, or other cargo to the Piccolo.". I realize now I was reading it wrong, it's not talking about the rack it's talking about the Piccolo itself. My mistake.

Are those Arkel panniers? I'm using an Arkel Bug and the Arkel Utility Basket. When I looked at the shape of the Burley rack it seemed to me that the Arkel lock system would not be able to fit on the rack.

I have an Adams Tandem... before they modified the hitch from a P!$$ poor design to a poor design. I will stop and tighten the bolts on the hitch every 10 miles or so.

If we pull the Adams behind our tandem it is very stable. A lot more attention to detail is required behind my mountain bike and I wouldn't consider pulling it with my road bike or letting my 125# wife pull it by herself. I have managed to ride some short mountain bike trails... at low speeds but it required a lot of upper body strenght... that can't be good for the bike!

Thanks for the great info., very helpful!

Are those Arkel panniers? ...It seemed to me that the Arkel lock system would not be able to fit on the rack.

Yes they are.
The two hooks and the bungee cord attach securely to the rack. The central lock can't be secured against the rack, but it really does not make a difference for road cycling (even on our bumpy streets). And when the Piccolo is installed, the lock abbuts (sp.) against the fixture of the Piccolo.

As for a rack on the Piccolo itself, I have installed one in spite of Burley's directives. I found that it is a great morale booster for my child to have her panniers too. In terms of stability, however, it's very important to keep the weight at a minimum. So for dayrides, I usually kept their raingear in one bag and sand toys in the other. And when touring, the rear bags are used for sleeping bags and the top stores a foam mattress.

If you can't find a replacment hitch for an Adams, you can shim the hitch mating surfaces with cut pieces of soda cans. Be careful not to cut yourself.

The Trek trailer hooks on to the seat post, and requires no special rack. It comes with a number of shims to work iwth a variety of post diameters. It attaches to the hitch with locking linch pin, and it also folds in the middle for easier transport, also via a locking linch pin. The one I have has a 20" wheel and a 5 speed shifter. I bought it locally about 3 years ago, and have had no trouble with it. We tow it behind our tandem with our granddaughter on it. There are pics posted in a couple of places if you want to see it.

Happy trails.

I recall from one of the owner's manuals that the weight of the rider of the trailer bike should be less than half of the rider of the "tractor" bike.

Replacement hitches for the Adams are available here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/trailrcy.html#hitch

Is the Trek hitch similar to the Adams hitch? Does it also develop play over time? I can easily find Trek and Adams trailer bikes around here, but so far I haven't found a Burley dealer that actually has any of these in stock (all can special order, but I'd like to check them out in person first).

Is the Trek hitch similar to the Adams hitch? Does it also develop play over time? I can easily find Trek and Adams trailer bikes around here, but so far I haven't found a Burley dealer that actually has any of these in stock (all can special order, but I'd like to check them out in person first).


I can't say, as I have never seen the Adams product. The Trek goes down over the seat post with a split clamp arrangment that has 2 bolts in it to secure it. The hitch portion is a big solid piece of steel, 3/4" x 2" welded to this clamp. It has a hole in it for the lynch pin. The trailer sits over this piece with a fork that the linch pin goes through both sides of. I haven't noticed any play in it, but I do occasionally have to tighten the clamp. What I like about this is you can get extra hitches and pull the trailer with any bike you have by just pulling the lynch pin and moving to the other bike. What I don't like about it is that you have to remove the saddle to install it, but like i said , if you buy extra hitches, you only have to do that once.

Is the Trek hitch similar to the Adams hitch? Does it also develop play over time? I can easily find Trek and Adams trailer bikes around here, but so far I haven't found a Burley dealer that actually has any of these in stock (all can special order, but I'd like to check them out in person first).
The Adams hitch attaches to the seatpost, but there is a universal joint that is connected to the trailercycle that is joined into the hitch with a pin. The Trek/Gary Fisher hitch yaws on the seatpost.

Last night I bought the Adams Trail-a-Bike from REI for $180. I rode it for a couple of miles with my kids. It is a bit wobbly for me. I'm sure I could get used to it though. Well, I called my the bike shop where I purchased my Trek, and they had two of the Burleys in stock (REI doesn't carry them here). It's costing me another $170, but if it's just a little more stable, it's worth it over the long haul. My 7 yr old can't handle the long rides yet, and I have a 3 yr old that will get years of use out of it. We're a bike family, and I don't mind the extra bucks to surpport our hobby. Haven't assembled the rack to my bike yet, but I'll post back our experiences as soon as we get a ride in with the new Burley.

Put a little more torque into the hitch pins, then add some chain lube. That should take some of the wobble out. You have to have a bit of wobble for the U-joint to work.

I still haven't found any around here who has the Burley in stock, but several who said they could special order it. I did consider ordering it online (at bicycletrailers.com), but I'm concerned about assembly, so I'd prefer to get it from a local dealer.

The closest Burley dealer is REI, but they weren't too encouraging about special orders ("sometimes it can take months", they told me). The other LBS I called (Northwest Cyclery) didn't know what I was talking about when asking about "Burley Piccolo, a trailer bike". They thought I was talking about a regular trailer, and only after careful explanation did they seem to catch on. I did get my d'Lite trailer from Northwest Cyclery about a year ago, so I'll probably special order the Piccolo from them anyways.

Bring them the web page if necessary. Just for reference, I ordered my Piccolo from Full Tilt Cycle in Ottawa, and it took a little bit less than two weeks to arrive. So unles there is a back order at Burley, the delay shouldn't be too bad.

A warnign about Burley: They don't have charge accounts for clients, they only accept Visa and Mastercard, but will do a COD. Their delivary time can be as long as three months. Some of their staff are idiots.

I ordered the Piccolo today. The woman I dealt with at the LBS (Northwest Cyclery again) knew very well what I was talking about (the guy on the phone earlier in the week must have been a space case). We'll see how long it takes........

Just following up on the Piccolo - I'm very very happy with it. My son wants to keep going and going on it. Major relief, since he'd always complain about riding long rides on his one speed with the family. We'd always have to stop and wait for him.

When I first got it, I hooked it up to my road bike, and added our older Burley carrier trailer (with my 3year old) to the Piccolo. That was very cool. Bummer though, I read the guide later and it says to not connect anything to the Piccolo.

I got a call from Northwest Cyclery today, telling me the Piccolo had finally arrived (Yay!). I drove over there with my bike so that they could install the rack. Their mechanic proceeded to "install" the rack in a half-assed sort of way that didn't follow the Burley instructions at all. When I pointed this out to him he got extremely offended and asked if I was an engineer. I said no, but that didn't matter, the Burley instructions are very specific about how the rack should be installed (level to the ground within 3 degrees). The rack was way out of wack compared to that. He said that didn't matter, that the way he installed it was "safe".

Also, the brackets that attach to the upper mounts where incorrectly installed (he'd used one long bracket instead of joining two brackets together so that they are adjustable). Basically, he'd never installed one of these before, and had no intention of following the instructions that come with the Burley.

I talked to the manager on hand, who promised that if I left the bike with them, they would get it installed according to the manual tomorrow. I decided to give them this chance, but I am also going to talk to the owner tomorrow (who is the one who sold me the Piccolo in the first place), and let her know exactly what I think of their mechanic and his attitude. I intend to go over every detail of their installation tomorrow and if anything is not done exactly according to Burley's instructions, I will call the whole thing off.

Yes, I am extremely pissed off. I had brought my 5 year old with me so they they could help get the bike adjusted for him, and he was very dissappointed when we had to leave without it.

Must be a bad week for bike shops. I took our tandem in for a tune up, the guy promised me 4 days, had it almost 3 weeks, and I had to take it back after the first ride because it was in worse shape than when I took it in.

Must be a bad week for bike shops.

Let's see, it's the first week of May. Everyone who ever dreamt of riding a bike is at the service desk trying to get set up for the summer. The shops are either understaffed, or their seasonal help is in their first week of on-the-job training.

Yes, it's a bad week for bike shops.

I called and talked to the owner of Northwest Cyclery this morning and explained the situation. Drove over there this afternoon to check things out, and it seemed like everything had been installed correctly this time. I went over every connection point and compared to the Burley instructions, make sure they'd used the right nuts, bolts and washers, that the rack was level, and then took it for a test ride. So far so good.

I still won't recommend this LBS to anyone in the area (northwest Houston), just because of their original attitude. The owner seems like a nice person. Too bad the mechanic is an a$$hole.

We have had our Adams trail-a-bike for about a year now. I use my K2 mountain bike to pull it. My almost 4 year old daughter just loves the bike where as she hated the trailer because I think she felt claustrophobic in it. The Adams is a little wobbly when standing still but as soon we start to move most of the wobble goes away. I whole heatedly recommend it. BTW...It is the single speed version

I got the Piccolo home this afternoon, and took the first ride with my 5 year old. It was sweeeet indeed. He loves it, absolutely loves it. The thing is rock solid, no wobble, tracks perfectly. He quicky figured out how the grip shift works, and just wants to faster, faster, faster.....

I got the Piccolo home this afternoon, and took the first ride with my 5 year old. It was sweeeet indeed. He loves it, absolutely loves it. The thing is rock solid, no wobble, tracks perfectly. He quicky figured out how the grip shift works, and just wants to faster, faster, faster.....
Venga, Venga, Venga....

Let's see, it's the first week of May. Everyone who ever dreamt of riding a bike is at the service desk trying to get set up for the summer. The shops are either understaffed, or their seasonal help is in their first week of on-the-job training.

Yes, it's a bad week for bike shops.

The shop I use, understaffed is an understatement...its a one man show. I understand and sympathize, but its still no excuse for sending a bike out in worse condition than it came in.

In his defense, I took it back in, and he did a great job, the second time around. Screw ups are going to happen from time to time, it's all in how it gets handled when it happens.

I got the Piccolo home this afternoon, and took the first ride with my 5 year old. It was sweeeet indeed. He loves it, absolutely loves it. The thing is rock solid, no wobble, tracks perfectly. He quicky figured out how the grip shift works, and just wants to faster, faster, faster.....

Put a speedometer on that thing! He'll love it. Mine does.

I wanted a Piccolo but it wasn't in the budget. I did buy a Trek mountain train and like it alot for the money about $150 w/ my LBS normal discount. The only problem is alittle slop with the plastic bushing. I am considering using oil impregnated bronze bushings to make it more solid, or maybe some sealed bearing, when it wears out. I built it up with a special hitch to attach to my recumbent.

On my Mt. train hitch I sawed a little more out of the slot of the gray bushing so it could squeeze a little tighter. I thought about making a shim sleeve out of piece of plastic milk jug also.

I wanted a Piccolo but it wasn't in the budget. I did buy a Trek mountain train and like it alot for the money about $150 w/ my LBS normal discount. The only problem is a little slop with the plastic bushing. I am considering using oil impregnated bronze bushings to make it more solid, or maybe some sealed bearing, when it wears out. I built it up with a special hitch to attach to my recumbent.

When the bike shop set up my Trek Moutain Train, there was "a little slop" because the plastic insert did not fit snuggly to the the bike seatpost. The tech claimed some slop and wobble was "normal". I e-mailed Trek, and they suggested putting a rubber shim between the plastic insert and the seatpost. And, addiing a rubber shim did help a bit.

Then, I bought a second mounting kit, to make it easier to switch the "Mountain Train" between two bikes. The second mounting kit came with a thin, black plastic spacer that fits snuggly around the seatpost, and has a "slick" surface. That "slick surface" enables the "Mountain Train" to pivots smoothly when going around sharp corners, and the snug fit eliminates slop and wobble.

The CORRECT method to install the "Mountain Train": the thin "black" plastic insert fits around the seatpost, at the lowest possible position, where the seat post enters the frame. Select one of the three grey plastic "sizing" inserts to fit around the black plastic insert. (Select the smallest size that will fit your seatpost.) The metal mounting clamp goes around the grey insert. When the bolts are tightened, there should be no slop or wobble, but the arm should pivot smoothly when the bike goes around a corner.

Because this product is used for children, Trek should "double-check" to see that the mounting kit includes EVERY necessary part, and an instruction sheet. One of my kits was missing the essential black plastic shim, and BOTH were missing instruction sheets. Not Trek's finest hour.

I got a call... telling me the Piccolo had finally arrived... Their mechanic proceeded to "install" the rack in a half-assed sort of way that didn't follow the Burley instructions at all. ...The Burley instructions are very specific about how the rack should be installed (level to the ground within 3 degrees). The rack was way out of wack compared to that. He said that didn't matter, that the way he installed it was "safe".

Also, the brackets that attach to the upper mounts where incorrectly installed (he'd used one long bracket instead of joining two brackets together so that they are adjustable). Basically, he'd never installed one of these before, and had no intention of following the instructions that come with the Burley.


While I agree with you that the original installation was botched, I'll offer two comments:

1. Unlevel rack
Unless the rack was really angled, it was safe. It's essentially a handling issue: with an unlevel rack, the Piccolo does not handle as well as it does with a level rack.

2. Struts
It's mostly a question of convenience. On my touring bike (25" frame), I have used only a single set of short stays because that's what make it level. On the tandem (23"-18"), I use the longest struts, so I have placed 3 bolts along the way to minimise bending moments and increase rigidity. IOW, use what works.

While I agree with you that the original installation was botched, I'll offer two comments:

1. Unlevel rack
Unless the rack was really angled, it was safe. It's essentially a handling issue: with an unlevel rack, the Piccolo does not handle as well as it does with a level rack.

2. Struts
It's mostly a question of convenience. On my touring bike (25" frame), I have used only a single set of short stays because that's what make it level. On the tandem (23"-18"), I use the longest struts, so I have placed 3 bolts along the way to minimise bending moments and increase rigidity. IOW, use what works.

I see what you're saying, however, it was very unlevel. He had installed it level/parallel to the downtube of the bike, not the ground, and then tried to convince me that was "normal" (told him I'd installed many regular racks myself, including on the same bike, and never had to install them that way).

Bottom line was, there was no reason for him not to follow the Burley instructions, except for laziness or carelessness. Hoever, in the end, it was done correctly.

I'm considering ordering a couple of extra racks, one for my road bike and another for my wife's bike so that we have a choice of what bike to attach the Piccolo to. Currently my wife is pulling a Burley d'Lite with our 3 year old, and I don't she'd mind having the 5 year push her instead....

Where in Northwest Houston do you find safe to ride with your kids. I live in the same place (Copperfield) and ride with my wife and kids. I have a 2 year old and a 3.5 year old who usually come with us in trailers. If we ride our singles, each kid gets there own trailer but now that we have a tandem they have to share the nicer trailer. We haven't felt comfortable pulling the trailers on the street with cars (no shoulders). Lately we drive to Bear Creek or to Hershey Park, but both of these are <15 miles total and usually crowded with walkers. We would love to go west a bit and get to ride on rural roads but I hate to take a chance on it not being safe. I know how most of us in Houston drive and that is why it is hard to put my family at risk.

Please let me know where you have found to safely ride with your family. I would like rides 15-30 miles.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Aggie_grad

I wish I had done a bit more research before purchasing our Adams Trail-A-Bike (starter). First, the seatpost attachment, while sturdy enough, sets the center of gravity too high, and my 5-year-old tossing her weight around back there is pretty unsettling. Things are a little better when I attach it to a hybrid bike than to a regular road bike, but still wobbly.

Second, the coupling is the pits. It's a machined universal joint, and is already loose and wobbly (ours is only a few weeks old and has maybe 10 miles on it). I've tightened it as much as I can while still allowing freedom of movement, and it still has a lot of play.

Third, the so-called "quick release" joint is anything but. It's a threaded pin that goes through a socket arrangement ahead of the UV joint, then attaches with a collared nut on the other side. It's nearly impossible to remove the pin without a mallet or other impact tool, and doing so is a greasy, messy job. Definitely not something you'd want to do daily or out on the road unless you had to.

Finally, the entire rig is pretty heavy, probably 30-35 pounds or more before you add a kid. You need to make sure the towing bike is well supported before you try to hook this beast up, or it will pull both bikes over in a flash.

On the plus side: the fit for my kid is good so far, the seat is comfortable, the frame includes a curved bar that runs under the front sprocket to protect it when you set the rig down off the bike, and my daughter is having a blast despite all the product's faults.

I'm going to look at the Burley line as a possible replacement for this trailer.

We also have a conventional Trek 2-wheel trailer that attaches to the rear chainstay. I have no complaints at all about this trailer, it's been perfect.

The CORRECT method to install the "Mountain Train": the thin "black" plastic insert fits around the seatpost, at the lowest possible position, where the seat post enters the frame. Select one of the three grey plastic "sizing" inserts to fit around the black plastic insert. (Select the smallest size that will fit your seatpost.) The metal mounting clamp goes around the grey insert. When the bolts are tightened, there should be no slop or wobble, but the arm should pivot smoothly when the bike goes around a corner.

Because this product is used for children, Trek should "double-check" to see that the mounting kit includes EVERY necessary part, and an instruction sheet. One of my kits was missing the essential black plastic shim, and BOTH were missing instruction sheets. Not Trek's finest hour.


That's interesting. I have bought 3 hitches between stolen bikes etc and have never seen a black sleeve. I have also returned one that had 2-#3 bushings and not the #2 I needed. I do believe the last one had an instruction sheet. I guess the parts packers must be lowest paid.

Where in Northwest Houston do you find safe to ride with your kids. I live in the same place (Copperfield) and ride with my wife and kids. I have a 2 year old and a 3.5 year old who usually come with us in trailers. If we ride our singles, each kid gets there own trailer but now that we have a tandem they have to share the nicer trailer. We haven't felt comfortable pulling the trailers on the street with cars (no shoulders). Lately we drive to Bear Creek or to Hershey Park, but both of these are <15 miles total and usually crowded with walkers. We would love to go west a bit and get to ride on rural roads but I hate to take a chance on it not being safe. I know how most of us in Houston drive and that is why it is hard to put my family at risk.

Please let me know where you have found to safely ride with your family. I would like rides 15-30 miles.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Aggie_grad

We're in Klein, right off of Stuebner Airline and Spring Cypress Rd. It's a challenge to find places to ride, that's absolutely true. However, we've found lots of side roads and routes through subdivisions where traffic is light. Sometimes we do have to cross a busy road (one of the reasons why I decided to get a trailer bike and not just let him ride his own bike). We ride out our subdivision (Oakwood West), go out on Stuebner Airline then immediately take a side road (either Five Forks or Theiswood), depending on where we're going. We can follow Theiswood all the way to Louetta, cross Louetta and then keep going all the way to Meyer Park. It's about 4 miles each way.

We can take a side road that is parallel to Stuebner Airline all the way to the local grocery store (HEB at the intersection of Stuebner and Louetta).

Sometimes we drive to Burroughs Park (awesome park) to let the kids ride their own bikes on the trails.

I've found it difficult to go for longer rides (more than 10 miles total) with the kids because of the traffic around here. If it hadn't been for the fact that I live 7 miles away from work I would NEVER chosen to live in a place like this.

Yes they are.
The two hooks and the bungee cord attach securely to the rack. The central lock can't be secured against the rack, but it really does not make a difference for road cycling (even on our bumpy streets). And when the Piccolo is installed, the lock abbuts (sp.) against the fixture of the Piccolo.

As for a rack on the Piccolo itself, I have installed one in spite of Burley's directives. I found that it is a great morale booster for my child to have her panniers too. In terms of stability, however, it's very important to keep the weight at a minimum. So for dayrides, I usually kept their raingear in one bag and sand toys in the other. And when touring, the rear bags are used for sleeping bags and the top stores a foam mattress.


Michel,

I have a couple of additional questions if you don't mind...... :rolleyes:

I have now started to ride with my son to school every day using the Piccolo. This is awesome, but I need to make a few "adjustments".

First, I am currently using the Piccolo on my MTB. I don't have enough heel clearance to ride with my Arkel Bug attached to the MooseRack. I'm thinking of getting a second MooseRack for my road bike so that I can leave the Piccolo at school and just ride straight to work (right now I ride home and switch bikes). What are your experiences regarding heel clearance using the Arkel panniers on this rack?

Second, how did you go about attaching a rack to the Piccolo itself? The holes on the Piccolo frame does not appear to be threaded, and there is no room between the frame and the cogs to really attach anything like a nut or a screw head.

... I am currently using the Piccolo on my MTB. I don't have enough heel clearance to ride with my Arkel Bug attached to the MooseRack. I'm thinking of getting a second MooseRack for my road bike so that I can leave the Piccolo at school and just ride straight to work (right now I ride home and switch bikes). What are your experiences regarding heel clearance using the Arkel panniers on this rack?

I don't have any problems. It's close, but my heels clear the panniers. However, I have the touring series (T-42, GT-54) which are a bit longer than the Bug, but have a tapered front end.

Second, how did you go about attaching a rack to the Piccolo itself? The holes on the Piccolo frame does not appear to be threaded, and there is no room between the frame and the cogs to really attach anything like a nut or a screw head.

If I remember correctly, I used a #10 or #12 bolt with a nylock nut. On the right side, I installed the bolt head inside. I don't remember if I had to add an extra washer on the original wheel, because the hub didn't survive its first winter. At that point, I respaced the dropouts (from 130 to 135 mm) and rebuilt the rim onto an LX 9-speed hub, and replaced the twisting shifter (grip shift, I think?) with Rapidfire.

The CORRECT method to install the "Mountain Train": the thin "black" plastic insert fits around the seatpost, at the lowest possible position, where the seat post enters the frame. Select one of the three grey plastic "sizing" inserts to fit around the black plastic insert. (Select the smallest size that will fit your seatpost.) The metal mounting clamp goes around the grey insert. When the bolts are tightened, there should be no slop or wobble, but the arm should pivot smoothly when the bike goes around a corner.

Because this product is used for children, Trek should "double-check" to see that the mounting kit includes EVERY necessary part, and an instruction sheet. One of my kits was missing the essential black plastic shim, and BOTH were missing instruction sheets. .

I bought the Mountain Train last weekend and had no problems putting it on. Thus far I haven't noticed any play in the mounting clamp.

I think the real problem was that you had no instruction sheet. The Mountain Train comes with 3 grey plastic inserts (numbered 1, 2 and 3), a black plastic shim and the metal mounting clamp. The instructions contained in the Mountain Train booklet indicates which of the grey inserts to use, depending on your bike seat post's diameter (although in my case the numbering on the inserts didn't correspond to those in the book (i.e., insert #3 was #1 in the book and vice versa)--this fact was obvious as it is clear which insert is larger in diameter).

The black plastic shim is only needed if your seat post diameter is a certain size that doesn't work well with the size of the grey inserts. The booklet specifies which diameters use the shim and which don't. For example, <xx mm diameter uses insert #1, xx-yy uses insert #2 plus shim, yy-zz uses insert #2 without shim, etc.

The booklet also instructs you to tighten the two hex bolts on the clamp around the insert/seat post until you notice significant resistance when trying to rotate the seat post in the clamp. Worked like a charm for me so far with my oldest son, but my youngest son's legs aren't long enough to pedal, so he just coasts with the pedals in the middle position and enjoys the ride. :)

I just bought the a used Trek Tag-Along and it's great. I dont think that they make it anymore, but you can find them used all over the place. It connects and disconnects easily. My 3 yr old grandson is small for his age, and he has no problem pedaling. We did have to put the seat all the way down for him to be able to make a full rotation but once we did that he has no trouble with it. My bike never felt heavy or out of balance, it was not anymore difficult to ride with him on the back.
I dont know why they stopped making it, I have read nothing but good things on the internet about it. Maybe they will start making it again, since when the used ones come up in Craiglist or ebay they are snatched up so quickly.
Schwinn has one also but I have read that when you make turns the kids part leans alot. I also read some complaints about the design being flawed. There were alot more good reviews of the Schwinn one than bad reviews though. Instep also makes one, but I dont know much about that one.

I just bought the a used Trek Tag-Along and it's great. I dont think that they make it anymore, but you can find them used all over the place. It connects and disconnects easily. My 3 yr old grandson is small for his age, and he has no problem pedaling. We did have to put the seat all the way down for him to be able to make a full rotation but once we did that he has no trouble with it. My bike never felt heavy or out of balance, it was not anymore difficult to ride with him on the back.
I dont know why they stopped making it, I have read nothing but good things on the internet about it. Maybe they will start making it again, since when the used ones come up in Craiglist or ebay they are snatched up so quickly.
Schwinn has one also but I have read that when you make turns the kids part leans alot. I also read some complaints about the design being flawed. There were alot more good reviews of the Schwinn one than bad reviews though. Instep also makes one, but I dont know much about that one.

As of this writing, Trek still makes TAB's (http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/kids/trailers/mttrain241/). They have 3 models to choose from.