Taking a kids bike with you...

[Vorpal]

Trailgator?
Having seen some in action I wouldn't choose to tow a bike whilst a child was using it but I'd probably be happy enough to use it to tow just their bike.

You may still need to drop out the front 24" wheel.

That's a good thought. I tried a trail gator with a child in tow and didn't like it, but I'm sure it would be fine with an unloaded bike.

[[XAP]Bob]

Both enjoy pedalling...

[[XAP]Bob]

Trailgator?
Having seen some in action I wouldn't choose to tow a bike whilst a child was using it but I'd probably be happy enough to use it to tow just their bike.

You may still need to drop out the front 24" wheel.

That's a good thought. I tried a trail gator with a child in tow and didn't like it, but I'm sure it would be fine with an unloaded bike.

Not enough seatpost at the rear, and a rack on the tandem as well means that the gator wouldn’t work.

I am tempted to try and rig something that can be hooked onto though (again, maybe by the fork, rathe bars - allows it to be much closer...

[gaz]

Trailgators appear to be compatible with rear racks although they will restrict what can be carried on the top.
e.g. http://www.activekidsclub.com/images/trailgator.jpg https://www.twowheelingtots.com/wp-cont ... tor-14.png
A serious amount of faffing about but you could lift the seat post to fit the trailgator attachment for towing, remove it and lower the post for your stoker when the towed bike will be ridden. The trailgator would need to be strapped to the rear rack for your journey home.

Alternatively a bit of shedgeneering to attach a seatpost stub to the rack, remembering that you only intend to tow a riderless bike.
e.g. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TTABVr-Ax_o/maxresdefault.jpg

If only you had an old trailer to hand, like the one you've listed in For Sale.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 31_jeh.JPG

[[XAP]Bob]

Trailgators appear to be compatible with rear racks although they will restrict what can be carried on the top.
e.g.

A serious amount of faffing about but you could lift the seat post to fit the trailgator attachment for towing, remove it and lower the post for your stoker when the towed bike will be ridden. The trailgator would need to be strapped to the rear rack for your journey home.

Yep - the limit isn't the rack, but the lack of seat post, and the very low height of that seat post if it was available.
The seat post is also not QR (Although it is 'only' one bolt, compared with the pair which hold the captain seat post in place.

Alternatively a bit of shedgeneering to attach a seatpost stub to the rack, remembering that you only intend to tow a riderless bike.
e.g.

I had thought about that, but if I'm going to shedgineer that much, I may as well save the £50 from the gator and just do the whole lot.

If only you had an old trailer to hand, like the one you've listed in For Sale.

Again, I've thought about it - quite a lot as it happens - but I want to avoid having to tow an empty trailer around. I wonder if there is some way I can make a trailer that would sit on the rack?

[[XAP]Bob]

Just found this:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/v ... ticle=1201

Which looks, from the first image, to be almost exactly what I was thinking of...
I shall read further.

[Heltor Chasca]

I use one of these bolted to the rack of my Surly Big Dummy. Front wheel is taken off and goes in a pannier bag, bike trails behind and there’s even space for my youngest daughter to perch when we are going through rubbish road infrastructure or when her legs have blown up.

[[XAP]Bob]

Excellent - what kind of angle does the towed bike sit at?

The Dummy is a 26 inch wheel, so even with a lowish rack it should be comparable.

Also - where did you get the clamp, and how much did you pay for it?

[Heltor Chasca]

Excellent - what kind of angle does the towed bike sit at?

The Dummy is a 26 inch wheel, so even with a lowish rack it should be comparable.

Also - where did you get the clamp, and how much did you pay for it?

Depends of how steep the hill is and if we are going up or down. There are no flat bits in the West Country.

Couldn’t resist. Sorry.

Greater than 45 degrees towing angle. 20” bike. Steep on smaller bikes and didn’t work on a 14” bike at all.
Correct about the rack. You could do this on any bike except for the extra space for a resting child.
Type into Google ‘Delta bike clamp’. Loads of suppliers now around the £15 mark. I use these in the back of my pickup. For the same rack that cost £180 on the Internet, I made a better one for £34.

[[XAP]Bob]

That's normally my kind of line...
Do you have any pics of it in use?

The £15 mark does seem 'about typical'.. I might take this further and butcher a dead front wheel...
Given the rack on the towed bike, the wheel could strap there as easily as to the tandem, although might be more stable on the tandem...

Thanks for the confirmation about the wheel size limitation - 20" bike working means that I could even tow the littler solo if needed.

I don't think I'll consider a second clamp on the towed bike to carry another one again

[hamster]

The FollowMe is much better than the Trailgator, which has an awful tendency to slip and twist sideways.
https://www.followmetandem.co.uk/follow ... labike.php

[gaz]

The follow[me] is horrifically expensive for such a trivial purpose.

[hamster]

Perhaps, but cheaper than a tandem and when it's the difference between cycling and not cycling then perhaps rather better value.

[[XAP]Bob]

I have a tandem, I’m looking for a way to tow an empty kids bike to collect both kids

[RickH]

I have a tandem, I’m looking for a way to tow an empty kids bike to collect both kids

I've not done it with the tandem but I've transported a child's bike just by strapping the front wheel on one side of the pannier rack. It just needs the axle to be behind the rearmost vertical of the rack & straps in 3 places to give a firm.

With a tandem - I've seen a photo of a child's bike fixed into the otherwise empty stoker space. Admittedly it is a CIrce Helios which gives more empty space to play around with, but might give food for thought.

Slightly OT: our neighbour's nephew has (or had when I saw him a couple of years ago) a Circe Helios which he used with a tagalong to transport his 2 young children to school. He said that when he wanted to take them & their bikes to the park he would carry the children's bikes on a trailer behind the tagalong!