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Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 24 Jan 2018, 9:41pm
by Vorpal
gaz wrote: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.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 24 Jan 2018, 10:34pm
by [XAP]Bob
Both enjoy pedalling...
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 24 Jan 2018, 11:03pm
by [XAP]Bob
Vorpal wrote:gaz wrote: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...
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 8:30am
by 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.pngA 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.jpgIf 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
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 9:13am
by [XAP]Bob
gaz wrote: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?
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 10:29am
by [XAP]Bob
Just found this:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/v ... ticle=1201Which looks, from the first image, to be almost exactly what I was thinking of...
I shall read further.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 2:27pm
by 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.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 2:27pm
by [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?
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 2:36pm
by Heltor Chasca
[XAP]Bob wrote: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.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 25 Jan 2018, 2:47pm
by [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
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 7 Feb 2018, 1:52pm
by 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
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 8 Feb 2018, 8:07pm
by gaz
[XAP]Bob wrote:The follow[me] is horrifically expensive for such a trivial purpose.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 9 Feb 2018, 2:38pm
by hamster
Perhaps, but cheaper than a tandem and when it's the difference between cycling and not cycling then perhaps rather better value.
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 9 Feb 2018, 3:22pm
by [XAP]Bob
I have a tandem, I’m looking for a way to tow an empty kids bike to collect both kids
Re: Taking a kids bike with you...
Posted: 9 Feb 2018, 7:36pm
by RickH
[XAP]Bob wrote: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!