Best way to carry a 4 year old.

passout

1 A Tag a Long - fixing to the seatpost probably
2 Trailer - also what are the fixing options for these - seatpost??
3 Other?

Which is best for her? Obviously safety's first but I also want her to develop an appreciation/enjoyment of cycling.

I've also got a one year old by the way, who tends to go on Mums rear mounted seat.

All opinions welcomed. Thanks.

pansy_pots

Can't figure out how to vote :oops:
My 3 and 5 year old are not keen to go in the trailer now as they love the tag along.

nicklouse

poll reopened.

whyamihere

My sister used a tag along at that age. She loved it.

passout

Thanks for the help chaps. I'll go for a Tag a long I think as it will see more service over the years. I'm looking to buy from SJS or Merlin Cylces (which is near me). Any other suggestions?

PhilTheFish

Sorry for Hijacking the thread, but I have a 4 year old my self who currently rides in the rear mount child seat. I was thinking about getting a tag a long but was concerned with the danger of her falling off.

What's everyone elses experience with tag alongs? Obviously I wouldn't be going on major roads, but would still be occasionally passing traffic at various points of the ride.

rhext

I have a three-and-a-significant-bit year old who's perfectly happy on a tag-along. You have to be a bit careful to make sure he's on properly before pulling away.....but apart from that it's fine.

We actually use a thing called a trail-gator which converts a standard kiddies bike into a trailer bike so you get best of both worlds.

FyPunK

My 4 year old has been on the tag along for a while now, the only advice is check to see if they can reach the pedal when its at its lowest point, if they wobble tell them not to pedal, just sit there, we both reckon that it has helped both our brats with the balance and they have both jumped on their own bikes without to much help. The tag alongs are really good.

secretsam

...and what does one do with twins if they're too big for a trailer?

rhext

SecretSam wrote:

...and what does one do with twins if they're too big for a trailer?

Rickshaw!

Underscore

SecretSam wrote:

...and what does one do with twins if they're too big for a trailer?

baudman

(Altho - not sure if this fella has the helmets the right way around).

ride_whenever

Hey there, the best way to do two children is the chariot trailers or one of the dutch bikes with the barrow in front.

The best ones tend to attach to the rear axle as this is the most sensible place for the attachment in terms of safety.

IIRC the tag along bikes attach to the seatpost, however the roland add-a-bike goes onto a special rear rack which allows for a child seat to be fitted on there as well.

passout

Thanks for the replies.

I bought an Adams folding Tag a Long from Merlin Cycles for £99 with free P&P.

My 4 year old loves it (for up to 30 mins) and hasn't fallen off despite a few bumps.
She can't quite reach the pedal at the bottom of the stroke - but close.

Secret Sam - you can get twin tag a longs. St John Cycles sell them.

QUESTION:
You can get back rests for tag along seats - do you think that this is necessary or will it just encourage bad habits (leaning back I mean, not smoking and binge drinking).

Cheers

gooner71

We've got a Trek tag-a-long which has a 6 speed rear derailleur which is very useful on longer hilly rides.. My seven year old loves it.

My 5 year old has been using a single speed tag-a-long for a couple of years but that is much harder as he contributes less...

I'd recommend the trek although would point out it is very heavy.