Bungee tow rope

Horta

Hi there, I've got a towing question!

We live on top of a steep hill, fine for going to school, but the ride home can be a bit much for No.2, especially after swimming and hockey. Most of the local commuters will walk up, so it's a bugger.

At the moment No.3 is on the tag-along, so No.2 is on her own bike, has anyone tried towing a child with bungees?! I used to see a bungee type arrangement when I did adventure races, but never actually tried it.I was thinking of hooking up when we got to the bottom, then cranking them up in the granny gear.

Any suggestions/warnings?

Ta.

t4tomo

Hmmmm .......Tying a childs bike behind your own as you cycle aong a road. Thats setting off warning bells galore to me.

I occasionally give my kids a push up hills - ride slightly behind and to the side and the reach across and put a flat hand on their back as you cycle along one handed gradually shoving them away from you so they gain some momentum. Not risk free but more easily to detahc from!

Horta

Yeah woud normally do that, but not up very steep hill with hyperactive 4 year old wiggling around on the tagalong!

Tried it today, worked well, we got up fine, just need to sort out bungees, I'm worried about them pinging off under tension, that's an accident waiting to happen, although it didn't!

Giraffoto

The first safety consideration is the use of bungees for this - if they stay attached as you intend, they're a bit short for a tow. If the child on tow gets distracted (something children do quite a lot) you could pull them into the back of you with some force. If the bungee fails, one or both of you are going to get a bungee hook travelling not much slower than a crossbow bolt straight towards you. Don't do it with bungees.

A flexible tow also has other issues - if you stop suddenly, they'll crash into you. They can weave quite a lot, and if they do it too much the tow will be tending to tip them over. There are probably other issues I haven't thought of, but it's best not to find out on the road

Horta

2 bungees did the job, yes I was worried about the crossbow effect (good analogy!) There was a small amount of weaving going on, but it's a quiet road and the residents are generally patient, the ones that aren't get the Paddington bear stare!

I'll try running the bungees through some PVC tubing, to keep it out of the way of the wheel, or try the extendable dog leads that adventure racing types are using! Mind you it is only a 4-500m stretch of something like 12 per cent, I could force her up, character building!

baudman

Horta wrote:

Any suggestions

This

Horta wrote:

warnings?

About using bungees? I dunno... what's the maximum character limit in here?

bompington

+1 for trail gator - we found it an ideal solution, kids can start using it before they can pedal independently at all and then continue to use it for assistance on hills, respite on longer family rides etc. once they can make their own way.
Once it's fitted it's probably just as quick as a bungee to attach and detach, and, errr, maybe just a little safer?

Horta

Yeah the tag-along/trail gators are great, but No.3 has already claimed that slot! So No.2 needs the assistance, poor thiing, being forced to ride, if her dad was nice he's drive her

bompington

Think I've found the answer

Horta

Now we're cooking!!!

Pseudonym

sorry, but bungees are just plain stupid. Have a read up on kinetic energy recovery ropes used by the off-road/4x4 crowd, then see if you can find something like it on a smaller scale. But only use bungees if you have no regard whatsoever for the safety of your kids.

merkin

Please don't use bungees. If the hook becomes detached you could take your kids eye out. It only has to happen once. Could you live with that?
I won't even use them for tying loads on my roof rack after a near miss.

Horta

Oh, you lot are just no fun!

baudman

What's No.2's bike?

Does it have gears? If so, smaller chainring? There's always a solution - but then, you don't want to build the bike up so all it can do is climb hills.

If it doesn't have gears - I reckon that's your next, best step. And after all, she'll need to do it by herself at some stage anyway.

And... how BRILLIANT would it be seeing her passing adults pushing their bikes up there